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This lookbook spotlights the self-designed studios of eight architects, each defined by earthy tones, wooden furnishings and views of greenery that bring a feeling of tranquillity to their interior. More
Canadian interior design studio Perron has revamped an early 20th-century building in Québec City to house its studio and showroom alongside the home of founder Nathalie Perron. More
Design agency Wedge drew on the aesthetic of Danish brand Frama when creating Wedge House, its office in Montreal, which features a dusty-pastel colour palette and custom-made furniture. More
Swedish architecture office Tengbom has set up its studio inside a renovated 1930s factory in Stockholm, with a demountable fit-out that relies almost entirely on reused and existing elements. More
Mid-century modern and traditional Japanese influences blend inside this Los Angeles home, which the principals of design studio OWIU have reimagined for themselves. More
Dutch design duo Kiki & Joost has opened a public exhibition space attached to the pair’s Eindhoven studio, allowing them to showcase their work in a more “open and free” way than in a traditional gallery. More
A simple steel framework incorporates both desks and storage in the self-designed all-white studio of architecture firm Ministry of Design in Singapore.
With the MOD Workshop, studio founder Colin Seah set out to create a different type of workspace from Ministry of Design’s award-winning Bar Code office, which the practice occupied from 2010 to 2023.
Ministry of Design has designed a new office for itself in SingaporeThe new office is less than a third of the size, with a focus on facilitating collaboration between coworkers who don’t spend as much time in the office as they did before the coronavirus pandemic.
“In line with MOD’s transition towards a technologically-enabled work environment, which allows for most designers to work remotely, the Workshop dispenses with typical workplace conventions,” Seah said.
The space is divided by a steel framework that incorporates desks and storage”Instead, it devotes 60 per cent of the layout to creative face-to-face collaboration because when we do need to meet in person, we really want it to make it count,” he continued.
The 93-square-metre space is divided into a series of interconnected areas for collaboration, as well as hot desks and utility spaces, via a three-dimensional metal framework.
A wall clad with cable trays allows objects to be attached with hooks or magnetThe minimal scaffold incorporates screens made from frosted polycarbonate and fluted glass that allow light to pass through, generating a bright and layered aesthetic within the workspace.
The same materials were used to form shelves and worktops, with solid aluminium rods inserted into the polycarbonate panels to allow them to support heavier items.
One of the main workspaces is centred around what MOD describes as a counter-height “war room” table that can be used for shared creative activities as well as design discussions and presentations.
Ministry of Design creates lush “banking conservatory” for Citibank Singapore
The table’s surface is made from frosted tempered glass that, along with other glossy and mirrored materials, helps to bounce light around the interior and enhance the spacious feel.
The metal framework incorporates an adjustable lighting system above the table that can simulate different light conditions, while large windows minimise the requirement for artificial lighting during the daytime.
To one side of the table is a wall clad with cable trays, allowing objects to be attached with hooks or magnets. Shelving along the opposite wall forms part of a material and artefact library.
The interior is almost entirely whiteThe library shelves span the full length and width of the Workshop, ensuring the designers always have easy access to materials used to inspire and stimulate creativity.
A row of hot desks along one wall and a meeting table near the entrance provide alternative areas for working and collaboration, with utility spaces including a pantry, printer and storage tucked away in a corner.
In contrast to the bright-white interior of the workspace, a compact restroom concealed behind a mirrored door is designed as a private sanctuary lined with black tiles.
In contrast, the bathroom is clad in black tilesMOD has completed more than 140 projects since it was founded by Seah in 2004, offering clients a holistic service that often includes architecture, product design, interior architecture, branding or landscaping.
“We love to question where the inherent potential in contemporary design lies and then to disturb the ways they are created or perceived, redefining the world around us in relevant and innovative ways, project by project,” Seah said.
Previous MOD projects include an office in a conservatory-like atrium filled with tropical plants and a co-living space with all-white interiors.
The photography is by Jovian Lim.
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Danish architecture studio BIG has opened an office in Santa Monica in a renovated 1928 Spanish revival building designed by iconic Los Angeles architect Paul R Williams.
The 1928 building was refurbished by the team, many of whom will be joining the freshly minted BIG Los Angeles team – recruited both from the New York office and from the local “talent pool”.
BIG has opened an office in a 1928 Paul R Williams building in Santa MonicaBIG, the architecture studio established by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, will be anchored in the Californian city by partner Leon Rost.
For the renovation, the studio kept many of the original Spanish revival details of the original structure including the expressive reliefs on the facade.
Some of the plaster detailing was kept, but the office largely has an unfinished lookSome of the interior plasterwork was maintained as well. The primary second-floor workspace was opened up, and much of the walls were peeled back to reveal the wooden structure and enhanced mechanical system.
