More stories

  • in

    Thermory wood cladding forms backdrop to Grand Emily Hotel in Ukraine

    Promotion: design agency YOD Group has designed the interior for the Grand Emily Hotel Lobby and Terra restaurant near Lviv, opting for Thermory’s rustic wood cladding throughout.

    The hotel, which was completed this year despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is located in the Ukrainian town of Vynnyky near Lviv. The hotel and restaurant form a part of the Emily Resort that YOD Group has designed with a natural, tactile aesthetic.
    YOD Group used Thermory products at the Emily Resort in UkraineIts aesthetic was achieved using a mix of natural and natural-looking materials, including material manufacturer Thermory’s range of Drift cladding.
    This saw YOD Group awarded the best interior project in the Thermory Design Awards Grand Prix competition, which was held by Thermory for its 25th anniversary.
    The agency created the interior for the Grand Emily Hotel LobbyIn the Grand Emily Hotel Lobby, the Thermory thermally modified Drift cladding is used across the walls.

    It was selected for its worn, rustic appearance, which is intended to evoke reclaimed wood without sacrificing quality or durability.
    Thermory’s Drift cladding was used throughoutSelected in shades of Black Pearl and Smoked Brandy, the cladding provides the lobby with “touchable surfaces” that form a natural backdrop to the space.
    “We aimed to get the visual lightness and tell the story about the morning breeze that passes on the lake surface and combs the reeds,” said YOD Group designer Volodymyr Nepiyvoda.
    The wood gives the interiors a natural aesthetic”We created this emotion by the structure of the boards that we used for the wall covering of the hall,” added Nepiyvoda.
    The cladding also forms a suitable yet contrasting backdrop to a large sycamore tree that is suspended through the Grand Emily Hotel Lobby, forming its centrepiece.
    YOD Group’s aim was to give the hotel “touchable surfaces””We rejected the idea of a massive chandelier in the atrium in favour of a strongly meaningful installation,” explained Nepiyvoda.
    “A tree means connection with roots and family values, growth, and development, strong bar, and flexible branches. It connects the earth and space.”
    YOD Group also designed the resort’s Terra restaurantOver in the Grand Emily Hotel’s Terra restaurant, Thermory Drift Cladding has also been used.
    YOD Group used the material to help blur the boundary between the restaurant interior and a terrace outside that is lined with American sweet gum trees.
    The Thermory wood is also used in the adjoining terraceAccording to Nepiyvoda, it is designed to encapsulate the landscape of western Ukraine.
    “We reflect all of that in the interior of Terra restaurant,” they said. “Vast expanses, rich colours, textures and flavours, generous nature, lust for life, and existential joy.”
    To find out more about Thermory products and how they are used, visit the brand’s website.
    Partnership content
    This article was written by Dezeen for Thermory as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

    Read more: More

  • in

    Ukrainian studio Bogdanova Bureau's Kyiv office damaged in missile attack

    Kyiv architecture studio Bogdanova Bureau has vowed to make its office “even more beautiful than before” after it was damaged in a Russian missile attack.

    Staff at Bogdanova Bureau arrived at the office on Monday to find the windows blasted into the room and debris and broken glass scattered across the floor.
    Windows were smashed into the room by the blastRussian forces had fired a barrage of missiles into the Ukrainian capital and other cities early that morning, killing 19 people and injuring many more.
    None of Bogdanova Bureau’s employees were harmed, though some of their possessions were destroyed, the studio told Dezeen. By Tuesday, the team had cleaned up the office and returned to work in the studio.
    The team cleaned up the office and returned to work the following day”In some time we will repair all that is broken and make our place even more beautiful than before,” said studio spokesperson Nadia Sheikina. “As designers, we know how to do it.”

    “As well, we are going to rebuild all the destroyed cities and villages, all the schools, homes and ambulatories that were ruined in Ukraine,” she continued. “We already had started working on it.”
    Broken glass and debris was scattered through the office”We were scared on February 24 when the war started, now we are not,” she added. “We know that the mean enemy wants to invade our land and appropriate our culture, but it will never happen.”
    Bogdanova Bureau only recently refurbished its office, completing the project five months before the Russian invasion began.
    The office, pictured before the blast, was refurbished five months before the war began. Photo by Yevhenii AvramenkoThe office is in the heart of Kyiv next to Shevchenko Park, and is surrounded by a university, libraries, museums, and a cultural centre, as well as apartments and office buildings.
    A missile struck the middle of the park close to a children’s playground, with the blast wave destroying windows across the building housing the studio’s office.
    The missile struck a park outside the office building next to a playgroundThe bombardment of central Kyiv was part of a series of attacks launched in retaliation after a key bridge linking Russia to the annexed region of Crimea was heavily damaged by an explosion.
    In April, Bogdanova Bureau spoke to Dezeen for a piece about how Ukrainian design and architecture studios were dealing with the war.

