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  • Minimal interiors of Bodice store in New Delhi champions slow fashion

    Bodice founder Ruchika Sachdeva has designed the pared-back interiors of the womenswear brand’s store in New Delhi to counter the “more, new and now” culture of fast fashion.Bodice’s flagship is located in New Delhi’s affluent Vasant Kunj neighbourhood, occupying a building on the same site as the brand’s design studio.
    Sachdeva took on the task of designing the interiors of the store herself, setting out to create a simple, thoughtful space that would encourage customers to “think more consciously about what they’re buying and why”.

    Top image: the exterior of Bodice’s New Delhi flagship. Above: floor-to-ceiling windows flood the store with natural light
    “I feel there is a need to question the way we consume clothes,” Sachdeva told Dezeen. “The fast-paced, retail-driven space like a market or a mall does the opposite by encouraging customers to buy quantity instead of quality.”

    “The culture there makes it alright to buy more and dispose quickly whereas our philosophy at Bodice is a little different,” continued Sachdeva, who is a judge for Dezeen Awards 2020. “We focus on longevity and for us, the essence of the product is a lot more important than the number of collections.”
    “We are not really in the favour of feeding the ‘more and new and now’ culture, so I felt that the store should reflect that.”

    Bamboo blinds partially cover the windows
    Fixtures and furnishings throughout the open-plan store are therefore few and far between – those that do appear have been made from naturally sourced materials.
    This sustainable ethos is also applied to Bodice’s clothing, which is designed to be a more minimal, practical alternative to garments currently offered to women in India.
    Pieces are fabricated from non-synthetic textiles like wool or silk and then dyed with natural pigments such as those sourced from indigo plants.

    Furniture inside the store has been kept to a minimum
    The blinds in the store that partially shroud the floor-to-ceiling windows are made from bamboo. The triangular-frame rails where garments are hung have been crafted from light-hued mango wood.
    Sachdeva also designed some of the tables and chairs that have been scattered throughout the space, borrowing samples from the adjacent studio.

    Bodice clothes are for the women “challenging conventions” in Indian society

    “Since this was the first space I have designed, I organically had a very clear idea of what I wanted,” she explained.
    “I knew I wanted it to be surrounded by trees and nature, [the store] has a lot of clear glass so I wanted it to be filled with sunlight and since we are in India, we have plenty of it,” Sachdeva added.
    “I feel that the store was a culmination of years of visual information that I have been processing.”

    Clothes rails are crafted from mango wood
    A growing number of designers and brands are attempting to slow the pace of the fashion industry and make consumers more considerate of what they purchase.
    Earlier this year, Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele announced that the high-end label will now be holding just two fashion shows per year instead of the traditional five in a bid to reduce waste that accumulates from producing each collection and the subsequent harm to the environment.

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  • Adytum Library in Canberra is arranged around a single book-lined counter

    A chunky, wedge-shaped island crafted from plaster and beeswax anchors the sparse interior of this pop-up library, shop and exhibition space that design studio Pattern has created in Canberra.The temporary library is situated in the trendy suburb of Braddon and belongs to new Australian wellness brand Adytum, which produces eco-conscious self-care products such as teas, face oils and bath soaks.

    Adytum Library is anchored by a huge island
    Although the brand is set to open the doors to its first spa in 2021, it was keen to conceive a slightly different style of wellness space that instead celebrates books and the “intellectual nourishment one receives from the written word”.

    Sydney-based studio Pattern – which is also developing the interiors of Adytum’s spa – was asked to design the library. The brand’s key request was that the pop-up had minimal environmental impact.

    Books and products from Adytum are displayed across the island
    With this in mind, Pattern ditched the idea of overhauling the entire retail unit and instead created just one striking element – a huge wedge-shaped island that sits at the centre of the floor plan, built around two existing structural columns.
    “While we didn’t have a tenancy of cathedral-like proportions to work with, we drew inspiration from the concepts of purity, simplicity, and clarity often found in religious architectural spaces,” Pattern’s co-founder, Lily Goodwin, told Dezeen.

