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      Raúl Sanchez Architects divides Barcelona apartment with 21-metre-long wooden wall

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      A lengthy walnut-panelled wall runs through the bright white living spaces inside this Barcelona apartment, renovated by local studio Raúl Sanchez Architects.

      The Girona Street apartment is set within a 19th-century building in Barcelona’s affluent Dreta de l’Eixample neighbourhood and belongs to a design-savvy couple with two young children.
      A 21-metre-long walnut-panelled wall runs the length of the Girona Street apartmentPrior to the renovation, the apartment contained a warren of small, dark living spaces bookended by an indoor patio and a sitting room that overlooks the street.
      Raúl Sanchez Architects connected these two rooms with a 21-metre-long wall that stretches from one end of the floor plan to the other. While the majority of surfaces in the apartment were rendered in white micro-cement, the wall is crafted from walnut wood.
      Spaces throughout are rendered in white micro-cement”I thought of a material, which could contrast the whiteness with elegance and warmth while also adding texture and ruggedness,” founder Raúl Sanchez told Dezeen.

      “We made several samples and trials until we got the right wood and the right porosity of walnut.”
      A blue-painted dining room lies next to the loungeA series of rooms run parallel to the wall, beginning with a dining area.
      Here, a section of the rear wall was painted dark blue and fitted with a built-in bench seat, while the floor was inlaid with a square patch of patterned hydraulic tiles.

      Four-storey spiral staircase forms focal point of BSP20 House in Barcelona

      Further along the hallway, a sitting area was created just in front of a pair of stained glass windows. This is followed by two bedrooms that are partially painted blue to match the dining area.
      One of them is fronted by a huge pivoting door that, like the apartment, is split into two sides. One half is clad with stainless steel and the other in brass.
      A sea-green kitchen is hidden behind doors in the walnut-wood wallMore rooms lie concealed behind the long walnut wall, each accessed via a discrete flush door. This includes a U-shaped kitchen, which was almost entirely painted a sea-green hue.
      There’s also a storage area, the family bathroom and the principal bedroom, where a floor-to-ceiling cream curtain helps conceal en-suite facilities.
      Other rooms in the Girona Street apartment are concealed behind flush doorsThe apartment’s indoor patio was freshened up, as was the street-facing sitting area. It now features a mint-green sideboard and bookshelf, as well as a decorative wall panel that mimics the brass-and-steel pivot door.
      More hydraulic tiles were also incorporated into the floor, this time in mismatch prints.
      Hydraulic floor tiles and mint-green furnishings feature in the living roomRaúl Sanchez Architects is behind a number of striking homes in Barcelona, aside from the Girona Street apartment.
      This includes BSP20 House with its towering spiral staircase and the Tamarit Apartment, which is decked out with clashing materials.
      The photography is by José Hevia.
      Project credits:
      Architecture: Raúl Sanchez ArchitectsTeam: Valentina Barberio, Paolo Burattini, Flavia Thalisa Gütermann, Dimitris Louizos, Albert MontillaStructure: Diagonal ArquitecturaEnginering: Marés IngenierosTextile design: Catalina Montaña

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      Plantea Estudio creates cosy cave-like room within bar Gota

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      A red “cave” hides behind the main dining space of this wine and small plates bar in Madrid designed by interiors studio Plantea Estudio.

      Located on the ground floor of a neoclassical building in Madrid’s buzzy Justicia neighbourhood, Plantea Estudio designed Gota to appear “dark, stony and secluded”.
      Gota sits on the ground floor of a neoclassical building in the Justicia neighbourhoodGuests ring a bell to enter the 70-square-metre bar, and are then welcomed into a dining room enclosed by thickset granite ashlar walls. While some of the walls were left exposed, others have been smoothly plastered over and washed with grey lime paint.
      The floor was overlaid with black volcanic stone tiles that the studio thought were suggestive of a “newly discovered terrain”.
      A counter in the first dining space is inbuilt with a record playerA bench seat runs down the left-hand side of the bar, accompanied by lustrous aluminium tables and square birchwood stools from Danish design brand Frama.

