“How to open: Feel the bottom of the ends of the table. On one end, you should feel two latches. Move the latch inwards. This unlocks the table. Lift the top of the table with both hands carefully. Once the tabletop is raised all the way (vertically), find the two latches on the hand railings of the ladder. Pull each latch downwards carefully to lock the railings in place so the ladder can be displayed. Carefully pull out the ladder.”
“How to close: Fold in the ladder carefully. Once the ladder is folded in. Pull each latch upwards carefully. This unlocks the table to be able to fold back into a table. Fold the hand railings in carefully, which brings down the tabletop. Once the tabletop is brought back down in place, make sure to move the two latches outwards, locking the table in place.”
Er, you got all of that?
The antique dealer in possession of this piece is asking $23,250.
This visually distinctive Robo Chair is by Italian industrial designer Luca Nichetto. It’s not quite flatpack, though it does break down.
Nichetto cites two interesting sources of inspiration for the chair’s design. The first is the Chris-Cunningham-directed music video for Björk’s “All is Full of Love,” where “a pair of robots appear to gain emotional human consciousness, ultimately kissing and hugging.” The second is “Meccano toys, which can be constructed and dismantled; [similarly] the Robo’s separate components can be disassembled and placed in a compact box, allowing easy transport.”
Nichetto designed the chair, and five others, for Scandinavian furniture brand Offecct. Just two of the designs remain in production, and sadly the Robo wasn’t among them. (I imagine the Robo’s seat was tricky to mass produce!)
LEGO launched its newest Insect Collection this week which was originally conceived by LEGO fan José Maria from Spain. Maria submitted the design to LEGO Ideas, where it received over 10,000 votes, and was later converted into a real collection. To celebrate the launch, LEGO also unveiled a little surprise – an ASMR “Green Noise” playlist to accompany the collection. This nature-inspired playlist includes the sounds of each insect in the collection reimagined using the clicks and clacks of LEGO bricks.
LEGO teamed up with Emmy-nominated Foley artist Sanaa Kelley, who is an expert at creating interesting sound effects from everyday objects. “Our collaboration has felt like a full-circle moment as a few years ago, I embarked on a course to learn more about insects to debunk my fears and enhance my knowledge of the sounds they make,” Kelley said in a statement. “This was a first at my studio and challenged me to be incredibly creative with my approach to Foley.”
The collection includes diverse insects such as the blue morpho butterfly, Hercules beetle, and Chinese mantis. Kelley used the bricks that would be used to build each insect and recreated their beautiful iconic flutters, by utilizing the clicks, clacks, and snaps made by those very bricks and combining them with Foley techniques. Each track is almost forty-five minutes long and can be streamed directly on LEGO’s website by anyone, including those who haven’t purchased the set. The whole playlist is three hours long in total, which should give you enough time to build the collection while listening to it.
The LEGO collection is available for preorder and will be launched on September 7th. It is intended for adults since it is known that 3 in 5 adults spend less than an hour each day relaxing. This adorable set is an effort on the part of LEGO to bring some peace and calm into our everyday chaotic lives, and give us an opportunity to relax and unwind with a soothing activity. And I can totally imagine LEGO lovers building the Blue Morpho Butterfly sitting on a branch in the South American Amazon Rainforest with a flower and a tiny honeybee on it, or the Hercules Beetle sitting on a piece of decaying log with its removable bricks, and calming their frenzied minds!
Inspired by the Dandies of the late-18th and early-19th centuries but incorporating plenty of contemporary elements, London’s Mayfair Townhouse is a stylish, playful property comprising several Georgian townhouses located on Half Moon Street. Tucked between Hyde Park and The Green Park (and Buckingham Palace), the 172-room hotel feels cozy thanks to dim lighting and rich textiles. Upon entering, guests are greeted by Colombian artist Clarita Brinkerhoff’s Swarovski crystal peacock sculpture and a gold and marble desk at reception, signaling the property’s affection for a little flourish and decadence.
