Ater Architects uses blue curtains as walls in Kyiv apartment

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

Cobalt-blue curtains hang in place of walls in a small apartment in Kyiv renovated by Ukrainian architecture and interiors studio Ater Architects.

Called EGR Apartment, the 65-square-metre space was cramped, featuring a compartmentalised layout with separate rooms connected by corridors.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

The owners, a  young couple, asked Ater Architects to transform it into a light and minimalist space.

Ater Architects removed most of the partition walls to create an open-plan layout.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

Only the bedroom area is separated from the main space by walls.

Everywhere else cobalt blue curtains are used to delineate zones within the apartment.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

The curtains are intended to contrast with the apartment’s otherwise monotone colour and material palette.

“The ambition [was] to balance the vigorous coloured accents and make the space brighter and airier while maintaining some rigour,” said Ater Architects.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

The ceiling in the kitchen and bathroom areas was lowered to accommodate ventilation.

An existing concrete slab ceiling was painted white across the rest of the apartment.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

On the floors, the architects used wide plank oak engineered flooring everywhere apart from the kitchen and bathroom areas.

The latter feature breccia flooring – a surface made from fragments of broken marble with polymer grout-filled joints.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

In the kitchen, the architects installed black ceramic tiles with pink grout that matches the cylindrical base of the customised dining table.

Oak veneer cabinets and a copper Flowerpot lamp designed by Verner Panton in 1968 add warmth.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

In the living room, a powder-pink sofa contrasts with the blue curtains.

A white 265 wall lamp by Paolo Rizzatto for Flos lights the space.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

“The living room is an area for communication,” said the architects.  “At the request of the clients, neither television nor projector was provided.”

Instead of a television, the room revolves around a graphic art work by Yulia Popova.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

The owners also requested an office area with a custom-designed mixing deck.

“The specific request of the apartment owner was the workplace arrangement where he would be able to do his favourite thing – composing electronic music,” explained Ater Architects.

“To do this, we have designed a table that can fit all the necessary equipment. Above the table, we have placed a photograph of the cult Berlin techno-club Berghain by Michael Belhadi.”

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

Other custom-designed furniture includes an oak dressing table with a round backlit mirror in the bedroom and a spacious wardrobe.

This dressing area is separated from the bedroom zone by the same blue curtains.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

Throughout the apartment, storage is hidden behind built-in oak veneer cabinets.

Mirrored panels in the living room, bathroom and bedroom to create the illusion of “endless space”.

EGR Apartment by Ater Architects

Ater Architects, founded by Alexander Ivasiv and Yuliya Tkachenko, recently created colourful interiors for a children’s clinic in Kyiv.

Curtains are a flexible and colourful option for apartment renovations.

Floor-to-ceiling pale blue curtains carve up the interior of this open-plan apartment in Bilbao, Spain, which has been overhauled by architecture studio Azab.

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Discover the most stylish home offices on this week's Pinterest board

As working from home becomes more common due to the coronavirus outbreak, we’ve updated our Pinterest board featuring the most well-designed study nooks to inspire your own home office set-up. Follow Dezeen on Pinterest or visit our updated board to see more.

This study area connects to a small library mezzanine that is reached via a spiralling steel staircase

New additions to the Pinterest board include the double-height study area in house by the sea in Sweden, which opens onto a small terrace, and the desk corner of a house in Los Angeles, which boasts breathtaking views of the surrounding Hollywood Hills.

A bright shade of light blue brings a touch of colour to the walls of the study area in this London apartment

Other projects you can find in the board showcase a huge penthouse in Brazil, designed by local Studio MK27, with floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves, as well as an elegant study in London with a brass-topped desk and a velvet burgundy chair.

Dezeen’s Pinterest account features thousands of images, organised into hundreds of boards. Follow us on Pinterest to keep up to date with our latest pins.