      Guests can alternatively perch on high stools at the peripheries of the room, where lies a slender stone ledge for drinks to be set down on.
      Shelving displays wine bottles, vinyls, and other objectsMore seating was created around a bespoke chestnut counter at the room’s centre; its surfacetop has an in-built turntable on which the Gota team plays a curated selection of music.
      Behind the counter is a storage wall where wine bottles, vintage vinyl records and other music-related paraphernalia are displayed.
      A cave-like dining room hides at the bar’s rearAn open doorway takes guests down a short corridor to a secondary cave-like dining space, which boasts a dramatic vaulted ceiling and craggy brick walls. It has been almost entirely painted red.
      “It’s relatively common to find this kind of vaulted brick space in the basements of old buildings in Madrid – this case was special because it’s on the ground floor with small openings to a garden,” the studio told Dezeen.

      Plantea Estudio casts minimalist Madrid restaurant in shades of beige

      “It was perfect for a more quiet and private area of the bar,” it continued.
      “The red colour is an abstract reference to the brick of which the cave is really made, and also a reference to wine.”
      The space is arranged around a huge granite tableAt the room’s heart is a huge 10-centimetre-thick granite table that’s meant to look as if it has “been there forever”, surrounded by aluminium chairs also from Frama. Smaller birch tables and chairs custom-designed by the studio have been tucked into the rooms corners.
      To enhance the cosy, intimate feel of the bar, lighting has been kept to a minimum – there are a handful of candles, reclaimed sconces and an alabaster lamp by Spanish brand Santa & Cole.
      Red paint covers the space’s vaulted ceiling and brick wallsEstablished in 2008, Plantea Estudio is responsible for a number of hospitality projects in Madrid.
      Others include Hermosilla, a Mediterranean restaurant decked out in earthy tones, and Sala Equis, a multi-purpose entertainment space that occupies a former erotic cinema.
      The photography is by Salva López.

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      Emma Martí celebrates Menorca's architectural heritage in Hevresac Hotel

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      Spanish architect Emma Martí has converted an 18th-century townhouse on the Balearic island of Menorca into the intimate eight-bedroom Hevresac Hotel, taking over all of its five floors from basement to attic.

      The building, which originally belonged to a local merchant and privateer, is set in the historic centre of Mahón – a former trade hub that still bears traces of French and English culture after spending many years under colonial rule.
      Emma Martí has converted a five-storey townhouse into the Hevresac HotelHevresac owners Ignasi Truyol and Stephanie Mahé brought Martí on board for the renovation in part because she was an old friend, who they thought could be trusted to conserve and enhance the spirit and character of the building.
      Martí’s aim for the project was to fill the building with light and life while preserving its wealth of existing architectural elements, from wooden beams and mosaic flooring to stucco walls and staircases.
      “The aim of the project was to create a fresh and inspiring hotel that values the beauty of the existing architecture,” said the hotel’s owners.

      Original details such as parquet floors were retained throughoutHevresac’s original floors, covered variously in wooden parquet and encaustic cement tiles, were carefully preserved.
      In areas where it was not possible to retain the original elements, Martí chose a new design language using modern equivalents of these original materials, including micro-cement.
      Hevresac Hotel has only eight guest roomsThe renovation process revealed both the stucco on the walls and the original paintwork on the beams, uncovering part of the building’s hidden history.
      The original wrought iron columns in the living room are now a celebrated feature. Less noticeable but equally interesting is the Masonic symbolism on the wrought-iron railing of the marble staircase at the entrance.
      Solid timber was used to frame private bathrooms in each of the bedroomsMartí also wanted to preserve the original room structure of the townhouse.
      To allow for this, she added private bathrooms within each of the existing bedrooms using a lightweight timber framing system made of solid Flanders pine, while three-ply spruce boards form partitions, headboards and wardrobes in each bedroom.
      “Martí’s intention is for the new materials to coexist and harmonise with the originals, providing a new language, lightness and contemporaneity,” the owners said.

