There’s more to creating a playful culture than installing ball pits and pool tables. We talk to Franz Blach, MD at IDEO in Munich, about the importance of ‘playing with purpose’
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À l’occasion de l’ouverture de sa première enseigne à New York, le fast food égyptien Zooba a entièrement revu son identité visuelle. Cette refonte a été réalisée par l’agence créative new-yorkaise &Walsh, spécialisée dans la stratégie de marque, qui s’est rendue au Caire où est basée l’enseigne, pour retranscrire au mieux la marque de fabrique de Zooba : “De la nourriture égyptienne, mais différente”. Les créatifs se sont ainsi largement inspirés des rues de la capitale égyptienne, de ses enseignes colorées aux motifs géométriques, et des affiches et peintures qui décorent ses murs. La typographie de cette nouvelle identité visuelle a été réalisée par un calligraphe cairote, avant d’être mixée avec des couleurs et des motifs orientaux.
Direction créative : Jessica Walsh
Stratégie : Jessica Walsh
Production : Stephanie Halovanic
Responsable design : Gabriela Namie
Design : Soomin Jung, Elinor O’Brien, Zak Tebbal, Farah Kafei
Rédaction : Stephanie Halovanic, Farah Kafei
Illustration : Zak Tebbal, Aleksandra Apaza
Calligraphie arabique: Mohamed Mohamed (Zizo)
Design de police : Gabriela Namie, Junki Hong
Animation : Jonah Nigro, Danaé Gosset
Photographie : Sarah Hopp
Design d’accessoire : Arielle Casale
Fondateur Zooba : Chris Khalifa
Directeur créatif Zooba : Adam Mourad
Directeur artistique Zooba : Omar Mobarek
Photographe nourriture : Joe Lingeman
Productrice photo nourriture : Amelia Katz
Stylistes accessoires et nourriture : Beatrice Chastka, Pearl Jones
Peintres muraux : Kelly Li, Elizabeth Levy, Timothy Khalifa
We’ve selected the top five roles in architecture, interiors and design on Dezeen Jobs this week, including positions at Safdie Architects and Gianni Botsford Architects.
Interior designer at Safdie Architects
Safdie Architects is hiring an interior designer to join its studio in Somerville, Massachusetts. The firm designed a series of apartments on a hill in Chongqing, China, adding rust-coloured curving screens to private balconies to provide shade.
Browse more roles for interior designers ›
Part 2 architectural assistant at Gianni Botsford Architects
Gianni Botsford Architects has added a funnel-shaped copper roof to a west London home, which is made from a glue-laminated timber structure that has been left exposed on its underside to to form a decorative ceiling. The studio is seeking a Part 2 architectural assistant in London.
Browse all architectural assistant roles ›
Staff architect at Oppenheim Architecture + Design
Oppenheim Architecture + Design has an opening for a staff architect to join its practice in Miami. The firm designed an undulating golf clubhouse modelled on traditional Bedouin stretch tents in Aqaba, using orange-coloured concrete to help the building blend in with the surrounding desert landscape.
Interior architect at Conran and Partners
Conran and Partners designed the interiors of QO hotel’s guest rooms. The practice is looking for an interior architect to join its office in London.
LOHA has an opportunity for a junior architect to join its Los Angeles office. The studio built a four-storey apartment complex in West Hollywood, which features locally-sourced wooden screens that help provide privacy and block direct sunlight.
Browse all architecture jobs ›
See all the latest architecture and design roles on Dezeen Jobs ›
The post Top roles on Dezeen Jobs this week include Safdie Architects and Gianni Botsford Architects appeared first on Dezeen.
Interior designer Kelly Hoppen has created a collection of premium light switches and plug sockets for Focus SB that provide an alternative to “very conservative” electrical wiring accessories.
Hoppen worked with the British electrical accessories manufacturer to develop a range of products aimed at the UK and China luxury hospitality and residential markets.
