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      Enter Projects Asia enlivens Belgian office with “fluid” rattan sculptures

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      A rattan sculpture winds its way across the ceilings of this office and factory building in Waregem, Belgium, which has been overhauled by Thai architecture studio Enter Projects Asia.

      Named A Factory Facelift, the installation was commissioned by the owners of an ice-making factory to bring “balance and calm” to the interior of their small concrete office block in West Flanders.
      Enter Projects Asia has overhauled an office interior in BelgiumEnter Projects Asia’s (EPA) design includes sculptures, planters, light fittings and seating across two storeys, which are constructed from rattan – a flexible plant with a woody stem.
      Beginning with an eight-metre-high sculpture in the glazed lobby, many of these elements take the form of curved sections that are suspended from the ceilings by metal wires and appear to flow through the building.
      Curved rattan sculptures have been introduced into different rooms”[We] were given what felt like a ‘wellness’ brief for the space, inviting nature and creativity into an industrial setting,” said EPA.

      “The site was an ice-making factory, so the design was to be fluid and liquid, like the properties of pure spring water crystallising, incorporating raw and sustainable materials wherever possible,” it continued.
      Some elements are suspended from the ceilingsBeneath the ceiling sculptures and continuing the same design language, EPA has also designed rattan seating areas that help to divide the office spaces.
      Planters have been built into these curved seating structures, complemented by trailing plants that hang from the rattan ceiling sculptures.

      Enter Projects Asia weaves rattan sculptures through Spice & Barley restaurant in Bangkok

      The project was commissioned early on during the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning the relationship between the studio and the client was entirely remote.
      This led to the rattan works being digitally designed and then split into segments that could be built and transported as efficiently as possible to the site, and assembled “like a 3D jigsaw”.
      There is also rattan furniture including office chairsEPA believes that it is important to give the craft of working with rattan new applications, as many rattan factories became threatened with closure during the pandemic.
      “As a byproduct of this project, rattan factories were able to stay afloat during the darkest days,” said EPA Director Patrick Keane.
      “This project became a lifeline for many craftsmen who otherwise would have been without work. Maintaining these factories ensure local, sustainable arts & crafts production could continue,” he added.
      Some seating incoporates plantersEPA has made extensive use of rattan in its previous projects, including another large-scale rattan sculpture for the interiors of the Spice & Barley restaurant in Bangkok.
      Elsewhere in Thailand’s capital, it used the material to create a series of rattan pods with dynamic forms for the yoga brand Vikasa.
      The photography is by Edmund Sumner.

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      Norway's remote Hotel Finse 1222 undergoes subtle update by Snøhetta

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      Architecture firm Snøhetta has carried out a sensitive refurbishment of this hotel in Finse, a tiny mountain village in Norway that can only be reached by railway.

      Built in the shadow of Norway’s Hardangerjøkulen glacier, Hotel Finse 1222 sits 1,222 metres above sea level and started life as a humble lodge for railroad workers before becoming a fully-fledged hotel in 1909.
      Hotel Finse 1222 is located in a tiny Norwegian mountain villageOver the decades, the establishment attracted a steady stream of visitors but its interiors grew tired.
      When Snøhetta was tasked with bringing the hotel up to date, the firm steered away from major structural changes and instead settled for making a few aesthetic tweaks.
      Snøhetta introduced colour to the hotel’s reception and lounge”We wanted to ensure we preserved the historical qualities of the place by attentively adjusting and upgrading the existing building mass, only adding new elements where it was absolutely needed,” said Heidi Pettersvold Nygaard, senior architect at the firm.

      “Bringing back to life the long and diverse history of Finse’s heydays was a delight, ensuring that also new visitors could become aware of this completely unique nature and hotel experience.”
      Floral-print William Morris wallpaper covers surfaces in the dining roomThe firm wanted to foster a “warm and hearty” ambience in the hotel’s reception and lounge area so that arriving guests feel instantly at ease.
      Here, surfaces are painted tangerine orange while the soft furnishings are different hues of red.
      Just beyond the lounge, Snøhetta designed a new wooden terrace to match the building’s original carpentry.
      The room’s original ceiling was preservedIn the dining room, floral William Morris wallpaper now blankets the walls. This is a nod to some long-forgotten furnishings Snøhetta found in the hotel’s attic that were upholstered in a similar fabric by the prominent British textile designer.
      The room’s decorative plaster ceiling was preserved and complemented with ornate brass-stemmed lamps, which the studio says are historically appropriate.
      Photographs of famous guests that have passed through the hotel are mounted on the walls, including portraits of Prince Charles and Norwegian figure skater Sonia Hennie.