      Artchimboldi Menorca is a work retreat inside an abandoned girls’ school

      A new staircase – also utilising spruce ply – now coexists with the original staircase, providing an alternative route through the Hevresac Hotel.
      The material is key to the contemporary language of the new insertions, which sit clearly differentiated alongside layers of the building’s past.
      “I like to work with an honest and frank attitude towards the island’s architectural heritage,” Martí told Dezeen. “I wanted it to be clear what our intervention was, not to highlight it but to highlight the value of what existed in the building.”
      Three-ply spruce boards form partitions and wardrobes in each of the bedroomsTo fill the spaces with natural light, several skylights were added on the upper floor, with one above the main stairwell as well as three new openings in the facade.
      In the basement, the vaulted ceiling made of local marés stone required an intervention to lighten the space.
      Martí’s response was to remove a bay of the existing vault and install a new, more comfortable staircase to link the ground floor with the basement and flood the space with light.
      Martí also added a new spruce ply staircaseHevresac’s choice of furnishings reflects Mahón’s cosmopolitan history, including an eclectic assembly of antique, vintage and contemporary pieces from all over Europe.
      Among them are Nanimarquina rugs, Achille Castiglioni lights and some of Marcel Breuer’s Cesca chairs, as well as items from Menorcan antique dealers including Alcolea & Kraus and Antics Antigüedades.
      “It’s a kind of synergy,” the owners said. “Together, the components project a warm, creative and personal composition, which is more than the algebraical sum of those individual pieces.”
      The hotel has a small terraceMartí, who founded her self-titled studio Emma Martí Arquitectura in Menorca in 2013, has since completed a number of projects on the island.
      Among them is a work retreat inside an abandoned girls’ school, with design-driven spaces where businesses can host meetings or team-building sessions.
      The photography is by Pol Viladoms

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      Ibiza's first hotel gets bohemian refresh from Dorothée Meilichzon

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      The 1930s Montesol hotel in Ibiza has reopened following a full overhaul of its 30 bedrooms and three suites by Dorothée Meilichzon of French interior design studio Chzon.

      Set in the old town of Eivissa, the newly renamed Montesol Experimental has been undergoing a multi-stage renovation since 2021, when it was bought by the Experimental hospitality group.
      Interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon has overhauled the bedrooms (top image) of the Montesol Experimental hotel (above)Meilichzon was responsible for overseeing the whole project, starting two years ago with the Sabbaba restaurant and rooftop bar before finally turning to the rooms. Her aim was to infuse “a bohemian overtone throughout the interior”, drawing on the hotel’s rich history.
      Built nearly a century ago in 1933, the neo-colonial Montesol is widely considered Ibiza’s first hotel, and between the 50s and 80s was known for hosting a roster of hippies, celebrities and royals including the members of rock band Pink Floyd and legendary director and actor Orson Welles.
      The rooms are brightened up by Diego Faivre’s Playdough StoolsMeilichzon was keen to tap into this bohemian past, layering up an array of fabrics, patterns, fringes and pompoms, used against light woods and textured plaster walls.

      “The hotel is a pool of colour to reflect the joy and open-mindedness of Ibiza,” she told Dezeen.
      Shell-patterned walls feature throughout the interiorsWarm yellow hues nod to the building’s iconic yellow-and-white exterior, juxtaposed with a variety of green and blue tones that bring in the colours of the Mediterranean sea.
      “Solar colours have been adopted in common areas and lunar colours in rooms,” she said. “Listening to Ayurvedic principles, we used cooling, calming colours inside the hotel to counterbalance the heat outside.”
      Moroccan zellige tiles were used to frame the mini bars in the guest roomsTiling, too, brings a cooling element, used in both the rooms and the public spaces.
      “Tiles are an important feature in this hotel,” Meilichzon explained. “And we have used traditional zelliges to wrap the niches of the mini-bars in a palette of orange, brown and off-white.”

