SpaceContinuum Design Studio turns Sharjah's brutalist Flying Saucer into arts centre

Brutalist Flying Saucer in Sharjah by SpaceContinuum Design Studio for Sharjah Art Foundation

UAE-based SpaceContinuum Design Studio has collaborated with the Sharjah Art Foundation to turn a 1970s brutalist restaurant into an arts centre in Sharjah.

Originally opened in 1978 as a French restaurant and patisserie, the Flying Saucer has been renovated to become an exhibition venue for the Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF), which runs both the Sharjah Architecture Triennial and the art biennial.

Brutalist architecture in Sharjah
The Flying Saucer has been renovated by SpaceContinuum Design Studio

The local landmark, which became a supermarket in the 1980s and then a chicken restaurant in the 2000s before being purchased by the SAF in 2012, has been stripped back to reveal its original unique silhouette.

An attached annexe was removed along with its grey and orange aluminium cladding to showcase the distinctive, 32-pointed concrete dome that is supported by triangulated, intersecting columns.

Internally, a false ceiling and partitions were removed to create one large space topped by the 7.3-metre high dome that will be used for major installations.

Brutalist Flying Saucer in Sharjah by SpaceContinuum Design Studio for Sharjah Art Foundation
It is now a venue for the Sharjah Art Foundation

“We reversed the transformations undertaken during the Flying Saucer’s occupation by Al Taza restaurant that led to the erasure of the building’s Brutalist character,” explained SpaceContinuum Design Studio founder Mona El Mousfy.

“The core aim of the present restoration was to bring the Flying Saucer back to its original silhouette by removing its incongruous connected annex, reinstating its openness and perceptual lightness,” she told Dezeen.

“This deletion fully restores on the interior and exterior the radial symmetrical shape of the building, helping to further appreciate its quite magnificent roof and facade structures.”

Concrete dome in Sharjah
The concrete domed space will be used for large installations

To allow the Flying Saucer to stand alone, the majority of the art centre’s other functions have been placed underground in a large space that SAF named the Launch Pad.

This space occupies the majority of the site and is accessed by an open staircase within a public square, named the Platform, that was created alongside the venue on the former parking lot.

Underground exhibition space
Below the Flying Saucer is an underground space called the Launch Pad

“The new underground venue dubbed the Launch Pad – keeping with the space theme – was conceived to complement the Flying Saucer both spatially and programmatically,” explained El Mousfy.

“In contrast with the Flying Saucer, the Launch Pad has a fluid spatial geometry that mirrors the new urban space dubbed the Platform; it fans around the Saucer’s faceted retaining walls and extends to the periphery of the site.”

Skylights in underground space
The underground space contains a cafe

This underground space, which is lit by three linear skylights along the edges of the site and a circular sunken courtyard, contains a cafe, library and several meeting rooms.

Its main, open space is designed to be used for exhibitions, workshops and film screenings, and is flanked with long tables that can be used as workspaces.

Circular sunken courtyard
A circular sunken courtyard provides light to the underground space

El Mousfy, who also acts as an architectural consultant for SAF, hopes that the venue will become a hub that attracts people from Sharjah and across the United Arab Emirates and will continue its architectural legacy.

“The venue’s iconic quality, expressing the optimism and forward-looking vision of the UAE genesis years, and its surprising adaptability and participation in the urban life and history of the surrounding neighbourhoods have contributed to its place in Sharjans’ collective cultural memory and place identity,” she said.

“With this in mind, Sharjah Art Foundation believed it was important to maintain the beloved Flying Saucer and to create through the present renovation vibrant urban and architectural spaces that support community gathering, learning and creativity with the aim to further inscribe the building and its urban fragment in the daily life of Sharjans.”

Skylights in underground space
It is also lit by skylights

The Flying Saucer restaurant is one of many buildings from the 1970s and ’80s that are being restored by SAF. This includes the two main venues for last year’s Sharjah Architecture Triennial – the Al Jubail Vegetable Market and a school that has been refurbished by El Mousfy to become the triennials permanent headquarters.

