Hasta La Ideas

A 1969 school building in Singapore with “modern tropical” architecture has been converted into New Bahru, a shopping and dining location by local studios FARM and Nice Projects.

Architecture studio FARM transformed the 20,156-square-metre site into a lifestyle hub that houses restaurants, shops, wellness and culture spaces, as well as serviced apartments.

The New Bahru building had been used as offices and food and beverage (F&B) spaces after the relocation of the school, which was built just four years after Singapore became independent.

“To share some context, the project is based in an existing 1969 school building with modern tropical architectural features, located in Singapore’s cosmopolitan River Valley neighbourhood,” FARM director Nan Chyuan Tiah told Dezeen.

“By 2013, the old school building was repurposed for temporary commercial uses, such as offices and F&B, to better serve the needs of that time,” Tiah added.

FARM wanted to keep the focus on the existing modernist architecture, making only light changes to the exterior of New Bahru.

“The building was generally in good condition, and both the clients and we fell in love with all its quirks,” Tiah said. “We saw a lot of charm and potential in them, adopting a minimalist approach to let the original elements and spaces shine.”

“Our aim was to avoid overdesigning the space but do just enough repairs and reorganisation of the spaces while leaving plenty of room for imagination,” he added.

The biggest change to the layout was the reintroduction of a central focal point, with a lawn and playground replacing parts of an existing car park.

“We decided to remove part of the car park and create a new central lawn, taking advantage of the beautiful existing rain trees to frame this new public space,” Tiah explained.

“This required major earthworks and a redesign of the overall traffic flow. It was a massive undertaking, but we believed it was essential to create a new centre of gravity not just for the development, but also for the neighbourhood as a whole.”

While the facade is structurally the same as when the building was a school, FARM painted it a warm pink and added steel and aluminium details.

“Ultimately, we wanted to infuse a sense of modernity and elegance while embracing the building’s aged patina,” Tiah said.

“We incorporated a significant amount of metal – aluminium and steel – against the building’s weathered concrete to create a striking contrast between old and new,” he added.

“We also drew from New Bahru’s branding, the use of bold, warm colours punctuates the space, enlivening the building and adding a bit of character.”

Design studio Nice Projects, which was the creative consultant on New Bahru, worked with the tenants of the space to create varied interiors designed by different designers chosen by developer The Lo & Behold Group.

“The intention is to celebrate local entrepreneurs and creatives, offering visitors an experience that stands apart from the typical cookie-cutter offerings,” interior designer Sacha Leong of Nice Projects told Dezeen.

“We trust in their vision and creativity, which is why tenants were given full control over their space design, as long as they adhered to building guidelines such as tenancy lines and safety standards,” Leong added.

“The goal was to ensure that the individual parts still felt holistic as one, and we did so by controlling the lighting temperature and porosity across different trades.”

Among the tenants at New Bahru is wellness space Hideaway, which has an interior by design studio Parable and features a tea lounge, saunas and treatment rooms. There is also a fine dining restaurant called Somma, which was designed by Nice Projects.

The studio aimed for New Bahru to feel “refreshed”, Leong said.

“As Jane Jacobs famously said, ‘new ideas need old buildings’,” Leong explained.

“It was crucial to us that the spaces felt refreshed – not a patchwork of old and new, but recognisable as a school adapted to suit its new purpose.”

Nice Projects also worked with Portland-based studio OMFGCO to design the overall colour palette for the space.

“We worked closely with OMFGCO to create a colour palette for the overall development and wayfinding that felt lively and fresh and offered many opportunities, combining them in different ways for a variety of uses,” Leong said.

“We chose a palette of soft warm colours that will age well because we wanted to create a welcoming and friendly environment which felt respectful to the original architecture – and there were accents of coral to add distinctiveness and character.”

Other recent Singapore projects include an aluminium hotel extension by WOHA and a collaborative workspace by Ministry of Design.

The exterior photography is by Finbar Fallon, interior images courtesy of The Lo & Behold Group.

The post FARM and Nice Projects turn breeze-block-clad modernist school into lifestyle hub appeared first on Dezeen.

UK architecture studio Mailen Design has unveiled its design for a medicinal cannabis production facility on the Isle of Man, which will act as headquarters for local marijuana company GrowLab Organics.

