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    Messana O'Rorke places marble bathrooms in Malin + Goetz founders' New York apartment

    New York studio Messana O’Rorke has extended its collaboration with skincare brand Malin + Goetz by designing an apartment for its founders on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where special attention was paid to the bathrooms.

    After creating store interiors for the brand across the US for several years, Messana O’Rorke turned its attention to a space for co-founders Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz to live in.
    Messana O’Rorke renovated the apartment in a historic building on West 76th StreetThe apartment on West 76th Street was fully renovated for the couple to reflect their passions for beauty and wellness, while embracing the building’s history.
    “The space creates a gentle push and pull between the comfort of the past and the vigor of the present – embedded in the architectural details,” said Messana O’Rorke.
    A mixture of contemporary and vintage furniture and artworks imbue the spaces with personalityThese details include a traditional baseboard that encircles the main living spaces but ends abruptly in the central vestibule, where it is replaced with a quarter-inch (0.6-centimetre) shadow gap between the walls and floor for a more modern look.

    Reclaimed oak parquet flooring is laid in a herringbone pattern throughout most of the rooms, providing the air of a European pied-à-terre.
    Light materials were used for surfaces in the narrow kitchenA simplified version of a plaster relief detail – found during the demolition of a dropped ceiling in the bedroom – also wraps the wall and ceiling junctions, suggestive of crown moulding.
    While these details all tie the living spaces together, it’s in the bathrooms that Messana O’Rorke has made the most dramatic interventions.
    In the two bathrooms, Carrera marble lines the walls, floors and showers”Given that the homeowners are the founding partners of Malin + Goetz, Messana O’Rorke paid particular attention to the design of the two bathrooms, which reflect the beauty brand’s ethos as a modern apothecary,” said the studio.
    Unlacquered brass fixtures and hardware are installed against Carrera marble, which clads the walls, floors and showers to create a “spa-like” feeling.
    A hidden light strip appears to wash the stone in the shower with daylightIn one bathroom, mirrors surround a window above the sink, where more brass is used to line the recess and forms a trim around the perimeter.
    A shower is illuminated from a hidden pocket in the ceiling, giving the illusion that the stone wall is washed with daylight.

    Messana O’Rorke uses wood, marble and concrete for Malin+Goetz’s US stores

    The same marble is continued in the narrow kitchen as countertops and backsplash, keeping the space light in tandem with white cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
    Furniture is a blend of contemporary and vintage, mixing dark woods with sofas in muted velvet upholstery.
    Unlacquered brass is used for fixtures and to line a window recessA variety of artworks decorate the living room and den walls, while a large collection of books fills shelves in the office – both providing more colour and personality to the apartment.
    “Much like the Malin + Goetz boutiques the firm had previously designed, a single vintage display element subtly offsets the taut architectural envelope; the furnishings and interior appointments bridge the traditional and the modern,” Messana O’Rorke said.
    Herringbone patterned parquet was laid through the living spacesThe studio was founded in 1996 by Brian Messana and Toby O’Rorke, and has previously renovated an 18th-century home in Upstate New York.
    Renovations on the Upper West Side completed by other studios include a residence by Stadt Architecture where existing brickwork walls were paired with walnut floors and a 1920s apartment overhauled with custom millwork by Format Architecture Office.
    The photography is by Stephen Kent Johnson.

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    Stephanie Brown renovates Vancouver home to have “fewer formalised spaces”

    Large family get-togethers are enjoyed in the open-concept living spaces at this house in Vancouver, which interior designer Stephanie Brown has overhauled with entertaining in mind.

    The home is situated in a quiet, upscale neighborhood in the Canadian city. Built in 1991, it originally featured a postmodern aesthetic, while subsequent renovations favoured the craftsmen style.
    The layout of the home was reorganised to create a double-height foyerIts latest iteration was devised by local studio Stephanie Brown, who was asked to design the interiors by homeowners Joanne and Alan.
    The couple has a blended family with six grown-up children, and while only one still lives at home, the others return often for dinners together.
    Small rooms were opened up to create larger spaces for entertainingAlterations to the plan of the house were therefore required to allow it to comfortably accommodate so many people in the evenings, but still feel cosy during the day.