SAF is also converting the 1970s Khor Fakkan cinema into a music school and a pyramidal-roof-topped kindergarten into a community centre.

Brutalist Flying Saucer in Sharjah by SpaceContinuum Design Studio for Sharjah Art Foundation
SAF is renovating numerous 1970s buildings in Sharjah

“In the period following the UAE’s formation in 1971 many of the 70s and 80s buildings were public projects commissioned by the nascent state,” explained El Mousfy.

“They aimed at prioritising civic development, hence their historical importance and the need to preserve them. Some other buildings like the Flying Saucer continue to represent a clear expression of the futuristic vision of the seventies, a period when modernity was beginning to be embraced in the city,” she continued.

“The repurposing of these buildings preserves them while highlighting their architectural and urban qualities and revealing their rich history with multiple references to the UAE’s own history.”

Brutalist Flying Saucer in Sharjah by SpaceContinuum Design Studio for Sharjah Art Foundation
The Flying Saucer is a local landmark

Along with its preservation work in the emirate, El Mousfy also led SpaceContinuum Design Studio’s creation of a pavilion to permanently house Random International’s Rain Room installation.

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Beautiful Concrete Villa in Switzerland

Située dans les collines de Comano, un petit village près de Lugano dans le sud de la Suisse, « La Villa en béton » a été conçue par le cabinet d’architecture DF__DC qui a voulu bâtir une construction qui s’encastre parfaitement dans le territoire environnant.

La villa se veut un lieu intime, caché du regard du voisinage, tant au nord qu’au sud. Les fondateurs Dario Franchini et Diego Calderon ont alors imaginé la maison comme un mur habité, sa forme reprenant celle du terrain en trapèze allongé d’un ancien vignoble. Tout le challenge était de respecter la consigne d’intimité et protection des habitants de la villa tout en créant une maison qui s’insère harmonieusement dans l’environnement et qui reste tout de même accueillante.

Son extérieur est construit en béton armé gris ; les volumes sont positionnés à des angles variables pour créer une façade saisissante. Un grand escalier en courbe relie les trois étages de la maison et constitue une perspective inattendue et dynamique à l’intérieur de l’espace.

Toutes les images par © Giorgio Marafioti










Mochi Ice Cream 12 Flavor Gift Box

New York-based Mochidoki’s signature collection gift box includes 24 mochi ice cream in 12 different flavors—from classics like matcha, black sesame and red bean to delectable concoctions like salted caramel, vanilla chip and raspberry crunch. Founded by Ken Gordon in 2015, the brand utilizes the highest-quality ingredients under the watch of its culinary director, chef Natsume Aoi—who grew up making mochi in her grandmother’s Okinawa kitchen. Shipping for the signature collection is free, and Mochidoki guarantees the sweet treats will remain frozen until midnight on the day they’re delivered.

Old nylon factory converted into "cathedral-like" office space

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch

HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch have inserted a steel frame into the expansive production hall of an old nylon factory in Arnhem to create the KB Building offices.

The office is housed within one of several 1940s factories on a 90-hectare chemical-industry plant in the Netherlands, which local developer Schipper Bosch is transforming into a campus for clean energy companies.

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch
KB Building’s steel frame slots into an old, concrete nylon factory

HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch’s goal for the concrete nylon factory was to add extra floor space to its giant production hall while preserving its spacious and “great cathedral-like qualities”.

They achieved this by inserting a minimal and light-weight steel frame within the factory’s original concrete columns, which introduces three levels of office space.

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch
Two of the new floors supported by the steel frame

“With its tall columns and high windows which flood the space in daylight, the empty space showed great cathedral-like qualities,” said Michiel Hofman, architect and founder of HofmanDujardin

“An additional asset was the textured greys of the existing concrete, which revealed an intrinsic beauty. All additions are designed to retain these qualities and carefully build upon them,” he told Dezeen.