    Incense is burned in the pop-up throughout the day
    The island, which gradually tapers off to a narrow point, has a reclaimed MDF frame that’s been covered with natural plaster and finished with a coating of beeswax.

    Pattern completes understated interiors for Locura bar in Byron Bay

    An array of design, architecture and art titles are displayed across the surface, which can be purchased by visitors or borrowed via Adytum’s membership scheme. The books are softly illuminated by a couple of white table lamps by Danish brand Hay which have been dotted across the island.
    There is also a handful of Adytum’s products, including incense sticks that will be burnt throughout the day.

    Adytum Library also exhibits work by Australian artists
    The outer periphery of Adytum Library is used to display works from Australian artists Traianos Pakioufakis and Alana Wilson.
    Pakioufakis’s expansive photographic prints are draped across bent copper pipes that were found in construction site waste, while Wilson’s collection of ceramic vessels – which have been darkened with metal-oxide glazes – perch on rough plinths that the studio salvaged from a local stonemason.

    Artworks are displayed on stone plinths or copper pipes
    Pattern was established in 2016 by Lily Goodwin and Josh Cain. Previous projects by the studio include Locura, a cocktail and small-plates bar in Byron Bay that’s meant to evoke the “raw beauty” of late-night eateries in Mexico.
    It also created rose-tinted interiors for The Daily Edited, an accessories shop in Melbourne.
    Photography is by Traianos Pakioufakis.

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  • Pinocchio is a tiny bakery in Japan decorated in the colours of bread

    Design studio I IN has used warm, golden hues to decorate the Pinocchio bakery in Yokohama, Japan, which displays bread and pastries on minimalist shelves.Measuring at just 4.2 metres wide, Pinocchio sits in front of Oguchi train station and has been decorated to match the delicacies sold within.
    The tiny bakery project, which I IN also calls Small Icon, has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2020 in the small retail interior category.

    Top image: Pinocchio has been decorated to match the delicacies sold inside. Above: The bakery is just 4.2 metres wide
    “Though the space was extremely limited, the store asked to have a strong identity with the facade and interior,” said I IN.

    “Vivid gradient and soft textures that express the quality and colour of the bread are spread both inside and outside the store,” added the studio.
    “It expresses the soft charm of the bread itself and allows the customer to feel the world of bread with their entire body.”

    Pinocchio is spelt out in a slim, sans serif font above the doorway
    The interior and exterior walls are rendered in a textured material that has been painted with a golden hue, like the crust of a freshly baked loaf or a flaky croissant.
    “A plasterer who works in the performing arts collaborated with us,” said the studio. “Along with the vivid colour, the surface has a dense and bold texture.”

    The interior and exterior walls are rendered in a textured material
    Pinocchio is spelt out in a slim, sans serif font above the wide, square doorway. Glazed doors are set deep into the thick outer walls.

    Six bakeries and sweets shops with delectable interiors

    Inside, the ceilings have been painted to match the crust-coloured walls.
    A corridor of wooden floorboards runs down the centre of the shop, flanked by corridors of flooring that have been delicately sponge-painted in bready colours.

    The bakery interior features crust-coloured walls
    The bakery has only 30 square metres of floor space, so the designers created an uncluttered interior that focuses on the products.
    Two rows of minimal floating shelves made of wood run along both walls and around corners. Spotlights on the ceiling and under the topmost shelves bathe the baked goods in a soft glow.

    Two rows of minimal floating shelves line the walls
    Based in Tokyo, I IN is a design studio that was founded in 2018 by Yohei Terui and Hiromu Yuyama.
    More bakeries with interiors that are good enough to eat include this sugar-pink bakery in Ukraine and an artisanal flour shop and bakery in Canada painted in shades of caramel.
    Photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.
    Project credits:
    Client: Yokohama shokusanArchitect: I INConstructor: LegorettaLighting design: I IN

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  • Nendo completes Marsotto showroom in Milan with dimpled marble facade

    Passersby can perch in the facade of Italian marble brand Marsotto’s new showroom in Milan, which has been designed by multidisciplinary studio Nendo.From afar, the front of Marsotto’s showroom in Milan’s Brera district looks as if it’s sealed up by blocks of veiny white marble.
    To achieve this, Nendo lined the entire facade – including the flush front door – in marble tiles, being careful to set them in line with the existing stonework on the building.

