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    WGNB creates minimal monochrome SVRN store in Chicago

    A variety of monolithic furniture pieces direct the flow of movement around this fashion boutique in Chicago, designed by South Korean studio WGNB.

    The space for lifestyle brand SVRN is intended to highlight the products for sale as artworks and ideas, rather than simply as garments.
    Benches balanced on irregularly shaped rocks also act as product displays in the store”Spatial design of the SVRN store began with our interpretation of the SVRN’s brand identity and narrative through the eastern perspective,” said WGNB.
    “While the western perspective looks at the object itself, the eastern perspective rather focuses on the surrounding relationship of the object.”
    Thin black railings are used for hanging garmentsThe 4,200-square-foot (390-square-metre) store on North Aberdeen Street, in the Fulton Market area, is split into two sections: the main sales floor and a back room, which are connected by a narrow corridor.

    A muted, monochrome selection of materials creates a serene atmosphere in both of the spaces, while the architectural elements dictate purposeful paths that connect them.
    Various architectural and furniture elements form pathways for shoppers to meanderBlack railings transverse the walls, puncturing curved and flat vertical partitions made from materials including concrete, steel and black-stained thermowood.
    Curved benches that act as both accessory displays and seating are balanced on large irregularly shaped stones.
    The walls and ceiling in the back room are lined with stainless steelTogether, all of these elements suggest multiple meandering routes for customers to trace through the store.
    In the back room, the curvature of the benches corresponds with a circular opening in the brushed stainless steel ceiling, while a round patch of carpet sits offset on the floor.
    A section dedicated to footwear features multiple shelving unitsHot-rolled steel continues across three walls, creating a sci-fi feel in certain areas of the room.
    Micro-cement plaster paints are used to contrast the metal, adding a rougher texture against the smooth surfaces.
    A monochrome colour scheme is applied throughout”Overall, usage of the materials are manifestations of the SVRN’s brand identity and narratives,” said WGNB.
    The fourth wall in the rear space is reserved for displaying shoes, which sit on shelves of unequal heights that are silhouetted against backlighting.

    WGNB designs all-black flagship store for fashion brand Juun.J

    “The spatial layout of the store considers the current that customer’s circulation creates in the space with the objects and openness,” said the studio.
    “And, the visual tension is created by the constantly changing eyesight of the customers while navigating the store.”
    A variety of smooth and textured surfaces create subtle contrasts across the boutiqueMinimalist fashion boutiques can be found worldwide, with many brands opting for a simple and pared-back interior to allow the products to shine.
    Recently completed examples include Snøhetta’s Holzweiler store in Copenhagen and a Jonathan Simkhai store in New York’s SoHo by Aruliden.
    The store was designed by WGNB, the Dezeen Awards Emerging Interiors Studio in 2021WGNB, which won the Dezeen Award for Emerging Interior Designer of the Year 2021, has also created monochromatic interiors for fashion brand Juun.J’s flagship store and a golf supply shop – both in Seoul.
    The photography is by Yongjoon Choi.
    Project credits:
    Construction/general contractor: Helios Construction Services

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    Tampa “about to explode” as a destination, says Edition hotels founder Ian Schrager

    American entrepreneur Ian Schrager’s hospitality group The Edition has opened the first five-star hotel in Tampa, Florida, which includes a “jungle” lobby and a party room with 350 disco balls.

    The Tampa Edition, which started taking bookings in October 2022, is housed in a new 26-storey building that includes 172 rooms and 38 private residences.
    A focal point in the lobby of The Tampa Edition is a snaking marble staircaseIt forms part of the Water Street development, a huge urban mixed-use expansion project just south of Downtown and a couple of blocks from the waterfront.
    “[Tampa] has established its time is now, and I think it’s about to explode on the scene,” said Schrager, the hospitality mastermind who co-founded the legendary New York nightclub Studio 54, and is also behind the Public hotels chain.
    Between the tropical plants, the tall lobby features a custom travertine pool table“It’s got a good quality of life and a great food scene,” he continued.

