OmniRoom offers 100 architect-designed “rooms” to choose from, including workstations, lounge areas, conference rooms and coffee points, with frames and walls made of painted and 100 per cent fully recyclable aluminium.
OmniRoom is a highly customisable room-in-room system for workplaces
Alternatively, users can design their own custom rooms using 13 prefabricated construction modules that can be used on their own or combined.
Both fully closed and semi-open formats are possible, and the rooms can be customised with a choice of 30 wall-mounted add-ons, including desks, cabinets, shelves and accessories, which can be affixed to either the inside or outside.
Designs can be finished with add-on furniture like desks and shelves
Omniroom is assembled using a time-saving click-in system invented and patented by Mute and can also be easily dismantled and moved when the needs of the workplace change.
“Today’s workspace fit-outs have to be agile to suit different working styles and adjust to team sizes and needs or even locations,” said Mute founder and managing director Szymon Rychlik.
“OmniRoom is the ultimate kit for building new hybrid-work-era offices: dynamic, human-centred and fully flexible.”
Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.
Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.
Dezeen has launched a new edition of Dezeen Awards to celebrate the best architecture, interiors and design in China. Start your entry today!
Dezeen Awards China is the first regional edition of Dezeen Awards, which has grown rapidly to become one of the most entered awards programmes on the planet and is a benchmark for international design excellence.
Dezeen Awards China to spotlight Chinese design talent
Launched in partnership with Bentley Motors, Dezeen Awards China will shine a spotlight on the best Chinese architecture, interiors and design, providing international recognition from around the globe.
Dezeen Awards China will be a celebration of Chinese design talent. It is therefore for architects, designers and studios based in China, rather than for projects by international firms that are built in China.
Multinational firms that have an office in China are free to enter, as long as the majority of the work on the project was completed by the Chinese office.
Just like the international edition, Dezeen Awards China is open to studios large and small and will celebrate both established names and emerging studios working in China today.
Judges include Rossana Hu, Alex Mok and Michael Young
Dezeen Awards China will be judged by a stellar jury made up of the top Chinese architects and designers, as well as high-profile international names with experience working in China.
Judges confirmed so far include architect Rossana Hu, interior designer Alex Mok and designer Michael Young. More names will be announced in the coming weeks.
Seventeen categories spanning architecture, interiors and design
There are 17 project categories to enter across architecture, interiors and design. The winners of these project categories will go head to head for the chance to be crowned one of three project of the year winners across architecture, interiors and design.
In addition, six China Designers of the Year awards will celebrate the leading emerging and established names working in China across architecture, interiors and design.
However, these awards are nomination-only and our judges will shortlist names – it is not possible to enter these awards.
Dezeen Awards China is open for entries now until 24 August 2023, but studios can save money on their entry if they enter before 13 July 2023.
Scan the code above using WeChat to download entry forms
Or, scan the code above using WeChat to access the WeChat mini app for all the information about Dezeen Awards China in Chinese and to download entry forms.
Dezeen Awards China launches in partnership with Bentley
Dezeen Awards China launched in partnership with Bentley, as part of a wider three-year collaboration that also includes headline sponsorship of the international edition of Dezeen Awards, which closed for entries last week, and a design competition to redefine the future of luxury retail that launched last month.
“We are thrilled to be working with Bentley to launch Dezeen Awards China, our first regional awards programme,” said head of Dezeen Awards Claire Barrett.
“We are looking forward to discovering a wealth of design talent and promoting it both locally and on a global stage, showcasing the country’s rising position as a design powerhouse.”
“We are delighted to be working with Dezeen to deliver a new global platform that will celebrate both new Chinese design talent and established names,” added Steven De Ploey, Bentley’s global head of marketing.
“Partnering with Dezeen in this way enables us to reward and support cutting-edge innovators in the design industry who strive to deliver transformational experiences and best solve the design challenges of our age.”
Winners to be announced in December 2023
Dezeen Awards China is open for entries until 24 August 2023
Shortlists will be announced in October and the winners will be revealed at a ceremony in December 2023.
Sign up to our Dezeen Awards China newsletter
Join our mailing list to get updates about Dezeen Awards China 2023! Subscribe here.
Questions?
If you have any questions about Dezeen Awards China, please email awardschina@dezeen.com or send a message to our WeChat account DezeenCN and someone from the team will get back to you.