The collection of switches and sockets is described by its manufacturer as “wall jewellery” and features a variety of finishes intended to appeal to high-end customers.
The project was led by Focus SB managing director Gary Stevens, who wanted to respond directly to the needs of the company’s target market in China.
The collection includes a plate style called Pinstripe that features parallel metallic stripes set against a matte backdrop, and a bold half-and-half design comprising two contrasting blocks of colour.
The Dot plate features small metallic spots inspired by classic jewellery designs, while the Corner wall plate incorporates a contrasting triangular detail in its bottom right hand corner.
Stevens chose to collaborate with Hoppen because of her minimalist style of interior design, which complements the company’s own approach to the finish and aesthetics of its products.
Focus SB added that Hoppen was also the standout candidate because of her ability to set trends in the interiors industry, as well as her current focus on growing her business in the Chinese market.
In 2019, the designer launched an awards programme at the Design Shanghai fair that aims to help talented young Chinese designers establish their careers.
“One of the reasons I’m doing these design awards is that there are some insanely brilliant designers coming out of China,” she told Dezeen ahead of the inaugural awards.
Hoppen explained that the collection of electrical accessories she designed for Focus SB can be used to add a final luxurious element to premium interiors projects.
“The world of electrical wiring accessories is generally very conservative,” she said, “but I wanted to create something that would very much be part of the overall design, introducing jewellery-like details and alternative finishes.”
“This collaboration with Focus SB introduces a new aesthetic to electrical fittings in a way we haven’t previously seen,” she continued.
Hoppen’s favourite among the new collection is called Plank and comprises a monochrome plate featuring machined grooves that catch the light and introduce a subtle textural detail to the surface.
The post Kelly Hoppen’s “jewellery-like” electrical accessories target the luxury interiors market appeared first on Dezeen.
Everything begins and ends with nature. It is the ultimate source. Hence it’s no surprise that designers are drawing deep inspiration from it. Dawn by SJ and S-W K designed Scent Island, an incense holder inspired by the visual of a mountain resting on an island.
The product comprises of a plastic base, its transparency representing the sheerness and flow of water, and the actual holder which is in the shape of a mountain. The mountain features an intriguing polygonal design to represent its dynamism and vibrancy. The underside of the base is made of wood, representing a tree, and hence deepening the design’s connection to nature. And the mountaintop which has a tendency to turn dark and sooty as the incense burns create the visual image of a volcano.
However, besides its nature-inspired aesthetic, Scent Island has an interesting functionality. Usually, when you place incense sticks into their holder, they tend to create a mess with the ash falling about everywhere. However, when you place the incense stick into Scent Island, the ash falls onto the base tray. Since all the ash is accumulated in one spot, it is relatively easy to dispose of it. You simply lift the tray, separate it from the holder, and effortlessly get rid of the ash.
Incense sticks manufactured from natural materials are gaining popularity. They are used for religious and spiritual purposes. Some people like to light a few nice smelling sticks to kickstart their meditation sessions. At such a point in time, Scent Island makes for a visually pleasing holder which is easy to use, and doesn’t even leave behind a mess!
Designer: Dawn by SJ and S-W K
Concrete balconies filled with tropical plants cover the Chicland hotel in Danang, Vietnam, designed by Vo Trong Nghia – the Dezeen Awards 2019 architect of the year.
Overlooking the sea on the coastal road of Vo Nguyen Giap, every room of the 21-storey hotel has its own tropical garden.
Along with 129 bedrooms, the slim tower houses a coffee house, spa, bars and a restaurant and is topped by an infinity pool and sky bar.
Chicland’s entrance sits directly off the promenade alongside the popular My Khe Beach.
Steps lead up through a small landscaped garden, past an outdoor seating area and into into the ground-floor cafe.
A series of bamboo arches merging with the bamboo posts that line the ceiling of the coffee bar.
The lobby is located above on the first floor and a bright, glazed space finished in stone panels and glass bricks.
Dotted with seating areas overlook the café below from a small balcony.