    “It’s a city in the sun, but it’s not a vacation-only spot, it’s a real living breathing city and that’s what I think is so special about it.”
    Bright yellow carpet and seating contrast the greenerySchrager’s team at ISC Design Studio designed the new Edition property, along with Morris Adjmi Architects, Nichols Architects, Bonetti Kozerski Architects, and Roman and Williams.
    The white and glass building features art deco-influenced curves, which wrap the hotel on the larger lower floors and the residences in the tower portion above.
    A scalloped walnut bar serves Mediterranean-influenced cocktails and light bitesThe hotel’s lobby features 20-foot ceilings and full-height glazing along the front facade.
    A large stainless-steel lilac orb greets guests as they enter the travertine-clad space, which is filled with tropical plants.
    The Lilac restaurant features bright green seating that matches the tiles lining the semi-open kitchen”I put the landscaping in the lobby,” Schrager told Dezeen. “I wanted to have a jungle, and I kept saying ‘more, more’ plants. At night they’re lit from below and you get the shadows of the leaves on the ceiling. It’s almost all green.”
    Among the greenery are areas of lounge seating and a custom travertine pool table with a bright yellow top.
    Entertainment spaces on the second floor include the Punch Room, decorated with walnut panelling and jewel-toned sofasThe same colour is repeated in the carpet and seat upholstery in the bar area, which is arranged around a scalloped walnut counter from which Mediterranean-influenced cocktails and small plates are served.
    “Using really bright colors – the yellows and blues and greens – or putting plants in the lobby, were not additive,” said Schrager. “Those things will surprise you.”
    A party room with 350 disco balls on the ceiling forms part of the Arts ClubThe restaurant, Lilac, features bright green seating that matches the tiles lining the semi-open kitchen, which offers a Mediterranean menu from chef John Fraser.
    At the other end of the lobby, a white marble staircase provides a focal point as it snakes up to several more entertainment spaces.
    The Arts Club also includes an entirely black room with lounge seatingThese include the Punch Room, a cosy walnut-panelled space with chartreuse sofas, and royal blue velvet banquettes and curtains.
    The Arts Club, intended for late-night events, comprises a series of rooms – one is completely black, while 350 disco balls cover the entire ceiling in another.
    The guest bedrooms are designed to look understated, with a focus on materialsThe spa is also located on the second floor, while another bar and restaurant can be found on the ninth, which opens onto a roof terrace where guests can also enjoy an outdoor pool, sun loungers and cabanas.
    Guest rooms and suites have an understated aesthetic, with particular attention paid to lighting and materials, including marble bathrooms, walnut panelling and white oak furniture.

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    “The design is simple and pure,” said Schrager. “There isn’t anything superfluous or gratuitous, nor a wasted gesture.”
    “Leonardo da Vinci said ‘simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’. It’s supposed to be restful and peaceful,” he added.
    A bar and restaurant on the ninth floor, named Azure, opens onto a roof terraceThe Edition now has 15 locations around the world, with West Hollywood, Tokyo and Madrid – which was longlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2022.
    “I’m selling a visceral emotional experience, and it’s hard to pull that off,” Schrager said of the Edition as a brand. “Because you can’t take it out of a brand book or a rule book. It’s got to be balanced between refinement and being raw and edgy, so it can all come together in some mystical way.”
    The roof terrace includes a swimming pool, loungers and cabanas for guests to relax inThe Tampa Edition is a major draw for the $3.5 billion Water Street development project, which encompasses nine million square feet and will form a new neighbourhood in a previously neglected corner of the city.
    Tampa, as with other Floridian urban centres, has seen a boom in interest from tourists and new residents over the past few years, and therefore a need has grown for more homes, hotels and restaurants.
    The photography is by Nikolas Koenig.

