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      NeuronaLab reorganises Barcelona loft with blue stair storage unit

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      A large blue unit provides extra space and storage in a compact Barcelona apartment, which has been renovated by local architecture studio NeuronaLab.

      The renovation transforms Loft in Poblenou, a former studio loft, into a two-bedroom apartment with a separate, dedicated workspace.
      A blue unit divides the former studio apartmentThe owner bought the flat 10 years ago, when he was living alone.
      The space started to become cramped after his partner moved in and they had a baby. Things became even worse during the pandemic, with the couple needing to work from home, and their son increasingly needing more space.
      A living space and kitchen is created in front of the unit”The family had no choice but to have all their objects in the middle of the space; it was a real mess,” said NeuronaLab founder Ana Garcia.

      “The challenge was to make much better use of the volume, so that the new family would not have to change homes due to lack of space and order,” she told Dezeen.
      The unit creates storage and integrates a staircaseGarcia’s solution was to insert a large piece of furniture that informally divides the space into different zones and provides plenty of storage.
      She has also taken advantage of the loft’s high ceilings by installing a new mezzanine floor, which is accessed via a staircase built into the storage unit.
      With these two interventions, plus the relocation of the old bathroom, the apartment now has a completely different layout.
      A blue shade was chosen to contrast the wooden flooringThe space in front of the storage unit becomes an open-plan living and dining space. A bedroom and study are located behind, with the new bathroom sandwiched in between, while the mezzanine overhead creates a second bedroom.
      “Four spaces are generated that are similar in size and interchangeable with each other,” said Garcia.
      “On the other hand, the mezzanine allows a certain disorder on the higher level, which remains out of sight on a day-to-day basis, such as the toys or the children’s bed.”
      A mezzanine takes advantage of the high ceilingsGarcia developed two possible colour schemes for the space, with the owners eventually settling on blue rather than pink.
      An aquamarine shade was selected for its natural contrast with the warm tones of the loft’s wooden floorboards, which have been revived using water-based varnishes.

      Doehler loft renovation by SABO Project features an irregular clustered storage unit

      Made from pressed, recycled cellulose panels, this unit serves various different storage purposes. It contains the fridge-freezer and food larder, it serves as a wardrobe and it creates room for utility items such as an ironing board.
      The layout was carefully planned to ensure everything had a place.
      “We made a list of everything that we had to relocate in the proposed cabinets,” explained Garcia, “and we measured the approximate volume of storage needed.”
      This space provides one of two bedroomsGarcia was previously a founding director of Nook Architects, but recently left the practice to launch her own studio.
      Nook is a specialist in creating space-saving solutions for small homes, with previous examples including a flat with a storage floor and one with a mezzanine bed deck.
      Garcia continues this approach, but also introduced elements of psychology and neuroscience to her design process. Her aim is to create homes that don’t just work well, but also promote wellbeing.
      A second bedroom and study slot in under the mezzanine”At NeuronaLab, our initial questionnaires go far beyond the typical briefing of a project,” she explained. “We not only ask about the number of bedrooms, but we delve into a client’s routines, their lifestyle, their chronotype, if they receive guests, if they exercise at home and how they need the space to respond to the new needs of the home office.”
      “We also analyse the space from parameters beyond proportion or functionality,” she continued.
      “We visit the house at different times of the day to observe the change in the light that enters through the double facade, we analyse the cross ventilation, the smells and also the noise from the environment.”
      A new bathroom is sandwiched between these two roomsHere, she believes the combination of different lighting zones and heights more comfortably allow different domestic activities to coexist.
      “The higher height encourages common life and social relations with guests, and the lower height in the darkest area favours rest,” she added.
      The choice of materials supports this ambition. Garcia opted for breathable and moisture-absorbing products – including ceramic tiles by Matter Atelier – to improve air quality inside the home.
      Photography is by Marcela Grassi.

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      Clap Studio creates sunset experience inside Valencia's Baovan restaurant

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      A half-moon-shaped screen is programmed to mimic the changing colours of a sunset in this bao restaurant in Valencia, Spain, designed by local interiors firm Clap Studio.

