Design studio GamFratesi looked to historic Greek vases when creating the interior of Epicurus, a restaurant and jazz club in Copenhagen, which features smoked oak wood inlays and custom-made lighting.

The hospitality space, located in central Copenhagen, was named for the Greek philosopher Epicurus and was designed as a “culinary and musical house”, according to the studio.

Comprising a 250-square-metre restaurant and a 150-square-metre jazz club, Epicurus’ features wood-panelled walls that create an intimate atmosphere.

GamFratesi preserved and repainted the original panels in the restaurant space and added new smoked-oak wood panelling in the jazz club.

The wood panelling was produced locally, GamFratesi co-founder Enrico Fratesi told Dezeen.

“We smoked the oak together with a local craftsman, aiming for a slightly lighter tone than the industrial smoked oak, which is often very dark and has a more uniform, artificial finish,” he explained.

“Ours retains a more natural look and feel. Instead of industrial lacquers, we treated the wood with oil, in the tradition of Danish craftsmanship.”

The panelling in the jazz club section reaches three metres high, up to the windows of the six-metre-tall space, which used to be a military gymnasium for the Danish Queen’s guards.

It was decorated with playful images of dancers and musicians, for which GamFratesi drew inspiration from historic Greek pottery.

“At GamFratesi, we really enjoy creating designs that have a handcrafted or drawing-like quality,” explained co-founder Stine Gam.

“That’s why we looked at ancient vases and many of those free, organic shapes combined with stylised human figures, depicting scenes of dancing, music, and shared enjoyment, turning the ancient concept into a contemporary narrative.”

The studio also designed a series of pictures of vases, which decorate the walls of the restaurant.

“Greek pottery, in general, includes a wide variety of types and forms,” Fratesi said. “What fascinated us in particular was the way a single silhouette can be repeated with slightly different proportions each time.”

“We experimented with the handles, the mouth, and the overall shape of the vase to create a more free and expressive language, while still maintaining a strong connection to tradition,” he added.

GamFratesi’s hand drawings were digitised and used to create precise cuts in the wood veneer, after which the inlay was completed by hand using the classic marquetry technique.

As well as wood, Epicurus features a number of travertine details. GamFratesi chose the stone as the designers felt it “was a material strongly connected to ancient history”.

“Beyond that, it also has a natural structure and a visual language that isn’t too aggressive – it feels balanced and subtle,” Gam explained.

White and grey travertine were combined to create a console that makes the transition from the restaurant space to the jazz club, which also features the stone in the form of a wood-and-travertine bar.

“We used three different types of travertine: one for the console and another for the bar, each chosen to maintain a dialogue with the spirit of ancient times – not necessarily Greco-Roman, but more broadly inspired by antiquity – while being interpreted through a contemporary design lens,” Fratesi explained.

The jazz club has an acoustic ceiling and GamFratesi added upholstered furniture to help dampen sound, such as the studio’s own Violin Chair and Beetle Chair by Danish brand Gubi.

Gam and Fratesi also custom-made the lighting for the space, together with lighting brand Lyfa. This includes glass wall sconces, table lamps and cone-shaped pendants.

Epicurus is GamFratesi’s first club design.

“Some time ago, we worked on a project that also explored the relationship between music and dining,” Gam said.

“However in that case, our intervention was more limited, as the space was already defined architecturally. So, in a way, this is actually the first real ‘jazz club’ we have designed entirely from scratch – our first venue of this kind.”

Other recent Copenhagen restaurants featured on Dezeen include a space designed to mimic a “home dining” experience and a restaurant with panels made from leftover beer.

The photography is by Emil Vendelbo Stegemejer.

The post GamFratesi decorates Copenhagen jazz club with drawings informed by ancient pottery appeared first on Dezeen.

Ethereal curtains crafted from surplus textile samples create distinctive shadows across the original pinewood floors of OntheSq, a neo-Jacobean London home transformed by Irenie Studio.

The Grade II-listed semi-detached 1840s townhouse owes its name to its location on the corner of leafy De Beauvoir Square in northeast London.

Interiors firm Irenie Studio collaborated with architect Studio Dera over 18 months to renovate the previously abandoned home, which features four storeys with rooms arranged on either side of a central staircase.

The project included sensitively restoring the roof and upper levels, exposing the existing wooden beams, and adding a half-sunken rear extension to create a ground-level kitchen that opens onto a patio and garden.

“People see the project and think, oh, did you paint it and just put in the pieces? No, I did not!” joked Irenie Studio founder Irenie Cossey.

“This place literally stood as an empty carcass for at least nine months,” she told Dezeen.