    “Prior to the renovation, the layout featured very formal, separated rooms,” said Brown. “We re-worked the layout of the main floor to create a more open-concept space, which would provide better flow for modern family gatherings and fewer formalised spaces.”
    Jewel tones and feminine hues add variation to the predominantly white colour schemeAn enlarged family room is now adjacent to the kitchen, which includes a generous island with a teal-coloured base for preparing meals and eating breakfast.
    The same teal shade, chosen for Joanne’s “love for moody jewel tones” continues in the pantry, while more feminine pinks and purples are introduced in other spaces through furniture fabrics.
    Smaller rooms like this office space feature darker coloursIn the dining room, a large black table is positioned beneath a grid of mid-toned oak beams and a Shape-Up chandelier by Ladies and Gentlemen Studio.
    Oak is also applied as parquet flooring, adding visual interest and bringing warmth to the predominantly white palette throughout the home.

    RSAAW adds double-height library during Vancouver home renovation

    Darker colours are used in the smaller spaces, including a new mudroom with grey-and-white-patterned cement floor tiles, and a wallpapered powder room.
    By also rearranging the first-floor layout, a bright two-storey entrance foyer was created, featuring black and unpolished brass details.
    A mud room with patterned ceramic tiles was created during the renovationArtwork and decorative furniture pieces are dispersed throughout the home, intended to convey a relaxed atmosphere more akin to a city loft.
    “We drew inspiration from New York and European apartments, which feature unique collections of art, furnishings and decor set against elegant details,” said Brown.
    “We opted for a casual take on those interiors, but one where the play between classic and modern would still feel fresh and unique.”
    A powder room is lined with dark wallpaperVancouver is regularly ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world and has a wealth of notable residential architecture and interiors.
    Other projects recently completed there include RSAAW’s renovation of a mid-century residence to include a double-height library and a house by D’Arcy Jones Architects designed to mesh with its neighbours.

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    Ten living rooms that use warm neutrals to create a cosy ambience

    As the days get darker in the northern hemisphere, our latest lookbook spotlights 10 living rooms rendered in warm yet discrete colour palettes, proving that neutrals don’t have to feel clinical.

    Mixing tactile natural materials with toasty shades of chocolate brown, creamy beige and blush pink can help to create a sense of homeliness in a room without being overbearing.
    From a São Paulo apartment filled with Brazilian modernist design to a converted biscuit factory in Los Angeles, here are 10 American homes that show how it’s done.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bathrooms with statement sinks, homes with Eames chairs and contemporary living rooms in Victorian and Georgian houses.
    Photo is by Joe FletcherTwentieth, USA, by Woods +Dangaran