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      A hand-made theme threads through the building, as seen in the many shell-patterned walls that were created by pressing individual seashells into fresh lime plaster.
      Arched forms – from room openings to bathroom mirrors to statement headboard – reference the grandeur of the hotel’s exterior but in a more relaxed and low-key way.
      Arched headboards reference the grandeur of the hotel’s exteriorCircles are another recurring silhouette, found across rugs, arworks and chair backs.
      “I enjoyed shaping a lot of curvy, wavy lines around the hotel to add softness to the design,” Meilichzon said. “Nothing is sharp in Ibiza, it is a very smooth atmosphere.”
      The same rounded forms are repeated in the tables and chairsThe circle idea is continued through the use of celestial motifs, with brass suns and iron moons scattered across the hotel calling to mind the sunny days and celebrated nightlife of the island as well as its more spiritual side.
      The bedrooms have a playful feel, with chunky Playdough Stools by Diego Faivre, hand-made masks by Mallorcan artist Anna-Alexandra and wardrobe doors informed by jigsaw puzzles.
      “These unique and whimsical pieces bring a lot of character to the rooms,” Meilichzon said.
      Meilichzon previously completed the hotel’s Sabbaba restaurantSince founding her hospitality design studio Chzon in 2009, the designer has created a number of interiors for Experimental Group including outposts in London and Menorca alongside the Hotel Il Palazzo Experimental in Venice.
      More recently, Meilichzon was also responsible for overhauling a departure lounge at Charles de Gaulle Airport, incorporating her hallmark arches alongside fountains referencing iconic Parisian monuments.
      The photography is by Karel Balas.

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      Energy-saving 10K House in Barcelona is a “labyrinth that multiplies perspectives”

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      Spanish studio Takk took cues from snugly stacked Russian dolls for the interior renovation of this Barcelona apartment, which features rooms nestled inside each other to maximise insulation.

      Called 10K House, the 50-square-metre apartment was renovated by Takk using a material budget of only 10,000 euros with the aim of updating the home to be as sustainable as possible.
      10K House is a residential interior design projectThe project was informed by concerns about climate change as well as the global energy crisis faced by homeowners and renters.
      Arranged across one open level, rooms were built “inside one another” in a formation that mimics the layers of an onion and places the rooms that require the most heat at the centre of the apartment, according to Takk.
      The bedroom is raised on recycled white table legs”This causes the heat emitted by us, our pets or our appliances to have to go through more walls to reach the outside,” principal architects Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño told Dezeen.

      “If we place the spaces that need more heat – for example, the room where we sleep – in the centre of the Matryoshka [a Russian doll] we realise that we need to heat it less because the configuration of the house itself helps to maintain the temperature.”
      “The result is a kind of labyrinth that multiplies perspectives,” explained the architects, who designed the project for a single client.
      MDF was used throughout the apartmentRecycled table legs were used to elevate these constructed rooms to allow the free passage of water pipes and electrical fittings without having to create wall grooves, reducing the overall cost.
      For example, the raised central bedroom is clad in gridded frames of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) that are enveloped by slabs of local sheep’s wool – utilitarian and inexpensive materials that feature throughout the interior.
      “Despite being a small apartment, it is very complex to ensure that you never get bored of the space,” said Luzárraga and Muiño.
      The remnants of previous partitions were left exposedAfter demolishing the apartment’s existing internal layout, Takk chose not to apply costly and carbon-intensive coatings to the floors and walls.
      Rather, the architects scrubbed the space clean and left traces of the previous partitions and dismantled light fixtures visible, giving the apartment a raw appearance and maintaining a reminder of the original floor plan.
      The kitchen features a metallic sink and low-slung cabinetsThe kitchen is located in the most open part of 10K House, which includes timber geometric cabinetry and an exposed metallic sink.
      According to the architects, the open kitchen intends to act as a facility “without associated gender” and address stereotypes typically attached to housework.