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    Supreme's Los Angeles flagship features its first fully floating skate bowl

    A team of architects and designers has mixed retail with a skateboard facility for clothing brand Supreme’s Los Angeles flagship store, sited in the building that was once home to the iconic record store Tower Records.

    The overall design of the he 8,500-square-foot (790-square-metre) store was carried out through a collaboration of London interiors studios Brinkworth and The Wilson Brothers – and New York architect Neil Logan.
    The Supreme store features its first fully floating skate bowlSupreme, a Manhattan streetwear brand catering to skaters, collaborated with Steve Badgett of SIMPARCH, a New Mexico to outfit, for a fully floating skate bowl.
    SIMPARCH previously constructed four skate bowls for Supreme, including a small peanut-shaped skate bowl in the previous Los Angeles store in 2004.
    Inside, light bounces off the polished concrete walls”We had a much bigger area to work with at this location, so the design process with Supreme’s circle of experienced pool skaters took more time to nail down the final form,” Badgett told Dezeen.

    The clover-leafed sculpted wooden skate bowl has three depths and a pale surface bordered by a darker rim.
    “The previous four bowls we built for Supreme were all considerable challenges but this one was a whole different animal with its greater size and structural complexity,” Badgett said. 
    The white box store sports a red logo on the renovated billboard fascia”Our engineer, Paul Endres, figured out how to eliminate columns anywhere near the bowl so it hung from the deck structure. He was able to do that without compromising the lean, fluid, aesthetic we wanted, and it allows the bowl’s organic form to be seen unimpeded,” he continued.
    Located in the site of the former Tower Record’s West Coast store, the one-storey white box store sports a blocky red logo on the renovated billboard fascia.
    “It was such an honour to take loving care of the historic Tower Records structure while literally raising the roof to accommodate the huge levitating skate bowl,” said Brinkworth founder Adam Brinkworth.
    “The site has gone from the world’s largest record store to the world’s largest Supreme.”
    SIMPARCH created the wooden skate bowlStorefront windows between triangular columns wrap the street corner, turning the sales floor into a display case.
    Inside, steel trusses raise the original roof and open the space with skylights for an illuminated interior. Light bounces off the elevated, wooden bottom of the skate bowl, which hovers on the far side of the store.

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    A metal wall was installed around the bowl to produce blurry reflection of the skaters. The wall also features a jagged black-hole art piece by Nate Lowman.
    On the main floor, clothing racks and product displays wrap around two walls. Sandstone benches were placed on the polished concrete flooring to reference a LA skatespot called the Santa Monica Sand Gaps.
    A Mark Gonzales go-kart is parked in the centre of the roomThe reserved white and grey material palette defers to art installations for colour and texture. A full-size F1 car by Mark Gonzales was parked in the centre of the room, and a colourful grim reaper mural by Josh Smith is splayed across a wall.
    The skate-in-the-store concept has become a signature for Supreme, who works with other architects to install the feature in locations across the country – such as the stilted platform in the Brooklyn store designed by Neil Logan Architect and the elevated reverberating bowl by Brinkwork in the renovated San Francisco store.
    In advance of the new opening, the Fairfax Avenue location in LA closed earlier this month after 19 years in business.
    The photography is by Blaine Davis.
    Project credits:
    Architecture: Brinkworth, The Wilson Brothers, Neil LoganDesign: Steve Badgett of SIMPARCHEngineering: Paul EndresFabrication: Steve Badget, Chris Vorhees, Clay MahnComputer modelling: Peter Eng

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    Jialun Xiong balances contrasts at “retro-futurist” restaurant in Los Angeles

    LA-based furniture designer Jialun Xiong has completed her first restaurant interior in the city for 19 Town, achieving a retro-futurist look by pairing soft hues and metallic surfaces.