      The eatery is set in a modernist building in Valencia’s Ruzafa neighbourhood and marks the first permanent outpost of Baovan – a local food truck delivering steamed Chinese bao buns, which started up during the coronavirus pandemic.
      Green ropes hang from the ceiling of Baovan’s porchBaovan asked Clap Studio to create an interior for the restaurant that channels the company’s motto of beers, beach and baos.
      “Our goal was to transport the user to a beach, from where to watch the sunset and enjoy some handmade baos,” Clap Studio director Angela Montagud told Dezeen. “So we created a whole experience around it.”
      “The shape of the space was a challenge, as we were faced with a narrow, elongated floor plan with no natural light,” she added.

      Curved fabric panels on the restaurant’s ceiling resemble cloudsIn a bid to turn the restaurant’s lack of daylight into a positive feature, Clap Studio designed an immersive interior that makes visitors feel as if they have stumbled across a secret beach.
      “In this way, it would invite the user to enter and discover the interior,” Montagud said.
      A half-moon-shaped lighting panel mimics the colours of the sunsetDiners enter the restaurant through a porch, where deep green ropes hang from the ceiling like vines in a forest.
      Inside, the interior was designed to evoke a beach with one side finished in a sandy peach colour and the other in deep ocean blue. Wavy textile panels form rolling clouds overhead that filter the light.

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      The centrepiece of the room is a half-moon-shaped lighting panel that was programmed by local creative studio Vitamin to recreate the changing colours of a sunset over the time it takes for the restaurant to complete its dinner service.
      “The interior shows a constant duality of colours that takes us in and out of the water,” Montagud explained.
      “On the ceiling, we recreate a blanket of clouds that brings a magical atmosphere to the interior, reflecting the lights of the sunset that is in constant movement.”
      The private dining area can seat up to ten peopleA private dining area at the rear of the floor plan can seat up to ten people and was designed to create the impression of eating by moonlight.
      Circular and crescent motifs that reference the shape of bao buns are repeated throughout the space from the lighting installation to the chairs, which were designed exclusively for the restaurant by Clap Studio.
      Other projects by the Valencian practice include a playful children’s shoe shop and a fashion store-cum-cafe in Hong Kong with stacked terracotta display plinths and celestial aluminium partitions.
      The photography is by Daniel Rueda.

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      The Hoxton opens Ricardo Bofill-informed hotel in Barcelona

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      London-based hospitality group Ennismore has opened a hotel in the Poblenou neighbourhood of Barcelona that draws on the bright colours and architectural style of Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill.

      Named The Hoxton Poblenou, after the neighbourhood in the east of the city that was once a hub for the production of textiles where it is based, the 240-room hotel is The Hoxton first Spanish location.
      Ennismore’s design team looked to the work of the late architect Bofill, whose studio is situated nearby,  for the hotel’s interiors. The Spanish architect, who passed away earlier this year, was known for his use of colourful geometric forms and conversion of a dilapidated cement factory into his own studio.
      The Hoxton, Poblenou has opened in Barcelona”Our chief inspiration for the entire project was the infamous late architectural designer, Bofill,” said Ennismore senior designer Charlotte Flynn.
      “His ingenious way of reframing and reimagining old industrial buildings led to many of the architectural features,” she told Dezeen.

