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    SSdH tucks Melbourne warehouse apartment into former chocolate factory

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    Local studio SSdH has designed a split-level, mezzanine-style apartment characterised by eclectic furniture, which is housed within an old chocolate factory in Melbourne.

    Kerr is a warehouse apartment in Melbourne’s Fitzroy suburb, located in a building that was once home to the historic MacRoberton’s Chocolate Factory before being converted into residential units in the late 1990s.
    Kerr is one of a number of apartments arranged around a central atriumAdapted into “apartment shells” arranged around a striking central atrium, the units were first designed with only basic amenities to allow occupants to determine their own interior designs.
    SSdH recently renovated Kerr, one of these units, as a three-bedroom, two-bathroom dwelling that intends to expose but also refresh the building’s original architecture.
    “The design pays homage to history while being decidedly contemporary,” studio director Jean-Marie Spencer told Dezeen.

    The home is divided by a white-painted staircaseThe mezzanine-style apartment is split across two levels by a staircase with a white-painted gridded steel mesh balustrade. Doubling as a lightwell, the staircase is illuminated by the apartment’s original single factory window.
    Upstairs, the open-plan living space includes a kitchen fitted with geometric cabinetry made from local spotted gum timber, as well as brushed stainless steel and nickel fixtures.
    Spotted gum timber and stainless steel define the kitchenThe similarly minimalist lounge area is delineated by smooth sliding doors made of the same spotted gum, which are offset by existing structural beams and columns painted in bright white.
    A sage-green two-seater armchair is positioned next to a chunky column floor lamp by emerging designer Annie Paxton and a distinctive coral-blue vase.
    A two-seater armchair features in the lounge area”Old wall and ceiling linings, trims and details are stripped back to expose original materials and structural framing,” explained Spencer.
    “An application of white unifies what was, subsequently giving the ‘new’ its own platform through contrast,” she added.
    SSdH also included timber accents downstairsTwo bedrooms and a bathroom are contained downstairs, while a bedroom and an en-suite feature on the upper level.
    All three bedrooms are defined by the same pared-back white and wooden elements as the communal areas. Inside one of them, a mushroom-like floor lamp made from lumps of blue sculpting plaster adds a playful touch.
    Among the eclectic furniture is a mushroom-like lampGleaming geometric tiles in shades of blue and yellow feature in each of the bathrooms, which also have bulbous sconce lights.
    Timber operable doors and translucent curtains leading to the sleeping areas were designed to balance the airy openness of the living spaces, according to Spencer.
    One bathroom is clad in bright blue tiles”Living areas, where privacy is less of a concern, invoke a spilling out to the street to make the most of the light and air,” said the studio director.
    Other sculptural accents inserted throughout the apartment include boxy aluminium corner stools under the stairs and a fluted side table crafted from a solid piece of timber.

    Ten industrial yet inviting homes in converted warehouses

    SSdH added double glazing to Kerr’s existing large factory window to provide both thermal and acoustic benefits to the apartment, which is located in close proximity to a busy street.
    “This glazing, along with the thermal mass embodied within the heavy masonry building allowed the apartment to remain un-airconditioned, relying on passive cross ventilation from the shared building lobby to maintain temperatures and reduce energy consumption,” said Spencer.
    Boxy aluminium corner stools are tucked under the staircaseFormerly industrial spaces are popular locations for residential conversions.
    Local firm Studio McW transformed an east London warehouse into a live-work space for climate activists and filmmakers Jack Harries and Alice Aedy while Auba Studio designed an apartment in a 1980s bakery in Palma de Mallorca.
    The photography is by Pier Carthew.

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      Finnish Design Shop creates forest-set logistics centre to enable “a more sustainable future”

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      Avanto Architects and Joanna Laajisto have designed a logistics centre for retailer Finnish Design Shop that features warm timber, a foraged-food restaurant for staff and visitors, and views of the surrounding forest.