    Serving Chinese fusion food, the 19 Town restaurant is located in an industrial area close to Downtown LA.
    Upon entry to 19 Town, diners are met at a stainless steel and Formica counterThe name is a play on words from a phrase in Mandarin, signifying a venue that has food and wine according to Xiong, who is originally from Chongqing.
    She used a variety of materials and her own furniture designs to give the space a sense of “lavish restraint”, through the combination of minimal forms and rich details.
    Designer Jialun Xiong aimed to create “high-drama interiors” through the use of contrasting materials”Crafted with rigorously minimal forms balanced by rich materials like Venetian plaster, silver, and leather, the restaurant’s high-drama interiors create an elevated dining experience where connection around food takes centre stage,” said a statement on behalf of Xiong.

    The 4,200-square-foot (390-square-metre) restaurant is divided into five areas, which include the main dining space, a bar and lounge, and three private rooms.
    Glass block partitions define the spacesEach space is designed with its own identity, including the entry, featuring a custom brushed stainless steel and Formica reception desk.
    Behind, the wall is covered in Venetian plaster and plywood cabinets offer storage, while a series of circular Vibia pendant lights hang above.
    Xiong used multiple pieces from her Building Blocks collection to furnish the restaurantGlass block partitions define the perimeter of the main dining area, comprising a central seating area with round tables, and custom banquettes made from brushed stainless, green leather and vinyl.
    “Overlooking an open kitchen, the main dining space evokes an aura of retro-futurism,” said the team.
    The main dining room features custom stainless steel banquettesThe lounge is located on one side and the screened bar is situated on the other – both continuing the same design language as the central room, but with their own twist.
    Xiong used multiple pieces from her Building Blocks collection to furnish these spaces, such as a silver powder-coated metal bench with off-white leather upholstered seats.

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    Other items also combine industrial and natural materials, creating a balance between soft and hard, shiny and matte, and heavy and light.
    A variety of lighting designs with disc-shaped elements are installed throughout, adding to the retro-futurist appearance.
    The restaurant has three private dining rooms, all with a restrained aestheticThe private dining spaces are decorated using a monochromatic palette and a restrained approach, with green providing a subtle injection of muted colour.
    The overall result is a series of “balanced spaces where furnishings, lighting, and spatial volumes are considered together as a total composition”.
    The bar also features custom furnishingsMinimalism has become an increasingly popular style choice for Chinese restaurants, both in China and around the globe.
    Others include a hotpot restaurant with thick stucco walls in Qinhuangdao, a muted monochrome space in Ontario, and an eatery featuring stainless steel, brass and polycarbonate in Manhattan.
    The photography is by Ye Rin Mok.

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    Black staircases link SC Workplace by Behnisch Architekten

    A variety of black staircases dogleg and spiral between the levels of this office in Southern California, designed by global firm Behnisch Architekten.

    Tasked with bringing personality to a four-storey “developer box”, Behnisch Architekten 110,000 square feet (10,220 square metres) for an undisclosed client.
    Hairpin staircases rise through an atrium to link offices on different levels”We had the opportunity to work with a great client to transform this ubiquitous building type into a dynamic work environment, which promotes connection and collaboration,” said the studio.
    The building shell, measuring 120 by 240 feet (37 by 74 metres), features glass facades and an elevator core at its centre.
    Behnisch Architekten carved the atria from the floor plates to bring in light and create visual connectionsThe team began by carving up the continuous floor plates to open up the levels to one another – allowing in more light and creating visual connections between multiple spaces.