      “The use of simple local materials such as ceramic tile, terracotta and concrete was also something that rang true to us from Bofill’s aesthetic.”
      It is the first Spanish site of The Hoxton hotel seriesAlongside the guest suites, the hotel has a rooftop with a pool and bar, pizza restaurant and a bodega. Three meeting and events spaces make up an area named The Apartment, while a basement space called La Cave hosts local events.
      The Hoxton Poblenou’s lobby was framed by floor-to-ceiling windows and curved doorway arches. The focal point of the space is a curved all-day bar serving coffee and drinks that is fronted by a colourful hand-painted mural.
      The designers used colours and forms associated with architect Ricardo BofillElsewhere in the lobby, potted plants, rattan chairs and other seating upholstered with tactile fabrics and patterns can be found.
      Lobbies at The Hoxton’s range are open twenty-four hours to both guests and members of the public as they are designed to be social, community hubs.
      The hotel also houses a pizza restaurantAccording to Flynn, the designers opted for Mediterranean colours in the common areas, as in the peachy plastered walls and tan-hued leather sofas because The Hoxton Poblenou was their first opportunity to design a hotel in a hot and sunny climate.
      Similarly, material choices such as vivid toned glazed tiling were inspired by local Spanish building materials used for roofs and floors.
      Three meeting rooms are located on the ground floor”Bright, sun-drenched palettes, swathes of sheer materials and Mediterranean planting were an absolute must to provide some exotic escapism,” said Flynn.
      “The colour palette ties all the spaces together; reminiscent of a typically Spanish vista featuring terracotta, ocean blues, sunny yellow hues, olive greens and our own addition of pastel and raspberry pinks.”
      Rooms are furnished with natural materials and vintage sourced furnitureUpstairs in the guest rooms, faded floral prints embellish the soft furnishings while bespoke tapestries handmade in India hang above every bed in a nod to Poblebou’s fabric-making past.
      In many of the rooms, the designers departed from their usual choice of timber flooring, which can be found in The Hoxton Southwark. Instead, they opted for terracotta, in an echo of traditional Spanish homes.

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      “Typically, we’ve always designed bedrooms with a timber floor, but it felt like an appropriate and natural departure point for us given the location,” explained Flynn.
      “We layered the space with plenty of rugs in natural Jutes and a deep saturated jewel-toned blue natural wool,” she added.
      “Earthy and oceanic tones are chief in the fabrics and artwork sat against a breezier green and white backdrop.”
      Bedrooms have a muted colour palette and faded floral furnishingsNatural materials like wool and rattan were used throughout the suites in the furniture and lighting, as an ode to Esparto weaving – a traditional Spanish craft. In the bathrooms, several of which have bathtubs, terracotta tiles line the floors and walls.
      A large majority of the furniture and lighting at The Hoxton, Poblenou was designed in-house and produced in Spain and Portugal.
      The hotel bathrooms have terracotta-tiled floorsKey vintage items were sourced from around Europe such as a pair of woven armchairs from the Dutch department store Vroom & Dreesman and a floor lamp from the 1960s by Vico Magistretti for Artemide.
      Contemporary items include a Gustaf Westman Blob Table coffee table and Tino Seubert’s Corrugation Pendant light.
      The first hotel in The Hoxton series was opened by Ennismore in 2006 in London. The Hoxton now has 11 locations across Europe and the US, three of which are in London.
      For The Hoxton Portland, Ennismore transformed a historic building in Portland, Oregon, into a hotel with refreshed modernist-influenced interiors while The Hoxton Chicago which is located on the site of an old meatpacking facility references the industrial nature of its past.
      The photography is by Heiko Prigge.

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      Greek restaurant interior by Masquespacio takes cues from ancient ruins

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      3D-printed “broken” columns join walls and floors created with an adobe effect at the Egeo restaurant in Valencia by interiors studio Masquespacio that aims to put a modern spin on traditional Greek architecture.

      Masquespacio created the interiors for the Egeo Greek restaurant, which is spread across one floor and characterised by a blue and off-white colour palette that is reminiscent of many Greek houses.
      A blue and white colour palette defines the spaceEgeo features a cavernous interior with microcement-coated seating areas and walls carved from curvy shapes punctuated by statement blue columns.
      The Mortex used for these walls and floors intends to give the space an adobe effect.
      It features 3D-printed columnsFractured into two pieces, the restaurant’s columns were created using 3D printing and are fitted with tubular lighting that connects each piece together.

      “We wanted to recreate the concept of a broken column from the past, but uplift it with a contemporary look,” Masquespacio co-founder Christophe Penasse told Dezeen.
      Wooden stools provide seating areasWooden stools resembling chunky chess pieces are scattered around built-in metal and wooden tables in the various seating areas arranged across the restaurant.
      Sconce lights were attached to decorative organic shapes that protrude from the walls while olive trees sit in large, neutrally-hued pots.

