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    Architecture for London creates demountable wood interior for Present & Correct store

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    Local studio Architecture for London has designed an interior for stationery store Present & Correct in London,  which features gridded joinery and draws on “wunderkammer” cabinets of curiosities.

    The studio designed bespoke joinery and storage for the Present & Correct shop in Bloomsbury, central London, which sells vintage and new stationery from across the globe.
    The store interior was made from white-oiled woodArchitecture for London constructed a fully demountable interior for the store, which could be moved in the future if needed.
    “Rather than building the joinery around the existing building, we treated each unit as a freestanding cabinet,” Architecture for London director Ben Ridley told Dezeen.
    Trays showcase old and new stationery”Aside from the kiosk, most of the joinery was constructed offsite, so we had to consider whether the cabinets fit through a standard door width and could it easily be carried,” he continued.

    “In the long term the interior needs to adapt to multiple environments; the current shop has uneven floors, to accommodate this the cabinets have adjustable feet concealed within a recessed plinth, while slender legs appear to be bearing the weight.”
    Architecture for London developed a grid design for the interiorPresent & Correct’s aesthetic is often built around an organised grid that holds different-shaped pieces of stationery, and the studio aimed to replicate this in the interior of the store.
    “The shop joinery provides order through a grid which becomes progressively smaller as you enter the shop, providing scale to the eclectic collection of objects,” Ridley said.
    The store design references the nearby British MuseumIt also drew on the idea of a wunderkammer, informed by the store’s location close to the British Museum, to display the goods as “objects of desire”.
    “The wunderkammer is an environment which provides order to a collection of objects through compartmentalisation which could otherwise be observed as a chaotic mess,” Ridley explained.
    “So it’s about how we display hundreds of tiny objects like pens, pencils and rubbers alongside toolboxes and trays in a considered and legible way.”

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    The aim was for the cabinets to be durable and as long-lasting as old museum vitrines. However, budgetary constraints meant that Architecture for London couldn’t use hardwood for the joinery.
    Instead, it chose to work with maple plywood and ash.
    “We created the appearance and durability of solid timber by applying a rule that all edges of the maple plywood are finished with 25-millimetre British ash, which can take the knocks from a busy shop floor,” Ridley said.
    The furnishings are fully demountable”The maple plywood grain is free from imperfections and has a calm grain, so we didn’t feel the need to use additional veneers,” he added.
    “Although the joinery is built with an off-the-shelf material, by concealing the raw plywood edges the interior avoids the DIY aesthetic that can come with working with plywood.”
    A neutral colour palette was used throughoutIt was important to Present & Correct that the interior would allow the products to shine, rather than compete with them.
    This led Architecture for London to use a neutral colour palette and a grid layout that lets the materials speak for themselves, rather than more eye-catching designs.
    “At the concept stage, we produced designs which incorporated more playful elements such as large columns shaped like pencils,” Ridley said.
    “The shopkeeper understood their product well enough to know that there was enough humour in the stationery, so it didn’t need to be represented in the architecture.”
    Other recent projects by Architecture for London include a light-filled extension to a Hackney home and an energy-saving home in north London designed for Ridley.
    The photography is by Building Narratives.
    Project credits:
    Architect: Architecture for LondonInterior designer: Architecture for LondonMain contractor: AFL Build

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      Co.arch Studio creates show kitchen for candied fruit specialist Cesarin

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      An Italian company that makes candied fruit now has a dedicated space for cookery demonstrations, designed by Milan-based architecture office Co.arch Studio.

      Cesarin has produced its fruity bakery products at a factory between Verona and Vicenza in Italy for over 100 years.
      The plywood structure is installed within one of Cesarin’s factory buildingsCo.arch Studio founders Andrea Pezzoli and Giulia Urciuoli worked with the company to create a pop-up kitchen for hosting live-audience events and filming videos for social media.
      Built from plywood, this double-height structure is located on the first floor of one of the company’s existing factory buildings.
      It provides space for hosting events and filming cookery videosIt incorporates a demonstration counter area, a kitchen, a meeting room, and storage and toilet facilities.

      The design concept developed by Pezzoli and Urciuoli was to create the impression of a singular, solid volume within the room.
      “The new volume was designed as a large piece of furniture, inspired by Antonello da Messina’s painting San Girolamo Nello Studio,” explained the duo.
      The demonstration counter is designed to move aroundThe Renaissance artwork they refer to depicts a priest sitting in a study room where architecture and furniture appear as one.
      “This painting is known for the impeccable use of perspective, restoring the image of a space that is lived in but at the same time utopian and rigorous,” Pezzoli and Urciuoli said.