    On opposite sides of the core, they created two “eccentrically-shaped atriums” by staggering the walls of meeting rooms on the different storeys.
    The staircases are wrapped in solid black on three sides”A pair of hairpin-shaped stairs are situated in each atrium and connect users between office levels two to four, promoting inter-level exchange, but also serving as a sculptural element within the space,” said the studio.
    Voids were also created in opposing corners, each containing a spiral staircase treated with the same solid black balustrades and light wooden treads as the doglegged ones.
    More voids were formed at the building’s corners, which are used as lounge areas”The multitude of options between levels allows users to move freely from floor to floor,” Behnisch Architekten said. “These voids also add communication and transparency between previously disconnected floor plates.”
    Lounge areas also occupy the corner voids, which offer social spaces for employees and are flooded with light from the dual-aspect glazing.
    Spiral staircases provide alternatives vertical routes through the buildingPrivate offices are situated around the building’s perimeter so that users are afforded light and views.
    Closer to the elevator lobbies, conference and meeting rooms feature glass walls, allowing some to overlook the atria.
    Meeting and conference rooms are located in the centre of the buildingFor wayfinding and booking, every meeting room is named after a river, while lounges are represented by lakes.
    Each floor corresponds with two continental regions, which are identified through custom-designed wood artworks and photography.

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    Amenities for staff at ground level include a bouldering wall that wraps the core and is connected to a gym and a game room.
    A large dining hall features pale materials and a slatted wood ceiling also found in other areas of the building.
    On the ground floor, the core is wrapped with a bouldering wallStefan Behnisch established Behnisch Architekten in Stuttgart in 1989 with his late father Günter Behnisch. The firm now has additional offices in Los Angeles, Boston and Munich.
    It has completed a variety of different building typologies over the years, from kindergartens, schools and laboratories, to offices for Adidas and an academic building at Harvard University.
    Staff amenities include a large dining hallBehnisch was interviewed about his firm’s projects as part of Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival in 2020.
    The photography is by Brad Feinknopf and Nephew.
    Project credits:
    Project team: Kristi Paulson (Partner in Charge), Daniel Poei (Director/Project Lead), Tony Gonzalez, Vera Tian, Laura Fox, Eric Hegre Apurva Ravi, Victoria OakesConsultants: John A. Martin & Associates (Structural), Loisos + Ubbelohde (Lighting/Daylighting), ARUP (Fire/Life Safety, Acoustical, Audio/Visual), ACCO Engineered Systems (Design-Build – Mechanical/Plumbing), Morrow Meadows (Design- Build – Electrical), Pinnacle (Design-Build – Audio/Visual), Ockert and Partners (Graphics), SPMDesign (Custom-fabricated Artwork)General contractor: DPR Construction

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    Gin Design Group completes jewel-toned restaurant The Lymbar in Houston

    Houston-based Gin Design Group has combined various mid-century references at a local restaurant, which celebrates its chef’s family history and is “a tribute to all grandmothers”.

    Located at The Ion business centre in Midtown Houston, The Lymbar’s design was heavily influenced by the upbringing of chef David Cordúa, whose menu is based on Latin-Mediterranean cuisine.
    The Lymbar’s bar features a mural by Carissa Marx influenced by the colours of the chef’s family homeThe 4,000-square-foot (370-square-metre) establishment is named after Lymbar Drive, the street where Cordúa’s grandparents settled in Houston from Nicaragua.
    It was designed by Gin Braverman of Gin Design Group, who was the chef’s childhood babysitter.
    Tones used for the plush furniture were taken from the bar mural”The Lymbar is my grandmother’s house,” Cordúa said. “The house stayed in our family, and it’s where we perfected our family’s hospitality.”