    Top image: people can perch in the showroom’s facade. Above: the facade appears to be sealed up with marble
    At one point the tiles dip inwards to form a small nook where passersby on the street can sit.

    “Because the traffic circle facing the showroom will soon be greened and turned into a small park, part of the facade was made into impromptu street furniture with a soft recess on it, in the hopes that neighbours might sit as if on a bench and rest for a spell,” Nendo explained.

    A flush-set door can be pushed back to reveal the showroom’s entryway
    Beyond the showroom’s front door lies a small white-painted entryway. Pale marble has been used again here to cover the floor and to form a screen which obscures the staircase leading down to the basement.
    The screen is made up of two overlapping slabs of 10-millimetre-thick marble, each punctuated with holes that measure 65 millimetres wide.
    “The partition’s tempered transparency and lightness reduce the oppressiveness of the marble constitution, softly drawing visitors to the basement exhibition space,” the studio added.

    A perforated marble screen hides the staircase to the basement
    Downstairs, the showroom has been divided into four different rooms. To keep a majority of the floor area free to accommodate different exhibitions, Nendo created three-sided display plinths that sit in the corner of the rooms.
    Each of them is backlit with bright-white strip lights.

    Products are presented on three-sided display plinths
    Some of the plinths dramatically curve inwards to form a half-moon shape. One of these has been used to present sample blocks of different types of marble that Marsotto offers.
    Stool seats in matching finishes are displayed in a row underneath.

    Steel and concrete steps cut through facade of Stairway House by Nendo

    Another room in the basement has been kit-out with one of Marsotto’s dining tables and wall-mounted shelves so that, when necessary, it can be used to host lunch meetings.

    Some of the display plinths curve inwards into a half-moon shape
    This isn’t the first time that Nendo has worked with Marsotto. For the 2016 edition of Milan Design Week, the design studio created an exhibition space for the marble brand that was half white, half black – furniture was arranged to match.
    Four years ago Nendo also came up with the Sway table for Marsotto. Designed to “provide a new expression of agility to marble”, the table looks as if it’s tilting to one side.
    Photography is by Hiroki Tagma.

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  • Patagonia granite and wooden logs decorate Off-White's first store in Milan

    Fashion brand Off-White’s first store in Milan uses natural materials to add warmth to a paired-back store that has white walls broken by Patagonia granite cabinets.Located on Via Verri in Milan, the 400-square-metre Off-White store opened in September and will sell menswear, womenswear and homeware. According to the brand, which is led by fashion designer Virgil Abloh, the boutique “embraces earthy yet elegant minimalism”.

    Top: a wooden log adds an organic feel to the entrance. Above: wall niches are clad in Patagonia granite
    Organic materials were used across the store, with a “fallen” tree log placed near the store’s entrance and granite cabinets used to display products.

    The theme is carried through into the second ground floor room, where wooden plinths were used to create an installation to showcase Off-White accessories and shoes.

    Wooden plinths show Off-White accessories
    Throughout the ground floor womenswear section, travertine flooring is partly covered by rose-coloured rugs featuring the brand’s logo.
    Display cases were kept simple and modernist in polished steel and glass, but the brand chose wall niches clad in Patagonia granite to add interest to the clean walls and underline the organic feel of the space.

    The menswear floor features green hues
    The upstairs floor houses the menswear section, which has a different colour palette to differentiate it from the womenswear section.
    Floor rugs are evergreen instead of rose and a pale green hue is picked up in the wall niches.

    Wooden blocks are used for seating
    Wooden and marble blocks and granite plinths show off the brand’s accessories, while the men’s ready-to-wear is displayed on steel racks.