Unfinished concrete columns are located in th middle of the space, with thick wooden rafters intersected by skylights.
The office layout is open, with large spanning desks and folded Roulade chairs by KiBiSi, which Ingels is also a partner of.
The office will help expand the studio’s West Coast presenceAccording to Rost, the studio plans to continue to update the space with samples of technology such as solar panels from the studio’s local projects, many of which are in late states. These projects include Claremont McKenna College Robert Day Sciences Center.
“We’ve also designed an interior layout that preserves the original interior plasterwork from 1928 and intentionally chose a location that is close to public transport,” Rost told Dezeen.
“As a Japanese Californian I am excited to root BIG on the Pacific Coast. In the city of storytelling, big dreams and a pioneer spirit, I am certain LA will be a fertile frontier for continued experimentation. You could say BIG – though born in Copenhagen – has always been an Angeleno at heart.”
BIG unveils twisted skyscraper designed “in the tradition of Flatiron”
The office is the studio’s second in the United States, after its New York office opened in 2010.
The studio has a significant presence on the West Coast, and is currently in the process of completing a large mix-used development on an industrial site in Downtown Los Angeles and is working with British studio Heatherwick on a Google headquarters in the San Francisco Bay area.
The studio will be under the direction of partner Leon RostBIG New York partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann told Dezeen that the move has come from the “considerable” amount of West Coast work the studio has had since opening in the United States.
“Having also once called Los Angeles home – I attended UCLA in the 1990s – I am super excited to bring ‘Scand-American’ thinking to our future work within the Pacific Rim region,” said Bergmann.
Other significant projects on the West Coast by BIG include the impressively massed Vancouver House skyscraper in Vancouver, Canada.
The photography is by Pooya AleDavood.
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An old bookshop in Berlin is now home to the studio of architecture and interior design practice Gisbert Pöppler, which incorporates the building’s grand arched doorways and other original features.
The office is situated on Karl Marx Allee, a major boulevard lined with buildings designed in the socialist classicism architectural style of the 1950s.
Staff desks in the Gisbert Pöppler office sit near the building’s entranceGisbert Pöppler’s workspace had previously been located in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighbourhood, set above a row of nightclubs.
“We had an amazing view of the city up there and enjoyed being in the midst of it all,” the practice told Dezeen.
Archways offer views of the showroom at the building’s rear”We outgrew our space though and coincidently our landlords decided to completely renovate and add-on to the building, so we would have had to leave for a while anyway,” the studio added. “This was when we discovered that the former bookstore was available.”
The bookstore had been left in a “depressing” state.
But as soon as the Gisbert Pöppler team moved in, they sought to find ways to transform it into an efficient office and show space for their range of furnishings and textiles, all while preserving the site’s original features like its arched doorways and terrazzo flooring.
Furnishings are displayed on carpeted platformsA formal work area with desks and computers has been created directly beside the office’s entrance, allowing staff to greet and interact with visitors as they walk in.
Shelving here that originally stored books now holds material samples, image mood boards and other project-related paraphernalia.
Meetings can be held in the next room along, which is centred by Gisbert Pöppler’s reflective aluminium Cherry table.
The office’s literature corner has been painted bright pinkThen follows the showroom, where pieces are displayed on purple carpeted platforms that the practice created in collaboration with Swiss rug makers Rückstuhl.
“Preservation regulations were intense for this place, so our solutions are somewhat unconventional,” the practice said. “We built platforms to define spaces and solve technical situations without harming the building’s fabric.”
Hanging utensils decorate the office’s kitchenTwo further spaces branch off from here: a conference area for larger staff gatherings, and a “literature corner” filled with inspirational reading material.
Unlike the rest of the office, which is painted an icy-blue shade, this corner has been completed in a vivid pink hue to offset the lack of natural light in this area.
A dresser in the kitchen contains porcelain handed down from Pöppler’s grandmotherAdditionally, there’s a kitchen on-site where staff can prepare and eat their meals at lunchtime, featuring simple white cabinetry and hanging utensils.
To one side of the room stands an ornate dresser, restored by Gisbert Pöppler’s eponymous founder as a young man. Inside, the cabinet is filled with an array of Meissen porcelain tableware collected by his grandmother.
There’s also a basement where the practice keeps more materials and client orders before they’re shipped out.
More materials and furnishings are stored in the office’s basementGisbert Pöppler has worked on a number of residential projects around Berlin.
One such example is an apartment in the city’s Mitte borough, designed to be like a “tailor-made suit” with one-off furnishings and bespoke fixtures that suit the owner’s particular needs.
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