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Martin Massé designs chunky Orsetto 02 coffee table for Studio Twenty Seven

Orsetto 02 Coffee Table by Martin Masse for Sudio Twentyseven

Architect Martin Massé has designed Orsetto 02, a rounded stone coffee table for the New York gallery Studio Twenty Seven.

The Orsetto 02 is formed of a wide, rounded mushroom-style tabletop supported by a ring of stubby legs.

Orsetto 02 Coffee Table by Martin Masse for Sudio Twentyseven

It is part of a collection of furniture called Orsetto designed by French architect and designer Martin Massé for the gallery.

Orsetto means baby bear or teddy in Italian, and the pieces of furniture all have a cute, chubby appearance despite being made of unyielding stone.

Orsetto 02 Coffee Table by Martin Masse for Sudio Twentyseven

All of the collection’s tables have rounded legs that look like the limbs of a child’s teddy bear. The collection also includes soft furnishings such as poufs and chairs in a similar cuddly style.

The Orsetto 02 coffee table sits low to the ground. At only 35 centimetres high it comes up to the shins of a standing adult.

Orsetto 02 Coffee Table by Martin Masse for Sudio Twentyseven

Despite its squishy appearance, thanks to the creamy smooth stone and soft edges, the table is heavy enough to need to be winched in place to be moved safely.

The Orsetto 02 was fabricated by stonemasons at the Ateliers Saint Jaques in France’s Chevreuse valley.

Just 12 of the coffee tables, which are hewn from Italian Pietra dei Medici marble, have been made.

Orsetto 02 Coffee Table by Martin Masse for Sudio Twentyseven

Studio Twenty Seven, which also has a gallery in Miami, recently showcased an entire collection of furniture made from the same limestone, designed by French designers Francesco Balzano and Valeriane Lazard.

Called Primitif, it included a stool, table, bench, side table, coffee table, jars, wall light and paperweight. Its monolithic forms were created, said the designers, as a tribute to Stonehenge.

Orsetto 02 Coffee Table by Martin Masse for Sudio Twentyseven

Because of its heft, limestone is more commonly used as a surface in interior design, or as an architectural element. It is less usually chosen for furniture.

To change this perception, a group of students at Estonian Academy of Arts, who designed a collection of furniture made a traditional Estonian limestone. Called Dig Where You Stand, it includes a spinning floor lamp.

Photography is by Arthur Fechoz.

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Oscar Niemeyer apartment building in Berlin captured by Pedro Vannucchi

Oscar Niemeyer Haus Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

These photographs by Brazilian architect Pedro Vannucchi capture an experimental apartment building Oscar Niemeyer completed in Berlin, Germany in the 1950s.

Oscar Niemeyer Haus Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

Oscar Niemeyer Haus was completed in 1957 for Interbau, a social housing initiative launched after the second world war.

Niemeyer was among 48 architects including Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier and Sep Ruf tasked to design projects for the scheme in Berlin’s Hansaviertel district. He was the only non-European architect invited to design for the programme.

Oscar Niemeyer Haus Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

Vannucchi said Oscar Niemeyer Haus reminded him of residences in Brasília, which Niemeyer masterplanned in 1958 with modernist architect Lucio Costa. In particular, it is similar to the structures that made up the superquadras, or super blocks.

“It is more similar to some residential blocks in the superquadras in Brasília, possibly because both are located in planned green areas, and perhaps because he was working on them in the same period,” Vannucchi said.

Oscar Niemeyer Haus Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

Oscar Niemeyer Haus is elevated on chunky V-shaped pillars to create a shaded walkway underneath the building.

“The open and fluid ground floor is a typical modernist solution, and the V-shaped pillars are part of this vocabulary,” Vannucchi said. “All of this is very well done, with perfect proportions, including the elegant solution of the slightly elevated ground floor.”

The apartments in the building are fronted with terraces and glass patio doors.

Each unit has a deck with mesh and metal railings, and retractable orange awnings. For Vannucchi, the umbrellas set up on the outdoor patios evoke Brazilian charm and flair.