    Virgil Abloh and AMO design flexible flagship Off-White store in Miami that “can host a runway show”

    The final room in the store, which houses Off-White’s homeware collection, features silk wallpaper and travertine flooring as well as wooden display stands and wall niches.

    The homeware section has simple wood display cases and stands
    Though this is the brand’s first store in the city, Off-White’s design studio is already based in Milan.
    “With a design studio based in Milan, Italy, the label harnesses the history and craftsmanship within the country yet offers a global perspective in terms of design and trends,” said the brand.

    Off-White Milan is on Via Verri
    Off-White also recently unveiled its first Miami store, a flexible flagship that “can host a runway show”.  In addition, Off-White opened the doors to its first stand-alone store in London in September.
    Abloh, who was a judge for the 2019 Dezeen Awards, works on numerous projects outside Off-White and recently teamed up with Mercedes Benz to create a conceptual version of the Mercedes‑Benz G‑Class car.

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  • New York clothing store Nanamica is designed like a Japanese house

    Woodwork form the frame of a gabled house inside this clothing store in New York designed by Japanese architect Taichi Kuma.

    Tokyo-based Kuma designed the store cn the city’s Soho neighbourhood for Japanese clothing brand Nanamica.

    Large mirrors reflect the gabled structure
    Marking its second outpost following another in Tokyo, the store was designed to draw on the brand’s Nanamica, which means house of seven seas. Working with the brand founder, Eiichiro Hommam, Kuma developed the interior design to take cues from a Japanese beach house.

    Shelving is made from matching wood
    The aim is to express “the free and relaxed feeling of the seaside, but with a distinctly Japanese aesthetic sensibility meaning the true highlight is the nanamica products”, according to the brand.

    Shelving and clothing rails tucked outside the wood frame
    A key part of this is a series of gabled structures made from light oak that are intended to outline a house. The frame is slightly smaller that the store to leave space on the outside for shelving for handbags and plants, and clothing rails built on the walls made out of matching wood.
    Wooden shelving for clothing and benches for customers to relax are also arranged inside the house-like structure. The free-standing shelving is backed by a translucent, recycled corrugated plastic matching the wall of the material at the front of the store and the rear, where it shields changing rooms placed behind.

    Corrugated plastic shields changing rooms at the rear
    Two large mirrors are placed on columns that protrude into the space creating the illusion of more room. White spotlighting is arranged along the top of the gable running down the middle of the space.
    Kuma and Hommam stripped back the initial space to create Nanamica New York, creating a bare backdrop for the simple intervention. Walls and ceiling beams are painted white, while the floor is polished concrete.

    Nanamica is located on Wooster Street
    Other recently completed stores in New York City include ONS Clothing store, which features a stage with a green curtain for hosting events, and Los Angeles clothing brand Lunya’s space in Nolita, which takes cues from “upscale New York” apartments.

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  • Linehouse uses typically urban materials inside Xiamen's JNBY store

    Concrete, steel and fluted glass merge inside this shop that design studio Linehouse has created for fashion brand JNBY in Xiamen, China.Chinese cities were a key point of reference for Linehouse, which has decked out JNBY’s Xiamen store with materials often seen in dense urban settings – concrete, glass and steel.
    The interior aesthetic of this JNBY store will be rolled out across all of the brand’s future locations in China – one branch has already opened in Chengdu, and another is set to open in Changsha.

    The JNBY store features a coffered concrete ceiling
    The ceiling of the 100-square-metre store is entirely covered with concrete coffers. Each one is bordered by bright-white LED strip lights.

    A curved, steel-frame screen inset with panels of fluted glass runs around the periphery of the space, set back from the structural walls. The partition balances on chunky cylindrical blocks made from recycled concrete pavement.

    Panels of fluted glass form a screen around the edge of the store
    The urban materiality of the store is interrupted by a couple of ceramic display stands, which Linehouse formed by wrapping convex tiles around steel poles that extend from the floor to the ceiling.
    Some of the stands have been fitted with a metal ring where garments can be hung, while others have small shelves where accessories can be put on show.