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch
Bleacher-style seating space in the basement

The former large production hall, which is now the main office space of the KB Building, is elevated on the building’s first floor.

Below is the factory’s ground floor and basement levels, which HofmanDujardin describes as having “a much heavier character” because they have lower ceilings and less natural light.

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch
The KB Building’s ground floor reception and meeting spaces

As part of the project, HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch transformed these lower levels into a reception area, a restaurant and meeting rooms with a bleacher-style staircase for presentations.

They are connected to the main office space via a wide wooden staircase that runs from the ground floor to the centre of the first floor.

This wooden staircase is visible throughout KB Building and was designed by the studios as a visual landmark to help visitors and employees orientate themselves in the space.

The steel staircases that connect the new upper levels hang above it, adjacent to an elevator that has been concealed within a tall black box.

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch
A staircase connecting the ground floor to the main office space

The new floors in the main office space are arranged as a continuous loop around the central staircases, positioned on top of open-lattice girders that span the building’s existing concrete columns.

This was engineered to visually connect each level and also maximise natural light throughout, preserving the spacious feeling of the original production hall.

Steel was chosen for the new structure as it is a visually light-weight material that complements the existing concrete and it can also be easily adapted.

“The new floors are constructed as light as possible,” explained HofmanDujardin. “As a result, the design not only continues the visual spaciousness, it also allows the transformation to be adapted or even reverted in the future.”

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch
Neutral furniture helps to retain focus on the concrete

The KB Building’s upper levels all cater to working alone or as part of a team, with lounge spaces and kitchenettes positioned closest to the central stairs and individual workstations concentrated around their edges.

There is also a space on the first floor that hosts private works spaces nestled within tall plants and greenery, nicknamed the “concentration jungle”.

The KB Building’s furniture has been chosen to support this layout and “carefully accommodate space for collaboration and places for concentration”.

However, the furnishings are unified by their neutral colours and materials, which have been selected by the studios to retain focus on the concrete shell.

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch
Meeting rooms in the KB Building basement

The site of KB Building has been in the process of being transformed by Schipper Bosch since 2003. Once complete, it is hoped to encourage collaboration between large and small clean-energy companies in the Netherlands.

KB Building’s exterior will be renovated by developer Schipper Bosch to ensure each of the buildings on the campus, which is named Industriepark Kleefse Waard, complement each other.

KB Building offices by HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch
The nylon factory’s concrete exterior

Earlier this year, Venetian office AMAA converted an abandoned plumbing factory in Italy into an architecture studio, which also celebrates and preserves the building’s industrial aesthetic.

Other studios that have recently taken on adaptive reuse projects include MVRDV, which is currently in the process of converting a disused factory in Shenzhen into creative offices, and Clancy Moore Architects, which has converted a warehouse into a family home for a photographer.

Photography is by Matthijs van Roon and Peter Tijhuis.

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Automotive Inspiration: Mercedes Benz VISION AVTR releases video + sketches showing the car in action!

Mercedes Benz created an uproar with the launch of their Mercedes Benz Vision AVTR – inspired by the James Cameron blockbuster Avatar. And now, Mercedes is out to prove they mean business – that this is not just another concept car but the idea is envisioned and in motion. In the 13 minute video launched recently on the Mercedes YouTube channel, you can see the futuristic car perform the ‘crab walk’. Given the revolutionary nature of the design, our excitement is palpable, and to understand the design better, we gathered up some special behind-the-scenes footage – right from car sketches to environmental renders created by Alex Dang. Feast your eyes as this is one of the rare moments where a vision of the future is actually being brought to life in front of us.