Oscar Niemeyer Haus Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

“The awnings and the sun umbrellas might not be acceptable by the extreme purists, but they give this wonderful building a sense of life and a touch of Brazilian ‘bossa’,” the architect said.

Rectangular structures clad in red and blue tiles are tucked underneath the main building. Staircases are housed inside the large tiled blocks and provide access to all the floors.

Oscar Niemeyer Haus Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

On the back exterior, two volumes extend from a prism-like elevator tower to the two floors of the main building that have lift access.

Interbau was completed as part of the International Building Exhibition in Berlin. Vannucchi described his visit to the planned neighbourhood like touring an “open-air museum of modern architecture”.

Oscar Niemeyer Haus Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

“As an architect and photographer, the experience of visiting Hansaviertel, a neighbourhood built in Berlin in the late fifties, is like being inside an open-air museum of modern architecture,” Vannucchi said.

“Scattered buildings within a green area with public access, low population density and much tranquillity.”

Oscar Niemeyer Haus Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

Oscar Niemeyer was a Pritzker-prize winning Brazilian architect who died in 2012.

Since his passing other photographers have shared images of his work, including New York photographer Andrew Prokos who photographed the architect’s Brasília buildings. Brazilian photographer Pedro Kok has captured a number of his key projects in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte.

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The Vext Slim’s clever design gives you a better wallet, with less material

There are two ways of going about designing an object. You could either A. look at previous versions of the object and try to improve upon them, or B. look at the problems the object was trying to solve and design a product that simply solves those problems. The Vext Slim feels a lot like the latter.

Rather than improving on traditional wallet designs, the Vext Slim looks at the contents of the modern wallet and the user’s needs and behavior patterns. In doing so, the Vext Slim behaves a lot like a great wallet, but don’t expect it to look like some rehashed version of a bifold or a money-clip, because it wasn’t designed with those products as a reference.

The Vext Slim’s design brief could arguably be summarized into three words. Smart, versatile storage. The wallet comes as a holster for your cards, made either out of carbon fiber or anodized aluminum (two materials known for their high strength-to-weight ratio). The wallet holds as many as 9 cards in a format that allows you to easily pick and choose cards with a single thumb. Swipe down for a card you don’t want to use, until you arrive at the right card, for which you swipe up… It’s essentially like Tinder for your cards. You can either pull out your active card to swipe it, or scan its chip right from within the wallet without taking it out… all with a single hand, making it easier to use if you’ve got one hand occupied, or better still, for someone with disabilities.

Along with its card-slot, the Vext Slim also packs an elastic band for your banknotes, as well as a discreet pouch for your coins or even other small items like thumb-drives, SIM cards, medicines, etc. In an increasingly digital world, the Vext Slim gets things right by prioritizing card-storage, but also being mindful of the fact that people still carry cash, receipts, coins, and other paraphernalia on them. Designed around this versatility, and more importantly around the behavior of whipping your wallet out of your pocket and popping the correct card out when you need it, the Vext shows that sometimes it’s more effective to build your product around user needs rather than simply trying to upgrade products of the past. Besides, the carbon-fiber construction should ensure your wallet lasts longer than you do!

Designer: Ari Horowitz of Sleek Life Design

Click Here to Buy Now: $30 $35 (15% off). Hurry, only 34/50 left!

Vext Slim: The Quick Swipe Access Wallet

The Vext Slim carry cards, cash & small belongings in this intelligently-designed quick access wallet. This model holds up to 9 cards, and its signature design lets users easily swipe from one card to the next without taking any cards out. With a secure money band and discreet pocket on the back, Vext keeps cash and small items safe and sound.

The proprietary V-shaped window lets you easily swipe through cards to find the card you’re looking for. Simply swipe cards you don’t need down, and swipe the card you need up and out in a matter of seconds.

Vext Slim securely holds as few as 1 and as many as 9 cards (depending on card thickness). The cards are held by a gentle squeezing pressure on the edges (patent pending), meaning that no matter how many cards you’re carrying, you can be certain none of them will fall out.