French design brand Petite Friture has released a new iteration of its Week-End collection of outdoor furniture, characterised by its shiny metallic finish.
Aluminium Week-End outdoor furniture shares the silhouette of the original collection – released in 2017 – with a silver-toned finish that celebrates the range’s materiality.
The collection was recently featured on Dezeen Showroom alongside lampshades made from recycled plastic found in the world’s oceans and a coffee table made out of 100-year-old wood.
For Finnish brand Nikari, architect and designer Joanna Laajisto created a low-lying coffee table made from 100-year-old timber.
The Centenniale coffee table has rounded, blocky legs at each corner of its sharp, angular tabletop – a design choice made to showcase the variations in the grain of the wood.
Australian designer Alexander Lotersztain worked with furniture brand Derlot on a versatile range of stools designed to facilitate a myriad of functions.
Stump stools come in three heights and a range of upholstery options, with the option to add a chassis with wheels or integrated LED lighting.
Japanese brand Koyori worked with design studio GamFratesi on a wooden table with tapered legs and rounded corners that show off the natural grain of the wood.
Miau table is available in either solid oak or walnut and lacks the under-table bar of conventional tables, allowing more diners to sit around it.
Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.
Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.
Promotion: Danish furniture brands Menu and By Lassen have merged to form a new design brand called Audo Copenhagen, which will offer all of their furniture, lighting and home accessories under one roof.
The new brand was launched on 1 June and named after Menu’s Copenhagen showroom The Audo, which will be rebranded as Audo House and serve as Audo Copenhagen’s headquarters
Audo Copenhagen was launched on 1 June
Here, the brand will present design icons from the back catalogue of both brands, including historical pieces by Danish modernist architects Vilhelm Lauritzen and Mogens Lassen, alongside contemporary collaborations with the likes of Norm Architects, interior designer Colin King and architect Danielle Siggerud.
“Menu and its multi-purpose property in Copenhagen, aptly named The Audo, have a unique identity that customers worldwide have responded to enthusiastically,” said design and brand director at Audo Copenhagen, Joachim Kornbek-Engell Hansen.
The brand was formed from a merger between Menu and By Lassen
“By Lassen is also strongly established in Scandinavia and the global design scene. Together, Menu and By Lassen’s product portfolios and strengths combine to create an obvious global leader in high-end interior design.”
The space will also host future product releases alongside a “curated selection of artwork and products from like-minded global luxury brands”.
The showroom will present world-class designs
“Audo House reflects Audo Copenhagen’s collaborative spirit,” said Kornbek-Engell Hansen. “Redefining how we use design, space and, ultimately, how we connect to one another, it’s a creative destination for powerful ideas, beautiful design and inspiration.”
“Our quest to create a sense of community awards a higher value to the objects and spaces we create.
The showroom presents furniture, lighting and home accessories
The neighbouring four-bedroom apartments, stacked one on top of the other in the SNN Clermont residential tower, were transformed into a six-bedroom duplex for a cosmopolitan couple, their parents and two young children.
FADD Studio has fused two apartments in Bangalore’s SNN Clermont tower
FADD Studio‘s interventions were driven by the owners’ desire for something new and unique.
“Our clients wanted this home to be contemporary and free of the fuss of their previous home, which was more old-fashioned with traditional elements from the previous generation,” the studio told Dezeen.
“They didn’t want a run-of-the-mill place that looked like any other home with straight lines and contemporary anonymity. They wanted character and they were open to exploring the language of curves and most certainly wanted something out of the box.”
A sweeping staircase now connects the two flats
The practice gave careful thought to how best to open up and link the two apartments before deciding on two connection points – a staircase near the entrance on the lower level and a double-height section in the adjacent living area for visual interest and ease of communication between family members.
Knowing the clients wanted to avoid straight lines, FADD Studio carefully considered the form of these linking elements.
“We began our usual process of looking to nature for inspiration, from shell exoskeletons to caterpillar curvatures, from topographical maps of different landscapes to fish scales and from sand dunes to waves,” the practice said.
A “zebra border” on the floor helps to define different zones
This research formed the basis for the curving statement staircase that sweeps into the living area.
“It has a sculptural feel with the addition of multiple curves, carved into each riser’s deep red marble,” the studio said.
