Hasta La Ideas

Studio Razavi has abandoned excessive decoration for simple plaster walls and arched niches inside this Lyon apartment, which is meant to channel a sense of calm.

Nestled amongst the winding, cobbled streets and Renaissance-era buildings of the historic Vieux Lyon neighbourhood, Apartment XVII has been designed by Studio Razavi to be an “introspective space”.

Left untouched for 60 years, the apartment had fallen into a state of ruin. However it’s new owner – a young scientist – was less interested in the studio carrying out an aesthetic overhaul, but instead wanted to feel a change in his “lifestyle and philosophy”.

“The [client’s] wish was to create a serene space, a place where one would not feel overwhelmed by decorative information and where as much of the original features could be celebrated,” the studio told Dezeen.

Walls in the apartment have thus been covered in pale-grey plaster, complementing the light-hued wooden floors.

Furnishings are far and few between – a glass table with tomato-red legs, black dining chairs and a grey sofa are the only pieces to appear in the apartment’s living room. Mute-tone ceramics have also been dotted sparingly throughout, along with a trio of portrait sketches.

Arched shapes are a visual motif in the home, appearing in the form of doorways, storage cupboards and recessed display niches.

A tall, arched panel has also been placed against a wall, creating a graphic backdrop to the home’s study area, while screens with arched, mesh-covered cut-outs have been placed in front of the radiators.

“[Arches] were a way of opposing – hence celebrating and bringing forth – the strong rectilinear geometry of the existing space,” explained the studio.

“The main space is almost square in proportions, therefore choosing curves was also a great play on perception and overall balance.”

A majority of the vaulted openings have been inset with sea-green coloured MDF to match the cabinetry in the kitchen, which features a splashback with a stepped silhouette.

The project also saw the restoration and preservation of a handful of the apartment’s original features, like the heavy oak-beam ceiling and a couple of ornate stone fireplaces.

Studio Razavi was founded by architect Alireza Razavi and has offices in London, Paris and New York.

Back in 2016 the studio overhauled an apartment in Paris, creating a sculptural black storage unit at the centre of its floor plan that dramatically contrasted the home’s ornate, Hausmann-era details.

Other projects by the studio include a photographer’s house in Brittany that’s punctuated with huge square windows and a tapas bar in Manhattan that takes cues from Barcelona’s marketplaces.

Photography is by Simone Bossi.

The post Studio Razavi completes “introspective” Apartment XVII in historic Lyon neighbourhood appeared first on Dezeen.

Rice is a sacred global grain – it is a part of almost every cuisine and can be found anywhere you go. Rice is what home would feel like on a plate and that is what Backbone Branding conveyed with their reimagined packaging design. The goal was to evoke an emotional response for the rice farmers while also being functional as a product that is to be sold in health stores.

The new design was minimal, familiar and reminded us of the humans behind harvesting rice. With these elements at the core, the new packaging used minimal black graphic lines to show the different emotions one feels during the process – the faces radiate confidence, pride, satisfaction, empathy, and even tiredness. This spectrum of feelings is something we all can relate to and bridges the gap between the consumer and the farmer, it births a moment of respect when you see the rice bag and recognize the person responsible for it.

Moving from form to function, the bags were designed for two types of rice – small bag for small grain and a tall bag for long grain. The material used in the packaging was 100% sustainable, the rice would be contained in a high-density sackcloth fabric covered with a carton lid in the shape of an Asian farmer’s traditional hat. To make the design more functional, the inner cone hat is marked with rice cup measurements. The beautiful Asian calligraphy and the simple visuals represent the heritage of this humble grain.

Designer: Backbone Branding

Canadian studio La Firme has turned a former industrial space in a Montreal heritage building into a contemporary home.

The local design practice stripped-back a property in a 1820s building, located in the Old Montreal area, to create a loft-like apartment.

Brick walls, pipes and wooden ceiling beams overhead are left exposed as a reflection of the property’s historic roots.