Exterior Designer: Alex Dang

Bionic Flaps

Alex says, “The bionic flaps are literally alive! They interact with you! + show your intentions as a driver from the interior to the exterior. Furthermore, by moving in various directions it influences aerodynamics.” The car is inspired by Avatar in concept – where all the living elements exist in peaceful harmony, sustainably, and in grace. The same way, the car reacts to your actions taken while sitting inside the car and that reaction is conveyed by the bionic flaps.

Wheel Design

The wheels draw inspiration from the woodsprites, the floating creatures that are the seeds of the Tree of Souls that lives on Pandora. These seeds, according to the Na’vi, are very pure and sacred spirits. They are similar in appearance to small deep-sea jellyfish, but they float on the wind like dandelion seeds, possibly aided in this by the denser atmosphere on Pandora. The wheels also imitate the flowing nature/curves of the woodsprite and the glowing lights on the wheel emphasize the stronger curves on the body of the wheel, making them look dynamic as they rotate.

 

Behind the Scenes:

“The path to final design is not always linear. There is a lot of exploring and searching,…That’s why fast doodles are a perfect tool to iterate and communicate your ideas. The theme of the lower sketches are showing the interior of my colleague Hogun Lee” says Alex Dang.

Scale Model

A 1:4 scale model created by Alex for his bachelor thesis in 2014.

Process Video

A fun exercise, this quick colour sketch by Alex shows the car in its element, envisioned by him, and to wrap it up, we can only say this – yes it’s real, yes it drives and no, it has no steering wheel!

Four Pillars Laboratory in Sydney is a "sanctuary" for gin enthusiasts

Interiors of Four Pillars' gin laboratory are dressed with blue furniture

Juniper berry-blue furniture sits against blackened walls inside this cosy bar, laboratory and store that design studio YSG has created in Sydney for gin brand Four Pillars.

Four Pillars Laboratory occupies a two-storey corner building in Sydney’s buzzing Surry Hills neighbourhood. It was originally built in 1939 as premises for a tea company, but has since been reincarnated as various retail and hospitality spaces.

Four Pillars Laboratory includes a gin shop
The ground floor of Four Pillars Laboratory has a shop that sells the gin brand’s merchandise

The building now houses a lab, store and bar for gin brand Four Pillars.

When locally-based design studio YSG was brought on board to develop the interiors, it set about creating a “robust yet tactile sanctuary” where visitors can comfortably sample and learn more about gin in an unpretentious environment.

Four Pillars Laboratory includes a gin shop
A short flight of stairs leads up to the gin lab

Warm materials and colours have therefore been applied throughout.

In the ground-floor shop, which sits towards the front of the building overlooking the street, walls have been loosely rendered with sand-coloured micro cement.

Four Pillars Laboratory has blackened walls
Cork panels line the walls of the staircase

Australian red cedar and Cambia ash have been used to craft a towering 3.3-metre-high shelving unit that displays the brand’s array of merchandise.

The same type of cedar forms the lengthy service table that sits at the centre of the room. A cash register has been subtly integrated into its countertop so that, if necessary, the rest of the table can be used as an impromptu tasting station.

Four Pillars Laboratory has blackened walls
A copper still that makes gin features in the first-floor lab

Darkened panels of Portuguese cork lines the walls of the staircase that leads up to the gin lab on the first floor.

The focal point of this room is a piece of gleaming copper apparatus called a still, which Four Pillars uses to produce small batches of custom gin.

The gin-tasting counter is the same colour as juniper berries

Surfaces here also take on a moodier appearance – a majority of the walls are either covered with almost-black plaster or clad with the same cork panels.

“Enveloping the walls with cosseting appeal, they recede into darkness, maintaining the focus on the central cocktail-making action,” explained the studio.

Pre-existing timber beams on the ceiling have also been preserved to “enhance the storied appeal of the space”.

Bar inside Four Pillars Laboratory has a secret entrance
Eileen’s, the laboratory’s in-house bar, has a separate entrance

Colour is introduced by the main tasting counter, which has been made the same rich blue hue as a juniper berry – the main ingredient of gin and what gives the alcoholic drink its distinctive flavour.