    This Santa Monica home features two separate living areas – a family room (top image) and a formal living room (above) – which flank a central courtyard housing a decades-old olive tree.
    Despite being framed by glazing, the rooms maintain a homely atmosphere with the help of an earthy material palette ranging from the travertine fireplace to a rose-gold cashmere rug and club chairs finished in tactile chocolate-brown corduroy.
    Find out more about Twentieth ›
    Photo is by Sean DavidsonAmity Street Residence, USA, by Selma Akkari and Rawan Muqaddas
    Architectural designers Selma Akkari and Rawan Muqaddas used warm oak floors and cream-hued walls, contrasted against dark stone and stained-wood bookshelves, to enliven this “neglected” apartment in a 20th-century building in Brooklyn.
    “A dialogue of opposites was the main theme behind the creation; minimal but warm, understated yet rich,” Muqaddas told Dezeen.
    Find out more about Amity Street Residence ›
    Photo is by Denilson Machado of MCA EstúdioHygge Studio, Brazil, by Melina Romano
    A black fireplace is suspended from the ceiling in this living room to contrast with the otherwise soft colour scheme of the interior, reflected in everything from the cream sofa and woven rug to the cobogó block screen that acts as a room divider.
    Walls and floor throughout the São Paulo apartment are covered in terracotta tiles, chosen by local designer Melina Romano to strike a balance between “modern and bucolic”.
    Find out more about Hygge Studio ›
    Photo is by Nicole FranzenEast Village Apartment, USA, by GRT Architects
    New York-based GRT Architects used warm tones and materials to modernise this renovated East Village apartment – set in a Beaux-Arts building on Second Avenue – while “preserving its turn-of-the-century disposition”.
    In the lounge, this was achieved by adding a storage wall backed with sienna-coloured panels and complementing it with a geometric, art deco-style rug rendered in muted shades of sage green and dusty rose.
    Find out more about this East Village Apartment ›
    Photo is by The Ingalls and Matthieu SalvaingSanta Monica Proper, USA, by Kelly Wearstler
    Although not technically a living room, the lounge of the Santa Monica Proper hotel features all the trappings of a cosy den – timber bookshelves, creamy-white Soriana lounge chairs and a Coulmier limestone coffee table with three orbs for legs.
    Interior designer Kelly Wearstler used natural materials and neutral colours throughout the hotel to reference its seaside setting.
    “Organic materials, neutral colour stories, everything has a texture,” Wearstler told Dezeen. “There’s a patina, there’s a hand, there’s something that feels very warm.”
    Find out more about Santa Monica Proper ›
    Photo is by Sean DavidsonWest Village apartment, USA, by Olivier Garcé
    American interior designer Olivier Garcé found a creative outlet during last year’s coronavirus lockdown by working remotely with friends and colleagues to transform his West Village home into a show space for contemporary art and design.
    His lounge now houses a vintage Axel Einar Hjorth rocking chair, paired with a lava-stone coffee table and side chair upholstered in alpaca wool by New York designer Ian Felton, complementing the terracotta-coloured tiling on the building’s original fireplace surround.
    Find out more about this West Village apartment ›
    Photo is by Brian Ferry20 Bond apartment, USA, by Home Studios
    Curves feature liberally throughout this family apartment in New York’s NoHo neighbourhood, from its copper-edged skirting to the rounded oak-and-brass shelving unit in the living room, which was made bespoke by interior practice Home Studios.
    The muted tones of the timber are complemented by a set of antique Danish armchairs with woven leather seats and a blush-coloured version of designer Sabine Marcelis’s Candy Cube side tables.
    Find out more about 20 Bond apartment ›
    Photo is by Fran ParenteGale Apartment, Brazil, by Memola Estudio
    Furnishings are coloured in grounding, earthy hues inside this lounge flanked by two double-height statement walls – one housing the owners’ art collection and the other clad in a broken-edge stone mosaic.
    “Furniture has been reupholstered to match the new colour palette, inspired by the autumn and the sunset colours found in the horizon,” said design practice Memola Estudio, which was responsible for renovating the São Paulo apartment.
    Find out more about Gale Apartment ›
    Photo is by Justin ChungBiscuit Loft, USA, by OWIU Studio
    Japanese design informed this apartment in a converted 1920s biscuit factory in Downtown Los Angeles, with a guest room modelled on a traditional Ryokan inn that also functions as a space for hosting gatherings and tea ceremonies.
    Local practice OWIU Studio added Noguchi pendant lights to bathe the room in a warm glow, while a convertible platform made from pale wood conceals extra storage and functions as a base for a futon when guests are staying over.
    Find out more about Biscuit Loft ›
    Photo is by Denilson MachadoDN Apartment, Brazil, by BC Arquitetos
    Walnut wood panelling and soft furnishings upholstered in caramel-coloured leather help to temper the chunky concrete columns of this apartment, housed in a 1970s building in São Paulo’s traditional Jardins neighbourhood.
    Local practice BC Arquitetos describes the home as a “gallery apartment” as it houses an extensive collection of mid-20th century Brazilian art and design, ranging from the net-backed Janguada armchair by Jean Gillon to Jader Almeida’s Verde Corvo sofa, which is finished in a faded olive green.
    Find out more about DN Apartment ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bathrooms with statement sinks, homes with Eames chairs and contemporary living rooms in Victorian and Georgian houses.

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    Studio MK27 combines different textures in São Paulo apartment interior

    Furry upholstery, lace curtains and tactile rugs all feature in Flat #6, a São Paulo apartment designed by Studio MK27.

    The local architecture and design studio reworked the four-bedroom flat to provide a cosy but practical home for a couple and their three teenage sons.
    Flat #6 is home to a couple with three teenage sonsIts interior design draws on a love of Brazilian design, both vintage and contemporary, which is shared by both the owners and Studio MK27 founder and architect Marcio Kogan.
    Designs by the likes of Lina Bo Bardi, Jorge Zalszupin and Giuseppe Scapinelli feature alongside ipe wood wall panelling and basalt stone flooring.
    Living spaces occupy an L-shaped space that wraps the apartment on two sides”The decoration adds a layer of tactility to each corner of the apartment,” said Studio MK27.