      Located on the outskirts of Turku, west of Helsinki, the logistics centre is the hub for storage, management and dispatch of products from the Finnish Design Shop, which says it is the world’s largest online store for Nordic design.
      The company needed a new logistics centre after a period of high growth, but founder and CEO Teemu Kiiski also aimed for it to be a meaningful place for employees and visitors.
      The Finnish Design Shop logistics centre is located in the Pomponrahka nature reserve in Turku. Photo is by KuvioEmployees of the logistics centre can enjoy plenty of light and forest views as well as warm timber environments and a restaurant run by Sami Tallberg, an award-winning chef who specialises in foraging.
      The Finnish Design Shop had first explored whether it could convert an existing building in the Turku area, but, finding nothing suitable, chose to build on a site in the Pomponrahka nature reserve, where the surrounding forest would provide a calming work environment and reflect the appreciation for wood in Nordic design.

      To undertake construction there responsibly, the Finnish Design Shop says the builders saved as many trees as possible and landscaped the area with natural forest undergrowth and stones excavated from the site.
      The entrance features glass curtain walls that connect the interior and exterior. Photo by KuvioAvanto Architects designed the 12,000-square-metre building to blend into the forest as much as possible — a challenge given its massing, a product of the warehouse layout.
      The layout was created beforehand by specialist consultants to maximise the efficiency of operations, which are carried out by robots in an automated system.
      The centre includes a showroom. Photo by Mikko RyhänenThe architects opted for a dark facade with a vertical relief pattern that becomes visible on approach and echoes the tree trunks in the surrounding woodlands.
      “The pattern forms a more human scale to the large facade surfaces,” Avanto Architects co-founder Anu Puustinen told Dezeen. “We also used warm wooden accents in the main entrance vestibule, balcony and windows.”
      There is also a restaurant that specialises in foraged food. Photo by Mikko RyhänenThe architects gave the office spaces large windows so the employees could enjoy frequent views of the forest and lots of light, and included a balcony for access to the outdoors on the first floor.
      The entrance to the centre is through the showroom, which features glass curtain walls that showcase the use of the building and a long, straight staircase made from two massive glulam beams.
      The first-floor offices have a view of the warehouse floor. Photo by KuvioThe interior was designed by Laajisto and her studio, who aimed to make the space feel well-proportioned and comfortable despite its size and to create a good acoustic environment by liberally applying sound-absorbing materials.
      She kept the colour and material palette neutral and natural, with lots of solid pine and ash wood to continue the forest connection, but used furniture from the Finnish Design Shop in bright colours to punctuate the space.

      Formafantasma and Artek’s Cambio exhibition explores Finnish design’s link to forestry

      “The aim was that every aspect in the interior should be done well and beautifully,” Laajisto told Dezeen. “Attention to detail was embraced in things that typically are overlooked, such as doors, plumbing fixtures and electrical hardware selections and applications, acoustic ceiling panels and ceramic tiles.”
      The project is the first logistics building in Finland to be certified BREEAM Excellent, the second highest level.
      Special attention has been paid to creating a good acoustic environment with sound-dampening materials. Photo by Mikko RyhänenKiiski, who positions the company as the opposite of multinational e-commerce players such as Amazon, aimed for the new centre to be the most socially and environmentally sustainable online store.
      “The values that life in the Nordic countries is based on include transparency, equality and respect for nature,” said Kiiski. “It would have been impossible to create this company and our new logistics centre without unwavering respect for these values.”
      Wood is featured throughout the interiorHe believes that global online shopping can be socially and environmentally sustainable when issues in supply chains, logistics and operations are addressed.
      “Many studies show that online shopping can have a lower carbon footprint as compared to in-store shopping,” said Kiiski. “This is due to the more efficient logistics in e-commerce and the fact that in-store shopping usually involves private transport.”
      “We want to push the whole industry towards a more sustainable future,” he continued.
      The hub is meant to offer employees a healthy and humane working environment. Photo by Mikko RyhänenPast work by Avanto Architects includes the Löyly waterfront sauna in Helsinki, which has a multifaceted exterior that visitors can climb, and the Villa Lumi, a house with a sculptural white staircase.
      Laajisto’s previous projects include office interiors for service design company Fjord and the Airisto furniture collection for Made by Choice, which was inspired by Scandinavian holiday culture.

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      Ten industrial yet inviting homes in converted warehouses

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      For our latest lookbook, we’ve selected 10 warehouse conversions that have transformed industrial buildings into welcoming homes with charm and character.