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      A central ordering bar was designed to recreate the atmosphere of a bustling market where you might order traditional souvlaki from a mobile vendor, according to Masquespacio.
      “The restaurant was inspired by Greece’s ancient architecture – from its typical white and blue houses to the ruins that are part of its important foundations in our world,” explained Penasse.
      A central bar intends to give the restaurant a lively feelThe eatery is the first Egeo branch in Valencia, although the chain already has two similar locations in Madrid.
      Based in Valencia, Masquespacio was founded in 2010 by Penasse and Ana Milena Hernández Palacio.
      Similar projects in Spain by the studio include another cavernous restaurant that nods to adobe architecture and an eatery with curved forms that take cues from the nearby Pyrenees mountains.
      The photography is by Sebastian Erras.

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      The Standard and Oskar Kohnen design island hotel to reference “golden age of Ibiza”

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      Boutique hotel group The Standard has housed a hotel in Ibiza in a former movie theatre with interiors designed by its in-house design team and architect Oskar Kohnen.

      Located in the heart of Ibiza Town in a former movie theatre, The Standard Ibiza contains 67 guest suites, restaurants, a rooftop bar and a swimming pool with panoramic views of the island. The project was overseen by architect and interior designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán.
      The Standard Ibiza was designed by its in-house design team and Oskar Kohnen”The specific location was the former site of an old movie theatre in the heart of town,” The Standard International’s chief design officer Verena Haller told Dezeen. “It was a place where locals came together throughout the year.”
      “Inspired by that, we knew we wanted to create something which would revive that energy for the local crowd, which is also always a hallmark of what we do so it was a good match in that regard.”
      The hotel is housed within a former movie theatreWhen designing the interiors, The Standard team and London-based interior architect Oskar Kohnen drew on the “lore and sensibility” of the island’s bohemian and “flower power” history, which emerged from Ibiza’s role as a haven from Spain’s dictatorship and the Vietnam War draft.

      This design choice was a “perfect nod” to the island’s style and provided a juxtaposition with the starker exterior of the former movie theatre, said Haller.
      The interiors take cues from 1960s bohemian design”Our team rallied around this direction because it felt spot-on for us and it’s something that has been lost over time despite it perhaps being the golden age of Ibiza in a way,” Haller added.
      Kohnen and The Standard designed the guest suites as a respite from the business of the town and the hotel’s public spaces. The suites have a pared-back beach-villa look with retro-informed furnishings that speak to the hotel’s bohemian identity.
      The hotel is located in the heart of Ibiza townTones of white, grey and beige were used for the walls and floors.
      The furnishings and fixtures are made with natural materials and light woods.

      Marià Castelló designs Ibiza retreat formed of five bright white volumes

      The team used the “layering” of texture, furniture and plants to bring dimension to the interiors and play off the Spanish sun, which enters the hotel through its shutter-lined windows.
      “It is important to see layering and pattern, textures and colour, the shadow play of the plants inside and out through sunlight during the day and warm temperature lights at night,” said Haller.
      Natural materials were used throughout the hotelContrasting to the hotel’s guest suites, the hotel’s public spaces, which include Jara, a ground-floor restaurant, and Up, a rooftop lounge and pool, were designed with more of a maximalist look.
      Retro-style shapes and patterns were incorporated throughout the interior of the ground-floor restaurant while seating was upholstered in rich greens and tropical leaf-printed fabrics.
      Public spaces employ a maximalist look”We wanted the interiors to convey the feelings we love about Ibiza,” said Haller. “The effortlessness of a chic holiday on the island with your closest friends. Not the mega clubs!”
      “The public spaces are a clear departure from that, filled with rich layers of colours, patterns and textures and the type of casual vibrancy that only The Standard can create.”
      The hotel opened in AprilIn 2o19, The Standard opened its first UK hotel inside the former Camden Town Hall Annexe, a brutalist building in King’s Cross, which featured colourful interiors.
      Elsewhere in Ibiza, architecture studio Marià Castelló designed a retreat that is formed of five bright white volumes and linked by glass corridors.
      Images are courtesy of The Standard.

