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      Will Gamble Architects modernises London Victorian house with “soft minimalism” interiors

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      UK studio Will Gamble Architects has extended and modernised a Victorian house in south London, using curved shapes and a palette of natural materials to create a calm and minimalist aesthetic.

      The clients – a married couple looking to create their forever home – asked Will Gamble Architects to oversee the transformation of the semi-detached house in Putney into a serene sanctuary.
      Architecture firm Proctor & Shaw initially developed the planning drawings before Gamble’s studio was appointed to develop a cohesive interior design service throughout the home, including technical drawings and revised spatial layouts for the upper floors.
      Will Gamble Architects has extended and modernised a south London Victorian houseTo fufil the clients’ request for increased space, a rear and attic extension was added.
      “We were keen to maximise space and light as much as possible through clever design solutions,” architect Will Gamble told Dezeen.

      “This was particularly relevant over the upper floors where the brief called for four bedrooms and three bathrooms which a conventional layout couldn’t accommodate.”
      Gamble’s “soft minimalism” approach is defined by gentle tonal huesGamble applied an approach he described as “soft minimalism” throughout the interiors, utilising a restrained palette of textural materials to ensure consistency across all floors.
      “Soft minimalism is defined by curved lines, gentle tonal hues, natural materials and carefully curated spaces,” said the architect. “This aesthetic allowed us to deliver a highly bespoke project tailored to our clients’ needs.”
      Muted colours enhancing the “soft minimalism” aesthetic include whites and pinksArched niches, curved walls and a bespoke staircase with semi-circular landings, circular spindles and a turned-oak rail contribute to an aesthetic defined by a gentle geometry.
      Muted colours including warm whites and soft pinks provide a soft and coherent backdrop, while more textured materials including pippy oak and richly veined marble add personality to some of the spaces.

      Emil Eve Architects brightens London house with terracotta tile-clad extensions

      The new staircase was illuminated by an oval roof light that continues the theme of gentle, round forms. The roof light casts natural light deep into the floor plan and is openable to allow stack ventilation to naturally cool the interior.
      Bespoke joinery brings functionality and visual interest to rooms including the main bedroom, where a headboard unit made from pippy oak provides additional storage as well as concealing the en-suite shower room.
      Textured materials like pippy oak and richly veined marble add flare to certain spacesThe bespoke bed and headboard with integrated wardrobes are centrally located within the room to maximise the available space. The en suite contains a pair of marble-clad vanities either side of a walk-in shower.
      Pippy oak was used elsewhere in the house for furniture including bedside tables and built-in storage. The wood’s distinctive knots and knot clusters stand out whilst complementing the other natural materials.
      “The ‘cats paw’ pattern of the pippy oak adds a decadence to the otherwise muted material palette,” Gamble added. “We used this unique material in key areas to help establish a hierarchy across the spaces throughout the project.”
      A pippy oak headboard unit in the main bedroom conceals the en-suite shower roomAs part of the renovation project, the building’s historic fabric was thermally upgraded to reduce energy consumption and create a more comfortable environment. A home automation system was also incorporated that minimises visible light switches and contributes to the uncluttered, minimalist interiors.
      According to Gamble, the owners were interested in “achieving a high-quality finish driven by an acute attention to detail”, which led to a highly bespoke project tailored to their exact requirements.
      Will Gamble established his London-based studio in 2018 after working for architectural practices Farrells and Francis Philips Architects. The office specialises in sensitively retrofitting existing buildings through contemporary architectural interventions.
      The studio’s previous projects include a home built within the ruins of a 17-century parchment factory in Northamptonshire and a glass-walled extension to a Georgian house in Leicestershire.

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      Paradis Apartment offers design-led stays in Belgian seaside town

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      The founders of design PR agency Club Paradis have transformed an apartment in Ostend, Belgium, into a design-led vacation home where almost everything is for sale.