      Snøhetta designs library in Beijing to resemble a ginkgo-tree forest

      A moodier atmosphere reigns in the hotel’s lounge, where surfaces are rendered in a deep shade of indigo to amplify the dazzling blueish light of Finse’s winter sunsets.
      Guests can sit back and observe the day drawing to a close on the room’s plump blue sofas or bench seats lined with furry throws.
      The hotel’s lounge is filled with shades of blueThe most dramatic intervention made by Snøhetta as part of the refurbishment involved elevating the hotel’s roof to make way for two more guest suites beneath its peak.
      Both suites come complete with expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that offer uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape. Even the bathtubs are positioned to overlook nearby mountain Lille Finsenut.
      Draped over the beds are bespoke woollen throws depicting an abstract image of the Hardangerjøkulen glacier.
      Two new guest suites were created beneath the hotel’s roofSnøhetta currently has a number of projects in the works.
      Earlier this month, the firm released plans to extend the Hopkins Centre for the Arts at Dartmouth. It is also erecting a library in Beijing that will feature a “forest” of pillars on its interior.

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      Studio McW carves up “post-lockdown” London home extension with darkened oak joinery

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      Umber-coloured oak joinery divides the interior of this end-of-terrace home in London’s Willesden Green, which has been extended and refurbished by local architecture firm Studio McW.

      The two-storey Aperture House now features an additional pitched-roofed volume at its rear, that can be accessed via the main home or a second, less formal entrance set at the side of the property alongside a small planted courtyard.
      A darkened oak cabinet sits under Aperture House’s pitched roofThe residence’s owners, a journalist and a psychiatrist, worked from home throughout the coronavirus lockdowns of 2020 and grew to dislike using their kitchen, which was visually cut off from the rest of the house and the outdoors.
      They tasked Clerkenwell-based Studio McW with establishing a more versatile “post-lockdown” extension that can be used for cooking, dining, working and entertaining.
      The cabinet transitions into low-lying cupboards in the kitchenStudio McW’s approach sought to find a middle ground between a more sequestered layout and a vast, open-plan space, which can often feel impersonal according to the firm’s director Greg Walton.

      “I think lockdown has certainly compounded the failures of modern open-plan living,” he told Dezeen.
      “Open-plan layouts offer little privacy and occupants can feel a bit lost in the room. Residential architecture needs to work harder to meet new demands.”
      Walls throughout the extension are finished in plasterIn the case of Aperture House, this is achieved using blocks of dark-stained oak joinery. The largest is a cabinet, which is nestled beneath the eaves of the roof and acts as a divider between the external entryway and a small dining room.
      At its centre is a rectangular opening that offers a place to perch and remove shoes on one side, while in the dining area it acts as a reading nook and an additional seat when hosting larger gatherings.
      “By using joinery to break up the spatial layout you have the opportunity to create, in the same room, separate spaces to eat, cook, welcome visitors and relax whilst still maintaining a form of connection,” Walton said.
      In front of the kitchen there is space for a lounge areaThe cabinet transitions into a low-lying oak cupboard in the kitchen, which allows residents to rustle up meals while keeping the garden, guests and each other in sight.
      To the side of the kitchen is a series of taller oak cabinets, interrupted by another nook where small appliances like the kettle and toaster can be tucked away to keep the counters free of clutter.
      Just in front of the kitchen, Studio McW made space for a lounge area where the owners can retreat to work or relax during the day.
      Another opening in the joinery provides room for small appliancesRather than installing glass doors all the way along the home’s rear facade, Studio McW opted to front the extension with a pivoting glazed panel.
      “I think the ubiquitous sliding or bifold doors across the rear of a London terrace are becoming an unromantic ideal,” Walton explained. “They don’t offer places for respite and repose, there is no shadow or play of light.”
      “In this house, openings in the new extension are set back within deep, angled brick thresholds, which are designed to focus views and draw in light at specific times of the day.”
      The extension is fronted by a pivoting glass doorAnother example of this is the off-centre skylight that punctuates the extension’s roof and casts shafts of light into the plaster-washed interior.
      “Just like in photography, the apertures in a property affect focus and exposure,” Walton said.
      “Often, the act of bringing light into a home is interpreted as putting in as many windows as possible. But in doing so you create all the characteristics of an overexposed photograph.”
      The door is set within an angled brick recessA growing number of homes are starting to reflect the effects that the coronavirus pandemic has had on people’s lifestyles.
      Earlier this year, the co-founders of Studiotwentysix added a plywood-lined loft extension to their own family home in Brighton to make room for more work and rest areas. With a similar aim, Best Practice Architecture recently converted the shed of a Seattle property into a home office and fitness room.
      The photography is by Lorenzo Zandri. 