Easy Chip Payments. You’ll never have to take a card out of your wallet to make a chip payment again. Simply slide the card forward to insert into the reader. Collapse the card back into place and keep moving.

Cash Band & Pouch. The band attached to the back of the wallet lets you hold cash and a few additional cards, without getting bulky. The industrial elastic is double stitch-enforced for strength, and the leather tab gives an area for you to pull the pocket open.

The band attached to the back of the wallet also doubles as a pocket. Perfect for holding onto valet tags, medication, and even a key or two (assuming you don’t need every key on your keychain for a night out).

All Vext Slim Wallets are engineered with extreme tolerance to ensure maximum security & durability. The wallets are machined from aircraft-grade aluminum and come in a variety of finishes:

– Glossy Carbon fiber- extremely lightweight, durable, black
– Aircraft-grade aluminum- lightweight, durable, variety of color options

Click Here to Buy Now: $30 $35 (15% off). Hurry, only 34/50 left!

Lack of support for UK freelance designers "causing worry and division" amid Covid-19 pandemic

The Ministry by Squire and Partners and Ministry of Sound in London, UK

The UK’s creative sector has welcomed the huge financial package announced by the government yesterday aimed at helping companies protect jobs during the coronavirus crisis, but warned that freelancers and self-employed workers need greater support.

The temporary measures, worth an estimated £78 billion, include grants that will cover up to 80 per cent of salaries for workers that are kept in their jobs rather than laid off. The payments will be worth a maximum of £2,500 per month for each worker.

Other measures include the deferment of next upcoming VAT payments and self-assessment tax bills.

“We are encouraged by the financial measures announced this evening and hope they will provide much-needed support for practices to retain staff and manage cash flow,” said Alan Vallance, CEO of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

“The RIBA is engaging with the Government on a daily basis and this latest package of support reflects proposals we put to the chancellor earlier this week,” he added. “We will continue to ensure the concerns of our members are heard, understood and acted upon.”

The creative industries have a high proportion of small businesses, self-employed workers and freelancers, and there are widespread fears over how businesses and individuals will survive the crisis as the global economy seizes up.

Government has “failed to stand by freelancers and self-employed workers”

The UK’s Creative Industries Federation welcomed the government’s measures, which were announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday, but said more needed to be done to support workers without salaried jobs.

“We welcome the news that [the] government is standing by British businesses in this historic announcement but they have failed to stand by freelancers and self-employed workers – causing worry and division at this difficult time,” said Caroline Norbury, CEO of the federation.

“The Chancellor’s announcement tonight that the government will pay wages up to 80% for businesses will be very much welcomed by the UK’s creative businesses, many of whom have had to shut their doors overnight.

“However, this creates a worrying inequity between those who now have their income secured and the UK’s 5 million self-employed workers and freelancers who are left despondent.”

Half of all freelancers have seen all work cancelled

According to the federation, freelancers make up one-third of the creative workforce. A Twitter poll conducted by the federation found that half of all freelancers have seen all their work cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The £94.25 per week offered in Universal Credit does not come anywhere near to compensating them for their income loss, nor is it close to the amount they can reasonably be expected to live off,” said Norbury.

“We stand by all of the creative industries and, at this challenging time, it’s vital the government stands by our self-employed and freelancers and mirrors the strong measures put in place for the UK’s employed workforce.”

Details of the government’s support package for businesses can be found here. Follow Dezeen’s coverage of the coronavirus crisis here.

Main image is by James Jones.

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Studio Love is Enough designs Japanese restaurant inside MINI creative hub A/D/O

Rule of Thirds at A/D/O

Velvet green seating is coupled with wood latticework in this Japanese restaurant located inside Brooklyn creative hub A/D/O.

Rule of Thirds occupies the rear of the 23,000-square-foot (915-square-metre) MINI-backed space in Greenpoint, which was designed by local studio nArchitects in 2016.

