Hasta La Ideas

London-based surfaces manufacturer Foresso uses timber offcuts and plaster waste to produce this terrazzo-like sheet material, which retains the character of woodgrain.

Foresso was established by designer Conor Taylor as a reaction against the culture of disposable interiors and the waste produced by typical manufacturing processes.

The composite sheet material combines wood waste, cement, plaster waste, resin and pigment to create a decorative and hard-wearing binding material that is cast onto a birch plywood substrate.

Taylor was inspired by the history of terrazzo, which was used as a way to repurpose leftover marble during the construction of Venice’s palazzos in the 15th century.

The designer was working in a south London carpentry shop when he had the idea to reuse timber offcuts and waste in a way that celebrates the variety and beauty of woodgrain.

Foresso is made using pre-consumer timber waste that is deemed unsuitable for joinery due to splits, knots or odd sizing.

The company sources this material from local sawmills and uses it instead of stone to give the binding material a distinctive warm, textural detail.

The wood is combined with planing shavings from the sawmill and plaster from a nearby bronze foundry, which is processed so it can be used to create a durable binding material for the terrazzo.

“We see waste as raw materials rather than something to be discarded, and we are deeply committed to reducing our ecological impact,” Foresso claimed.

“This is not just through using recycled materials in our products, but also about reducing our use of plastics, designing our supply chain to reduce travel distances, and making thoughtful decisions in every aspect of our business.”

Foresso’s dedication to using the most sustainable methods available has enabled it to produce a binder made using 85 per cent recycled material with no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The material can be used for interior surfaces including flooring, tabletops and wall coverings in all sorts of commercial and domestic environments.

Available in standard-sized sheets, it can be easily cut and altered with regular tools and is sealed using a combination of food-safe hardwax oils to create a durable finish.

Taylor teamed up with Jake Solomon of architectural supplier Solomon & Wu to develop and manufacture Foresso’s first range of four designs, which is called the London collection.

Each product is inspired by the aesthetic history of a particular neighbourhood in the British capital and uses timber sourced from trees felled in London.

The selection of woods such as oak, plane, walnut and cedar gives the different products their particular character, which is complemented by the choice of binder colour.

Terrazzo has experienced a renaissance in recent years, with designers using it in interior projects ranging from a pizza restaurant in Beijing containing intersecting terrazzo volumes and a pilates studio in London with a light-grey terrazzo floor.

Several new terrazzo products have also been released recently, including Robin Grasby’s Altrock material made from marble offcuts, and a sustainable terrazzo made from discarded glass by Super Local.

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Say Architects has completed a grooming salon for pets in Hangzhou, China, which includes a sunken cafe, playground and a paddling pool where four-legged visitors can dip their paws.

Called Nova Pets, the 450 square-metre space provides a grooming service and areas for owners and their furry friends to socialise with others.

Half of the plan is occupied by a double-height cafe and a pet playground, while the two-floor grooming salon is split across the other half.

“The project started with an idea of creating a new type of pet store, a place where people could really socialise with their pets,” said Say Architects, which was founded by Yan Zhang and Jianan Shan in 2016.

“Say Architects has two cats and one dog, so we like everything related to pets. Therefore the project proceeded quite smoothly.”

Spread across a short flight of steps, the pet playground sits next to the salon’s entrance. Here there is a large window that looks out onto the street, allowing passersby to see the activities happening inside.

Up the steps and beyond the playground lies a cafe that’s composed of two curved, sunken “valleys” that flank a central elevated walkway.

Having these different levels is meant to bring pets and owners face-to-face; while people sit at tables in the sunken level, pets are free to roam across the walkway and around the playground, placing them at the head height with their owners.

Animals can also travel between the cafe’s sunken seating areas through a small tunnel.

Other access points and windows specially designed for animals have been included throughout the space.

The balustrade of the staircase leading to the first floor has a low, diagonal window which pets can look through, while treatment room doors all have portholes at their base.

On the ground floor there is an activity room, a “hotel” where cats and dogs can stay while their owners are away, and a toilet.

Upstairs there are cosmetology rooms, an office, a designated space for photoshoots and a swimming pool, the bottom of which is punctuated with six circular windows that offer views of paddling pets to those in the activity room below.

The interior throughout boasts a mixture of painted and tiled surfaces in a palette of yellow, black, grey and blue.

“Yellow, black and grey are the main colours that dogs can see in their daily doggy life,” explained Zhang.

“We only used blue in the toilet area, as we think yellow is more likely to give the space a young and energetic feeling.”

Other details include the stainless steel doorknob at the entrance to the salon, which is the same shape as the floor plan of the cafe.

Rooms in the salon revolve around an existing, slightly tilted concrete column that sits at the centre of the floor plan.

The practice compares the column to a nova – a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of what appears to be a bright new star. This is from where the salon takes its name.

The column also serves as a centre point for a metre-by-metre square grid that appears across half of the floor plan.

The grid is marked by a series of stainless-steel crosses that are embedded in the concrete floor of the cafe, playground and entrance area.