      Available for holiday stays, meetings or photoshoots, Paradis Apartment is filled with furniture, accessories and artworks by the likes of Muller Van Severen, Destroyers Builders and Nathalie Du Pasquier.
      Paradis Apartment features a bay window overlooking the Ostend seafrontBusiness and life partners Albane Paret and Micha Pycke bought the apartment for their own holiday home, but soon realised it could double as a show space for contemporary design.
      Following a complete refurbishment, the couple filled the rooms with works by friends and colleagues, including some by designers, brands and galleries represented by Club Paradis.
      The living room features Muller Van Severen’s Pillow Sofa and a carpet by Christoph Hefti”We have always been drawn to beautiful things, craftsmanship and art, but it wasn’t until we bought the flat last summer that an idea grew to do something more than just decorating and renting it out,” Paret told Dezeen.

      “Talking to people in our network, the idea of placing objects and works of art in it, to show them off to best advantage, was born,” he said.
      “We wanted to create an inspiring place where you see beautiful things and feel inspired.”
      Muller Van Severen’s Wire C # 1 wall cabinet will be a permanent fixtureThe couple have a personal connection with Ostend. The seaside town, situated between Bruges and the French border, is where Paret grew up.
      They bought an apartment overlooking the sea, with characterful period details including a grand bay window, herringbone parquet flooring, decorative crown mouldings and a marble fireplace.
      A custom kitchen by Atelier Ternier features an undulating hardwood wall unitThe renovation opened up parts of the apartment that were previously separate, with a grand open-plan room now serving as a living room, dining space and kitchen.
      The space features a custom-designed kitchen by Atelier Ternier, combining a precisely crafted island in brushed stainless steel with an undulating wall unit in lacquered sapele hardwood.
      The apartment contains two bedrooms, including one with a double bedOther standout pieces in this room include Muller Van Severen’s squishy Pillow Sofa and gridded Wire C # 1 wall cabinet, and statement carpets by textile artist Christoph Hefti.
      Paret and Pycke plan to change the furniture over time, swapping some pieces out to make room for new ones.

      TypeO Loft is a shoppable Swedish holiday apartment designed for the “new normal”

      They describe the apartment as “a moving, versatile and evolving project”.
      “It’s not a gallery, nor a showroom or a shop, but a curated space where the works and objects are put to everyday use, away from the sacredness of the museum and the white cube,” said Paret.
      A quilted silk blanket by Rooms Studio adorns one wallAlthough many of the works are by Belgian designers and studios, there are a few additions from further afield.
      These include a quilted silk blanket by Georgian design duo Rooms Studio, which is presented as an artwork, plus accessories and textiles from Danish brands Hay and Tekla.
      The second bedroom features bunk bedsBelgian design gallery Maniera, a Club Paradis client, is one of the main contributors. Other partners include up-and-coming studio Coseincorso and Ghent-based Lerry Ceramics.
      “It’s a very personal project,” said Paret. “We chose objects and furniture from artists, designers, craftspeople and galleries that we know, which is why a lot of pieces are from Belgian designers.”
      “Every choice we made was based on a feeling, an attraction to a certain object or designer.”
      Danish brands Hay and Tekla provided accessories and textilesThe apartment sleeps five across two bedrooms, including a main room with a double bed and a second room featuring bunk beds.
      Paret and Pycke plan to use the space throughout the year, depending on when it is booked out.
      The apartment is the vacation home of Albane Paret and Micha PyckeThroughout the house, styled shelves feature books and magazines from their personal collection.
      “If we come for a weekend, it has to be well thought out for us too,” Paret added.
      The photography is by Frederik Vercruysse.

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      Archmongers celebrates “raw beauty of brutalist concrete” in Trellick Tower apartment refresh

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      Newly exposed concrete walls are paired with a matching terrazzo in this sensitive home renovation by London studio Archmongers in North Kensington’s Trellick Tower.