      Built for storing large amounts of manufactured goods, warehouses have practical designs characterised by exposed structures and unfinished surfaces, including exposed brickwork, revealed joists, concrete floors, steel window frames and uncovered pipework.
      Their interiors are often considered cold and uninviting, but their high ceilings and large open-plan layouts make warehouses ideal for family homes and hybrid work and living spaces.
      Below, Dezeen has rounded up 10 examples of converted warehouse interiors that celebrate industrial details and introduce elements that turn the space into a warm and inviting home.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with cleverly disguised wardrobes, neutral living rooms with warm tones that create a sense of cosiness and Victorian and Georgian homes with contemporary living rooms.

      Photo is by Lorenzo ZandriEarthrise Studio, UK, by Studio McW
      Architecture practice Studio McW aimed to enhance the building’s original features when converting this 1924 warehouse in London into a home office and living space.
      Industrial elements such as steel windows, brickwork and exposed concrete beams were contrasted with softer textures introduced to the space, including timber floorboards and clay wall finishes.
      Find out more about Earthrise Studio ›
      Photo is by Salva Lopez10AM Lofts, Greece, by Studio Andrew Trotter, Gavalas Ioannidou Architecture and Eva Papadaki
      This former warehouse in Athens was transformed into a penthouse and multi-purpose event space by Spanish design practice Studio Andrew Trotter and local studios Gavalas Ioannidou Architecture and Eva Papadaki.
      The 1970s building was stripped back to reveal its concrete structure. The addition of new windows and white-painted walls lightened the interior, and vintage furnishings were used to soften the project’s industrial appearance.
      Find out more about 10AM Lofts ›
      Photo is by Rory GardinerRedfern Warehouse, Australia, by Ian Moore Architects
      For this warehouse conversion in Sydney, local firm Ian Moore Architects stripped back the original structure and extended the building with contemporary elements indicative of its industrial past.
      In the large open-plan kitchen and dining area, glass louvres and windows in metal frames extend to the roof’s ridge and overlook an internal courtyard.
      Find out more about Redfern Warehouse ›
      Photo is by Rory GardinerDefoe Road, UK, by James Davies
      James Davies, founder of London architecture studio Paper House Project, was informed by the Albert Docks in Liverpool and the Tate Modern gallery’s Turbine Hall when transforming this Hackney warehouse into his own two-bedroom home.
      Windows and skylights were added to flood double-height living spaces with natural light. Davies worked closely with an engineer to minimise the amount of visible structure in the open-plan interior, achieving a clean, minimalist design.
      Find out more about Defoe Road ›
      Photo is by Mariell Lind HansenSt John Street, UK, by Emil Eve Architects
      Oak joinery, glazed tiles and terrazzo flooring add warmth and colour to this converted warehouse apartment in London, designed by architecture studio Emil Eve Architects.
      Original concrete columns were used to zone the open-plan lounge space, dining area and kitchen, while partition walls with built-in storage were introduced to separate the other rooms in the long, narrow apartment.
      Find out more about St John Street ›
      Photo is by Eugeni BachDirk and the Chocolate Factory, Spain, by Anna and Eugeni Bach
      Architecture studio Anna and Eugeni Bach designed exposed green-painted metal beams to support the original structure of this former chocolate factory and warehouse.
      The studio converted the 19th-century warehouse into a family home and studio apartment that showcases the building’s natural materials and distinctive construction, including Catalan brick vaults and wooden framework ceilings.
      Find out more about Dirk and the Chocolate Factory ›
      Photo is by Kasia GatkowskaCanal House, the Netherlands, by Thomas Geerlings
      Thomas Geerlings, creative director of design studio Framework, transformed a disused 19th-century warehouse into a family home with oak floorboards and walls rendered in concrete stucco.
      Although most of the interior of the Dutch house had to be stripped away, Geerlings retained a structural partition on the first floor, which now divides two seating areas used for dining and as a workspace.
      Find out more about the Canal House ›
      Photo is by Fionn McCannAvenue Road Warehouse, Ireland, by Clancy Moore Architects
      Local practice Clancy Moore Architects converted this Dublin warehouse into a home and studio by organising intimate, cosy spaces around a double-height atrium.
      Flashes of colour add warmth and character to the otherwise stark white interior, including green doors and black kitchen cabinets.
      Find out more about Avenue Road Warehouse ›
      Photo is by Nirut BenjabanpotResidence HM, China, by Lim + Lu
      Sliding steel partitions and bright red pipes distinguish this loft apartment in Hong Kong, which was converted from a former printing press by design studio Lim + Lu.
      Informed by New York-style lofts and industrial buildings in the surrounding area, Lim + Lu emphasised the warehouse aesthetic with industrial-style furniture, black kitchen cabinets and concrete tiles in the bathrooms.
      Find out more about Residence HM ›
      Photo is by Jim StephensonHope Wharf, UK, by Feix & Merlin
      Located within an old grain store, London studio Feix & Merlin renovated this warehouse apartment by lowering the floor level and opening up the ceiling to create and double-height kitchen space and mezzanine level.
      The studio designed industrial-style detailing in keeping with the warehouse’s history, including steel and glass balustrades and a concrete breakfast bar.
      Find out more about Hope Wharf ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with cleverly disguised wardrobes, neutral living rooms with warm tones that create a sense of cosiness and Victorian and Georgian homes with contemporary living rooms.