Rule of Thirds at A/D/O

Design team Studio Love is Enough developed the Japanese eatery for restaurateur Sunday Hospitality. It replaces Scandinavian restaurant Norman that had previously occupied the space.

Panels of douglas fir wood wrap the walls of Rule of Thirds and low banquettes constructed from the same wood lines the perimeter of the space. The booth-like seating is upholstered with velvet jade green backrests and brown leather pads.

Elsewhere in the restaurant, layered walnut tables and square tables provide additional accommodation for guests.

Rule of Thirds at A/D/O

A number of elements of the design are intended to take cues from a number of Japanese aesthetics.

“​The Japanese influence is also subtly echoed in the restaurant’s design, where an attention to detail creates an environment that applies custom decor elements, such as flexible wooden furniture, hand-thrown ceramic tableware, and a bespoke sake cabinet – all of which enhance the experience of the cuisine,” said A/D/O.

Panels that resemble Shoji screens extend the length of the kitchen. Like the traditional dividers, the sheets are transparent and set against a lattice frame so guests are able to watch as their meals are prepared.

A rectangular bar fronted with mint green tiles and a walnut countertop also faces the open kitchen.

Rule of Thirds at A/D/O

Studio Benson designed sculptural metal light fixtures that take cues from Japanese water rituals for booth lighting. A chunky rectangular wood frame inset with strips of light is raised over the bar area.

Other decorative elements in the space include leafy potted plants that are dispersed throughout the restaurant and metal sake cabinets for storing the rice wine beverage.

Rule of Thirds at A/D/O

The team worked with several local artists and designers to bring an authentic Japanese culture to the restaurant, including plants from Tula House and ceramic bowls and sake carafes from Soto Ceramics.

These details are intended to contrast the industrial elements nArchitects left during the original renovation, like exposed plumbing pipes, ceiling rafters and concrete floors.

Rule of Thirds at A/D/O

“Accessed through the courtyard in the rear of the A/D/O space, Rule of Thirds’ interior creates a cohesive and calming contrast to the industrial feel of the nArchitects-designed building,” added A/D/O.

The arrangement of A/D/O has also changed as part of the redesign. Patrons now enter the restaurant through a back door of the brickwork warehouse building.

Rule of Thirds at A/D/O

Its white exterior is painted with various words and symbols, including the restaurant’s logo of a chef preparing food, several large orange semi-circles and the names of traditional Japanese food styles served.

A/D/O is a creative hub, restaurant and tech startup incubator in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, it recently hosted an installation of several light fixtures designed by Fernando Mastrangelo’s platform for emerging artists In Good Company.

Photography is by Gary Landsman.

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Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Radical housing concepts, a futuristic surf film, an endearing illustrated depiction of Wuhan and more

Resources for Laid-off Bar + Restaurant Workers

“A slew of programs, grants, and resources—from grassroots efforts to government relief—have begun to take shape” for those let go from bars, restaurants and other hospitality destinations, as Food and Wine reports in a story that will continue to be updated. These include the Restaurant Opportunities Center, Rethink, NYC Hospitality Alliance, The Restaurant Worker’s Community Foundation, Bartender Emergency Assistance Program, and so many more. If you are a member of the workforce that’s been laid-off indefinitely, head to any of those sites or learn about even more options—including many local efforts around the US—at Food and Wine. The same applies if you are interested in or capable of offering support, as many accept donations.

Filmmaker Daniel Askill’s Futuristic Film, “Electric Wave,” Starring Three Extraordinary Women Surfers

From filmmaker Daniel Askill (best known for groundbreaking music videos for Sia and Lady Gaga), the short film Electric Wave depicts futuristic surfing scenes in richly stylized, and sometimes allegorical, moments. Seven-time World Surf League Champion, Steph Gilmore, as well as legendary free surfer, Leah Dawson and emerging talent Coco Ho star in the exquisite cinematic experience, which was shot overnight at Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in California. Japan-born, Malibu-based composer Aska Matsumiya contributes an evocative original score, which only heightens the grace and intensity of the surfers. It was produced by CONVICTS to usher in the launch of Audi’s new fully-electric e-tron. You can watch the entire film on YouTube now.

