The designer’s description The building is the result of a regenerative transformation and expansion of a small pre-existing structure that had been abandoned for many years. The walls, roof and door frames of the original building, have been restored, preserving the essential features of the original construction. The interiors were redesigned, shaped to their new ...
german artist, adventurer and future astronaut michael najjar has completely transformed the room interior into a virtual space station. the walls, floor and ceiling are canvassed with universe motifs from the hubble space telescope, a rocket engine spot light illuminates the living room, and novels, films and audiobooks about space travel outfit the reading room. upo...
Thousands of animal bones line the macabre interior of this restaurant in a refurbished 1940s building in Mexico, by design studio Cadena + Asociados (+ slideshow). Headed up by founder Ignacio Cadena, Mexican studio Cadena + Asociados converted a building in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco state, to create the 70-square-metre restaurant. The client for Hueso Restau...
Canadian design firm MSDS Studio has fitted out a Toronto warehouse with modular boxes to form offices for e-commerce company Shopify (+ slideshow). Toronto-based MSDS Studio was approached by online retail brand Shopify to redesign the interior of its offices in a 100-year-old warehouse. The studio divided the existing space into two volumes representing different area...
A factory hall is one of Frank Gehry's three contributions to the Vitra Campus at Weil am Rhein in Germany. Twenty-five years after its completion, Swiss architect Aurélie Blanchard has revamped the building's canteen (+ slideshow). Canadian architect Frank Gehry completed the Factory Building for Vitra in 1989 – the same time as the celebrated Vitra Design Museum and t...
A secluded rock garden runs along one side of this former house that Japanese architect Ogawa Sekkei has converted into a studio and showroom for a landscape architect (+ slideshow). Ogawa Sekkei refurbished a two-storey rental property on the outskirts of the city of Gifu to create the Enzo Office Gallery, which comprises a ground-floor showroom with a narrow courtyard,...
Clive Wilkinson's office for digital marketing agency The Barbarian Group, which won the Office category at Inside Festival 2014, features a large resin-coated white desk that snakes through the centre of the space in one continuos undulating loop. "This project is one huge table going through a big room," says Wilkinson in the movie. The desk rises and falls as it...
British designer Tom Dixon has given his name and furniture to a sandwich cafe at London luxury department store Harrods. The Tom Dixon Sandwich cafe is situated between the designer's two concessions on the third floor of Harrods, in London's Knightsbridge area .The project was undertaken by Dixon's Design Research Studio, which focuses on large-scale architecture, i...
Palæo, a fast food chain in Copenhagen that serves healthy food with fresh, unprocessed ingredients, has a new design created by Johannes Torpe Studios. Inspired by the simplicity of the paleo diet and lifestyle, the space’s design used raw materials such as leather, wood, stone, brass and wool, which provide a sense of hygge – a Danish word referring to coziness establi...
A brand new design hotel has opened its doors in Copenhagen’s Latin Quarter: Hotel SP34. Hotel SP34 is the third addition to the award-winning Danish design hotel chain Brøchner Hotels and is the refurbishment of the chain’s artsy, bohemian Hotel Fox. Hotel SP34 keeps the bohemian and adds some chic. Lots of chic. Danish designer and architect Morten Hedegaard was bro...
Not all hotels are created equal. But some hotels truly go above and beyond – like Amsterdam’s Hotel Not Hotel. Hotel Not Hotel is a hotel, but it’s also not really a hotel. Confused? Rather than dividing the space into uniform hallways and standard rooms, Hotel Not Hotel called upon Collaboration-o, a group of designers from the Design Academy Eindhoven, to design mi...
Located in Canberra, Australia, the improbable NewAction Nishi building boasts an average 8 star NaTHERS rating, which is roughly 5.5 stars higher than the average local building, meaning that it’s a pretty darn energy efficient building. Designed by Australian firm Fender Katsalidis Architects in conjunction with Japanese studio Suppose Design Office, sustainability and...
Dutch design and architecture firm Studio Makkink & Bey was commissioned by the University of Orléans and the French Ministry of Culture and Communication to design the interior of the university’s newly opened research center: l’Hôtel Dupanloup. The historic 17th-century Hôtel Dupanloup was previously the home of a bishop before being transformed into a library. With...
One does not go to the Drift Hotel in Baja, California, to lay in bed and take bubble baths. Drift is a simple framework for the phenomenal landscape of the Baja peninsula – a jumping off point surfing, hiking and exploring. The hotel was established by Stu Waddell. As the former creative director for the planning and design of traditional resorts, Drift seems to be a d...
Danish design studio HelleFlou has redesigned the headquarters of the Danish Fashion and Textile Association (Dansk Mode & Textil) and Kopenhagen Fur. Located in the Frederiksstaden neighborhood of central Copenhagen, the offices are housed in the Hansen Mansion, a heritage-listed home built in 1835. The offices are also a part of KiCK (Kopenhagen Internationale Center f...
Modus Architects recently finished the beautiful renovation of the Damiani Holz & KO office located in Bressanone, Italy. The Italian architecture firm won a competition to design the new headquarters of the Italian construction firm, but also to redefine the company’s identity. A challenge duly managed thanks to the idea of wave-like wooden panels covering the facade. ...
PNY (Paris New York) is a Parisian burger chain that recently opened its third location in the city’s Marais district. For the previous two locations, Paris-based firm Cut Architectures reinforced the idea of a transatlantic fusion with Broadway cinema lights, stainless steel, exposed brick and tessellations. But for the third time around, the architects took a trip to M...
Free Wifi and free on-demand films? If you’re already sold on the idea, we wouldn’t blame you. CitizenM just understands the 21st century global traveler. A chain of boutique hotels scattered across Europe, CitizenM combines convenience, luxury and technology in a relatively affordable package. Their hotel at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris is a comfortable mix...