“We imagine this column to be the origin of the whole room,” explained the practice.

“All program and events are happening around the column. Their material or angle is nothing like the column, but this difference itself creates an interesting feeling of narrative.”

Other interiors designed for pets include a veterinary surgery in Montreal, which studio TBA finished with exposed-brick and concrete surfaces that are “resistant to animal wear and tear”.

Photography is by Minjie Wang.

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When you set out for a barbecue session, your grill is probably the hero of the show. But what good is a grill without a collection of handy and reliable barbecue tools! Juggling a bunch of tools, alongside your hefty grill can be a complete pain, but worry not, Roxon’s here to the rescue! Roxon’s MBT3 Multi BBQ Tool promises to meet all your outdoor barbecuing needs!

Crafted from food-grade 430 stainless steel, the 6-in-1 multi-tool combines a variety of functionalities, so you don’t have to carry a case full of tools with you. The compact tool functions as a fork, knife, spatula, tongs, bottle opener, and a wine corkscrew! The design basically comprises of three base elements, the fork, spatula, and knife, which are combined together via a 1.2mm liner lock. The various parts can be attached, detached and arranged according to the tool you need at the moment. For example, the fork and the spatula can be joined to create a pair of tongs! Whereas the knife comes with a foldable handle, once the handle is folded in, it functions as a bottle opener and a wine corkscrew as well! Nothing like the ease of cracking open a chilled beer while tending to the hot grill.

Lightweight, compact and durable Roxon’s MBT3 Multi BBQ Tool is the perfect helping hand for all your barbecue sessions, and truly the sidekick your trusty grill needs! Oh, and it comes along with a cute little nylon pouch to carry around in!

Designer: Roxon

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The Jacob chair is an evolution of an object through time, a current translation of an old fashioned wooden chair. From a carpenter father to his industrial designer son.

View the full project here

Hand-painted murals and crown-like brass chandeliers feature in the Veronika restaurant in New York, which local studio Roman and Williams designed to reference a variety of artistic styles.

The 150-seat restaurant, named after the patron saint of photography, sits inside the New York City outpost of Swedish photography museum Fotografiska, which opened last winter.

Veronika is located on the second floor of the museum, which occupies the storied Church Missions House, a Renaissance revival Gramercy landmark built-in 1894, that was overhauled by architecture firm CetraRuddy.

The project was led by husband-and-wife pair Stephen Alesch and Robin Standefer, whose portfolio includes popular downtown Manhattan eateries La Mercerie and Le Coucou, which were also designed Roman and Williams.

Helmed by restaurateur Stephen Starr, Veronika serves a menu that features elevated versions of classical Eastern European and French fare, an ode to the all-day cafes of Vienna, St Petersburg and Budapest.

An ethereal mural of a forest landscape by local painter Dean Barger appears upon entry into the bar area. A series of contrasting elements, including an interplay of earthy and cyan tones, is intended to be reminiscent of the early, lesser-known works of Piet Mondrian.

“The concept communicates the historically tense relationship between painting and photography and how each shaped each other significantly and continues to,” Alesch and Standefer told Dezeen. “As forms of expression, they are inextricably linked.”

“The mural specifically focuses on when photography was first introduced in 1839 and studies painting during the birth of photography, the compositions and frames of reference,” they added.

A rescued stained glass window serves as the backdrop to seven tiers of apothecary bottle shelves and a bar made of honed black St Laurent marble. Ornamental plaster around the window was also restored.

“The objects in the space heighten the tension between the two with a hybrid of feminine and masculine tones, forms and textures,” said the duo.

“We focused on these geometries and forms and how they evolved from the 19th- to the mid-20th-century and gave voltage to a journey of the unexpected.”

Inside, guests are greeted with the “residential meets palatial refinement” of a lofty enfilade subtly partitioned by flattened wood-trimmed archways. The suite of dining rooms is haloed by custom-made brass chandeliers with tiny points of light, designed by Roman and Williams to emulate jewels on an aristocratic crown.

Pale oak floors, dark mohair seating, polished Rosa Perlino marble tabletops, and custom egg-shaped lights complete the scene. Blackened brass arched doorways inspired by Surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico add a touch of eclectic modernism to the romantic ambience.

“The space is so romantic and we wanted to play against that by adding some objects and architecture from later in the 20th century,” Alesch and Standefer said.

“One of the cornerstones of Veronika is not being able to put your finger on any particular time period,” they added. “From the drama of the stained glass windows to the modern touches we echo the contrast and innovation of the relationship between photography and painting.”

Roman and Williams was founded by Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch in 2002.

The New York design studio recently installed a cabinet of curiosities inside its flagship store on 53 Howard St in Soho, which includes its furniture and homeware showroom, and La Mercerie Café.

Other recently completed New York restaurants include the Wayan restaurant designed by Rockwell Group and Chinese restaurant The Tang designed by New Practice Studio.

Photography is by Adrian Gaut.

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