The narrow double-height section in the living room is framed by an arched cutout in the ceiling, enveloped in white micro-cement with a soft sheen finish.
A small double-height space was carved out in the living room
Linking the two levels, the double-height back wall is fluted in an irregular pattern, mimicking the soft ripples and waves that can be found across the ceiling in the neighbouring entrance hall.
“It hides all the conducting and allows a smooth transition between the different ceiling heights within the apartment,” FADD Studio said.
The firm’s approach to the flooring was similarly inventive. In the main living space, a “zebra border” of black-and-white stones swoops and crisscrosses in seemingly abstract patterns across the floor, helping to bring definition to the different zones.
The spaces in between are filled by a selection of heavily-veined peach-pink marbles.
“We created an inlay pattern much like repeating fish scales or groups of overlapping wild mushrooms but more abstract,” said FADD Studio.
The upstairs living room is organised around a circular slab of marble flooring
In the upstairs living room, the furniture is grouped around a central circle of linear-veined marble surrounded, which is inlaid into the floor and surrounded by another black-and-white border.
“The flooring is dramatic, something bold and thoughtful, contributing to the strong visual and spatial language of the space,” the studio said.
“The ceilings and floor defy the mundane and give us and the apartment’s inhabitants pure joy to see the lines and curves continue infinitely.”
A black-and-white border cuts across the floor
The peach, black and white of the floor ties into the colour scheme throughout the apartment.
“This colour palette is unusual for an Indian home,” FADD Studio said. “These colours, along with the nature-inspired curvatures and rounded forms resulted in a minimal-futuristic vibe.”
With so many ideas at work within the space itself, the furniture has taken on a supporting role.
The duplex now has six bedrooms
The colour palette was chosen to tie in with the walls so that the sculptural shapes and curving forms become the focal point, while boucle and textural cotton bring interest in terms of tactility.
Our modern lives have become dependent on electronic devices, not just for work but also for entertainment, whether they’re gaming desktops, consoles, or smartphones. Of course, that means that we’re just as dependent on batteries and electricity that power them, and we often start to panic and stress out when the lights go out. Granted, there are plenty of emergency power solutions these days, but very few would appeal to the aesthetic tastes of gamers and tech-savvy users, nor are they very portable when it comes down to it. That’s all about to change with this innovative portable power station that packs a whopping 300W of power in a distinctive and stylish box that’s just a little larger than an A5 pocketbook.
There is really no shortage of portable power stations in the market today, but almost all of them have two things in common. They’re primarily marketed for camping use or travel, and they all look the part of rugged and heavy pieces of equipment. Even if they’re designated for home use, they’re often stowed away from sight, not just because of their size but also because they will often clash with the rest of your room.
The Energon 300, in contrast, is something you might be tempted to put on a pedestal, and you definitely can, thanks to its portable size. At only 242 x 180.4 x 102.95mm, it’s half the size of other power stations with the same battery capacity, so you can easily pick it up and place it anywhere to power up anytime. Its diamond cut design easily makes it stand out from the crowd, giving off sci-fi vibes that will definitely match most gamers’ styles. It’s a refreshing sight from all the rugged power stations or minimalist power banks littering the market, but the Energon 300 has more than just dashing good looks.
“V” Powerlink – Ability to power up to 7 devices simultaneously.
Seamless compatibility.
Smartswitch – Energon 300 switches to backup power within 20ms, ensuring your devices stay powered and uninterrupted.
Thanks to Volcan Celltech technology, the Energon 300 packs an astounding 300W LiFePO4 (Lithium iron phosphate) battery inside its compact body, the kind of reliable and long-lasting battery that’s used in electric cars. That’s enough juice to power seven devices, and thanks to its “V” Powerlink multi-port design, you can power all seven of them at the same time, whether they’re gaming consoles, drones, or even laptops. With a 20ms smart switch, you can even use the Energon 300 as an emergency backup power so you won’t miss a beat or a hit during an unexpected outage.
Adventure-ready Design – Built to UL 94V-0 standard, ensures durability and safety even in challenging environments.
Despite its gaming-friendly appearance, the Energon 300 is also fit for travel. Its 3.6kg weight and slim, compact size make it easy to carry around, while its fire-retardant and shock-resistant shell makes it more rugged than it looks. Powerful, portable, and stylish, the Energon 300 delivers all the power you need to level up your game, whether outdoors, at home, or in the dark during a blackout.