Rooms are located above ground level, and the hallways—lined with floral surrealist artworks and lit by picture lights—can feel labyrinthian, but it only adds to the storybook charm. All the art in the hotel has been curated by Minda Dowling, who selected everything from portraits of an anthropomorphic fox to peacock murals and beyond. (The fox might be the hotel’s mascot, but this animal-friendly property allows small dogs to stay for no extra charge.)
Guest room options range from Cabin to Classic, Deluxe, Deluxe Garden Room and Executive, and while they are vastly different sizes, they all come with bathrobes and comfy slippers, bathroom products, coffee machines and kettles and complimentary snacks and drinks in the mini bar. Rich textures and jewel tones are everywhere, from curtains with fringed tie-backs to patterned carpets, parquetry, glossy nightstands and marbled bathrooms.
Visible from the front door, just past reception, The Dandy Bar is intended to be a venue where locals and guests spend time—and the space’s physical openness lends itself to this. The jewel of the property, the Art Deco-leaning bar features a mirrored ceiling, velvet and leather banquettes, fringed cushions and bold lighting galore. The menu contains snacks and larger meals, but the cocktails and service are the bar’s true highlights.
The bar staff provide impeccable service with playfulness and humor, so the experience avoids feeling stuffy. The drinks are expertly made, with every detail taken into account. Guests might be sipping wine while they tap on their laptop, or having a lively group dinner, but it all works in harmony here—thanks to a playful flamboyance that permeates the whole hotel.
Two symmetrical steel arches define this bridge by Zaha Hadid Architects, which stretches 295 metres across a tributary of the Tuojiang River in Chengdu, China.
Named Jiangxi River Bridge, the structure is used by cars, cyclists and pedestrians and is intended to become a landmark for the city in Sichuan province.
Zaha Hadid Architects has completed Jiangxi River Bridge
Zaha Hadid Architects designed the bridge to tie in with the city’s existing road system and Airport New Town, a new development surrounding Chengdu Tianfu International Airport.
Its steel arches extend 30 metres up from either side of the deck, leaning together as they rise, and are supported by tapering piers and abutments that contribute to its sculptural form.
It is defined by two symmetrical arches
“As they rise, the arches lean together to touch tangentially at their crown, stabilising the structure from lateral wind forces,” said Zaha Hadid Architects.
“The dynamic curvature of the bridge’s supporting piers and abutments taper into its primary arches and road deck, defining a sculptural landmark within Chengdu’s transport infrastructure.”
It spans 295 metres
Jiangxi River Bridge, which is also known as Chengdu West First Bridge, has a 185-metre-long central span. The secondary spans that connect to the riverbanks are 55 metres long.
The structure was predominantly prefabricated, meaning it was delivered to the site in sections before being connected with on-site welding, helping to reduce construction time.
According to Zaha Hadid Architects, arches are used in the design because they “provide the most efficient bridge structure for spans between 120 and 250 metres”.
Meanwhile, the meeting of the two arches at the top of the bridge is designed for stability against lateral winds.
The arches rise to meet at the top. Photo by Liang Xue
Jiangxi River Bridge’s deck was made from precast concrete panels, and its edges are lined with box girders engineered to withstand the outward forces of each arch while reducing loads on the concrete foundations.
There are no foundations in the river over which the bridge spans, and instead it sits on piers on each bank.
It is hoped to become a landmark for Chengdu. Photo by Liang Xue
Founded in 1980, Zaha Hadid Architects is the eponymous studio of the late architect Zaha Hadid. Today the firm is headed up by Patrik Schumacher.
The Cape Cod Modern House Trust has launched a campaign to raise $1.2 million to purchase modernist architect Marcel Breuer‘s holiday home in Cape Cod, USA, to save it from likely demolition.
“Most significant of the Cape’s many modernist buildings”
The group describes the building near the town of Wellfleet as the “most significant of the Cape’s many modernist buildings” and believes that if it is purchased by a private buyer it will likely be demolished.
Tomas Breuer has set a purchase price of $2 million, of which $1.2 million will need to be raised from donations.
“We need to raise £1.2 million and are approved for a mortgage for the balance,” explained Cape Cod Modern House Trust founding director Peter McMahon.