    Russian shelling destroys constructivist landmark in Ukraine

    At the time, its founder Olga Bogdanova urged international clients to trust Ukrainian studios to deliver despite the turmoil of the conflict.
    “We thank the international society and especially the international design community for all their support and all their attention,” Sheikina said this week.

    Windows of the building were left damaged”But after eight months of the war, we feel that some of you got used to the war. Please do not be! It is understandable, no one can be stressed for such a long time and everyone deserves to experience their own life and focus on some normal things around them,” she continued.
    “We ask you not to get used to war and pay your precise attention to Ukrainian designers, architects, and artists. Please raise your voice and stand with Ukraine. It can make things different!”
    The photography is by Yulia Bevzenko unless otherwise stated.

    Read more: More

  • in

    Makhno Studio celebrates Ukrainian craft in all-beige home near Kyiv

    Kyiv-based Makhno Studio has paired soft, bumpy textures and intricate ceramic walls inside this all-beige home in Ukraine, which was completed right before the Russian invasion.

    Located in Kozyn, a rural town just south of Kyiv, Mureli House is a celebration of summertime and Ukrainian design, with mureli being an old Ukrainian word for apricot.
    Intricate ceramics feature throughout the Mureli House interior by Makhno StudioThe home, which was completed just two months before the start of the invasion in February 2022, comprises an open-plan living room and kitchen, three bedrooms with three bathrooms, a guest bathroom, a laundry room and a garage with a terrace.
    The clients – a local Ukrainian couple with a large family – requested from the outset that Makhno Studio should work with as many Ukrainian manufacturers and craftsmen as possible to create bespoke products for the house.
    A bulbous sculpture decorates the fireplace mantel in the lounge”All materials in the home are natural,” the studio’s founder Serhii Makhno told Dezeen. “The team used almost all Ukrainian brands and worked with several local contractors to minimise the distance and logistics.”

    The clients wanted a neutral, beige interior across all of the rooms to create a cohesive look. As a result, the house’s second floor is finished mostly in wood while the entire ground floor is decorated with beige-coloured plaster.
    Makhno designed the pendant lights in the lounge to resemble seed podsMakhno Studio emphasised the generous volumes and curved staircase in the home’s entrance hallway through a wall of three-dimensional ceramic tiles and a dramatic cluster of pendant lamps made of clay and polystyrene foam.
    References to the natural world are integrated throughout the interior. Highlights include a cluster of Makhno-designed pendants in the living room that resemble seed pods and washbasins that appear like hollowed-out boulders.
    The entire ground floor including the kitchen is finished in beige-coloured plasterThe only exception to Mureli House’s monochrome colour scheme is the main bathroom, which features pink accents including ombre shower doors and scale-shaped concrete tiles that can be tilted away from the wall to double up as hooks for hanging towels and bathrobes.
    “Ceramic craftsmanship is an ancient Ukrainian tradition,” Makhno explained. “At the end of the 1920s, the ceramic tradition began to be restored in various parts of Ukraine. At Makhno, the tradition is continued today to highlight its uniqueness and naturalistic appeal.”

    Makhno Studio designs conceptual settlement within Martian crater

    Mureli House currently stands empty since the owners were forced to flee to safer areas in the west of Ukraine following Russia’s attempts to storm Kyiv in the early days of the war.
    The exact condition of the home is unknown. But Makhno Studio says a Russian military plane and several missiles were shot down over the surrounding area in Kozyn.
    Russian troops were forced to retreat from Kyiv at the start of April but left behind a trail of destruction in the city’s outskirts and have since carried out a number of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital.
    The monochrome colour palette extends into the home’s three bedroomsIn total, more than 143 significant cultural sites have been damaged in Ukraine since the start of the war, including the Ivankiv Museum in Kyiv and several second world war memorial monuments in the surrounding region.
    Serhii Makhno says he currently remains safe in Ukraine, while the rest of his team is scattered throughout Europe and is working mainly on international projects.
    Boulder-like sinks and scale-shaped tiles feature in the main bathroomThe studio is among a number of Ukrainian practices that have told Dezeen they are now looking for support and commissions from foreign clients.
    Previous projects from the studio include Makhno’s own thatched-roof house in Kozyn and his duplex apartment in Kyiv.
    The photography is courtesy of Makhno Studio.

    Read more: More