Mexico-based studio Colectivo C733 has built a brick music school called the Casa de Música in Nacajuca, Mexico. The 1325-square-meter school includes two structures and a lofty cantilevered roof created from coconut wood. It “provides a space for social gatherings with warm materials and natural ventilation, while musicians benefit from spacious, isolated classrooms with state-of-the-art equipment,” said C733.
Designer: Colectivo C733
The school is a part of the state’s urban development program and includes two volumes that are connected via a public boulevard. The larger structure is an open-plan community center that features a massive offset gable roof. One roof plane extends over the ridge line, and cantilevers over the skylight and the opposite roof plane. The north and south sides of the building are provided support by a series of double brick walls that house the 24-meter trusses. While the west side of the facility features rectangular glass panels which are protected from the street by means of a porous brick wall. The east end houses a service core.
The social space also accommodates a mezzanine stage for workshops and local musicians. The smaller second volume, on the other hand, functions as the music school. It includes eight classrooms, a cafeteria, restrooms, and management offices. “The sloping roof of the building creates a double-height space in each of these areas, with an upper terrace offering views of the treetops,” said the team. The structures have been equipped with local coconut wood, brick partitions, and clay tiles that provide the space with some warmth, acoustic control, and natural freshness.
“The project draws inspiration from the traditional Mesoamerican pocho dance and contemporary expressions, incorporating warm materials, natural ventilation, and a focus on local resources to create a space that pays tribute to its location and enhances existing elements,” the team said.”It is essential that projects pay tribute to their location, particularly when they have the potential to highlight what already exists.” The locally sourced coconut wood used has the ability to capture carbon dioxide, thereby generating a smaller carbon footprint as compared to other materials. It also promotes craftsmanship and employment for the local workforce.
Future-forward yacht designs always entice us and this one was bound to be featured here. Envisioned by Andy Waugh Yacht Design, this watercraft spanning 80 meters in length is made for luxurious journeys on the high seas.
Dubbed Decadence, this vessel has a state-of-the-art “Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull” (SWATH) that sets it apart from any other real-life superyacht or catamaran. For that matter, considering it’s still just a concept design, this is still a very radical approach.
The inspiration for the SWATH vessel comes from the never-before-seen advances witnessed in the automotive and aeronautical industry back in the 1920s. The form of this superyacht is not limited to the visual parity courtesy of the UAP-like silhouette, rather it has a useful function too. According to Andy, the submerged cylindrical hulls fused to the main structure of the yacht with “stilts of minimal cross-section.”
This has undeniable advantages such as high tolerance for pitch and roll, making the vessel safe and comfortable for the occupants. If we are to take Andy’s word, Decadence reduces the pitch and roll by almost 70 percent as compared to a conventional monohull. Coming on to the layout, the yacht has a 30-meter beam and an interior configuration of 5,000 GT.
The hull opens fully to reconfigure the layout – a privilege only handful of watercraft can tout. One such option is to expand the master suite to almost 20 -meters in width, 30 meters in length and with a three-meter-high ceiling. This makes for one of the most luxe setups there could ever be living on the seas. Guests are also taken care of as the main hull is reserved for them while the crew can enjoy their stay in the sponsons or the outer hull that are equally swanky.
Setting up anchor for a stop with the Decandence is going to be a struggle for most situations given its humungous size. The maker wants to address this with 14-meter chase boat tenders to ferry the seafarers to the shores in luxury. What about the catamaran itself though? Well, the sturdy design means it can be parked out in the turbulent seas even in the most inclement weather.
The vessel is going to be powered by a radical new propulsion system that’ll bring down energy consumption by almost 30 percent. From the look of things, retractable inflatable sails can also be erected in headwinds to further increase fuel saving without compromising speed.
A beautifully designed piece of furniture has the power to lend an air of elegance and calm to an otherwise mundane or messy space. It doesn’t have to be large, nor does it have to be woven with bells and tassels, its simplistic minimal demeanor is enough to add an interesting spark to a basic living room. And the Scissor side table just happens to be one such kind of furniture design. Side tables are usually ignored, and paid a meager amount of attention to while buying. However, the Scissor side table was definitely paid a considerable amount of attention to while designing, hence resulting in a simple yet power-packed piece of furniture.