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      “Traditionally, the kitchen has been understood as a space to be used mainly by women, whether they own the house or do domestic work,” reflected Luzárraga and Muiño.
      “This has meant that [historically] this space has been relegated to secondary areas of the house, poorly lit and poorly ventilated, especially in small homes.”
      “One way to combat this is by placing the kitchen in better and open spaces, so that everyone, regardless of their gender, is challenged to take charge of this type of task,” they added.
      10K House was constructed using CNC-milled componentThe dwelling was constructed using CNC-milled components that were cut prior to arriving on-site and assembled using standard screws.
      Takk chose this method to encourage DIY when building a home, and armed the client with a small instruction manual that allowed them to assemble aspects of the apartment themselves “as if [the apartment] were a piece of furniture”.
      Takk was informed by soaring energy prices when designing the project10K House is based on a previous project by the architecture studio called The Day After House, which features similar “unprejudiced” design principles, according to Luzárraga and Muiño.
      The architects – who are also a couple – created a winter-themed bedroom for their young daughter by inserting a self-contained igloo-like structure within their home in Barcelona.
      The photography is by José Hevia.

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      Natural Connections exhibition aims to “help people rediscover nature”

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      Designers Inma Bermúdez, Moritz Krefter, Jorge Penadés and Alvaro Catalán de Ocón have created three playful wooden furniture pieces on show at Madrid Design Festival.

      Devised by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Natural Connections was on show in the entrance hall of the cultural building Matadero Madrid.
      Top: Natural Connections features playful furniture pieces. Above: the exhibition took place in the Matadero MadridEach of the three furniture pieces was designed to encourage interaction with wood – with one acting as a bench, the other a climbing frame and the third a hanging light installation.
      The designs were created in response to a brief provided by AHEC, which sought pieces made by Spanish designers out of maple, cherry, and red oak hardwoods sourced from American forests in an effort to encourage the use of the material.
      Catalán de Ocón designed Nube, a hanging light installation”We challenged the design studios to present these chambers in a public space – in a public context – so that visitors get to experience a connection,” AHEC European director David Venables told Dezeen.

      “The design teams worked with maple, cherry, and red oak to create playful, original, and highly innovative installations that we hope will provide engagement, excitement and a connection for visitors to these wonderful natural materials,” said Venables.
      Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter created several “bovine-shaped” seatsDesigner Catalán de Ocón created a six-metre-long hanging light called Nube  – which translates to cloud in English – made of 4,000 interconnected spherical and cylindrical individual pieces of wood.
      Nube is lit by several LED lights that were placed in the middle of the hollow structure. A brass cable runs from the bass into the mesh structure, branching into positive and negative electric currents.
      Positive poles run through the cherry wood while negative poles run through the maple pieces, which form a complete circuit when they touch and illuminate the bulbs.
      Visitors can perch on the benches and touch the woodsIts design was informed by Catalán de Ocón’s fascination with the manufacturing process for small utilitarian wooden objects such as pegs, matches and blinds.
      “I was inspired by the little match or the pencil, or the wooden pin for hanging the clothes – those kinds of manufacturing techniques, where you get an object which is repeated over and over and over again,” Catalán de Ocón told Dezeen.
      Jorge Penadés produced a bleacher-style structureMeanwhile, La Manada Perdida, or The Lost Herd, by Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter was influenced by the Matadero’s former function as a slaughterhouse and cattle market.
      The Spanish design duo produced a series of red oak, maple and cherry benches for Natural Connections that reference equine and bovine animals such as horses and cows. The pieces were given minimal finishing to mimic the texture of the tree they came from.
      “They appear as benches or seats, but their design goes beyond furniture to incorporate aspects of imagination and play to help people encounter and rediscover nature,” said AHEC.