    “A mixture of contemporary and vintage pieces already owned by the couple blends harmonically with the sober finishings and adds a touch of colour.”
    A piano provides a focal pointFlat #6 is shortlisted in the apartment interior category at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
    Studio MK27 was commissioned for the project after having already designed another apartment in the same building, Flat #12.
    The two homes have the same layout, with all of the main family living spaces occupying a single L-shaped space that wraps the apartment on two sides.
    Furnishings include a mix of contemporary and vintage piecesThese living spaces create a buffer zone between the private bedrooms and bathrooms, and a glazed veranda-like space at the front.
    However, the design of the two homes is very different. While Flat #12 has a more pared-back feel, Flat #6 features a greater variety of colours and textures.
    Lace curtains create a textural backdrop to the living spaceA key starting point was the lace curtain that spans all the windows in the open-plan family room. Designed by one of the clients, it creates a natural play of light and shadow.
    The curtain provides a striking backdrop to the characterful furnishings, which also include designs by Piero Lissoni and Paola Navone alongside some of Studio MK27’s own pieces.

    Studio MK27 creates Patina Maldives resort on new island

    “The perforated artisanal fabric acts like a soft mashrabiya, filtering the sunlight and creating shadow drawings throughout the apartment,” the design team explained, comparing the curtain to the latticework screens found in traditional Islamic architecture.
    “Natural light warms up every piece and every corner, letting the woods, the velvets and the stones speak louder.”
    A library wall provides display space for books and other objectsA library wall provides a space for displaying books and objects, with a free-standing staircase providing access to the higher shelves.
    Other details include a dedicated backgammon table, a study desk and a lounge chair positioned alongside a lamp and magazine rack to create space for quiet reading.
    A slatted wood wall separates the main living space from the rest of the homeDoors to the adjacent bedrooms, the TV room and the main bathroom are integrated into a wall of slatted wood, allowing them to be almost invisible when the family hosts guests.
    The same material palette features in bedrooms and bathrooms, where highlights include a custom bed surround in the primary bedroom and a bathroom with a dark stone basin.
    “Designed with extreme attention to detail, the combination of textures and sharp forms create wide and soulful spaces that embrace a joyful living,” added the design team.
    The main bedroom features a custom-designed bed surroundStudio MK27 is also shortlisted in the leisure and wellness interior category at this year’s Dezeen Awards with its spa at the Patina Maldives resort.
    Other recent projects from the practice include Caza Azul, a rainforest home raised up on pilotis.
    The photography is by Fran Parente.
    Project credits
    Architecture and interiors: Studio MK27Project team: Marcio Kogan, Diana Radomysler, Luciana Antunes, Mariana Ruzante, Carlos Costa, Laura Guedes, Mariana Simas, Renato Perigo

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    Ten bedrooms with wardrobes that are disguised as walls

    This lookbook rounds up 10 bedrooms where architects have designed discreet built-in wardrobes to conceal clothing and clutter, creating the illusion of a seamless wall.

    Built-in wardrobe walls are an efficient way to supersize storage and utilise every centimetre of space in a bedroom, unlike freestanding units that often leave dead spaces around their edges.
    When finished with a minimalist design, they can also blend into the background, helping to create spacious and serene interiors that are suitable for sleep.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with arched openings, bathrooms with statement sinks and living rooms in Victorian and Georgian-era homes.
    Photo is by Mattias Hamrén with styling by Hanna TunemarFunction Walls, Sweden, by Lookofsky Architecture

    This wall of storage surrounds the doorway of a bedroom in the Function Walls apartment, which was recently renovated by Lookofsky Architecture in Stockholm.
    The pale grey units contain a mix of different-sized cupboards without handles, forming a neutral backdrop to bright yellow bedroom furnishings including a 1970s IKEA floor lamp.
    Find out more about Function Walls ›
    Photo is by Lorenzo ZandriWakehurst Road, UK, by Matthew Giles Architects
    Matthew Giles Architects designed a series of white-oak storage units for the Wakehurst Road house in London, including this pared-back wardrobe wall in one of the bedrooms.
    Its deliberately simple design ties in with a calming colour and material palette of stone, concrete and brick that runs through the updated Victorian residence.
    Find out more about Wakehurst Road ›