“The house is 1,700 square foot and a house twice the size can be built on the lot with no need of a variance,” he told Dezeen. “It’s un-heated and in disrepair so most buyers would be only interested in the land.”
Top: Marcel Breuer designed the building as his own holiday home in the 1940s. Photo by Raimund Koch. Much of the original furniture and fittings remain. Photo by Tomas Breuer
The original house is an early example of the Long House typology developed by Marcel Breuer, who was a master at the influential Bauhaus school in Germany. It was then expanded in 1961 by adding an art studio and again in 1968 with the addition of a small apartment and darkroom for his son Tomas.
Although it is in a state of disrepair, the home contains almost all its original furniture including one-of-a-kind tables, couches and hand-woven rugs designed for the house. It also contains artworks numerous artworks designed by Bauhaus alumni Paul Klee, Josef Albers and Herbert Bayer.
Marcel Breuer and his wife’s ashes were laid under a stone slab made by sculptor Masayuki Nagare on next to the house.
“It was a vibrant meeting place for Bauhaus alumni and local creatives for decades,” said McMahon. “It is fully intact with the family’s art, books, furniture and photos, so it’s loss would be a blow to scholars and the public.”
“In Europe it would be listed and protected”
The Cape Cod Modern House Trust aims to restore the house and turn it into a centre for preservation and residences for its fellowship.
“In Europe, it would be listed and protected, but we have very weak laws in the US for the preservation of historic buildings,” said McMahon.
“The Breuer house is not only an important piece of architecture, it was also a meeting place for many of the great designers and artists of the era including the Saarinen family, Florence Knoll, Alexander Calder, Walter Gropius and many others,” he continued.
“We have a chance to save it from ruin and to make it a busy nexus of learning and creativity again.”
It is in a state of disrepair. Photo by Marta Kuzma
The cabin is the latest modernist house to be under threat on Cape Cod, with the preservation group estimating that at least one significant building has been lost every year since 2016.
Last year another of Marcel Breuer’s houses – Geller I house on Long Island – was demolished overnight.
The house is one of the most significant modern buildings on Cape Cod. Photo by Marta Kuzma
“We have lost many significant modern homes due to increasing land values and lack of stewardship, including Breuer’s Geller house on Long Island in 2022,” said Liz Waytkus, executive director of preservation group Docomomo US.
“There is so much to be studied and learned from these modest places and our cultural legacy can not be replaced,” she continued. “Everyone who cares about the legacy of the 20th century should support this effort to save Breuer’s own house and his final resting place.”
The Cape Cod Modern House Trust has been given until spring 2024 to raise the funds to purchase the house.
Marcel Breuer was one of the 20th century’s most significant modernist architects and furniture designers. He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal in 1968. After studying and teaching at the Bauhaus he fled Germany to London as the Nazis gained power before moving to the USA and establishing his studio in New York.
Dutch architecture studio Overtreders W has created Stable Stack, a temporary cabin hotel built using straps and borrowed materials, in Veenhuizen, the Netherlands.
The studio found the materials for the cabin in the village of Veenhuizen, sourcing concrete gutters and wood from carpenter Peter Kroes and roof tiles and paving slabs from Riedstra farm.
Stable Stack features a strap-fastened structure built with borrowed materials
Instead of gluing, drilling or screwing, Overtreders W opted for tie-down straps to fasten the structure, so that the borrowed materials could be returned without damage and devaluation.
The studio also used the green straps as decorative elements and to add another layer of texture to the stable, “emphasising the versatile and innovative character of the structure,” it said.
Stable Stack is a temporary hotel room with a view of farmland
The studio designed the temporary accommodation to highlight Veenhuizen’s craftsmanship, history and environment.
The village, which is now a World Heritage Site, was first built as a reform housing colony, Landbouwkolonie Veenhuizen [agricultural colony Veenhuiz] by the forced labour of homeless people 200 years ago.
“In line with the modest history of the place, where labour and life took place with limited resources, this cosy dwelling has been created,” said Overtreders W.