      Students create sustainable furniture from hardwoods at Madrid Design Festival

      Madrid-based designer Penadés responded to the natural connections theme by producing a tiered seating piece called Wrap that is connected by ball joints.
      The designer, who is known for his interior projects with Spanish footwear brand Camper, glued and rolled 0.7-millimetres-thick pieces of cherry veneer into tubes to create tubular hollow components, which form a bleacher-style seat when joined together.
      Wrap is made from thin rolls of cherry veneerNatural Connections is one of several exhibitions at Madrid Design Festival, a month-long event that sees a design programme take over the Spanish city. After the exhibition ends, the furniture will remain in the cultural centre for a year.
      Also at this year’s edition is Slow Spain, an exhibition by university students that aims to explore American hardwoods and mindful furniture consumption.
      Last year saw lighting designer Antoni Arola and Spanish light manufacturer Simon use a smoke machine, lasers and a small tree to create Fiat Lux 3 Architectures of Light.
      Natural Connections is on show at Matadero Madrid as part of Madrid Design Festival 2023, which takes place from 14 February to 12 March. See Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the month.
      The photography is courtesy of AHEC.
      Project credits:
      Designers: Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter, Alvaro Catalán de Ocón, Jorge PenadésPartners: American Hardwood Export Council, Matadero Madrid, Madrid Design Festival, Tamalsa

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      Nagami 3D-prints recycled plastic to mimic melting glaciers in Spanish boutique

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      Spanish design studio Nagami has completed a shop interior for sustainable clothing brand Ecoalf near Madrid that is almost entirely 3D printed from recycled plastic.

      Walls, shelves and display tables inside the store in the Las Rozas Village designer outlet are made from 3.3 tonnes of repurposed plastic waste, sourced mainly from hospitals and used to create transluscent surfaces that resemble melting glaciers.
      Nagami has 3D-printed the interior of Ecoalf’s boutique near MadridAdditive manufacturing specialist Nagami created the plastic panels using a robotic arm equipped with a custom-built extruder that can print complex 3D forms, with the aim of uniting design and technology to raise awareness about the climate crisis.
      “We wanted to highlight the melting of the polar glaciers due to climate change,” Nagami co-founder Manuel Jiménez García told Dezeen. “So the walls are meant to represent a glacier that is cracking.”
      “The 3D-sculpted texture is a reference to the way the wind and snow erode the ice over time,” he added. “The idea was to recreate the sensation you might have when walking inside a glacier.”

      The interior was designed to resemeble a melting glacierThe Ecoalf store is the first fully 3D-printed interior completed by Nagami. And García believes it may be the first in the world to be fully 3D-printed using recycled plastic.
      The project was completed with a very short lead time of just three months from design to installation.
      Almost all of the surfaces are made from recycled plasticAccording to García, the undulating forms that cover almost all of the store’s internal surfaces pushed the robotic printing technology to its limit.
      “The machines needed to literally dance to create all of these different angles,” the designer explained. “Traditional 3D printing uses layers. But we can change the angle of the robot to make the kinds of curved and wavy forms you see in this project.”
      The walls are divided into panels and joined using connectors that form part of the printed structure. This meant that the tolerances needed to be very precise so that the components can slot together neatly.

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      On the floor, natural stone tiles feature veins reminiscent of cracking ice to enhance the feeling of walking on a glacier.
      All of the components used for the interior can be disassembled and reused or recycled for future projects. The plastic itself is almost infinitely recyclable, losing just one per cent of its structural performance with each new use, Nagami claims.
      The shop is located in the Las Rozas Village designer outletBoth companies share an interest in sustainable manufacturing, with Ecoalf creating clothing, footwear and accessories using recycled materials including plastic bottles, discarded fishing nets, used tyres and post-industrial wool and cotton.
      Similarly, Nagami works with recycled plastic to create furniture, sculptures, interiors and architectural elements as part of a closed-loop production process.
      The studio’s previous projects include several window displays for Dior, as well as a mobile toilet cubicle called The Throne and a collection of 3D-printed chairs by designers including Ross Lovegrove and Zaha Hadid Architects.
      Nagami used special robotic arms to 3D-print the panels. Photo by NagamiDuring the coronavirus pandemic, Nagami also made use of its quick-fire production process to 3D print face shields for medical staff.
      “We see 3D printing as one of the most sustainable forms of production,” García explained. “You don’t have to produce stock, it doesn’t create any fumes and it’s very versatile so you can create things on demand.”
      “In the future as we expand we want to have production sites around the world making things locally and reducing our carbon footprint even further.”
      All photography is by Alfonso-Quiroga unless otherwise stated.