Laura Gao’s Lovely “The Wuhan I Know” Comic

When Laura Gao’s family first moved to Texas, nobody knew about her hometown of Wuhan, but now its name saturates newspapers, television and conversations in real life and online—often with racism included. A talented artist, Gao decided to create a comic “to shine light on what people don’t know: the beautiful culture, rich history, and strong people of Wuhan.” Along with thoughtful artwork, The Wuhan I Know shares compelling information about the city, its people, history and food. She provides much insight. But perhaps most importantly, Gao reminds us that for 11 million people, Wuhan is home. See more at her site.

Adobe Offers Two Free Months of Creative Cloud

With an increasing number of creatives working from home, Adobe has stepped in to offer current users two free months of Creative Cloud. Simply navigate the CC website and proceed to the cancellation page, there, users will be offered two months free before formally canceling. (You can give any reason for cancellation.) After accepting their offer for two free months, a $60 credit is applied to your account. This isn’t a coincidental secret promotion; it’s a direct response to support individuals (especially freelancers) who are facing immediate financial difficulties. Read more at Digital Arts Online.

Italy-Based Filmmaker Spence Siss’ “INSIDE” Video Project

Photographer and filmmaker Spence Siss typically profiles fashion and music industry figures, but his newest project INSIDE documents his life in quarantine in Civitanova Marche, Italy. Initially, he pointed the camera outward, letting it capture anything it could from vantage points within his home. But by day six, the focus turned inward: Siss making coffee, drinking it slowly as he looks out the window, working out, showering. He does his best to form a routine. To continue watching these artful depictions of life inside, tune to his Instagram channel. “I’m definitely going to keep documenting my experience during the lockdown,” he says.

Jon Rafman’s Ongoing Google Street View Photo Project

Named for the nine cameras mounted atop Google Street View cars, Jon Rafman’s 9 Eyes photo project is made up of screenshots from Street View that span the utterly dull to the surprising and surreal. Be it shards of sunlight over a field, nude sunbathers or lone donkeys, the images mesmerize. Perusing these pictures can feel voyeuristic—and they bring up questions about neutrality, privacy, ethics and aesthetics. Take a look at the pages and pages of images, dating back to 2008, at 9-eyes.com. (Beware, there are some images of violence included.)

XTU Architects’ Radical Housing Concepts For Offshore Oil Rigs

Entitled “x_lands,” XTU Architects’ radical housing concept transforms the bones of offshore oil rigs into verdant sanctuaries. These platforms, very much a symbol of our reliance on oil, pose particularly interesting for adaption thanks to their vast scale and innate structural support. In addition to the greenery, XTU Architects proposes several different window-laden, container-like additions (and even some bubbles) to house human life. Read more at designboom.

Technology + Ethics Behind Turning Trees into Power Generators

In its earliest stages, and developed by graduate students from Keio University in Tokyo, the “biological microgrid” Raiki will aim to harvest electricity from trees by drawing from the “triboelectric” effect in foliage. This is a phenomenon of movement, much like static electricity, generated when positively charged leaves come into contact with negatively charged materials (like a tree trunk). Industrial designer Catalina Lotero explained this at Design Indaba 2020, where she also questioned the ethical impact by asking, “Is it ethically correct to use something that’s alive and tweak it like a product?” Read more about the technology and its underlying questions at Quartz.

NASCAR Replaces Canceled Races With Esports Invitational

After canceling the NASCAR circuit’s next three races, the organization quickly opted for an innovative alternative. By expanding upon an 11-year-old simulated racing league NASCAR already operates (exclusively for SIM racers and not real-life drivers), the next three races will commence virtually on a video game version of the Homestead-Miami Speedway. All of the sports most popular drivers will control cars from simulator stations—like the type typically found in arcades—and announcers will provide commentary remotely. The race, officially called the FOX NASCAR iRACING ESPORTS INVITATIONAL, will be televised on FOX’s major channels (FS1 and the FOX Sports app) on 22 March. Given the inherent dangers of the sport, and the longstanding lobbying done in favor of switching to simulated races, this could be a glimpse into the sport’s future. Read more at NASCAR’s blog.

Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning.

Lorenzo Guzzini builds stone house with infinity pool overlooking Lake Como

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

Italian architect Lorenzo Guzzini has completed a villa overlooking Lake Como in Italy, with a facade of grey moraine stone and an infinity pool.

The house, called Villa Molli, is built into a gentle slope in the town of Sala Comacina.

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

Its two tower-like forms and stepped living spaces required minimal excavation.

Lorenzo Guzzini positioned these two taller volumes at either end of the home.

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

They house four bedrooms over two storeys, bookending a central living space topped by a terrace.

Thin stone slabs have been used to create ziggurat-like stepped rooflines for the tower elements.

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

In section, the central area of the home steps down across four levels, beginning with a solarium and kitchen in its uppermost area.

A dining area sits in the middle of the levels, next to a lower living area illuminated by a skylight.

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

“This choice has generated an ever-different perception of the lake,” said Lorenzo Guzzini.

“from an aerial view from the kitchen step, in which the window shows only the water of the lake, to the discovery of the sky on the step of the living room.”

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

Villa Morri ends in an external terrace and infinity pool.

“The pool in the villa is not a mere cliché, but it has an architectural and symbolic function, uniting visually to the wild ‘aqua dulza’ of the lake,” said Guzzini.

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

The two taller volumes also play with different views.

One sits with its gable end facing outwards to the lake, while the other has been rotated to match the orientation of an adjacent stone building.

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

Here, smaller windows frame views out to the lake and across the upper terrace to the other tower, creating private spaces that contrast the exposed living areas.

“The idea to rotate the volumes 90 degrees to each other was given by a strong link with the place: on one side the tower recalls the traditional neighbouring house,” said Guzzini.

“The other closes the system, facing towards the lake.”

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

Inside, exposed concrete, dark wood and white-rendered walls create contrasts between light and dark.

Enclosed corridors lead to the dramatic reveals of views.

Villa Molli by Lorenzo Guzzini in Italy

Previous projects by Lorenzo Guzzini Architecture include another home close to Lake Como that draws on the forms and landscaping of Japanese tea houses.

Photography is by Giorgio Marafioti.


Project credits:

Architect: Lorenzo Guzzini
Engineer: Claudio Sosio De Rosa
Construction company: Curti

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10 design-focused dwellings from the East London Homes book

East London Homes book

Interiors reporter Natasha Levy has selected 10 striking homes in east London that the city’s creatives have designed for themselves.

The projects are all from the East London Homes, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which showcases 29 design-focused dwellings that lie in the east of the English capital.

Each home included in the book is accompanied by a selection of photographs by Jon Aaron Green, and text that reveals how the owners have aesthetically curated their personal living quarters.

A notable number of the owners are architects or interior designers, but filmmakers, florists and restaurateurs are among the other creatives to be featured.

“When people think of east London, they tend to imagine warehouse conversions with high ceilings and exposed brickwork and artists living in their studios,” explained the book’s author, interior stylist Sarah Bagner.

“Though I have seen some beautiful flats in former factories that are reminders of the area’s industrial past, there is so much more to this eastern side of the city.”

Read about ten of the homes below:


East London Homes book

Clapton home by Florence and James Kennedy

With the lease on this Clapton home set to run out in just a few years, its owners – florists Florence and James Kennedy – made sure that they took a frugal approach to designing its interiors.

The kitchen, for example, features a pale marble splashback crafted from an old fireplace surround purchased on eBay, and a couple of butchers’ blocks found in a local market.

Its raw-plaster walls have also been left untouched, complementing the earthy pink surfaces that appear upstairs in the sleeping quarters.