Other details are black, white and wood surfaces that provide a minimal touch, and heated polished concrete floors.

“Because our approach was to preserve the space’s industrial character by exploiting the textures of the original materials, we began by gutting everything,” said La Firme founder Louis Beliveau.

“The result is open and lofty but maintained a sense of privacy.”

The apartment, called McGill 120, is left with hardly any walls inside in order to ensure that there is plenty of natural light.

Instead, to create areas of privacy the firm inserted a series of floor-to-ceiling cabinets.

The firm designed a monolithic black volume where the entrance is located, outfitted with bookshelves and closets.

Another black volume acts as a barrier to the master bedroom, and has a fold-down bed so it can easily transition between an office and a guest bedroom.

“Our floorplan optimises available light sources, and the layout of the master bedroom and the office/guest room with murphy bed and bathroom exploits this layout approach,” Beliveau said.

A feature of the home is a walk-in shower that the firm designed to be much bigger than normal. Rather than a door, it has a glass wall that provides views into the master bedroom adjacent.

“The large, open bathroom with its shower zone big enough for two and integrated into the master bedroom extends the lofty feel of the apartment,” said Beliveau.

McGill 120 was designed to include a spacious kitchen for its owner who loves to cook and host people. A long island has two different heights and black Hay metal bar stools.

“The kitchen was designed for entertaining, with a 20-foot (six-metre) island topped with wood reclaimed from the floor,” said Beliveau.

Rounding out the home is a living room with large, arched windows, and Ligne Roset Togo sofas.

McGill 120 is complete with an additional apartment in the rear of the property, which can be accessed via a door next to the bathroom or from a separate stairwell in the building. Together the units take up an entire floor.

La Firme’s apartment joins a number or Montreal homes recently overhauled with black-and-white interiors.

Another apartment by the studio in the city, McGill 38, was among the interiors projects longlisted for Dezeen Awards. La Firme has also designed a country house from an abandoned shed in Mansonville, Quebec.

Photography is by Ulysse Lemerise.

The post Room-sized shower “big enough for two” features inside Montreal apartment McGill 120 appeared first on Dezeen.

A house in Japan by Atelier Kento Eto is clad entirely in black corrugated metal with sliding doors that reveal a double-height hall with white walls.

Located in the town of Kadogawa in Miyazaki Prefecture, the square house combines living areas with a large open space to cater to the owner’s frequent visits from friends.

Atelier Kento Eto put a lofty hall at the heart of the plan, flanked on either side by two more private wings.

Aside from the central sliding doors, just one window on to an upstairs bedroom marks the building’s exterior.

A small projecting section shelters the front door.

Sliding wooden at either end of the central hall allow it to be opened up to the outside.

This through-route links the garden to the north with views out to a rural landscape to the south.

“By connecting the central hall and each room through openings on the walls and the ceilings, the boundaries between the rooms are obscured and openness is maximised within the limited volume,” explained the studio.

While the layout on the ground floor has been kept relatively undefined, a series of different surfaces such as a raised, stage-like wooden area encourage different uses.

Thin steel bridges and large openings between rooms connects parts of the home both physically and visually.

The openings also encourage the flow of fresh air throughout the home.

The pale wooden beams of the home’s structure have been left exposed on the interior.

White-painted walls and pale wood fixings add to this light exterior palette.

Atelier Kento Eto was founded in 2011 by Japanese architect Kento Eto.

Other Japanese houses with minimal exteriors include a black metal-clad home wrapped around a hidden courtyard in Tokyo by Apollo Architects and Associates, and the house built by Katsutoshi Sasaki for his family.

Photography is by Toshiyuki Yano.

Project credits:

Architect: Atelier Kento Eto
Structural design: Tatsumi Terado Structural Studio
Construction company: Kyoei, Hideaki Beppu

The post Atelier Kento Eto designs minimal black house hiding lofty interiors appeared first on Dezeen.