    “It’s a tribute to all grandmothers,” he added of the restaurant, which is intended to feel both elevated and cosy, achieved through warm lighting, deep red curtains and plush furnishings.
    Greenery is introduced by a life-like tree in the centre and globe-shaped planters above the bar”We wanted to capture the bustle of a hotel lobby, the polish of a private club and the hospitality of the Cordúa family in the design,” Braverman said.
    “Mixed with a confluence of Latin American, Lebanese and Mediterranean textures and art layered over a backdrop of classic mid-century materials such as warm woods, earthy colors and lush greenery.”
    The shelving above the banquette seating displays mementos from the chef’s childhoodThe colour palette for the interiors was drawn from the Cordúa family home.
    Orange, red and olive hues were used as a starting point for a mural painted on the front of the bar by local artist Carissa Marx.
    Artworks in the space in include a collage by Vernon Caldera, while the scalloped floor pattern was hand-painted by Carissa MarxInfluenced by the work of Brazilian modernist Roberto Burle Marx, no relation to Carissa, the mural then informed the tones chosen for the lounge-style furniture.
    Marx also hand-painted a black and white scalloped pattern across the concrete floor.
    Red velvet curtains and warm lighting evoke the appearance of a hotel lobbyOther nods to mid-century design in the restaurant include the shelving at the main bar, which was inspired by Gio Ponti’s Planchart Villa in Venezuela.
    The shelves display a collection of nostalgic objects and mementos from Cordúa’s childhood.

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    Greenery is introduced through a life-like tree that sits at the centre of the dining area and large globe-shaped planters above the bar created in collaboration with locally based Nicaraguan artist Vernon Caldera and The Flora Culture.
    Caldera also helped to curate The Lymbar’s art collection, and one of his collages hangs in the dining room.
    A private dining room is decorated entirely in a red-purple shadeThe restaurant’s open kitchen is framed by a concrete counter and faceted breeze blocks that incorporate lighting. There’s also a private dining room decorated entirely in a red-purple shade.
    Gin Design Group focuses on hospitality interiors primarily in the Houston area. The studio recently completed a barbershop in the Southside Place neighbourhood, which features a radial layout and a hidden cork-like bar.
    The open kitchen is framed by a concrete counter and faceted breeze blocks that incorporate lightingOther restaurants to open in the city over the past year include cosy Japanese spot Uchiko Houston and lively smokehouse Loro Heights – both designed by Michael Hsu.
    The photography is by Leonid Furmansky.

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    Studio Vural reinterprets Japanese interiors for Warren Street Townhouse

    New York City architecture firm Studio Vural used Kyoto merchant houses as a reference point when renovating the interiors of this Brooklyn townhouse for a couple.

    A trip to the Japanese city in 2009 left such an impact on the clients that Studio Vural decided to adapt and update elements of the traditional minimalist architecture for the interiors of the Warren Street Townhouse.
    The townhouse renovation involved adding plenty of storage using European oak”Our design is the embodiment of an early memory our clients experienced as a young couple in Kyoto, an experience so powerful and authentic, that it found its way to a new reality in Brooklyn through our imagination,” said studio founder Selim Vural.
    The four-storey building was overhauled to create a rental apartment at the garden level, leaving the upper three floors for the clients to live in.
    A dining nook was created at the back of the parlour level, behind the staircaseWith a total of 3,200 square feet (300 square metres), the project involved reorganising rooms while bringing in contemporary renditions of traditional Japanese home features, such as a sunken hearth, folding and sliding screens, and undulating soffits.

    “[We] studied Kyoto houses’ serene interior emptiness, flow of asymmetrical spaces, rhythm of tatami mats and the placement of courtyards to make that interpretation possible,” Vural said.
    The nook is based on a recessed space in Japanese reception rooms known as a tokonomaAt parlour level, where the main entrance is located, the plan was opened up so the living and kitchen spaces flow together.
    Exposed brick walls were painted white, creating a blank canvas onto which a variety of light-toned European oak elements were placed.
    Traditional Japanese home features like a sunken hearth, folding and sliding screens, and undulating soffits were interpreted with a contemporary twistThe custom wooden furniture includes a window seat and a sofa. Both feature built-in storage, as well as a range of cabinets and shelves that run along one wall and incorporate a bar.
    Oak boards wer also laid across the floor to create homogeneity throughout the open-plan space.
    The staircase is enclosed by wooden slats and incorporates limestone platforms for displaying objectsAt the back of this level, the kitchen area is framed by a concrete-topped breakfast bar and includes a dining nook – based on a recessed space in Japanese reception rooms known as a tokonoma – tucked in behind the staircase.
    The stairs are enclosed by slatted oak screens, and the first seven treads are widened thanks to beige limestone slabs that act as platforms for displaying objects.
    The simple white and oak palette is continued in the bedroomsThree bedrooms and two bathrooms can be found on the storey above, while a further two bedrooms and a bathroom are located on the top floor.
    All of these rooms continue the same simple white and oak palette, and character is added by exposing the original wood ceiling beams.