      Led by architects Margaret Bursa and Johan Hybschmann, Archmongers reworked a duplex apartment on the 23rd and 24th floors of the listed 31-storey tower block.
      Archmongers has renovated a Trellick Tower apartmentThe design stays true to the original layout and materials palette but some small adjustments help to emphasise the building’s brutalist character.
      Bursa and Hybschmann chose to expose the coarse concrete aggregate walls, while new fixtures and surfaces are made from industrial-style materials in complementary tones.
      Materials were chosen complement the newly exposed concreteThe effect is most striking in the kitchen, where the speckled brown and cream terrazzo sits alongside brushed stainless steel counters, white cabinets and matt-black linoleum flooring.

      Archmongers designed the home for a client who divides their time between London, Italy and Switzerland.
      “Our client was looking for a refurbishment which was true to the simplicity and modesty of the original fit-out,” Bursa told Dezeen.
      Matt-black linoleum provides flooringThe aim, she said, was to embrace “the raw beauty of brutalist concrete” and emphasise “the use of honest materials in every intricate detail”.
      “The contemporary update is drawn from the original architecture,” she said.

      Trellick Tower apartment revamped to resemble “cool concrete loft”

      “We exposed the in-situ cast concrete walls in the living spaces and on the stairs, adding material richness to the interiors and linking to the course aggregate concrete of the exterior facade.”
      Completed in 1972, Trellick Tower was designed by Hungarian-British architect Ernö Goldfinger and famously features a separate staircase tower connected to the apartment floors by enclosed bridges.
      A secondary doorway was replaced with an internal window to create extra storageArchmongers made few changes to the apartment layout, which they described as “very efficiently designed”.
      The largest intervention closed up a secondary doorway that previously led through to the kitchen, instead creating an internal window above additional storage and counter space.
      The same material palette features in the living roomAn adjustment was also made on the upper level, where some of the space from the cloakroom was reallocated to make room for an extra shower.
      In bathrooms on both floors, tap and shower fittings sourced from Italian manufacturer Fantini Balocchi provide flashes of bright red and yellow that reference the coloured tiles found throughout Trellick Tower.
      Bathrooms feature white tiles with putty-coloured grout and brown terrazzo”The communal hallways of Trellick Tower each have a different tiled colour theme, which inspired our use of colour,” Bursa explained.
      Warm tones emanate from other surfaces in these rooms, including a terrazzo with the tone of walnut wood and white tiles outlined by putty-coloured grout.
      Tap and shower fittings provide flashes of bright red and yellowThe Trellick apartment is the latest in a series of mid-century renovations that Archmongers has completed and not the first to feature in a famous estate.
      Past projects include reworks of a duplex in the 1950s-built Golden Lane Estate and an apartment in the Barbican, as well as a revamp of a 1960s terrace.
      A new hand-carved walnut handrail was added to the staircaseHere, the building’s Grade II* listing meant that Archmongers was required to retain the original metal lightswitches, even though they couldn’t be certified after the electrics were rewired.
      “There are now two sets of light switches; one new and one original but no longer working,” Bursa said.
      Other sensitive additions include a new hand-carved walnut handrail for the staircase, which runs parallel to the modernist-style metal and timber balustrade.
      The duplex is located on the 23rd and 24th floors of Trellick Tower”Preserving the architectural integrity of the building was paramount,” Bursa added.
      “The Trellick Tower project serves as both an homage to the building’s historical significance and a timeless update that elevates its legacy to new heights.”
      The photography is by French + Tye.

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      Max Radford Gallery opens London showroom to get people “in front of real objects”

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      Max Radford Gallery has opened a permanent space in east London that shows collectible designs from its past shows, including pieces by Carsten in der Elst and Amelia Stevens.

      Located in Hackney Downs, the showroom displays works that the gallery first showed at Belgium’s Collectible design fair, as well as pieces from earlier exhibitions.
      The showroom is located in east LondonBy combining works from different stages of its designers’ careers, the gallery aims to showcase how the artists it works with have developed over the years.
      “It’s a privilege to be able to track a designer’s development and change in their practice across a few pieces in the same space,” founder Max Radford told Dezeen.
      It features pieces by 15 designersThe gallery, which launched in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, focuses on emerging artists. By opening a physical space, it hopes to also help them reach a bigger audience.