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

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      A towering spiral staircase and a golden kitchen are some of the features that Raúl Sánchez Architects has introduced in its renovation of this townhouse in Barcelona’s Borne neighbourhood.

      BSP20 House has been in the making since 2013, when Raúl Sánchez Architects was approached by the building’s owners to turn it into a live-work space where they could stay during visits to the city.
      A white spiral staircase rises up from the ground floorHowever, due to regulatory issues, construction works didn’t begin for another seven years. During this period the already dilapidated building fell into further ruin, and at one point was even used as a squat.
      When the renovation finally got underway in August 2020, Raúl Sánchez Architects decided to completely gut the building, only leaving behind the four exterior walls and roof.
      This level of the home also features a brass kitchen suiteAs a result, three new floor levels have been inserted, each installed in such a way so that they don’t touch the building’s front or rear facades.

      Some of the resulting gaps have been filled with panes of glass, allowing residents to steal glimpses of different levels of the home.
      The staircase grants access to each of the home’s four levelsA huge void on the right side of BSP20’s interior now accommodates a white spiral staircase that winds up through the ground, first, second and third floors, all the way to the decked terrace on top of the building.
      Positioned directly above the stairs is a glazed opening that lets natural light filter deep into the plan.
      Rooms have largely been left empty so they can be used for different purposesSeeing the building in such a bare state at the beginning of the renovation process encouraged Raul Sanchez Architects to keep its rough, time-worn brick walls.
      “Those four walls, over 15 metres high, are a museum of the building’s history, where any trace of its construction, and of its use, will be left unaltered, exposed in all its crudeness,” said the studio.
      Raúl Sánchez Architects has preserved the building’s original brick wallsA similarly hands-off approach has been taken with the rest of the interior; most rooms have been largely left without fixtures and fittings so that, if necessary, they can be used for different purposes in the future.
      On the ground floor there is a kitchen, its cabinetry crafted from lustrous brass.
      “In terms of materiality, a certain refinement has been pursued in the new elements to be implemented, in opposition to the crude expressiveness of the existing walls, conscious that the space must house a home,” explained the studio.
      Natural light seeps in from a glazed opening above the staircaseOn the second floor there is only a bathroom lined with cream-coloured lacquered wood, finished with gold-tone hardware.
      The electrics, air-conditioning system and telephone wires have also been concealed within six steel tubes that run upwards through the home.
      Pale lacquered wood lines surfaces in the bathroomWhen it came to restoring BSP20’s facade, the practice had to follow strict heritage guidelines – but it was granted more freedom in the appearance of the front door.
      It’s now clad with three different types of aluminium, and features a graphic rhomboidal design that nods to the patterned hydraulic floor tiles seen inside the house.
      The home was given a new geometric-print front doorRaúl Sánchez Architects has completed several residential projects in its home city of Barcelona.
      Others include The Magic Box Apartment, which features a huge gold wardrobe, and Atic Aribau, which has bright, stripped-back interiors.
      Photography is by José Hevia.
      Project credits:
      Architecture: Raúl SánchezArchitecture team: Valentina Barberio, Paolo BurattiniStructure consultant: Diagonal ArquitecturaEngineering: Marés Ingenieros

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      Takk founders build all-white “igloo” bedroom for their young daughter

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      Furry white fabric lines the interior of this winter-themed kid’s bedroom, which Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño of Spanish studio Takk have constructed inside their home in Barcelona.

      Affectionately titled Winter Bedroom (for a Big Grrl), the self-contained structure was designed as a hideaway for the couple’s young daughter.
      It takes the shape of a 3.5-metre-high dome that tapers off into a narrow entrance on one side, resembling an igloo.
      Takk’s founders have built an igloo-shaped bedroom for their daughterThe project forms part of Takk’s ongoing and continuous renovation of the warehouse space where its founders both live and build their large-scale architectural works.
      “The house-workshop is a 400-square-metre space that can host the installations that we design and produce,” Luzárraga told Dezeen.