    House at the Pond, Austria, by Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher Architekten
    The compact bedroom in House at the Pond is lined with wooden walls – two of which double as storage.
    Disguising the wardrobes helps keeps the interior details to a minimum, which in turn retains focus on the large window and prevents the small space from feeling cramped.
    Find out more about House at the Pond ›
    Photo is by Ben BlossomBavaria Road Studio, UK, by West Architecture
    Plywood panels are used as fronts for both the tall wardrobes and the doorway of the bedroom at Bavaria Road Studio, helping them to blend in with the rest of the space, which is lined with the same material.
    According to designer West Architecture, the goal was for them to “read as a single wall of flush panelling, effectively disappearing and allowing the room to be read as one seamless, minimalist environment”.
    Find out more about Bavaria Road Studio ›
    Photo is by Richard ChiversMaison Pour Dodo, UK, by Studio Merlin
    Designed to minimise clutter and visual noise, these understated built-in wardrobes are part of the “spectrum of storage” that Studio Merlin created for this flat in London.
    The seven wardrobe doors blend in seamlessly with the grey-hued walls of the main bedroom, while their wooden knobs complement the pale Douglas fir floorboards that run throughout.
    Find out more about Maison Pour Dodo ›
    Photo is by Yiorgos Kordakis with styling by Anestis MichalisXerolithi, Greece, by Sinas Architects
    White grooved doors line the built-in wardrobe wall in this bedroom, which Sinas Architects created at the Xerolithi house on the Greek island of Serifos.
    Aligned with a door to an ensuite bathroom, the wardrobes create a unpretentious backdrop to the space, drawing the occupant’s attention to the uninterrupted view of the sea outside.
    Find out more about Xerolithi ›
    Photo is by Mariell Lind HansenNarford Road, UK, by Emil Eve Architects
    Emil Eve Architects lined the nook of this monochromatic loft extension in London with bespoke wardrobes, which appear to extend up to meet a skylight overhead.
    Finished with wooden handles with brass caps, the units are complemented by a matching window seat with two in-built drawers and pale wood floors that help them blend into the background.
    Find out more about Narford Road ›
    Photo is by Mariko ReedMountain View Double Gable Eichler Remodel, USA, by Klopf Architecture
    A pair of built-in wardrobes have been incorporated within a walnut wall unit in a bedroom of this 1960s residence in Silicon Valley, recently remodelled by Klopf Architecture.
    The same wood has been used for the headboard and plinth for the bed, helping them to read as a single piece. The wardrobes are only distinguishable by two subtle leather handles placed on the front of each one.
    Find out more about Mountain View Double Gable Eichler Remodel ›
    Photo is by Andy StaggKennington House, UK, by R2 Studio
    These bedroom cupboards follow the sloped edge of a giant corner window, introduced to Kennington House in London as part of a renovation and loft extension project.
    Designed by R2 Studio as one of many storage facilities for the house, they help residents keep the room clutter free and have white-coloured fronts that are disguised as part of the wall.
    Find out more about Kennington House ›
    Photo is courtesy of Matt GibsonWellington St Mixed Use, Australia, by Matt Gibson
    Drawers and full-height wardrobes are incorporated into this floor-to-ceiling storage unit, which runs the length of a bedroom in the Wellington St Mixed Use house in Melbourne.
    Its design means it doubles as a tactile wooden wall for the room, which forms a part of a large multi-generational home by architect Matt Gibson. The other bedrooms have similar wardrobe layouts, ensuring plenty of storage for inhabitants.
    Find out more about Wellington St Mixed Use ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with arched openings, bathrooms with statement sinks and living rooms in Victorian and Georgian-era homes.

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    Norman Foster creates angular retreat in Martha's Vineyard for “friends of the Foster family”

    Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Norman Foster has designed the Foster Retreat in Martha’s Vineyard as a holiday home for his friends and those of the Norman Foster Foundation, which features furniture designed by the architect for Karimoku.