The interior is a mix of designer and craftspeople collaborations commissioned by Cossey, united by bold colours, eclectic textures and playful scales.

Among the pieces is the work of textile designer Tomoyo Tsurumi, who created delicate drapery and shower curtains out of old curtains salvaged from the house, woven with surplus Kvadrat textile samples.

Composed of thin strips, the drapes filter light through the home’s preserved oriel windows and add distinctive detailing to the bathroom.

“When I saw this house, it was about the windows and the shadows,” reflected Cossey. “This is kind of where 2025 and 1840 merge.”

Cossey also maintained the home’s original pine wood floors, which feature in the living spaces and three bedrooms. These were coloured with bespoke paint hues, including a red shade mixed to reference De Beauvoir Square’s rose garden.

Downstairs, the light-filled kitchen extension features more craft collaborations that were informed by the Lewis Carroll novels Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass – a theme that Cossey said runs throughout the home.

“Glass and scale are all part of the architecture and design,” she explained.

Designer Michael Murphy created a custom upside-down chair from a fallen oak tree, which hangs next to designer Rio Kobayashi’s amorphous dining table crafted from discarded doors found on the site.

The kitchen door was fitted with a subtle keyhole, which was designed to be peeked through when crouching down.

This playfulness is echoed in the landscaped garden, where a green door was upcycled to conceal an outdoor drinks cabinet.

Eclectic patterns feature throughout the interior in the form of gridded floor tiles, wall hangings and ceramics. The works of established designers, including Martino Gamper and Bethan Laura Wood, can also be found across the colourful spaces.

Originally from Dublin, London-based Cossey founded her eponymous studio in 2020.

Elsewhere in De Beauvoir, local studio Architecture For London added a light-filled extension to a Victorian home. The neighbourhood is also home to Goodbye Horses, a wine bar that Leopold Banchini studio designed using “all the elements” of a single oak tree.

The photography is by Jim Stephenson.

The post Irenie Studio restores 1840s townhouse in De Beauvoir Square appeared first on Dezeen.

As the deadline for Dezeen Awards 2025 approaches, we’ve focused on colourful bathroom products with smart technologies and innovative materials to inspire your entries for our new bathroom product design category.

Bathroom brands, designers and manufacturers continue to integrate new technologies and finishes into designs for baths, showers, toilets, sinks, taps and built-in furniture, to balance practicality and comfort in wet rooms.

Ranging from a bright orange centrepiece smart toilet to an egg-shaped bath made for two, these products feature high-quality, easy-to-clean finishes such as composite resin, waterproof cork and corrosion-resistant stainless steel that would make a statement in any bathroom.

Read on to see which products would make a stand-out entry into Dezeen Awards.

Formation 02 by Samuel Ross for Kohler

Designer and Dezeen Awards 2025 judge Samuel Ross designed this asymmetrical bright-orange smart toilet for bathroom brand Kohler from composite resin.

Formation 02, with its sharp angles, takes cues from brutalist architecture and integrates smart technologies, including a heated seat and nightlight for ultimate comfort.

Find out more about Formation 02 ›

BetteBalance by Tesseraux & Partner for Bette

A series of slender, titanium steel sinks completes the BetteBalance range, a collection of washbasins designed by Tesseraux & Partner for Bette.

Available in matte black, mint green and satin blue colourways, BetteBalance pivots away from traditional ceramic basins with its rounded steel form, and can be easily built-in or undermounted into a countertop.

Find out more about BetteBalance ›

Vis-à-vis by Marco Carini for Agape

Marco Carini’s recycled cork Vis-à-vis stool and Rendez-vous bench provide a relaxing place to perch and double as a side table for the bathroom.

The two-piece collection, designed for Italian bathroom brand Agape, comprises a cylindrical cork stool with a “smiling” shaped cut-out and a bench made from hand-woven cork ropes, all sourced from discarded wine bottle cork stoppers.

Find out more about Vis-à-vis ›

Kartell by Laufen

Swiss brand Laufen and Italian company Kartell collaborated on a ceramic bathroom range mixed with transparent accessories.

The collection embodies a “widest spectrum of tastes,” from ceramic washbasins and toilets to transparent shelving, mirrors and soap dishes.

Find out more about Kartell ›

Hum tapware by Philippe Malouin for Quadro

Designer Philippe Malouin used a minimalist approach for Italian brand Quadro Design‘s Hum collection, which includes a freestanding basin, bath taps and shower kit.

Each fixture incorporates an elegant design with corrosion-resistant brushed stainless-steel in curved and straight cylindrical elements.

Find out more about Hum tapware ›

Artis sink by Villeroy & Boch

Vibrant hues define Villeroy & Boch’s Artis, a surface-mounted washbasin made from the brand’s patented ceramic material.