Designed to bring economic and environmental benefits to the Isle of Man, the facility will cultivate medicinal cannabis for exportation and be the first of its kind on the island.

The Isle of Man, which is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, passed law changes on cannabis in 2021. In the following year, GrowLab Organics gained a licence to cultivate, extract, manufacture, import and export cannabis products for medicinal use.

It has since received planning permission for its cannabis farm, which is set to be built on Ronaldsway Business Park near the Isle of Man’s airport and will contain agricultural growing rooms, laboratories, distribution areas, offices and social spaces.

Surrounded by industrial buildings, the GrowLabs Organics facility will have a sawtooth roof with rainwater harvesting and landscaping designed for local wildlife.

An electricity substation will be built to power the farm. According to Mailen Design, it will “contribute no additional carbon emissions from electricity use”.

“From the outset, we have closely collaborated with government bodies, local authorities, and environmental experts to ensure GrowLab Organics aligns with community needs and policy requirements,” said Mailen Design director Jon Humphreys.

“We’ve prioritised ecological sensitivity, incorporating native planting, bird and bat boxes, and a wildlife pond to enhance biodiversity,” he continued.

“Dark-sky-compliant lighting helps preserve wildlife habitats and the island’s nightscape while low-embodied-carbon cladding reduces construction-related environmental impacts by up to 20 per cent.”

GrowLab Organics plans for construction to be completed within 12 months and for goods to begin exporting in 2026. Once the facility opens, 60 full-time jobs in science, engineering and administration will be introduced to the area.

Mailen Design was founded by Ben Mailen in 2010 and has offices based in London and Oxfordshire. Projects by the studio that have been featured on Dezeen include a barn-like house in Kent and a showroom in London for building materials manufacturer Knauff.

Cannabis dispensaries that have been published on Dezeen include a white shop interior with mirrored ceilings in Toronto and an interior in Los Angeles designed to look like a jewellery store.

The images are by Mailen Design.

The post GrowLab Organics cannabis farm set to be built on the Isle of Man appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture studio Hooba Design Group has unveiled plans for the Marbella Residential Complex, which would comprise a series of stacked villas in Kelarabad, Iran.

Seeking to propose a more sustainable alternative to a typical apartment block, the 38,477-square-metre complex by Hooba Design Group will be composed of “high-rise villas” that draw on both “regional architecture and local environmental laws”.

“The residential pattern has changed from an apartment pattern to high-rise villas in such a way that a villa with its own typology can be formed on any plot of land,” the studio said.

“The expansion of this typology is in search of an alternative method of construction in this geography of Iran, based on the local knowledge of the region itself.”

Renders of the proposal reveal a network of raised, pitched volumes stacked on top of one another with the use of large columns.

At ground level, a large, grassy base will host a series of additional spaces, above which an expansive seating area will be sheltered by the villas.

The volumes, which vary in width and height, are each depicted with large openings and entirely glazed fronts that lead out to planted terraces overlooking the surroundings.

A series of elongated roof terraces, which will be connected via external staircases and complete with greenery, will span atop the development to provide additional space for residents.

Visualisations of largely-wooden interiors reveal lofty, open-plan living spaces featuring glazed divisions and mezzanine levels, along with swimming pools.

According to the studio, sustainability measures will include the collection and purification of rainwater within the complex.

“An attempt is made to create a sustainable ecosystem – in terms of energy and water supply – in such a way that the majority of the water consumption of the entire complex can be provided by collecting rainwater and purifying water in the complex,” the studio explained.

Also in Iran, KA Architecture Studio topped a metro station in Tehran with brick barrel vaults and Olgoo completed a subterranean holiday home near Tehran that critiques overdevelopment.

The visualisations are courtesy of Hooba Design Group.

The post Hooba Design Group envisions “high-rise villas” as new housing typology for Iran appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture studio Cadence Architects has completed the concrete K-Home, which was designed to frame views of the city and hills surrounding its site in Krishnagiri in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

Built from ferrocement, Cadence Architects completed the facade with “strategically scooped-out segments” that form semi-open terraces on the home‘s upper floors.

“The external envelope of the home was conceived in a way to redefine the conventional relationship between the users of the home and the views from site,” studio co-founder Smaran Mallesh told Dezeen.

“The articulated openings not only create a new silhouette for the house but also carve out unconventional semi-open spaces forming intriguing three dimensional spatial voids.”