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      Victorian warehouse in London transformed into Greencoat Place office

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      British architecture practice Squire and Partners and office design firm Modus Workspace have retained the ornate cast-iron columns and glazed tiles of a 19th-century warehouse in London while turning it into a contemporary workspace.

      Located in London’s Victoria, the Greencoat Place building was originally used as a warehouse, storeroom and food hall for the Army & Navy Stores – a military cooperative turned department store that was acquired by House of Fraser in 1973.
      Greencoat Place is a warehouse-turned-office in LondonNow, the building belongs to serviced office provider Fora and houses a mix of workspaces and amenities including a fitness studio, a colourful terrazzo bar and a vertical farm on the lower-ground level, where fresh produce is grown for workers to take home or eat for lunch.
      Two historic halls sit at the heart of the building – one serving as a flexible communal space for events or casual meetings, while the other is a workspace flooded with natural light from a skylight above.
      The building’s original brickwork was exposed in several placesReferences to the building’s past can be found throughout its interiors. This includes carefully preserved mouldings and glazed tiles, some featuring marine details in a nod to Army & Navy Stores’ history as a military cooperative, which supplied officers and their families with price-controlled goods.

      The building’s cast-iron columns and original steel doors were restored along with the vaulted ceilings on the lower ground level. In places where the original brickwork was exposed, the design team deliberately left layers of paint behind to visualise the renovation process.
      Its decorative glazed tiles were also retainedModus Workspace chose a soft, calm interior palette to contrast with the building’s industrial shell. Lime-washed oak was paired with richly textured fabrics and arch-shaped details, which echo the arches in the original halls.
      Colourful mosaic tiling unearthed in neighbouring residential buildings was reinterpreted in the flooring of the office’s communal spaces, introducing colour and pattern.

      Lighting Design International overhauls illumination of Harrods dining hall

      Open lounge spaces provide a calm environment to relax and collaborate while a series of video call booths are equipped with integrated lighting designed to show people in their best light.
      Video call facilities are also available in every meeting room to cater to hybrid working patterns, while secure cycle storage, changing facilities and showers promote an active commute or lunch break.
      Well-lit booths provide private spaces for video callsIn line with biophilic design principles, the interior combines plenty of planting, daylight and natural materials in a bid to enhance occupants’ wellbeing.
      To make the Victorian building more energy efficient and minimise its operational emissions, the architecture firm installed new glazing, sensor-controlled lighting and a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system, which only circulates the minimum amount of refrigerants needed during a single heating or cooling period.
      The building’s concrete shell is softened with biophilic design elementsGreencoat Place has been shortlisted in the large workspace interior category of Dezeen Awards 2022.
      Two former industrial buildings are also in the running for the title – Dyson’s global HQ housed in a Singapore power station and a shared workspace, which is set in the generator building that once supplied Bristol’s tram system.
      The photography is by Jack Hobhouse.

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      Revival Projects' Zero Footprint Repurposing hub saves construction waste from landfill

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      Australian building company Revival Projects has turned a warehouse that is set for redevelopment into a hub for repurposing construction and demolition waste, which is open to the public during Melbourne Design Week.