East London Homes book

Forest Gate home by Carlo Viscione and Florence Andrews

Two separate flats in the Forest Gate neighbourhood were knocked together to form this expansive home, at the centre of which lies a sunshine-yellow staircase.

One side of the ground floor is dedicated to cooking and eating, while the other is used for relaxing or entertaining guests.

Throughout there are what Carlo Viscione, who is a designer, and Florence Andrews, who is a project manager at the V&A, describe as “concentrations of clutter”, where they display an eclectic mix of personal trinkets.


East London Homes book

Clapton home by Kentaro Poteliakhof

This home in east London’s Clapton neighbourhood channels what the owner, furniture specialist Kentaro Poteliakhof, describes as “Tokiana” – an aesthetic that mixes the brightly-coloured kitsch of Tokyo with the quaintness of an old English-country home.

In the living room, bubblegum-pink floral wallpaper clashes against a fringed, mustard-yellow sofa. Surrounding cabinets and side tables contain an array of vintage ornaments, which the owner has grouped and displayed according to colour.


East London Homes book

Stoke Newington home by Anne and Mark Hermann

Stacked circular volumes form the body of this house in Stoke Newington, which takes cues from French composer Erik Satie’s Vexations – a looping piece of music that’s meant to be played 840 times over.

Inside the home, which was constructed by architecture practice Chance de Silva, curved surfaces are largely covered with corrugated steel or concrete. The owners have offset the industrial feel by dressing rooms with a smattering of woven cushions and throws.


East London Homes book

Whitechapel home by Leo Wood and Rupert Scott

Upon purchase, this abandoned gin distillery in Whitechapel was a rat-infested “brick box with no windows”, but has since been transformed into a light-filled family home.

Scott, who is an architect, and Wood, an interior designer, opted to fill its interiors with an array of mid-century furnishings. These sit alongside high street-buys and antique pieces handed down from older relatives.


East London Homes book

Hackney Wick home by Michael Pybus

Boldly-patterned furnishings, Japanese toy figurines and Pokemon cards decorate this Hackney Wick home, which its owner – artist Michael Pybus – compares to a playhouse.

Pybus has turned a majority of the former factory into living space, but there are also work areas which he can freely splash with paint when in the process of making new artworks.


East London Homes book

Plaistow home by Joe Stuart and Lina Nilsson

Former design engineer Joe Stuart oversaw the design and build of this Plaistow home, which sits on the site of a defunct coffin workshop and hearse garage.

There’s no hint of this grisly past in the interior, where there is a sequence of soothing, greyscale spaces dotted with contemporary furniture. Stuart’s partner, Lina Nilsson, said that the minimal aesthetic is largely informed by lagom – the Swedish term for having “just enough”.


East London Homes book

Hackney home by Chantal Martinelli

The bold crimson-red kitchen inside this Hackney home is meant to nod to the vibrant homelands of its owners – architect Chantal Martinelli, who hails from southern Italy, and her husband who is French-Algerian.

Martinelli, who also runs a local design store, has filled the rest of the home with ornaments gathered from North Africa and an abundance of leafy potted plants.


East London Homes book

Bethnal Green home by Michael Putman and Sara L’Esperance

Plywood “pods” with in-built storage cupboards neatly tuck away the possessions of architects Michael Putman and Sara L’Esperance, who share this home in Bethnal Green.

The house, which was shortlisted in the 2019 Dezeen Awards, is set inside a former biscuit factory and still boasts some time-worn details, like crumbling glazed-brick walls.


East London Homes book

Hackney Wick home by Clare Lattin

A holiday to Morocco inspired restaurateur Clare Lattin to swap the doors in her Hackney Wick home for washed-out linen curtains.

“They have a magical way of doing things [in Morocco]. The colours are always dusty and faded,” explained Lattin.

Ornaments and plant pots are casually displayed throughout on stools, the treads of stairs or stacks of books.

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