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      Lore Group opens “grown-up” One Hundred Shoreditch hotel

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      Hospitality chain Lore Group has completed the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel in the building that formerly housed Ace Hotel’s London outpost.

      The rebranded hotel recently opened following a thorough refurbishment, which included the addition of new oriel windows on the building’s facade.
      New oriel windows were added to the building’s exteriorThe hotel was designed by Lore Group creative director Jacu Strauss, who aimed to build on the foundation of the Ace Hotel London Shoreditch.
      Designed by London-based Universal Design Studio, the Ace Hotel opened in 2013, but was shuttered in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic and never reopened.
      Wooden totems in the lobby were crafted by Jan Hedzel Studio”People were sentimental about what it was before and while we never wanted to drastically change that, we wanted to reflect the new, more grown-up Shoreditch,” Strauss told Dezeen.

      “And we hope that the energy that people loved in the former property is even more present now.”
      The lobby table from the Ace Hotel was kept and refinishedOne Hundred Shoreditch has 258 rooms as well as three bars, a coffee shop and a restaurant named Goddard & Gibbs, which has a giant yellow rock sculpture as its centrepiece.
      In the revamped lobby area, timber totem sculptures designed by Strauss and crafted by London-based Jan Hedzel Studio have been put in place, as well as a giant mirror.
      A large red paper sculpture is behind the lobby barIn the interest of reducing waste, Lore Group said it tried to keep materials from the old hotel where possible.
      The wooden floor in the entrance area remains the same, while a long wooden table has been refinished to give it a lighter tone, with the corners sanded into curves.

      Ace Hotel Shoreditch by Universal Design Studio

      Cork wall panelling has been dotted throughout, while the existing cork ceiling was replaced with an acoustically insulated combination of timber strips backed by black felt to soften the disco music prescribed by Strauss.
      An arrangement of giant scarlet paper flowers behind the counter distinguishes the lobby bar.
      What was previously a nightclub has been replaced with a lounge-style cocktail barOn the basement level, what was previously a nightclub has been replaced by a lounge-style cocktail bar named Seed Library.
      The bar’s design was informed by the films of director Stanley Kubrick with table lamps reminiscent of 1960s science fiction, juxtaposed with playful flourishes such as wooden wall panels fixed using metal racks taken from an office shelving unit.
      Pink tiles and terrazzo tabletops characterise the rooftop barIn the rooftop bar, powdery pink tiles matched with vivid pink terrazzo tabletops are intended to catch the sunlight, while green plants hang down from the ceiling in a concealed planter.
      Also on the top level is a multipurpose events space where a colourful second-hand parachute has been attached to the wall.
      A vintage parachute is fastened to the wall of the top floor events spaceStrauss sought to add intrigue to other communal spaces with artworks, including pieces painted in-situ personally by him inside the lifts and tapestries in the corridors.
      The rooms were designed to have a more laid back atmosphere with a mainly neutral palette.
      “When you enter the bedrooms you need to shift your energy,” explained Strauss. “The room should be a sanctuary – this is the place where you need calm.”
      The vivid hues of the rest of the hotel give way to a more neutral palette inside the roomsIn the bedrooms Berber carpets have been combined with a bed designed by Strauss with a shrunken base to create the illusion of floating.
      Large artworks adorn the walls to provide colour, with playful slinky-like vases are filled with eucalyptus to scent the rooms.
      Each oriel window has a unique furniture arrangementLore Group also operates Sea Containers, a hotel on London’s Southbank, as well as the Pulitzer in Amsterdam and the Riggs and Lyle hotels, both in Washington DC.
      Strauss led on the interiors for Sea Containers while a senior director at Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio.
      The images are courtesy of Lore Group.

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