“Stable Stack showcases the beautiful possibilities that the combination of craftsmanship and sustainable handling of materials can offer.”
Components were stacked and secured with straps
Stable Stack, which is located in a peat meadow landscape and overlooks farmland, forms part of Veen Huis Hotel.
This is a project that celebrates 200 years of the village by maker and thinker collective Ketter&Co and local hotel Bitter & Zoet.
Stable Stack is one of seven temporary accommodations
It comprises seven temporary accommodations, created in unconventional ways, and opens its door for guests from May to October 2023.
“With a revaluation of the relationship between man and landscape and an explosion of creativity, the Veen Huis Hotel inspires an urgent conversation about the future of Veenhuizen as an experimental agricultural colony,” said Ketter&Co.
It was secured and decorated with green straps
Hester van Dijk and Reinder Bakker founded and head Overtreders W, a small Amsterdam architecture studio specialising in temporary structures.
We’ve seen a lot of Bearbrick iterations, some cool, some weird, and some kind of creepy. The collectible toy has slowly become a cultural icon over the past decade or so and we see collectors spending a lot of money to get various styles, materials, themes, and even some pop culture versions. There are also several collaborations with other brands like Casio and Nike and apparently we might be getting a TV series soon. This newest iteration though will be unique in that we’ll hear sounds coming out of the iconic bear.
Designer: Medicom Toy and Rinaro Isodynamics
No, we won’t get a talking Bearbrick, don’t worry (if that’s something that worries you). What we’ll get is the Bearbrick Audio 400% which is a portable bluetooth speaker featuring the 11-inch figurine design. You have the speaker elements in the head of the bear which includes 40mm wideband woofers and 20mm tweeters while the arms or paws let you control the volume of the speaker or skip to the next track. You get the famous QUAD’360 audio technology from Rinaro so you know that the sound quality would be exceptional.
There are three colorways available for the bear speaker. There’s the solid black version and a dark translucent “smoke” colored one. The more interesting one is the clear version that shows the inner workings of the Bluetooth speaker. All three have movable joints so you can make it stand up or sit down when you’re playing your music, although it won’t affect the sound quality either way.
You can connect your smartphone to the speaker through Bluetooth with just a push of a button. You get six hours of battery life on a single charge. If you want, you can get two of the speakers and pair them together so you get better and more immersive sound quality. The Bearbrick Audio 400% will be available in November for $499. I wouldn’t mind having one, as long as there’s no possibility of the bear suddenly talking and taking a life of its own.
Jen Stark‘s colorful art looks great in many artistic mediums, and now you can wear it on your feet. The Skechers Street x Jen Stark: Uno – Infinite Drip women’s sneaker brings her well known Drip series to shoes featuring the brand’s Air-Cooled Memory Foam insole and visible airbag midsole. The Uno is available in full throttle color (shown) and black and white; a second high top style is also available.
Taylor is the founder of 3D-design studio Maison de Sable, where she collaborates with other 3D designers on renderings of imaginary, fantastical interiors and buildings.
Recently Taylor’s designs have become less fantasy-driven and closer to real spaces, with some of them set to get built as physical architecture projects.
“In the long term, I’d like to move more into architecture,” Taylor told Dezeen.
Taylor is venturing into built architecture projects for the first time. Image by Thea Caroline Sneve Løvstad and top image by Nicholas Préaud
Having not pursued formal architecture training, the designer believes there should be more non-traditional pathways to designing buildings.
“I didn’t train in architecture at all,” she said. “I think it would be great if there were more entries into architecture because it’s such a hard career to get into.”
“I’d like to think that there’s hope that you can get into building physical spaces through unconventional means.”
Casa Atibaia is a fictional home in Brazil that is due to be built. Image by Nicholas Préaud
One of Taylor’s designs due to be built is Casa Atibaia, a house that was originally conceived as an imaginary project in collaboration with designer Nicholas Préaud.
The duo imagined the house situated by the Atibaia River in São Paulo, creating a digital model of part of the riverbank based on information from Google Maps.