I’ve covered a ton of Deniz Aktay designs simply because they are oh-so-simple, elegant, and yet packed with massive functionality. The simplicity will almost make you wonder ‘Why didn’t I think of this?’, but unfortunately for us and luckily for Aktay, no one else can conjure these designs up except him. And his latest design the Scissor side table is no exception to this. The side table has a rather clean, simple, and matter-of-fact form that instantly makes you fall in love with it. Its highlight is its simplicity!
It features a round metallic tabletop that is supported by a bright red infinite metal tube. The metallic tube and its bold color instantly command attention, and the tube also functions as a useful handle to hold on to, if you want to move the table from one room to another. The Scissor side table’s innovative handle makes it a portable + easy to carry-around design, that you can conveniently transport from one place to another.
Much like its name suggests, the Scissor side table does look like a scissor indeed, providing it with a stark metallic appearance, and a bold personality. Although the side table has a strong and willful personality, it has a compact and space-saving form, which is a boon for modern-day apartments where space constraint is a major issue, and there isn’t much space to place a hefty and bulky piece of furniture.
New York studios Starling Architecture and Emily Lindberg Design have renovated a Brooklyn townhouse for a young family, combining two units into a single home and unifying them through the use of white oak.
The Carroll Gardens Townhouse was previously laid out as a two-family dwelling, but the owners needed more room for their growing kids, so decided to connect the units.
White oak acts as a unifying element throughout the renovated townhouse
Starling Architecture and Emily Lindberg Design were initially briefed to convert and cosmetically upgrade the townhouse, and add spaces such as a mud room, work-from-home and living areas, and a large dining room.
Once the project was underway, the scope expanded to include a complete overhaul of the layout, a new staircase, an extensive millwork package, and the replacement of the furniture and artwork.
A large dining area was created to accommodate group gatherings
“Aside from giving everyone a little more space to work, live and grow, we also quickly focused on bringing in more light and connection between the various levels,” said Starling Architecture founder Ian Starling.
Spanning five storeys, the building has a total living area of 3,700 square feet (344 square metres), with four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms.
Oak millwork continues in the kitchen, which was relocated from the centre of the house
Rearranging the program involved moving the second-floor kitchen from the centre of the plan to the south facade, where it received much more light.
The dining room occupies the adjacent space, enveloped in European white oak panels that extend from a long built-in bench seat, across the ceiling, and down to a slatted screen in front of the stairs.
Cool hues offset the warm oak flooring throughout the home, including in the lounge area
A walnut table with rounded corners provides enough space for hosting friends and extended family.
White oak is continued on the staircase across all levels and the flooring throughout, to a corridor and the mudroom, powder room, office and wet bar at garden level.
Oak panels define a corridor at garden level
“All wood for the house was sourced from the same mill in Belgium, where they custom fabricated and finished it to our exact specifications,” said Starling.
“All of the panels were CNC cut, so we were able to specify exact panel sizes based on as-built dimensions and each panel was divided into equal veneer widths.”
A mud room was created as part of the renovation scope
The earthy tones of the wood helped to guide the remaining decor choices, which include cool blue undertones offset by family-friendly materials like purple slate and clay brick.
Cork lines the office space, while the children’s playroom in the cellar features brighter colours without feeling too juvenile.
“With a new layout overall, the clients were in an ‘out with old in with the new’ mentality, going forward with some bold splashes of color along the way,” said Starling.
“There is a purity about much of the palette, working with organic texture and form rather than applied pattern,” added Lindberg.
Cork covers the walls in a room used as an office
Starling Architecture is based in Brooklyn, while Emily Lindberg Design has a presence in both New York City and Providence, Rhode Island.
The two studios previously collaborated on a similar project for friends of the Carroll Gardens Townhouse owners, who recommended them for this job.
Brighter colours are introduced in the children’s playroom, located in the cellar
Brooklyn’s townhouses are in high demand, and new owners waste no time in renovating these historic buildings to meet their needs.
Recently completed examples include a property on Warren Street, for which Studio Vural used Kyoto merchant houses as a reference point, and a home in Park Slope that was designed to meet Passive House standards.
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