      “At the same time, the space is being colonised by some domestic spaces that condition it for living. It’s continuously changing depending on the work that we are developing. Some of the pieces stay forever, and some of them are temporary.”
      The interior is covered almost entirely in a fluffy white carpetMost of the materials used to form the Winter Bedroom are repurposed from Takk’s previous projects, including the steel-chain curtain that covers the entrance in lieu of a door and the three layers of foam that line the dome’s ceiling and its entire exterior.
      Set on top of a wooden structure of vertical and horizontal ribs, the foam sheets serve seral purposes. For one, they maintain the all-white palette of the sleeping quarters and provide extra warmth in the industrial warehouse, which has plenty of space and light but little insulation.

      Takk perches communal bedroom on stilts in Madrid apartment renovation

      Unlike traditional cladding or wall panelling, the foam also moulds easily to the dome’s rounded form.
      “The flexible condition of the material easily adapts to the igloo shape,” explained Muiño, who founded Takk together with Luzárraga shortly after the couple met in 2008.
      Spherical lights are fitted to the domed ceilingInside the bedroom, a snowy carpet covers not just the floor but also the walls and the raised platform that holds up the bed.
      “The interior space has a floor at a height of 90 centimetres where the mattress lies, all covered in a white furry carpet ready to be enjoyed barefoot,” Muiño said. “Below this big bed, there is a space for storing, playing or hiding.”
      Spherical lights integrated into the ceiling form what the studio describes as “a sky of bulbs”, designed to create the impression of looking up at the stars.
      The self-contained bedroom is set in a converted warehouseTakk recently constructed another self-contained bedroom as part of an apartment renovation in Madrid, where the communal sleeping quarters are perched on stilts.
      For more creative kids’ bedrooms, see our lookbook of ten contemporary children’s bedrooms.

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      Cara Mela by Casa Antillón is a dual-colour pastry shop in Madrid

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      Two rooms – one white and one green – make up this striking colour-block pastry shop that architecture and interiors studio Casa Antillón has completed in Madrid.

      The layout of Cara Mela naturally lends itself to having distinctly different coloured rooms, according to local studio Casa Antillón.
      Cara Mela’s first room is finished completely in white”From the beginning, we had a vision of a spatial cascade of rooms separated by colour-contrasted openings on the walls,” the studio told Dezeen.
      “It was very suitable with the architecture of the existing building, since the floor goes down from the entrance to the back of the shop.”
      A stainless steel unit accommodates different functional elementsUpon entering the pastry shop, which is located in Madrid’s Chamberi neighbourhood, customers are welcomed into an all-white room.

      The space is dominated by an angular stainless steel unit, incorporating a high counter where customers can stand and eat, a handwashing station and a glass display case that shows off Cara Mela’s sweet treats.
      The back room features sea-green surfacesThis front room narrows slightly before opening up to reveal a seating area at the back of the shop. Casa Antillón nicknamed the two spaces after the different phases of a heartbeat – systole and diastole.
      “Systole and diastole are the heart’s movements of contraction and expansion,” explained the studio. “For us, it refers to this spatial game where one space contracts and drags the visitor in, while the other expands letting the same visitor relax in the lounge.”

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      The rear room was finished entirely in a rich sea-green hue save for the steps leading down into the space, which are clad in white tiles to create the impression of the front room “spilling” into the back of the shop.
      Dotted throughout the space are a few wriggly-edged tables balanced on slim metal legs, which are also sea green.
      Furniture and fixtures have wriggly edgesRight at the back of the room is a small window that looks through to the kitchen. Its ledge and inner frame are coated in a glossy, bright-red paint reminiscent of caramelised apples – one of the most popular offerings on Cara Mela’s menu.
      The same shade of red was also applied to the shop’s front door.
      A red window offers views of the staff kitchenFounded in 2019, Casa Antillón is led by architects Marta Ochoa, Ismael López, Emmanuel Álvarez and Yosi Negrín.
      Cara Mela isn’t the first project the studio has completed in its hometown of Madrid. Elsewhere in the Spanish capital, the studio has designed Mood, a trendy hair salon with a galvanised steel facade.
      The photography is by Imagen Subliminal.

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