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      Here, a similar effect is created. The structure was designed to look like a box with openings carved out of it, each incorporating a different function.
      The demonstration counter sits within a large void at the front, although it is set on castors so it can be moved around.
      An arched doorway leads up to the mezzanine levelA rectangular niche in the side wall creates a casual seat, while an arched doorway frames a staircase that leads up to a mezzanine level that functions as the meeting space.
      The kitchen and toilet facilities are located within the volume, accessed from either a side door or via the counter area, while a cloakroom slots in underneath the stairs.
      The meeting space sits directly beneath the roof trusses”The wooden volume highlights the height of the ceiling, defining the rhythm of the spaces with plays of solids and voids, and creating unprecedented internal views,” said the architects.
      The plywood is made from okumè, a timber with a similar appearance to cherry.
      The okumè plywood has a similar appearance to cherry woodThe idea was to reference the fruit that Cesarin is best known for; the land surrounding the factory is famous for its Prunus Avium plantations, which produce a particularly sweet type of cherry.
      Behind the plywood panels is a balloon-frame structure, with pillars and beams made from fir wood.
      Toilet and storage facilities are located within the wooden volumeThe entire construction was prefabricated by a carpentry workshop in South Tyrol, allowing the architects to achieve “a quality that would otherwise be impossible”.
      The rest of the space is painted white, allowing the wood to stand out.
      Pezzoli and Urciuoli liken the overall effect to that of a theatre. “To emphasise the theatrical aspect of the space, light wavy curtains resembling a curtain were used to darken the numerous windows,” they added.
      Other recent projects in Italy include the Boyy flagship in Milan designed by Danish artist Thomas Poulsen and a sushi restaurant designed to resemble a futuristic spaceship.
      The photography is by Simone Bossi.

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      Daniel Boddam converts Sydney warehouse into calm and plant-filled office

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      Local firm Daniel Boddam Studio has transformed a warehouse in Australia into a workplace for landscape design practice Wyer & Co, bringing nature into the space by using greenery and natural materials.

      “I saw the project as an extension of Wyer & Co’s desire to bring in nature,” said Daniel Boddam, founder of Daniel Boddam Studio.
      “Sustainability was discussed with the client from the outset and informed every aspect of the design – from materials and furniture to services and staff amenities.”
      Green plants at the front door soften the red brick and black steel of the industrial warehouseLarge green plants at the entrance were used to conceal the building’s oversized dark steel doors, with the aim of reducing the scale and softening the red brick industrial warehouse.
      A sandblasted limestone floor was extended from the building’s exterior to the interior to connect the spaces.

      At the front foyer, a large miniature date palm (Phoenic roebelenii) reaches towards the skylight above, reflecting the tone of the entrance garden.
      Locally designed and crafted furniture was selected by the studioBehind the foyer is a gallery used for client presentations, industry events, talks and workshops. A series of bespoke, honey-coloured plywood cabinets decorate the space and showcase materials the studio uses in its work.
      Throughout the office, workstations and meeting rooms were clad in various natural materials. Pine plywood, Tasmanian oak, walnut and sandblasted limestone create a warm palette that has been subtly embellished with cork and brass.
      The office interiors features a variety of natural materialsDownstairs, an underground staff area holds plywood lockers and a kitchen space, and was designed to encourage staff to gather and socialise away from their desks.
      Swiss cheese plants (Monstera deliciosa) were selected as the main indoor plant and used to trail the walls and ceilings to create a green environment over time.
      Custom pots made with milled steel and finished in a clear powder coat nod to the industrial origin of the warehouse.

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      Daniel Boddam Studio also curated a series of locally designed and crafted furniture for the workspace, including its low-lying Booham chair and the Wave sofa and armchair in the welcome foyer that nod to the coastal location of the office.
      A meeting room opposite the foyer features the studio’s Geo Long table, accompanied by a custom-designed cabinet.
      Materials used in the client’s work are displayed on plywood cabinets”The result is a quiet and considered interior that harmonises with the Australian landscape and celebrates the artisanal; a testament to simplicity, comfort, calmness and wellbeing,” Boddam concluded.
      This project was longlisted in the small workspace interiors category of Dezeen Awards 2022.
      Elsewhere in Australia, Dane Taylor Design has completed a multipurpose garden room in New South Wales with a compact form clad in charred wood, while Matt Gibson Architecture + Design has transformed a Victorian home in Melbourne’s suburbs with a faceted extension clad in black metal.
      The photography is by Pablo Veiga.

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