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    The upper level also includes a lounge area, where the historic vertical columns are also made a feature.
    Skylights were added to bring more natural light into the centre of the long, narrow space, which reaches the windowless hallway below through a glass panel in the floor.
    A glass partition between the primary bedroom and bathroom helps the spaces to feel larger”Our work at the Warren House Townhouse powerfully demonstrates architecture’s capacity to cast distant memories into contemporary forms, revitalise historic typologies,” said Vural. “It is a prime example of a historic building’s rebirth for a new family in the history of Brooklyn.”
    Much of Brooklyn’s townhouse stock has been bought up and renovated over the past few years, after homeowners jumped at the opportunity for extra space compared to nearby Manhattan.
    Sklylights bring natural light into a lounge on the upper level and down through a glass panel in the floor to a windowless hallwayRecently completed examples include a passive house that features a dramatic cedar screen and a project that took its architect owners 17 years to complete.
    Studio Vural, which is based in the borough, has previously released images of a speculative off-grid house in the dunes of Cape Cod and a vision for a mixed-use Manhattan skyscraper covered with Asian lilies.
    The photography is by Kate Glicksberg.
    Project credits:
    Principal architect: Selim VuralProject architect: Rima AskinDesign team member: Angela TsaveskaEngineering: Ilya VeldshteynConstruction: David Nahm

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    Recompose human composting facility “transforms your loved one's body into soil”

    American startup Recompose has opened a funeral home in Seattle designed by architecture firm Olson Kundig, where human remains are composted and turned into a nutrient-rich soil that can nurture new plant life.

    Set in a converted warehouse in the city’s SoDo district, the facility is one of the first to make use of a burgeoning practice known as natural organic reduction  – or human composting, which was legalised in the state of Washington in 2019.
    This sees the body of the deceased placed on a bed of plant materials inside a stainless steel vessel, purpose-built to accelerate the natural process of decomposition.
    Recompose has opened a human composting facility in Seattle. Above photo by Austin WilsonOver the course of 60 days, their remains are converted into one cubic yard of fertile soil – enough to fill the bed of a pickup truck. Loved ones can then take this compost home and use it to nourish their garden, plant trees in memory of the deceased or donate it to a local conservation area.
    The aim is to offer a less polluting alternative to cremation or burial, which are hugely emissions and resource intensive, and instead create a meaningful funeral practice that allows people to give back to nature.