      “The Max Radford Gallery seeks to platform emerging creatives who are working in the grayscale between art and design with a London-centric focus,” Radford said.
      “This has always been the particular area that the gallery has been engaged with and stems from a need for physical spaces to see these types of works in London, rather than just on social media – as the only option was when the gallery was beginning.”
      Collectible furniture designs are on display at the galleryAmong the artists showing in the space are In der Elst, whom the gallery had previously included in its Hard Knocks show, and Stevens, who took part in Max Radford Gallery’s exhibition at the Aram Gallery.
      The new space also showcases furniture and accessories by designers Georgia Merritt, Fred Thompson, Grace Prince, Nic Sanderson, Inga Tilda, Eddie Olin, EJR Barnes, Ty Locke, LS Gomma, Natalia Tifantilyi, Andrew Pierce Scott, Louie Isaaman-Jones and Matthew Verdon.

      Aram and Max Radford Gallery showcase emerging designers in Now 4 Then exhibition

      Max Radford Gallery is now located in a minimalist studio, which its founder intends to keep as a paired-back space.
      “The showroom is a beautiful white-painted studio space with just over half of the floor plan having triple height up to skylights, producing beautiful changing light across the day,” Radford said.
      “We haven’t made any architectural changes to the space and are not sure that we will, potentially with the exception of some sort of temporary mezzanine in the triple height space for an exhibition-specific installation,” he added.
      Max Radford Gallery focuses on emerging designersBy opening a permanent gallery, Radford wants to support London’s community of emerging designers.
      “It’s for the community aspect that is introduced by the communal use of creative space; there is a burgeoning community of designers and artists in London with lots of crossovers through universities and workshops that support and raise up its members,” he said.
      “Facilitating a space for communities like this to express and interact seems like a key aspect to supporting what is going on here in London currently,” he added.
      The showroom features pieces from previous exhibitionsHe also hopes that the physical aspect of the space will encourage people to see design pieces in person.
      “It’s as simple as getting people in front of real objects, not just heavily retouched or rendered images of them,” Radford concluded.
      The photography is by Richard Round Turner.

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      Working Holiday Studio adds hacienda-style twist to midcentury LA house

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      The founders of LA-based Working Holiday Studio have renovated a midcentury home for themselves and their growing family, transforming the interiors to echo a Mexican hacienda.

      Designers Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown chose to move from their previous ranch-style home to a larger dwelling after having a second child, knowing they would need more space.
      Working Holiday Studio added arched openings and handmade brick floors to the midcentury homeThe couple found another midcentury home built in 1962 in the Granada Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles, which they set about remodelling in “an eclectic hacienda style with Mexican and Scandinavian influences”.
      “We renovated the house because it hasn’t been updated since the first owners bought it and was in much need of a refresh,” the duo told Dezeen. “The layout didn’t make sense for modern living and the house felt dark, cold and outdated.”
      Details like iron railings with wavy balusters add a “hacienda vibe” to the interiorsThe biggest change involved opening up the wall between the dining room and kitchen, creating a large space for the family to gather and entertain under the dark-stained, mono-pitched ceiling.

      The kitchen was reimagined with swing-out French doors, dark green plaster across the walls, and warm millwork for cabinets and the central island.
      The kitchen was completely transformed with dark green plaster walls and warm millworkBricks across the floor in this space and the hallways were handmade in Tijuana, Mexico, and imported across the border.
      Together with arched openings that Working Holiday Studio added throughout the home, they add a “hacienda vibe” to the property.
      A formal living room features a variety of sculptural seats arranged around a marble coffee tableBeige plaster walls, iron railings with wavy balusters and various wooden furniture pieces also lend to the contemporary Mexican aesthetic, with hints of Scandinavian minimalism.
      “We always start with a palette of colours and materials,” said Naude and Brown. “We wanted [the interiors] to feel neutral, earthy, and warm with a few pop accents.”