Above this on the third floor is the restaurant, with glazed cut-outs in the floor that can be walked over and give down into the lobby.
All these public areas all face east with large windows looking out towards the beach.
Technical, storage and kitchen facilities are confined to the tower’s northern end where a new development will soon be constructed.
Above these more public areas, the bedroom floors follow a standard floorplan, with smaller rooms sitting off a corridor opposite an elongated circulation core.
Larger apartment-style suites wrap around the tower’s eastern corner.
Inside, full-height sliding glass doors have been used to allow for the creation of a single space with access to external balconies and terraces.
“Thanks to the greenery facade, all rooms have a nice view whether facing the sea or the adjacent land,” said the studio.
The interiors have been designed as a continuation of the planted areas outside, using natural and local materials such as bamboo, rattan and stone.
Named architect of the year at Dezeen Awards 2019, Vo Trong Nghia often make use of plants in its projects.
Recent work from the practice includes the series House of Trees which features a home with a rooftop fruit gardens and another with a climbing-plant facade.
Project credits:
Architect: Vo Trong Nghia
Concept design: Mai Lan Chi, Takashi Niwa, Nguyen Van An
Basic design: Ngo Thuy Duong, Nguyen Van An
Interior design: Ngo Thuy Duong, Nguyen Van An, Takashi Niwa, Koji Yamamoto
Details and supervision: Ngo Thuy Duong, Nguyen Van An
Main contractor: Hicon
Mechanical and electrical engineer: NDC Consulting
Civil and structural engineer: SMT Viet Nam
The post Tropical plants cover the balconies of Chicland hotel in Vietnam appeared first on Dezeen.
Los Angeles architect Clive Wilkinson has designed his own family home atop a hilly site to draw cues from nearby modern dwellings that resemble “spaceships on stilts”.
Located in West Los Angeles, the property is the home of Wilkinson, his wife, and three children.
“Wilkinson had always yearned for the slightly surreal opportunity of designing his own floating home and finally came across the chance to do so when he found a steep site in west Los Angeles for sale in 2016,” said Clive Wilkinson Architects.
An existing home on the site was removed, along with dense vegetation that had taken hold over the years. “Once the site was cleared, the view revealed itself and it became clear that the design needed to respond directly to and highlight the spectacular scenery of the vast urban landscape below.”
From the street, the building appears to be only two stories tall, matching the height of its neighbours. It is composed of an angular volume covered in black zinc panels that sits above a low-slung sand-blasted concrete level punctuated by a garage door and the entrance.
The top level is punctuated by a large terrace at the rear of the house. It partially cantilevers out to rest on stilts and provide cover to another outdoor space below.
“An inspiration for the house was the iconic modern homes of Los Angeles that seem to float above the city like spaceships on stilts, perched within the backbone of hills that shape the LA Basin,” said the firm.
Because of the site’s slope, there is actually a third floor below the first two seen from the street. “The separate levels address the varying needs of the family, as both children and adults have their own territories but can come together for social, recreational and dining needs,” the architect said.
An entrance path goes around the middle level of the home. This route is covered by elements of the upper story, which rests on slanted columns with a metallic finish. It culminates at the wraparound terrace with eastern and southern exposures.
Visitors enter the home into the landing of a wooden staircase framed by black panels etched with a geometric, triangulated pattern. It leads up to the communal area or down to the lower level.
At the top of the stairs, the main living area is contained within a tall, faceted space accentuated by sand-blasted douglas fir beams that form the walls and ceiling.
“The living floor is open on its south side and expressed as a large beamed attic space formed entirely in wood,” said Clive Wilkinson Architects. “Kitchen, dining and living all co-exist, orienting to the south view,” the statement continued.
The kitchen runs along one wall of the space and is delineated by an island clad in a richly veined stone, with a breakfast nook at one end. A long dining table with wavy edges is located nearby, for easier access during meals.
The staircase separates these areas from the living space, which is laid out with several couches and a grand piano.