In front are a series of matching blue stool seats upholstered in Kvadrat fabric, where visitors can sit and learn everything from the distillation process of gin to how to perfect particular cocktail recipes.

Four Pillars Laboratory includes a drinks bar
A huge V-shaped counter sits at the centre of the bar

A quartet of spherical pendant lamps made from brushed fibreglass has been suspended overhead.

Their shape comes in direct reference to the dots that feature in Four Pillars’ brand logo.

Four Pillars Laboratory has blackened walls
Moody black walls feature throughout the bar

On the other side of the first floor is the bar, dubbed Eileen’s, which serves snacks and a wide selection of gin-infused tipples.

YSG decided to give the bar a discrete separate entrance on the side of the building, creating the clandestine feel of a 1920s speakeasy.

Inside, the bar is anchored by a huge V-shaped counter that has been painted juniper berry-blue. It measures 11 metres in length and sits beneath a gantry that openly displays gin bottles.

Interiors of Four Pillars' gin laboratory are dressed with blue furniture
Linen lamps emit a warm glow over tables

Guests can cosy-up around the tables for two that run down one side of the room or at one of the checked-blue seating banquettes, each warmly illuminated by oversized linen lampshades.

Slatted walnut-stained oak screens can also be drawn across to completely separate those drinking in the bar from the adjacent tasting room.

Four Pillars Laboratory occupies old brick building

YSG was launched at the beginning of 2020 by designer Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem. This isn’t the only project the studio has under its belt – in August it overhauled a family home in Sydney’s Dover Heights suburb, decking out its interiors with tactile materials like terracotta brick and brass.

Photography is by Anson Smart.

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Ethereal Landscapes by Photographer Nadia Von Scotti

Le travail de la photographe allemande Nadia von Scotti nous plonge dans des paysages éthérés, aux atmosphères de rêve. Il immortalise le subtile équilibre entre présence humaine et nature, comme si enfin ce rapport brisé se réparait dans la douceur. Loin de la nature domptée et maîtrisée par l’homme capitaliste et industrialisé, ici l’environnement se fond avec les humains avec un grand sens de spiritualité. A travers son travail, Nadia Von Scotti crée des paysages inoubliables pour des éditoriaux vibrants qui visent à susciter la réflexion et l’émerveillement chez le spectateur. Suivre la photographe sur Instagram ici.

La sélection d’images ci-dessous, tirées de « Nord », « Süd » et « The Secret Garden », représente un instantané inspirant des paysages et des environnements dont von Scotti est entourée. Basée au Cap, en Afrique du Sud, elle s’intéresse à l’exploration de la relation entre les humains et les espaces qu’ils habitent.












New John Lewis ad reflects the new normal

Set to the classic soundtrack from The Muppets, the new John Lewis ad sees furniture seeming to rearrange itself around the home, while adults and teenagers are distracted by Zoom calls and schoolwork.

The spot’s release feels uncannily timed to reflect the more stringent return to a home-centred life in the UK after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cries of ‘back to the office’ were swiftly reversed last week following rises in Covid-19 across the country. The only aspect that doesn’t quite chime with our current circumstances is the ever-presence of pesky kids, who should surely be at school by now. Parents, insert anxious-faced emoji here.

John Lewis follows Ikea, who recently released a campaign based around the importance of a good night’s sleep, in emphasising the importance of a pleasant home environment during the fractious times we’re in. It’s a logical direction for the brand as we all reassess our set ups while adapting to ongoing home working.

With its humorous soundtrack and the cheerful creativity of the kids, the ad does a good job of emphasising some of the joy that’s come out of the chaos in this year of dramatic change, while remaining firmly on brand for John Lewis.