    Named the Foster Retreat, the mono-pitch roofed building in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, was built opposite Foster’s US home.
    The building draws on traditional wood structuresThe home was formed from a series of angled steel beams that are connected by timber beams with smooth timber louvres enclosing an outdoor patio space.
    According to Foster, the holiday home’s shape was informed by North American barn structures, with large amounts of timber chosen to reference Martha’s Vineyard’s traditional wood-boarded structures and its sustainability credentials.
    Pale wood was used inside Foster Retreat”The retreat takes inspiration from the generous wooden barn structures of North America and combines that tradition of timber construction with a small amount of steel in the form of skinny portal frames which touch the ground lightly,” said Foster, who is the founder of UK studio Foster + Partners.

    “Wood was the obvious choice not only for reasons of sustainability but also as a direct reference to the traditional buildings that characterise the island.”
    The building has a visible gridThe site levels around Foster Retreat, which will be used as a private residence for friends of Foster’s family and of the Norman Foster Foundation, were contoured to hide the building from the roadside and situate it within the landscape.
    The studio also added indigenous plants to the site, as well as a bank of solar panels that together with “a high level of insulation and shading” helps the building be more sustainable, according to Foster.
    Norman Foster designed the NF Collection for KarimokuInside the building, the holiday home has white walls with pale wood panels and wooden floors.
    To match the pared-back material palette of the house’s exterior and interior, Foster designed a wooden furniture collection named NF Collection together with Japanese furniture brand Karimoku.

    Foster + Partners creates geodesic dog kennel as “architecture in miniature”

    The collection comprises a dining chair, two stools, a lounge chair, a sofa, and a dining table, all of which feature pale “skeletal” timber frames and padded upholstery.
    “The wood-based furniture I designed for Karimoku is an extension of the philosophy behind the building,” Foster explained.
    “lt has always seemed to me that there is a commonality between the American Shaker Movement and traditional Japanese furniture. Given my own admiration for the qualities of historic Japanese architecture, there are evident cultural links.”
    The furniture has skeletal frames and white padding. Photo is by Chuck ChoiThe collection was developed as Foster had trouble finding suitable furniture for the space.
    “When we started to think about what type of furniture could best fit in the spaces created in the Foster Retreat, Martha’s Vineyard, we realised that there was no single specific collection in existence that could be used for the different uses of the building, so I decided to develop a bespoke family of furniture,” Foster explained.
    “Timber was a natural choice to match the spirit of the building.”
    Foster Retreat was designed as a private residenceFoster Retreat is Karimoku’s seventh case study project, which sees the studio work together with architects on bespoke furniture collections.
    “I see the collaboration with NF as an important step for us as a brand – not only do we venture into a new area with the case at Martha’s Vineyard, but we also show how the brand can accomodate a more diverse furniture collection, showcasing the unique design languages of the individual studios, yet still maintaining a red thread throughout the collection in the use of materials, excellent craftsmanship and high quality,” Karimoku creative director Frederik Werner told Dezeen.
    The collection marks Karimoku’s seventh case study. Photo is by Chuck ChoiThe NF Collection will also be shown in an exhibition at Karimoku Commons in Tokyo, the brand’s retail and showroom space. Karimoku was one of a number of Japanese brands that showed at this year’s Salone del Mobile furniture fair as the focus on the European market grows.
    One of the world’s best-known architects, Foster leads the UK’s largest studio Foster + Partners. The studio’s recent projects include 425 Park Avenue, which is the “first full-block office building” to be built on Park Avenue in over 50 years, and the tallest building in the EU, the Varso Tower in Warsaw.
    The photography is by Marc Fairstein unless stated otherwise. All photography courtesy of the Norman Foster Foundation.
    The Norman Foster x Karimoku exhibition is at Karimoku Commons from 21 October to 9 December. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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    Four homes haunted by ghostly apparitions

    To mark Halloween, we have rounded up four homes where ghostly residents have been unwittingly captured by photographers.

    The life of an architectural photographer might seem rather glamorous, but few people realise it sometimes means coming face-to-face with the undead.
    This roundup features four homes where a ghostly figure has been caught on camera by the photographer.
    Read on if you dare:
    Photo is by Jackal LiuNancy’s Big Apartment, Taiwan, by Studio In2