      Los Angeles ranch house becomes Zen Den by Working Holiday Studio

      Also on the ground floor is a space for the family to watch TV together, which features a large cushioned sectional.
      A formal living room off the dining area has a whitewashed brick fireplace in the corner, and a variety of sculptural chairs arranged around a marble coffee table.
      Bedrooms are decorated with natural materials in neutral tones”We spend a lot of time in the family and TV room because it’s very cosy and comfortable, but love looking into the formal living room because each piece feels like an artwork or sculpture,” the couple said.
      Upstairs, the bedrooms are decorated with natural materials in neutral tones, while the bathrooms are playfully lined with checkerboard or thin straight-stack tiles.
      Playful touches in the bathrooms include checkerboard tilingAcross the exterior, the house was rendered in mid-grey stucco and black-framed windows and doors were added.
      A large covered veranda stretches almost the full length of the building and is used for outdoor lounging and dining in front of the backyard swimming pool.
      The house has a large veranda for outdoor lounging and dining in front of the backyard swimming poolOther properties designed and owned by the couple – the ZenDen in LA’s Woodland Hills and Casa Mami near Joshua Tree National Park – are available as vacation rentals for guests.
      The photography is by Carlos Naude.

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      Eight neutral-hued homes patterned with intricate herringbone flooring

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      From a 1970s apartment renovation in Lisbon to a converted shop in Montreal, our latest lookbook collects eight residential interiors characterised by decorative herringbone parquet flooring.

      The herringbone pattern is made of rectangles or parallelograms, arranged to resemble the bones of a herring. It is often used for wallpaper, textiles and floors.
      Herringbone is a type of parquet flooring, the umbrella term for wooden battens slotted together in various geometric and mosaic arrangements to create decorative surfaces – a trend that emerged in the 1600s.
      Each of the eight homes in this lookbook showcases herringbone parquet, either preserved as a period feature or created to emulate the age-old flooring style.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring converted barns, zellige tiles and bathroom design ideas.

      Photo by Oni StudioWarsaw apartment, Poland, by Dawid Konieczny
      Polish architect Dawid Konieczny maintained the original herringbone flooring in this 20th-century Warsaw building, which houses a petite studio apartment he designed to echo “the ease of a good hotel room”.
      Dark oak-panelled walls were chosen to match the timber floors, while veiny Palomino quartzite was applied to the open-plan kitchen countertop.
      Find out more about this Warsaw apartment ›
      Photo courtesy of Aurora ArquitectosLisbon apartment, Portugal, by Aurora Arquitectos
      Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves characterise this Lisbon apartment renovated by local studio Aurora Arquitectos to illuminate its interior.
      Three wood-lined skylights were added to the 1970s home, which features a mix of marble and pine herringbone flooring to delineate public and private spaces.
      Find out more about this Lisbon apartment ›
      Photo by Janis NicolayVancouver townhouse, Canada, by Falken Reynolds
      Canadian firm Falken Reynolds transformed the ground floor of this 100-year-old townhouse in Vancouver.
      While the team added significant contemporary design details, they also preserved historic accents including oiled oak herringbone floors and an exposed red brick wall.
      Find out more about this Vancouver townhouse ›
      Photo by Alex JamesCourtyard House, UK, by De Rosee Sa
      Local architecture studio De Rosee Sa had to follow strict planning regulations when creating Courtyard House, a London home built to mirror the exact height of the old timber store it replaced.
      A trio of internal courtyards separate the floor plan into three light-filled spaces, which feature minimalist interior design such as herringbone-patterned parquet flooring and bright white walls.
      Find out more about Courtyard House ›
      Photo by Radek BruneckyZurich house, Switzerland, by Rafael Schmid
      Swiss architect Schmid overhauled his 1920s home in Zurich to combine period and contemporary details.
      Schmid maintained the open-plan living space’s original herringbone floors, but chose a contrasting pale grey surface made from mineral anhydrite for the adjacent kitchen.
      Find out more about this Zurich house ›
      Photo by Fernando AldaPanama City apartment, Panama, by Sandra Robles Boesler
      Located in the capital city of Panama, this concrete apartment was stripped out by architect Robles Boesler to make way for softer details including oak flooring arranged in a herringbone pattern.
      The architect also chose pastel-hued furniture to add warmth to the spaces, which are split between two levels accessed via a wood-lined staircase.
      Find out more about this Panama City ›
      Photo by Maxime DesbiensRésidence Villeneuve, Canada, by Atelier Barda
      Local architecture office Atelier Barda converted a Montreal shop into a two-storey house and a separate, rentable flat.
      Wooden herringbone flooring creates a backdrop for the understated ground floor characterised by light timber furniture and sandy-hued drapes.
      Find out more about Résidence Villeneuve ›
      Photo by Luuk KramerThe Hague townhouse, the Netherlands, by Antonia Reif
      Oak parquet was laid in a herringbone pattern across the floor of this early 20th-century townhouse in The Hague.
      In contrast with the honey-hued flooring, a grey kitchen island was placed in the centre of the home’s atrium. The bespoke feature was created from a type of composite stone called Silesto.
      Find out more about this townhouse in The Hague ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring converted barns, zellige tiles and bathroom design ideas.