      Melbourne Design Week describes the Zero Footprint Repurposing hub as one of the world’s first free hubs dedicated to the storage and reuse of demolished material.
      Revival Projects aims to save these materials from landfill by making them more accessible to architects, designers, builders and manufacturers.
      The Zero Waste Repurposing hub is located in Collingwood, Melbourne on the site of a future developmentThe Zero Footprint Repurposing hub stores materials from projects around Melbourne, with Revival Projects facilitating large-scale repurposing initiatives from various sites.
      “For repurposing of existing materials to be a fundamental element of new design, storage of a large amount of demolished materials is necessary, often for many months or several years, while the project comes to life,” Revival Projects founder Robbie Neville told Dezeen.

      “The idea of this costly storage is often a prohibitive issue, so we have offered the industry free storage of materials in our Collingwood space, if they are going to repurpose those materials back into their project.”
      The hub provides free materials storage space for architects and developers working on sites around Melbourne”We present this dramatic commercial offer with zero obligation to engage us for any of our services – which include structural engineering, commercial and domestic building, and joinery and furniture making – so we are effectively removing that prohibitive issue of space, with no strings attached,” he continued.
      The Zero Footprint Repurposing hub is located in Collingwood, in a 100-year-old, 1,500-square-metre warehouse that Revival Projects will occupy until its slated demolition in 2024.
      Revival Projects is working with the architects of the future development, Grimshaw, to repurpose the existing materials from the warehouse into the new buildings.
      The space is decorated with murals and artworks that communicate the company’s missionThe hub also currently stores material from architects and developers including FJMT, Edition Office, BAR Studio, Hip V. Hype, Kerstin Thompson Architects, ANPlus Developments and Bayley Ward Architects.
      The interior of the space is decorated with murals, art, quotes, installations and materials that communicate the project’s vision.

      Construction industry “doesn’t know where it stands when it comes to carbon emissions”

      “Our mission here is to revolutionise the way our industry approaches existing materials,” said Revival Projects founder Robbie Neville. “We are disrupting centuries of traditions based on reckless consumption of natural resources.”
      According to RMIT, 20.4 million tons of waste were generated from construction and demolition in Australia in 2017, including through works such as road and rail maintenance and land excavation, and about one-third of this ended up in landfill.
      The construction and demolition waste at the hub comes from sites around MelbourneThe waste from these activities include bricks, concrete, metal, timber, plasterboard, asphalt, rock and soil.
      A registered builder, Neville founded Revival Projects in 2016, after four years of running his own salvage missions but becoming frustrated that the construction industry was not geared for reuse.
      The company has since channelled salvaged waste into interiors and architecture projects such as RM Williams stores around Australia and the Industry Beans cafe in Fitzroy, Melbourne.
      Architects and developers are able to store materials from demolition at the hub free of chargeThe practice also worked with Hip V. Hype on a 2020 demolition and salvage for a block of 22 apartments the property developer is building in South Melbourne. For that project, Revival Projects established an earlier iteration of the Zero Footprint Repurposing hub beside that site.
      Additionally, the practice runs workshops out of its hubs, focusing on different sectors of the community that are underrepresented in the construction industry, such as women.
      The current Zero Footprint Repurposing hub at Islington Street, Collingwood is part of the programme at Melbourne Design Week, with an open day happening on Friday 25 March and a panel discussion at 5pm.
      Revival Projects also runs workshops out of the hubThe hub was awarded the 2022 Melbourne Design Week Award, with National Gallery of Victoria director Tony Ellwood calling it “a project of ambitious scale with global importance”.
      The construction industry accounts for 38 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, partly because of the cost of creating new materials.
      According to a 2021 report published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, buildings equivalent to a city the size of Paris are being built every week, but less than one per cent of them are even assessed to determine their carbon footprint.
      The photography is by Sean Fennessy.
      Melbourne Design Week is on from 17 to 27 March 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Thomas Geerlings converts canal-side Amsterdam warehouse into contemporary home

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      The creative director of design studio Framework has turned a neglected 19th-century warehouse in Amsterdam into a plush family home for his wife and two children. The house is located along the waters of the city’s Prinsengracht canal and occupies a disused warehouse that was originally constructed back in 1896. Over the years the five-storey building […] More