Credits:
Agency: adam&eveDDB
CCO: Richard Brim
Creative directors: Matt Gay, Feargal Ballance
Production company: Stink
Directors: Traktor

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Suzanne Brewer develops "Segway-style" wheelchair that allows users to stand upright

Suzanne Brewer's Walking Wheelchair is nominated for a Dezeen Award

London architect Suzanna Brewer has created a prototype wheelchair with only two wheels and a saddle seat that takes the user from seated to standing in one fluid movement.

Called Walking Wheelchair, the vehicle allows its occupant to engage with their surroundings at the height of an able-bodied person, which is beneficial both on a social and logistical level.

“So many situations involve standing, whether it’s giving a presentation at work, getting served at a bar or walking down the aisle,” said Brewer, who developed the design together with her son Jarvis.

“That’s not to mention practical situations such as reaching a shelf in a supermarket or using a kitchen. We noticed how often people in wheelchairs can get lost in a crowd and thought how wonderful it would be if they could have an eye-level conversation.”

Suzanne Brewer's standing wheelchair has been shortlisted for a Dezeen Award
Suzanne Brewer developed the Walking wheelchair with her son Jarvis

Although other companies such as Levo, Sunrise Medical and Dassault Systèmes have previously developed standing wheelchairs, these generally rely on four to six wheels to balance the user’s weight while the chair unfolds into a flat backboard to hold them upright with the help of knee supports.

Brewer’s two-wheeler features a more streamlined design that aims to emulate the natural motion of standing, with a seat that rises straight up like that of a desk chair.

“The patent-protected technology is the saddle seat, which lifts the body vertically and enables the legs to rest on either side, creating the illusion of standing,” Brewer told Dezeen.

“The other important technology is the Segway-style wheelbase, which is much smaller than the conventional base of an electric wheelchair. It has a tighter turning circle and is lighter because it does not rely on weight to balance the body.”

As Brewer and her son had never previously developed a prototype and lacked the budget to create the individual components from scratch, they sourced different parts through the internet and “frankensteined” them together with the help of trained engineers

“I ordered the wheelbase from Slovakia because it was cheaper in Euros and most importantly can be controlled using your torso or a joystick rather than your foot,” said Brewer.

“The piston, which lifts the saddle seat, is made from the leg of an electric standing desk and the seat belt I found on eBay.”

Suzanne Brewer's Walking Wheelchair has been shortlisted for a Dezeen Award
Brewer, who is an architect, draw the first visual in winter 2018

“My architectural skills helped enormously, even if subconsciously,” she continued.

“I could visualise how we wanted the end result to look and function, much as you do when designing a building, and I understood how the components would work together even if I couldn’t wire them up myself.”

The resulting prototype is designed to look more like an “aspirational and desirable” car prototype than a disability aid, with white leather upholstery and a shiny chrome frame.

The height to which the seat rises can be adjusted, in order to vary the amount of weight that is carried through the legs. According to Brewer, this helps to prevent the loss of bone density, which can be caused by extended periods of immobility.

After being reviewed by the Back Up Trust, a charity supporting people with spinal cord injuries, and at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the design is close to being tested in the field.

“We are at the limits of our funds and knowledge so our aim now is to find someone, with proven capability, to progress the design and bring it to market,” said Brewer.

Suzanne Brewer's standing wheelchair has been shortlisted for a Dezeen Award
The first prototype featured four wheels instead of two and was reviewed at Stoke Mandeville Hospital

The architect founded her practice in 2007, off the back of her Courtyard House being named a finalist for both the RIBA awards.

As her first foray into product design, the Walking Wheelchair has seen her shortlisted in the product design category at this year’s Dezeen Awards.

Among the other selected projects is the modular Nestbox, which can turn a car into a camper, the Moxie smart robot companion for children and a low-cost, pocket-sized HIV test for users in developing countries.

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Has the ad industry become embarrassed by selling?

A new book by Steve Harrison accuses the ad industry of being so obsessed by purpose that it has forgotten its core role: to sell stuff. Patrick Burgoyne examines his claims

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