    Interiors specialist StudioIn2 was inspired to mess with dimensions using full-height partition walls and tall furnishings inside this Taipei apartment by the 1989 comedy film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
    But perhaps horror flick Paranormal Activity would have been more fitting, as the sliding doors are intermittently moved around by an eery, supernatural figure.
    Find out more about Nancy’s Big Apartment ›
    Photo is by Jeremie WarshafskyPape Loft, Canada, by StudioAC
    A ghostly figure was captured haunting the mezzanine of the Pape Loft, which fittingly occupies a renovated church overhauled by Toronto firm StudioAC.
    The studio created the minimalist two-bedroom house by carrying out a “design purge”, though the renovation failed to banish the sepulchral wraith.
    Find out more about Pape Loft ›
    Photo courtesy of VoraVallirana 47, Spain, by Vora
    A figure wearing orange trousers can be seen pacing the corridors of the Barcelona apartments revamped by architecture studio Vora.
    In the apartment, original patterned tile floors were also retained, as part of an interplay between the old and the new.
    Find out more about Vallirana 47 ›
    Photo is by Jochen VerghoteAntwerp apartment attic, Belgium, by Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten
    Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten converted a dark and dusty attic in Antwerp into a living space that features arched portals, curvy furniture and yellow decor accents.
    Despite the playful new interior, the attic appears to be haunted by a ghost child who was captured playing in multiple locations in the renovated loft.
    Find out more about this Antwerp apartment attic ›

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    Tom Dixon furnishes penthouses in Herzog & de Meuron's One Park Drive skyscraper

    British designer Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio has furnished the interiors for two duplex penthouses that Herzog & de Meuron has created within its cylindrical Canary Wharf skyscraper.

    Architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron designed the seven penthouses in the residential One Park Drive skyscraper, which were the last part of the project to be completed, to contrast the commercial buildings that surround them.
    “We had to think about what it means to live vertically and how to create a strong distinction between something that is commercial and something that is residential,” Herzog & de Meuron’s UK studio director John O’Mara said at the penthouses’ opening.
    The seven penthouses feature wood-clad courtyardsLocated on the 56th and final floor of the 205-metre-tall One Park Drive building, the duplex penthouses feature balconies overlooking Canary Wharf. To give them a more residential feel, Herzog & de Meuron added an unusual detail – hidden internal courtyards.
    The wood-clad courtyards open up towards the sky via D-shaped ceiling cut-outs and function as a “back garden,” the studio said.

    Each of the penthouses, which range from 152 to 362 square metres, also feature a statement spiral staircase made from concrete poured in-situ. The staircases all have different designs.
    Spiral staircases were made from concrete poured in-situDesign Research Studio furnished the interiors for two of the duplex penthouses in One Park Drive using a combination of furniture by Dixon’s studio and handpicked vintage furniture.
    Among the vintage pieces used for the design were chairs by Danish designer Verner Panton and lamps by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Dixon also custom-made large artworks for the space.
    The penthouses are on the 56th floorDixon’s studio used the theme of Home of the Collector to imagine what the interiors of the penthouses should feel like.
    “Each room has been meticulously curated – we wanted every single object to feel as if it has been made specifically for this space or that it has been carefully selected for it,” Dixon explained.
    “It should feel personal, convincing, compelling and aspirational – we didn’t want to design a typical luxury apartment,” he added.
    “The beautiful, fluid spaces feature high ceilings and large expanses of wall and windows and the artworks create the sense of a private gallery.”

    Tom Dixon’s The Manzoni is a restaurant where “everything is for sale”

    Coming up with a concept for an imaginary homeowner was an enjoyable aspect of the job, Dixon added.
    “It’s actually really good fun to try and invent a personality and try and work out what they would actually do,” he said, explaining that he had envisioned the apartments being filled with art pieces and furniture that had been picked up on travels.
    Bathrooms have sand-coloured Tadelakt wallsThe apartments in One Park Drive are all designed by Herzog & de Meuron with a tactile material palette that helps to draw attention to the interiors.
    Wood was used to create striking details for the interior architecture, including the wardrobe doors with leaf-shaped openings.
    The studio used Tadelakt plaster to create sand-coloured bathrooms with globe-shaped lights and rounded mirrors, while floors are concrete or pale wood.
    The penthouses also have balconies overlooking Wood WharfThe duplex penthouses are the last part of One Park Drive to be completed. The skyscraper, which contains 484 apartments in total, forms part of developer Canary Wharf Group’s plan to add homes to the predominantly commercial Canary Wharf neighbourhood.
    Other recent projects by Tom Dixon include a twentieth-anniversary exhibition that featured mycelium towers and Design Research Studio’s design for restaurant The Manzoni.

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