It’s entirely probable that a simple mention of the word ‘hostel’ has you in a cold sweat just remembering the sleepless nights peppered with snoring, stifling heat and intoxicated stumbles. You may have long ago sworn off hostels, driven away by filthy bathrooms and cramped quarters. We’re not here to change your mind. We belong to the camp of hostel-avoiders. However, ...
If your idea of a law firm equates to dark wood paneling and velvet chairs, BHDM Design’s interior for Axiom Law will flip that antiquated idea on its head. Axiom is a tradition-defying law firm whose motto is “law redefined”. Based in New York City, the firm needed offices to reflect their particular ideals. Enter BDHM. The local design studio transformed a loft space i...
Apostrophy’s is a multidisciplinary design practice based in Bangkok, Thailand. Their range of work includes everything from visual design and animation to interiors and architecture. Recently, the studio completed an additional work space for their ever-growing pool of design professionals. The new office includes facilities such as a learning-media center, design ma...
Something about a giant pile of perfectly stacked, breakable objects brings out the primordial desire to smash. Or to dive headfirst and go for a swim, which means that patrons of the newly renovated Maruhiro Flagship Store may have to practice some superhuman self control when confronted with this installation by Japanese designer Yusuke Seki. Located in Nagaski, Japan,...
Located in Thailand’s former capital of Ayutthaya, the Sala Ayutthaya is a twenty-six room boutique hotel near the Chao Phraya River. Designed by Bangkok-based architects Onion, the hotel is divided by a long corridor of locally handcrafted brick. The gently curved geometry offers visitors seclusion and privacy. The hotel is divided into twelve individual “homes” within ...
As a company filled with young creatives, Tel Aviv-based promotion agency Webpals wanted an office that reflected their corporate culture. Stylists Tali & Rakefet set about designing a fun, colorful space that would inspire. The new office houses 130 employees in approximately 650 square meters that was designed to encourage communication, collaboration and adaptabili...
Soundcloud is one of the most innovative and widely used music platforms on the internet. For the design of their Berlin headquarters, local architecture firm KINZO was charged with designing a flexible and creative space that could easily expand with the rapidly growing company. To do so, they converted 4,000 square meters of a disused brewery into a three-storey office...
Architect Diego Guayasamin has recently completed a significant architectural project in his town of Quito, Ecuador. As the headquarters of the South American intergovernmental organization UNASUR, the building’s modern lines rise up from the ground and draw a line in the sky, as if it was on the way to higher grounds. The massive structure has been conceived as a con...
South Korea’s Snow Hotel throws design caution to the window. Patterns and materials are recklessly mixed in a glorious clash of marble, tile, wood and wallpaper. Marble floors run smack into cubic optical illusions and rustic stone fades into pristine white tile. Fake meets real, contemporary blends into ancient. Designed by 1990uao, the hotel is located in downtown ...
We love coffee! Yes, we do! We love coffee! How ’bout you? We’re positive that the coffee experts at Single Origin Roasters in Sydney, Australia, feel the same. And judging by their excellent design execution, we suspect that Stuart Krelle and Rachel Luchetti of Australian firm Luchetti Krelle might feel the same. They gave a boost to the local coffee shop using susta...
Though we are not personally brandy devotees, we would dip our palate into the world of strong spirits just to spend some time in the Shustov Brandy Bar. Located in Odessa, Ukraine, the bar was designed by Denis Belenko Design Band, a local architecture firm that incidentally also has a pretty amazing name. The walls of the establishment are made from barrels, while t...
The New York-based production firm needed a flexible office that would easily accommodate the ebb and flow of consultants, and SO-IL delivered. Translucent fabric walls divide the office into two fluid spaces that are furnished with long, continuous tables. Without traditional limits, employees can meet, collaborate and produce infinitely, generating a sense of cooperati...
Those of you that are suckers for a good concept store are going to love Le White Concept Store in Paris. As its name implies, Le White exclusively sells artwork and design objects that are white. The concept also extends to the shop’s walls, floors, shelves and furniture, cultivating a dazzlingly surreal ambiance. Each piece of the collection is scrupulously curated by ...
In a country where design culture tends to be concentrated in Paris, Margaux Keller Design Studio is a breath of fresh air. Unlike her fellow graduates of Ecole Boulle, the young designer chose to set up camp in Marseille. Recently, she teamed up with Bertrand Guillon Architecture to design the Le Coiffeur hair salon in Marseille’s newly renovated docks. Owned by loca...
Mark Dziewulski designed a flexible and peaceful multipurpose living space that serves as an art gallery, an office and a generously proportioned entertainment space. The most defining trait is perhaps the overhanging roof that gently slopes up, revealing a floor-to-ceiling window that generously bathes the living space in light. This open space, despite its very modern ...
Gourmet chefs are increasingly turning to more plebeian endeavors. Perhaps these white-coated soldiers, decorated in Michelin stars, are trying to reinvent the wheel – or perhaps they just appreciate the tastiness of simple fare. Whatever the reason may be, it’s working out wonderfully for everyone involved: customers get a gourmet upgrade on traditional food and chefs ...
What do you do when you have to renovate the interior of a decadent landmark? Do you try to emphasize the architecture by making smooth and modest interior design choices, or do you see things on a large scale and try to compete with the facade? Well, if the answer is obviously the second one, the problem is you have to at least equal the extravagance deployed outside. W...
To create a showroom that matched the elegant collection of Danish design brand &tradition, Norm Architects took a step outside of the box (pun intended). Rather than a standard space, the architects turned the interior of a vast warehouse in central Copenhagen into a small village of sparse, white buildings, most of which are flexible, multipurpose spaces that will be u...