The home is accessed via a gated entrance, beyond which concrete steps lead up to the main entrance sheltered by the home’s protruding upper floor.

Spread across three floors, the 2,660-square-foot (247-square-metre) home opens up to an airy double-height living area, followed by a dining room and adjacent terrace towards the rear.

Behind this space, a kitchen and utility space, and bedroom are concealed behind discrete openings.

A metal and wooden staircase leads up to the home’s first floor where a lobby overlooks the living area below and provides access to two en-suite bedrooms hosted at either end of the plan.

Sheltered balconies accessed via glazed openings are hosted within each of the bedrooms, with the facade’s large opening framing views out from the front-facing bedroom.

Throughout the home, openings draw light into the spacious interior, which is finished with wooden and marble floors, and neutral-toned walls.

A fourth bedroom is located on the home’s second floor, along with a gym and multi-purpose room.

Adjacent to this, a sheltered terrace provides outdoor space complete with built-in seating, lush greenery and views of the surrounding landscape.

Cadence Architects is an architecture studio based in Bengaluru established by Mallesh alongside Narendra Pirgal and Vikram Rajasekaran in 2005.

Other Indian homes recently featured on Dezeen include a Keralan home that blends “old world charm with the modern” and a compact family home wrapped in a perforated adobe facade.

The photography is by Ekansh Goel.

The post Cadence Architects “carves out” openings in facade of Indian home appeared first on Dezeen.

Nostalgia has a unique way of tugging at our heartstrings, transporting us back to simpler times and cherished memories. In a world that’s constantly evolving, the allure of old-school designs offers a comforting escape, blending the charm of the past with the functionality of the present. And, we have curated a collection of top five products that more than just objects—they’re gateways to moments of serenity and reflection.

Each product invites you to slow down and savor life’s simple pleasures. They capture the essence of old-school design, each with its own unique story and appeal. They are perfect for those who appreciate the beauty of tradition and the warmth of nostalgia, these items promise to enrich your surroundings and elevate your everyday experiences.

1. Portable CD Cover Player

You can now rediscover the joy of music with the Portable CD Cover Player! It is a unique and innovative media device that blends audio playback with visual art. The player not only plays audio CDs, but it also features a convenient pocket to display the CD’s jacket art. This allows you to appreciate the album’s visual elements as you listen to music.

The CD Cover Player features a built-in speaker and rechargeable battery, ensuring you can enjoy your favorite albums anywhere you please. You can place the player in your home, and it will function as an attractive piece of decoration. It has a minimalist design and a wall-mountable option, making it a handy and versatile addition to your home.

Click Here to Buy Now: $199

Why is it noteworthy?

Today’s world is dominated by digital music, and this CD player provides a wonderful throwback to the age of physical media. It lets you display the album art, allowing you to celebrate the artistry of the album covers. This player can remind you of the excitement of purchasing a new album. Its presence in your home serves as a nod to the past, bringing back memories of mixtapes, record stores, and the communal experience of sharing music.

What we like

• The rechargeable battery and compact design make it easy to take music with you wherever you go.
• The ability to display CD cover art enhances the visual appeal of your music collection.

What we dislike

• Only plays audio CDs, which may not be compatible with digital music collections.

2. Miniature Bonfire Wood Diffuser Set

You can now bring the calming fragrance of the mountains and forest into your home with the Miniature Bonfire Wood Diffuser Set. It is a lovely little diffuser that forms an eye-catching and attractive centerpiece in your home. The diffuser will spread the aromatic oils with the gentleness of a forest breeze. It is built from rust-resistant stainless steel, and equipped with miniature firewood.

The firewood is bundled up with a tying knot, the essential oil perfectly scatters the unique and serene scent of Mt. Hakusan. You can convert the diffuser into a pocket stove with trivets, so you can cook food on it, creating a super cool and authentic indoor camping experience in your home.

Click Here to Buy Now: $99.00

Why is it noteworthy?

This diffuser set captures the essence of a classic camping experience, complete with the comforting scent of nature. Its design evokes the nostalgia of gathering around a campfire, sharing stories, and enjoying the simplicity of outdoor life. By bringing this experience indoors, the diffuser adds a rustic and whimsical charm to your home, reminding you of the joys of disconnecting from the hustle and bustle of modern life and reconnecting with nature.