The interior of Casa Atibaia features on the front cover of Taylor’s book
From this, Taylor and Préaud designed a concrete and glass fantasy home raised on huge boulders, the interior of which features on the front cover of Taylor’s first book, Design Dreams, published last month.
Although the project was not originally intended to be built, Taylor is now in the process of finding a plot of land suitable to actualise the design.
The fantasy home is raised from the floor on boulders. Image by Nicholas Préaud
Taylor has also collaborated with architectural designer Andrew Trotter on a house in Utah, which forms part of Trotter’s wider design for a hotel and retreat centre named Paréa.
The house, which is currently under construction, was designed to blend into the desert landscape with large spans of glazing and walls finished in lime plaster.
Taylor also worked on a house in Utah that is currently under construction. Image by Klaudia Adamiak
According to Taylor her fictional designs have received a mixed response from architects, with some saying that “in the real world, it doesn’t work like that”.
But for Taylor, not having an architecture degree and exploring spatial design digitally without being constrained by lighting, noise, safety and budget requirements allows for more creativity.
The house in Utah was designed to blend into the landscape. Image by Klaudia Adamiak
“It acts as a sort of creative playground for me in which I can test out all these concepts and see how they work visually,” said Taylor.
“Then bringing that into the physical world and working with engineers and architects, it becomes pared down.”
“I think not having architectural education makes you find different solutions or ideas to bring to the real world that wouldn’t have come from just designing an actual space,” she added.
According to Taylor, digital design allows for more creativity than designing for the real world. Image by Klaudia Adamiak
The designer mentioned that her design icon Carlo Scarpa also never became a licenced architect.
“My icon, Carlo Scarpa, never had his full qualification, so there are little stories that inspire me, but the general thinking is quite rigid – this particular entry is a bit frowned upon from what I’ve experienced,” said Taylor.
Having learned most of her design skills from experimenting with digital design and collaborating with other designers, Taylor describes herself as “self-studious” and encourages other designers to create work that they feel best represents themselves.
“Strive to build a portfolio that excites you and represents you the most,” Taylor said.
“Through building a portfolio and working with 3D designers and architects was how I learnt – it’s very research-heavy.”
She founded the 3D-design studio Maison de Sable. Image by Klaudia Adamiak
Taylor’s Design Dreams book features 3D designs of buildings and interiors created by herself and other artists.
The curation includes fantasy-like environments as well as renderings of interiors that appear like real, tangible spaces.
“[The book] became a space in which to share my personal projects, the artists I work with and work I admire around the field of interiors and architecture,” said Taylor.
Taylor recently published her first book. Image by Klaudia Adamiak
Although most of the images are already widely shared online, by collating them all into one volume Taylor hopes readers will enjoy getting lost in the printed format.
“The same way that the Instagram page acts where people go to get lost in the images, to have that in a physical format means you are able to spend more time in detail than you can on a phone screen,” she said.
Design Dreams features work by Taylor and other digital designers
“To take something digital that doesn’t exist in the physical world and bring it to print was quite important for me, to see it in that way,” the designer added.
Although they work in the digital sphere, Taylor maintains that 3D-visual creators play a part in interior design trends.
It collates digital designs into a physical format
“The arts trends that happen in 3D gradually make their way into interior spaces, and it’s really interesting to see the Pinterest effect,” she said.
“People love to collect images and make their ideal moodboard with them, and these spaces really play into that. People are constructing their own ideas and making architecture and interiors more accessible rather than something very professional.”
In her own interior visual designs, Taylor includes elements from her actual home to make the spaces feel more relatable than traditional architecture renderings.
The Design Dreams book includes fantasy interiors and ones that look like real spaces
“It’s down to the construction of the images, they have this sort of lightning and familiarity, and we always put little props that will often be things from my home,” she said.
“These little details make it lived-in and more relatable versus traditional architectural visualisation, which can be very sterile and not aesthetically relatable.”
If you enjoy reading Dezeen’s interviews, opinions and features, subscribe to Dezeen In Depth. Sent on the last Friday of each month, this newsletter provides a single place to read about the design and architecture stories behind the headlines.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