The study placed to face the street shares a similar language with the communal space but is separated for more privacy. Its windows tilt downwards, providing glimpses of the road below.
At the middle level are Wilkinson’s bedroom suite and a guest bedroom. The master bedroom opens onto a terrace with views of the city.
The lower level contains three children’s bedrooms, a home gym, and a recreation area for the kids. The den opens out onto the backyard pool via a large sliding glass door. “The children’s rooms open onto the stone-tiled infinity pool terrace and garden, which extends down the hill,” said Clive Wilkinson Architects.
The two lower storeys are wrapped in sand-blasted concrete, which helps insulate the home and provide thermal mass, thereby reducing the need for heating and cooling. “The exterior of the top floor volume is clad in black zinc panels, emphasising its role as the crow’s nest, or observatory, of the house.”
Clive Wilkinson founded his eponymous firm in 1991. It has completed several other projects throughout Los Angeles, including a media centre for Santa Monica College, and the offices of video production studio Funny or Die, in West Hollywood.
Further afield, the studio has built new offices for Microsoft’s growing presence in Vancouver, as well as the Manhattan interiors for advertising agency Publicis, which were designed to replace cubicles with comfortable nooks and shared workspaces.
Photography is by Ema Peter.
The post Angular terrace tops Clive Wilkinson’s self-designed Los Angeles home appeared first on Dezeen.
Mexican designer José Bermúdez has created an incense tray to reference the form of active volcano Mount Fuji in Japan.
The Fuji incense diffuser comprises a foundry brass plate that fits inside a small concrete container.
“Inspired by Mount Fuji located in Japan, the concept was to create an elegant piece and a start conversation object,” José Bermúdez said. “Fuji means wealth or abundant, the same words to express what the incense are meant to attract in our lives.”
Incense sticks are typically laid horizontally or set at an angle on scent trays. But in Bermúdez‘s design, the sticks stand upright to allude to an erupting volcano.
“Fuji holds the sticks in vertical position to create as the main focal view and a full reference to the volcanoes, when they erupt,” the designer continued.
A single hole, large enough for the insertion of one stick, punctures the centre of the round brass plate. They are available in two finishes – aged brass and natural – which are intended to weather over time and with use.
As the wood burns the ash remnants are collected on the tray. The dish can be easily removed from the top of the container so that both objects can be cleaned.
Más, a Mexico City concrete company, produced the cylindrical base for the object, which comes in either a black or pale grey.
“Fuji is a balance between two hard materials and the fine delicacy of the incense sticks,” Bermúdez added.
Bermúdez works in Mexico City and Colombia. In 2017 he teamed with Colombian designers Vrokka and Fango Studio to create a series of coffee-related objects, including utensils, cups and a storage cabinet.
Other designers that have created incense-related products, include Canadian Lukas Peet who used 3 D printing technology to craft a geometric ashtray and design studio Yield, which developed a collection of candles and incense sticks based on famous architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Carlo Scarpa and John Entenza.
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The warm, folk-pop melody of LA-based singer-songwriter Albon’s “Big Sur Theme” evokes sun rays on the mountainous strip of Californian coast. Albon (aka Alexander B Lappin) wrote the song on a trip through the area and took inspiration from the orcas in the water beside. Woodwind instruments join strings and light percussion to build the beautiful soundscape, ribboned together by Lappin’s vocals. The track will appear on Dream Weaver/Bee Keeper EP, out 31 January.
The first single from Mac Miller’s posthumous record, “Good News” moves slowly, emphasizing the artist’s somber but clear-minded lyrics. He had finished a significant portion this new album, Circles (out 17 January via his estate), and together with Swimming (his fifth and last album), it would complete a concept—Swimming in Circles—producer Jon Brion and Miller (born Malcolm McCormick) planned to release. After Miller’s passing, Brion was dedicated to completing the album. In the final verse of “Good News,” Miller details his hopes for the album: “There’s a whole lot more for me waitin’ on the other side / I’m always wonderin’ if it feel like summer.” Now, rather, these lyrics sound like a heartfelt goodbye.