What we like

•  Can be used as both a diffuser and a pocket stove, offering multiple uses.
• The miniature bonfire adds a playful and imaginative element to home decor.

What we dislike

•  Only available with the scent of Mt. Hakusan, which may not appeal to everyone.
• The multifunctional design may be challenging to use for those unfamiliar with its features.

3. Oboro Silver Moon Calendar

Called the Oboro Silver Moon Calendar, this masterpiece captures the serene beauty of the night sky. It was designed to celebrate a decade of stunning Japanese craftsmanship and design. It is a limited edition 10th Anniversary calendar by Replug that will elevate your home with its tranquil glow.

The calendar creates a connection between you and the lunar cycle, adding a timeless allure and grace to your home. It is a handcrafted piece that brings some old-school nostalgic charm to your home, while also showcasing Japan’s deep reverence for nature and the celestial world. Each lunar phase is showcased using reflective silver oil, which creates a mesmerizing light play.

Click Here to Buy Now: $59.00

Why is it noteworthy?

The unique calendar brings the beauty of the moon to your home, reminding you of a night spent gazing at the sky. The design draws inspiration from traditional Japanese craftsmanship, thereby bringing a sense of history and cultural depth to your home. By connecting you to the lunar cycle, it offers a grounding ritual that echoes the simplicity and beauty of past traditions.

What we like

• The calendar’s understated yet striking design adapts to various settings, adding a touch of refined elegance to any space.
• Offers a meaningful link to Japanese cultural heritage, enriching your home with its poetic beauty.

What we dislike

• As a limited edition piece, availability may be restricted, making it a coveted but hard-to-find item.
• The delicate materials require careful handling to preserve their beauty and functionality.

4. ClearMind Kendama

Crafted by Tokyo Kendama, the ClearMind Kendama is a traditional Japanese skill toy for personal growth. It sharpens coordination, ignites creativity, and offers a nice break from daily routines. The larger cups can be utilized for easier trick landings, while a recalibrated balance supports smoother movements.

The ClearMind Kendana is designed to boost your confidence and help master some skills. It is built from solid walnut and maple wood, hence showcasing the beauty and durability of premium materials. The kendana will develop a unique patina over time, representing your journey as well. It is a cherished companion to have over time.

Click Here to Buy Now $59.00

Why is it noteworthy?

The kendama encourages you to engage in a mindful and tactile activity. It brings back childhood memories of playing games and mastering new skills. It takes you on a trip down memory lane while creating a connection to traditional craftsmanship and offering a refreshing and much-needed break from modern technology. The tool invites you to slow down, enjoy the moment, and truly feel comfortable.

What we like

• Crafted from high-quality materials, the kendama is built to last and withstand frequent use.
• Encourages personal growth by challenging players to master new tricks and improve coordination.

What we dislike

• Beginners may find it challenging to master initially, requiring patience and practice.
• The size and shape may not be convenient for carrying around, limiting on-the-go play.

5. Rin Harmony Incense Holder

Called the Rin Harmony Incense Holder, this product merges wood and metal to form a lovely little incense holder. It lets you enjoy the soothing aroma of your favorite incense sticks anywhere. It is made from natural walnut wood and serves as a portable storage solution, as well as a convenient base for burning incense.

The brass plate functions as a safe space for the lit stick, while the matching cover allows you to snuff out the flame safely, containing the ashes. The product is available in gold and black color options, serving as a beautiful holder that is perfect for meditation and calming exercises. It will add peace and tranquility to your home.

Click Here to Buy Now: $199.00

Why is it noteworthy?

Incense burning has been practiced throughout the ages, it is often associated with meditation, relaxation, and spiritual rituals. This elegant holder, with its natural walnut wood and brass accents, brings a touch of old-world charm to your space. The act of lighting incense and enjoying its aroma can transport you to a time when life was less hectic, and moments of peace were savored. The holder’s design and functionality also reflect a bygone era of thoughtful craftsmanship and attention to detail.

What we like

• Its compact design makes it easy to carry and use in different locations.
• The elegant wood and metal construction adds a touch of sophistication to any space.

What we dislike

• Can only store a small number of incense sticks, requiring frequent refills.
• The wooden construction may be susceptible to damage if not handled with care.

The post Top 5 Retro Products That Channel Old-School Charm This November 2024 first appeared on Yanko Design.