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      Eight compact studios embedded into residential gardens

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      From converted garages to compact new-builds, we have rounded up eight studios that provide retreat and solitude for their owners in their own back gardens.

      Featuring reclaimed materials, charred-timber facades and pared-back interiors, this list of garden spaces includes a converted workshop completed by designer Paul Westwood in the UK and a studio centred by a tree-shaped concrete structure in Belgium.
      Photo by Lorenzo ZandriShou Sugi Bangers, UK, by Unknown Works
      Charred timber wraps around this music studio completed by Unknown Works in the garden of a London home.
      Named Shou Sugi Bangers, the studio’s scalloped wooden cladding provides a series of nooks for external seating space, while the workspace is housed inside.

      Find out more about Shou Sugi Bangers ›
      Photo by James RetriefGardenhide Studio, UK, by Commonbond Architects
      Commonbond Architects designed and built its own studio at the end of a garden in London that aims to showcase the potential of hempcrete as a building material.
      The space was constructed from a cuboidal timber frame and reclaimed materials and is topped with a mono-pitched roof.
      Find out more about Gardenhide Studio ›
      Photo by Johnny UmansT(uin)Huis Atelier, Belgium, by Atelier Janda Vanderghote 
      Situated at the end of a garden in Ghent, Atelier Janda Vanderghote used simple materials such as concrete, brick and timber to create the T(uin)Huis Atelier.
      The studio features a rhythmic facade made up of copper-toned framing, while the interior is defined by an open-plan layout organised around a tree-shaped concrete structure.
      Find out more about T(uin)Huis Atelier ›
      Photo by Loes van DuijvendijkStudio Shed, The Netherlands, by LMNL Office
      Architecture studio LMNL Office completed the Studio Shed outbuilding as an addition to a home in Brabant, the Netherlands.
      Crafted from prefabricated timber panels, the garden studio features a rectangular, compact form that was clad with earth-coloured clay tiles to echo the tiles of the main house.
      Find out more about Studio Shed ›
      Photo courtesy of TEDSThe Garden Retreat, UK, by The Environmental Design Studio
      Reclaimed materials were used to create The Garden Retreat, which was added to a compact site in Cambridge by London practice The Environmental Design Studio.
      The studio’s facade is finished with stacked slate tiles bordered by concrete slabs. A waterfall feature and bird bath were also integrated into the facade to enhance biodiversity.
      Find out more about The Garden Retreat ›
      Photo by Daniel MulhearnBush Studio, Australia, by Dane Taylor Design
      Dane Taylor Design completed this multipurpose garden studio in New South Wales, which features a compact form clad with charred wood.
      Named Bush Studio, the space serves as a private retreat nestled into the surrounding landscape and is complete with clerestory windows and a mono-pitched roof.
      Find out more about Bush Studio ›
      Photo by Simon KennedyDark Matter, UK, by Hyperspace
      Converted from a suburban garage, this garden studio in Hertfordshire, England, features a charred-timber facade formed of 850 pieces of wood that doubles as an insect hotel.
      A pivoting door opens up to the studio interior which contains a spacious workspace animated by two perforated “light chimneys”.
      Find out more about Dark Matter ›
      Photo by Chris WhartonGarden Office, UK, by Paul Westwood
      Architect Paul Westwood used a pared-back material palette to complete the conversion of the dilapidated garage of his London home into a workshop and studio.
      The existing garage was stripped back to its structural shell and features a large skylight, underfloor heating and a natural material palette.
      Find out more about Garden Office ›