    The screen’s glass panels are held within a steel framework
    Convex tiles also clad the front of JNBY’s service counter. When viewed up close, customers will be able to see a myriad of cracks, which Linehouse made visible by adding Chinese ink into the tiles’ glaze.

    John Anthony restaurant by Linehouse is “British tea hall turned Chinese canteen”

    The sculptural bases of the store’s low-lying display tables are made from grainy wood or concrete that the studio has cast against pieces of fabric.

    Convex tiles with subtle cracks clad the store’s service counter
    “The brand sought a modern approach to capture its core values, focusing on material exploration while guiding urban dwellers in appreciating the surprise and poetry of everyday life,” explained Linehouse.
    “So we wanted to contrast the urban represented by the concrete, steel and textured glass with the notion of crafted imperfection represented in the ceramic and timber detailing… they have the qualities of the handmade; variation and contrast.”

    The same tiles form a couple of vertical display stands
    Linehouse was established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling, and works between offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
    The austere material palette of the JNBY store in Xiamen is a far cry from the studio’s recently completed project, Basehall – an upscale food court in Hong Kong. Inside, the venue features walls lined with pink-metal rods, brass light fittings and a blue metalwork ceiling.
    Photography is by Dirk Weiblen.
    Project credits:
    Architect: LinehouseDesign lead: Alex Mok, Briar HicklingDesign team: Cherngyu Chen, Jingru Tong, Celine Chung

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  • Alice D'Andrea creates industrial coffee roastery in Vancouver steel foundry

    Coffee roasting and tasting takes place in this industrial-style coffee shop in Vancouver, which local studio Alice D’Andrea has designed inside a historic factory building. Located in Vancouver’s Railtown neighbourhood, the space was built in 1923 as the Settlement Building, a steel foundry for manufacturing machinery parts, and then later used as a warehouse for lighting company Bocci.

    The roastery features existing industrial windows and ceiling beams
    It now forms the headquarters for speciality coffee company Pallet Coffee Roasters with space for team training, a tasting area, roastery operations, seating and merchandise.

    Douglas fir beams punctuate the ceiling, large, industrial-style windows bring natural light to the back of the building, and exposed concrete runs throughout, providing a nod to its history.

    Seating is set under a large skylight
    “The main goal for this project was to design a ‘destination’ for coffee lovers,” said Alice D’Andrea. “A place where customers could enjoy their coffee while being educated on the process and the passion that goes behind their product.”

    Williamson Williamson places office above Pilot Coffee roasting warehouse in Toronto

    The 7000-square-foot (650-square-metre) open space has been separated into different areas. To the rear of the space the roastery is furnished with a long table made of reclaimed fir, which is used for coffee tasting and team training.

    An L-shaped counter divides the open space
    An L-shaped coffee counter, patterned with black-stained oak planks in a herringbone pattern, forms the centre of the space. A gridded glass partition that echoes the former foundry’s industrial windows rises from the middle of the counter to offer glimpses of the production area at the rear.
    “The glass partition between the counter and the production leaves the view open on the production, on the machinery and the people working behind the scenes,” the studio said.

    Black-stained wood patterns the counter
    “Customers can enjoy their beverage while watching how raw beans from around the world turn into their favourite drink; a truly unique customer experience,” the studio added.
    The black volume is broken up by glass volumes that form display cabinets for pieces on sale and nooks for seating.

    The roastery occupies the rear
    Large copper pendant lights hang overheard to complement the warm hues of the wooden ceiling beams. Other copper detailing can be found in the counter kick and shelving.
    Customers can sip their coffee on a seating alcove under a huge skylight, or on wooden benches either side of large planters and stools. Decorative elements are provided by coffee bags piled atop pallets, and pops of greenery.

    Copper details add warmth
    Pallet Coffee Roasters HQ’s entrance has white-painted walls, greenery and pendant lights from Bocci – the building’s previous owner.
    Other coffee roasteries on Dezeen include Pilot Coffee roasting warehouse in Toronto that Williamson Williamson recently extended with offices and the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo designed by Kengo Kuma.
    Photography is by Andrew Fyfe.

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