Pop perfection, danceable disco, cinematic soundscapes and so much more music this week

Too Free: No Fun

“No Fun,” the second single from trio Too Free’s forthcoming debut, Love In High Demand, features an intergalactic instrumental full of synths and encouraging lyrics from vocalist Awad Bilal. “‘No Fun’ is a series of affirmations that I wanted to speak into existence. Reclaiming agency over your mind and your body—accepting love and using it to activate others,” Bilal says. The song’s video, which leans into the track’s freestyle nature, features Bilal in a dance studio, joyfully dancing around to the beat. It was produced by band members Carson Cox and Dan Goodwin.

Empress Of: Call Me

LA-based singer/producer Empress Of (aka Lorely Rodriguez) has contributed the ’90s-tinted song “Call Me” to Floria Sigismondi’s The Turning soundtrack. Rodriguez wrote the tune with Lawrence and Yves Rothman (who produced the soundtrack, which also includes music by Courtney Love, Mitski, Kali Uchis and others). She says that the lustrous piece of dream-pop was created to be the film’s swan song.

Joe Hisaishi: Summer

Originally a part of the score for the 1999 film Kikujiro, prolific composer Joe Hisaishi’s “Summer” (which reappears, now remastered for an upcoming “best of” compilation) delicately balances piano and orchestral instruments to form a soundscape of immense depth. With an accompanying black and white video of Hisaishi guiding the ups and downs of the track’s introduction and subsequently playing the piano, “Summer” reenters listeners’ lives just in time for the arrival of 21 of Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki films—all but one are scored by Hisaishi—on Netflix next month.

Porches: Do U Wanna

Accompanying the announcement of a new album, Ricky Music, Porches (aka Aaron Maine) has shared a new song, “Do U Wanna,” and its official music video, directed by frequent collaborator Nick Harwood. The song digs into the isolation of desire and the sensation of feeling unable to pursue what you want. It’s Maine at his best: equal parts compelling and haunting.

(Sandy) Alex G: Bad Man

(Sandy) Alex G’s “Bad Man” originally appeared on the artist’s 2019 album, House Of Sugar. Unexpectedly, the artist released an alternate version of the track, and an accompanying video directed by Zev Magasis. The 2020 take on “Bad Man” trades the twangy accent and generated drums for a pared-back piano and mandolin, and far more emotional and resonating vocals. Paired with the lo-fi visuals, the song as it is now makes a more meaningful impact on the listener.

PREP: Love Breaks Down

A blend of pop, yacht, disco and funk, PREP’s “Love Breaks Down” is an infectious arrangement of synths and computer claps. It’s altogether enjoyable and easy to dance along to, especially when the bass and electric organ kick in toward the end. “It came to life after we decided to write a party track—something that would work well in our live show and would be more dance-floor based,” drummer Guillaume Jambel says of the release. With that in mind, PREP begins their US tour next month.

Heart Bones: Don’t Read The Comments

A second single from Heart Bones’ upcoming LP, Hot Dish, “Don’t Read the Comments” pairs pop musicality with clever and relevant lyricism. The act—comprised of Har Mar Superstar (aka Sean Tillmann) and Sabrina Ellis (of A Giant Dog and Sweet Spirit)—duets with delight. Soon, they’ll embark upon a US tour to support their album.

Stephen Malkmus: Xian Man

A single from Stephen Malkmus’ forthcoming solo record, Traditional Techniques, “Xian Man” is far more acoustic and western rock-influenced than his previous release—an electronic album titled Groove Denied. The guitars (which act as the song’s guiding force) flow together until separating at the onset of a 12-string solo. Reminiscent of work by the Velvet Underground, this release will please longtime fans of the genre and Malkmus.

Listen Up is published every Sunday and rounds up the new music we found throughout the week. Hear the year so far on our Spotify channel.