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      Modul 28 transforms fortified church in Transylvania into guesthouse

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      Romanian studio Modul 28 has updated and extended the rectory of a church in Transylvania, transforming it into a guesthouse that “balances preservation with innovation”.

      Located in the village of Curciu, the building was renovated as part of an initiative led by the Fortified Churches Foundation, which exists to preserve the region’s large number of fortified churches dating from the 13th to 16th centuries.
      The converted chapel and rectory contains a guesthouseRather than turn these sites into museums, the programme looks to introduce “contemporary functions” that will reintegrate them with the surrounding communities, Modul 28 said.
      At this site in Curciu, the studio has converted the adjacent rectory and chapel into a guesthouse, while the large church at the centre of the site remains open to the public.
      The main living area is housed within the old chapel’s apse”The initiative is based on the belief that turning heritage buildings into museums does not serve their long-term wellbeing, especially in the case of secondary importance constructions such as annexes,” said architect Andra Nicoleanu.

      “The design process for this project could be characterised by a meticulous approach that balances preservation with innovation, drawing inspiration from the historical and architectural context of the site,” she told Dezeen.
      Doorways and window shutters have been updated with pale woodA series of minimal and reversible alterations were made to the existing rectory, creating space for a double bedroom alongside a kitchen and dining area.
      Projecting out of the site’s boundary wall, the polygonal apse of the former chapel now houses the main living area. Three gothic windows surrounding this space, which had been partially destroyed, have been restored with thin-profile metal frames.

      Medprostor tops 12th-century church in Slovenia with folding roof

      The old rectory has been replastered and its doorways and window shutters have been updated with pale wood, contrasting the rough masonry exterior of the chapel and the gatehouse.
      “Our proposal, especially for exterior interventions, emphasises reversibility and the temporary nature by utilising lightweight materials, namely wood and metal inserts,” explains Nicoleanu.
      “Essentially, this approach serves as an exercise in contemporary materiality, contributing to the contrast between what already exists and what is currently being constructed,” she added.
      A temporary timber structure sits beside the guesthouseA temporary, pavilion-like timber structure tucked between the guesthouse and the site’s external wall provides bathrooms, with a shower lined with yellow corrugated metal.
      “The most significant gesture in the design was perhaps the decision to add a temporary construction to the exterior, that arises from the desire not to alter the volume of the interior spaces,” said Nicoleanu. “Although it fits contextually, in terms of plan resolution and resulting image, it stands out through contrast.”
      A shower is lined with yellow corrugated metalAnother recent project involving renovations of historic church buildings include the repair of a 12th-century structure in Slovenia by local practice Medprostor, designed as a space “between a ruin and a reconstruction”.
      In London, Tigg + Coll Architects converted an abandoned mission church into its own workspace and, on the Isle of Sheppey, Hugh Broughton Architects transformed a 19th-century church into a community hub.
      The photography is by Vlad Pătru.

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