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      Studio Noju renovates curvy apartment in brutalist Torres Blancas tower

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      Local firm Studio Noju has updated a two-storey Madrid apartment within the Torres Blancas high-rise with a renovation that remains “in constant dialogue” with the original apartment design.

      Designed in 1961 by architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oíz, Torres Blancas is a 71-metre-high exposed concrete tower featuring cylindrical shapes that create bulbous balconies on its facade and curved rooms inside.
      Studio Noju renovated the largest apartment in Torres BlancasStudio Noju overhauled the 1040 unit – the brutalist building’s biggest apartment – to balance its history with contemporary design details, according to the firm.
      “Our interior design proposal for the apartment takes inspiration from the original ideas that the architect came up with for the building,” studio co-founder Antonio Mora told Dezeen.
      Recovered terrace space is characterised by green tilesA key part of the project involved expanding the apartment’s exterior area on the first floor from 15 to almost 80 square metres to create the amount of outdoor space that existed before multiple past renovations of the tower.

      This expansion added terraces that are characterised by curved floor-to-ceiling glazing and slatted crimson shutters. These open onto gleaming green ceramic tiles that take cues from 1960s interiors and form built-in benches, fountains and planters that follow the terraces’ meandering contours.
      Visitors enter at a semi-circular foyer”The outdoor spaces have been once again consolidated into a continuous terrace that follows the outline of the original plan,” explained Mora, who set up Studio Noju with Eduardo Tazón in 2020.
      “There is a constant dialogue between many of the solutions we have proposed in the interior design of the apartment with those proposed more than 50 years ago by Sáenz de Oiza.”
      White walls and ceilings create an airy open-plan first floorVisitors enter the apartment at a semi-circular foyer featuring Segovia black slate and wine-red panelling – the same materials used in the building’s communal areas.
      The open-plan ground floor is interrupted by snaking white structural walls, such as a partition in the living room that features repetitive circular openings.
      The kitchen was formed from a continuous countertopA continuous custom-made countertop with a subtle green hue forms the kitchen area, which includes a statement bulbous sink that echoes Torres Blancas’ cylindrical facade.
      Light reflects from the original glass-brick tinted windows and illuminates the smooth resin floor and metallic wall accents.
      Studio Noju salvaged an original brass banister for the staircaseWhite geometric treads create a floating staircase with an original polished brass banister that leads to the first floor. Upstairs, a sequence of bedrooms is characterised by oak ceilings that contrast with the bright white ceilings on the ground floor.
      Each bathroom is playfully colour-coded with individual mosaics of bright tiles, complete with sconce lights, mirrors and cabinetry that follow the rounded shapes found throughout the apartment.
      Each bathroom has colour-coded tiles”The [mosaic] material allowed us to solve all the elements of the bathroom such as shower areas, vanities, walls and floors, referencing a similar material strategy used in the original design,” said Mora.
      Adjacent to the main bedroom, the first-floor terrace includes a large green tile-clad outdoor bathtub cloaked in a sheer curtain, which is flanked by plants that were positioned to absorb the water produced by bathing.

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      “The element that we are most proud of is the feeling of a house-patio that has been recovered in the apartment,” reflected Mora.
      “The unit once again revolves around the exterior spaces, and these seem to blend with the interior through the curved traces of green tiles that enter and exit the living room and dining area,” added the architect.
      “Our biggest challenge was striking a balance between honouring the building, but at the same time imbuing the interior design with our language.”
      The first floor terrace features an outdoor bathtubStudio Noju showcased a similar colourful style in its debut project, which involved the renovation of an open-plan Seville apartment.
      Torres Blancas was among the buildings captured by photographer Roberto Conte in his series of brutalist buildings in Madrid.
      The photography is by José Hevia. 

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