    “Clients have shared with us that the idea of their person becoming soil is comforting,” Recompose founder Katrina Spade told Dezeen.
    “Growing new life out of that soil is profound and the small ritual of planting, using soil created from a loved one’s body, is so tangible.”
    Remains are left to decompose in cylindrical stainless steel vesselsRecompose’s 19,500-square-foot flagship facility in Seattle accommodates an array of 31 cylindrical composting vessels, stacked inside a hexagonal steel framework.
    This vertical construction helps to conserve space in a bid to overcome the land-use issue associated with traditional burial and make human composting feasible even in dense urban areas.
    “Recompose can be thought of as the urban equivalent to natural burial – returning us to the earth without requiring lots of land,” said Spade, a trained architect who developed the vessels as part of a residency at Olson Kundig’s Seattle studio.
    The building’s lobby brings in elements of nature including plants and woodThe building itself was designed in collaboration with the architecture studio to reimagine the experience of being in a funeral home, making the process more transparent and bringing in elements of nature instead of overt religious iconography.
    In the spirit of regeneration, much of the warehouse’s original shell was preserved. Warm wooden flooring and a planted wall enliven the central lobby, while strips of green glass are inset into the walls to provide glimpses of the intimate ceremony space beyond.
    Here, loved ones can participate in a “laying-in ceremony”, similar to a traditional funeral service.
    Green glazing provides glimpses into the main ceremony room”The Gathering Space has floor-to-ceiling coloured glass windows that let light in, similar to the way light filters between trees in a forest,” said Olson Kundig design principal Alan Maskin.
    “In a way, Recompose is a funeral home turned inside-out. There’s a suggestion of transparency and openness about death – including the ability to see and understand the entire process – that’s very different from a traditional funeral home experience.”
    At the end of the funeral service, the body is moved through a transitional vessel. Photo by Austin WilsonDuring the ceremony, a simple wooden lectern allows the bereaved to share words about their loved ones while the body of the deceased is draped in a cotton shroud and presented on a dark green bed called a cradle.
    Mimicking the ritual of throwing dirt on a casket, guests can place flowers and plant materials on their person, which will help their transformation into soil.
    The funeral home also has dedicated rooms for those who want to perform more hands-on care for their deceased ahead of the ceremony by bathing the body or reciting prayers and songs.

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    At the end of the service, the cradle is moved through a so-called threshold vessel embedded into the wall and into the Greenhouse, where it will join the other vessels in the array.
    “A tremendous amount of care was taken to consider the experience of the body,” Maskin said. “There’s even a bit of poetry inscribed along the inside of the transitional vessel used during ceremonies.”
    “That poem isn’t for the living; it’s only visible inside the vessel.”
    On the other side is the Greenhouse – home to an array of 31 vesselsEach vessel in the array contains a mix of plant materials developed by Recompose that includes wood chips, straw and a cloverlike plant called alfalfa, with ratios adapted based on the person’s body and weight.
    Over the course of 30 days, the natural microbes found in the plants and the body will break down the remains, with any unpleasant odours filtered out and fresh air – and sometimes moisture – pumped into the vessel, which is intermittently rotated to speed up decomposition.
    At the end of this process, any remaining bone fragments are ground down using a cremulator and any medical implants are removed for recycling.
    The remaining soil is placed in a curing bin to dry out for another two to six weeks before it can be collected by friends or family.
    The body is deposited inside one of these vessels along with different plant materialsUnlike cremation, this process does not require huge amounts of energy and fossil fuels, Recompose says, while the carbon contained in the human body is sequestered in the soil rather than released into the atmosphere.
    The process also forgoes the vast amounts of embalming chemicals and emissions-intensive materials like steel and concrete that are needed for burials.
    In total, the process to “transform your loved one’s body into soil” saves around one metric ton of CO2 emissions per person compared to burial or cremation, Recompose claims.
    Friends and family can collect the soil and use it as they wish. Photo by Austin WilsonSince 2019, a number of US states have followed in Washington’s footsteps and legalised natural organic reduction, with New York joining Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and California in the last month.
    This comes as people are increasingly becoming aware of the hidden environmental impact of the deathcare industry and moving towards alternative funeral practices from liquid cremation to burial pods that grow into trees.
    “Members of the baby boomer generation have started experiencing the deaths of their parents and I think many are asking: was that the best we can do,” Spade said.
    The facility is housed inside a converted warehouse in SoDo. Photo by Austin Wilson”But what’s interesting is that it’s not only older folks,” she added.
    “Over 25 per cent of our Precompose [prepayment plan] members are under 49. I think this is because the climate crisis has played a role, too. People are wondering why our funeral practices haven’t been considered when it comes to our carbon footprint.”
    Recompose plans to expand into Colorado in 2023 and California in 2027, while rival company Earth Funeral has set its sights on Oregon.
    The photography is by Mat Hayward unless otherwise stated.

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