Chicago jazz musician Makaya McCraven brings new life to “Where Did The Night Go,” a track from the late spoken-word poet, musician and performer Gil Scott-Heron’s final album, I’m New Here. McCraven reassembles the original with bustling, zesty woodwinds and impactful percussion. The track will appear on We’re New Again, a complete reimagining of the last Scott-Heron album, released 10 years after the original. Jamie xx’s also reworked I’m New Here in its entirety, with his 2011 release We’re New Here.
“This song was, surprisingly enough, written in a period where I was struggling with falling asleep,” Danish singer/songwriter Agnes Obel says of her new single “Broken Sleep.” Obel wrote, recorded and produced the track, on which she plays the piano and sings. Exquisite string work adds volume to the ethereal number, which will appear on Obel’s forthcoming album, Myopia, out 21 February. A perfect tonal pairing, the mesmerizing official music video was created by Obel’s longterm collaborator and partner Alex Brüel Flagstad.
As a follow-up to Mykki Blanco’s “Lucky (Live in London)” track release in December, directors Diana Kunst and Mau Morgó have produced a performance art music video with kinetic choreographed by Tom Heyes. Blanco’s powerful presence anchors the piece, which is enhanced by a three-piece string section and more. The riveting visual treatment is the first collaborative #GucciGig, by the fashion brand and Dazed magazine.
A third teaser from Wolf Parade’s forthcoming Thin Mind album, “Julia Take Your Man Home” gains sonic momentum with each passing note, as synths and percussion meaningfully collide. All the while, Wolf Parade vocalist (and musician) Spencer Krug tells a tale of toxic masculinity and its impact. Despite the gravity and theatricality of the track’s narrative, it’s also just a solid rock track.
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.
Dive Architects has completed a lake house in an isolated woodland to the north of Stockholm designed to gradually “merge with nature” as the surrounding birch and pine forest grows.
Sitting on a site that slopes down towards a lake, the timber-framed home has been split into two volumes.
One for are for sleeping and another for living are angled inwards around an entrance courtyard.
With the forest to the east and lake to the west, the home is oriented to maximise natural daylight in different areas as the sun moves throughout the day.
“The homeowner can have the morning sun at breakfast and, as the day goes on, enjoy the sunset from the master bedroom,” explained the studio.
“At the meeting point of the two volumes the house is slightly angled forming the main entrance and a sheltered outdoor seating area. This also makes the most of the different views depending on whether you look up to the forest or down to the lake.”
Drawing on the surrounding forest, the wooden frame of home has been clad entirely in planks of treated pine.
These run horizontally on the lower portion of the home and vertically towards the roof.
In the living block, the western and southern edges have been wrapped in large areas of glazing.
This glass slides back to open the space out onto a decked corner terrace.
Smaller windows look out eastwards from this space towards the forest, which allow the morning sun to illuminate a countertop as well as the central kitchen island.
A rendered brick fireplace is a focal point in the combing living and dining room and kitchen.
“The whole setting offers an uncomplicated and relaxing home,” said Dive Architects.
The floorplate steps upwards into the sleeping block, where three guest bedrooms sit along a skylit corridor that leads to the master bedroom.
Set at the home’s northern end, the master bedroom has a large window looking westwards to allow occupants to watch the sunset.
Each bedroom has been given its own individual entrance directly to the outside via a small wooden step and a door concealed in the facade.
The guest rooms also have thin, full-height windows.
Dive Architects was founded in 2001 by la Hjärre and Andy Nettleson in London, prior to moving to Stockholm.
Also located in a pine forest is architect Johan Sundberg’s recently completed Sommarhus T, which draws on Japanese architecture to create a rural retreat on Sweden’s south coast.
Photography is by Åke E:son Lindman.
Project credits:
Architect: Dive Architects
Contractor: Helob Bygg
Structural engineer: SD Project
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