Available in ten colourways, Artis also features small-scale, round and oval iterations designed for compact residential or commercial bathrooms.

Find out more about Artis sink ›

Meisterstück Oyo Duo bath by Stefan Diez for Kaldewei

Designer Stefan Diez and German bathroom brand Kaldewei created this egg-shaped tub for two, providing the perfect spot to unwind.

The freestanding, steel enamel Meisterstück Oyo Duo tub adds a spa-like atmosphere and includes two symmetrical backrests for maximum comfort.

Find out more about Meisterstück Oyo Duo bath ›

Enter by 29 May!

Have you completed a similar product? Find out about our product design (bathroom) category alongside all this year’s categories here. Log in or create an account via our new entry platform to begin your entries.

There are just two weeks left till entries close for Dezeen Awards. Submit your projects by 23:59 London time on 29 May to avoid late entry fees.

Dezeen Awards 2025 in partnership with Bentley

Dezeen Awards is the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The eighth edition of the annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley’s architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world.

The post Seven striking and practical bathroom products appeared first on Dezeen.

Tennis players know the struggle of finding consistent practice partners who match their skill level and availability. Traditional ball machines offer repetitive feeds but lack the dynamic interaction that makes tennis truly engaging and effective for skill development. While these machines can help with basic shot repetition, they fail to simulate the unpredictability, movement, and strategic elements that define real match play, leaving serious players with a significant gap in their training options.

Enter Acemate, the revolutionary tennis robot that transforms solo practice into an authentic rally experience. Unlike conventional ball machines that simply shoot balls in predetermined patterns, Acemate actively moves across the court, tracks your shots with 4K binocular vision, and returns balls with human-like groundstrokes that respond to your play style. This breakthrough technology creates a training experience that closely mimics actual match conditions, allowing players to develop not just technical skills but also the tactical awareness and decision-making abilities essential for competitive success.

Designer: Acemate

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The robot’s 4K binocular camera system represents a quantum leap beyond the monocular vision found in other training devices. By capturing depth and speed similar to human eyes, Acemate achieves centimeter-level accuracy in tracking both the ball and your movements across the court. This precision enables the robot to position itself optimally for returns while analyzing your technique in real time, providing an experience that feels remarkably natural and responsive compared to the static drills of traditional practice methods.

Players of all levels will appreciate Acemate’s versatile training modes designed to target specific aspects of the game. The Baseline Rally mode delivers customizable groundstrokes that keep you moving laterally and testing your consistency from the back of the court. Mini-court Rally offers gentler exchanges perfect for beginners or warm-up sessions, while Net Rally mode focuses on volleys with controlled feeds that enhance your reactions and hand-eye coordination at the net, addressing the full spectrum of skills needed for complete player development.

Advanced players seeking higher-intensity training will love the Pro-level Simulation mode, which recreates iconic rally patterns inspired by ATP and Grand Slam matches. This feature allows you to experience the rhythm and intensity of professional exchanges, pushing your footwork, shot selection, and stamina to new heights. For serve practice, Acemate functions as both ball boy and coach, delivering balls directly to your hand while measuring serve speed and tracking placement accuracy, eliminating the tedious ball collection that typically interrupts valuable practice time.

This versatility is thanks to Acemate’s mobility system, featuring four Mecanum wheels that allow omnidirectional movement, enabling the robot to glide across the court with surprising agility. This movement capability means you’ll be challenged to hit shots to different court positions just as you would against a human opponent, improving your court coverage and shot placement under realistic conditions. The robot adjusts its positioning based on your shots, creating the dynamic back-and-forth that makes tennis so engaging and developing the spatial awareness that static training simply cannot provide.

The companion app transforms your smartphone or Apple Watch into a powerful training command center, offering real-time performance metrics and customization options from ball velocity to landing spots to shot types. After each session, receive comprehensive reports detailing your performance, as well as actionable insights that guide your improvement with the precision of professional coaching. The robot’s compact form and retractable handle make it surprisingly portable, and compatibility with all court surfaces without special setups maximizes your valuable practice time.

With Acemate, your tennis practices transform from monotonous ball feeding into dynamic, responsive training that mirrors match conditions. Players gain a consistent, tireless partner that adapts to their level while providing detailed performance analytics previously available only to professionals. This breakthrough technology finally solves tennis’s fundamental training challenge, allowing players to develop complete game awareness and tactical skills even when hitting solo on the court.

Click Here to Buy Now: $1499 $2329 ($830 off). Hurry, only 28/290 left! Raised over $1,001,000.

The post Ace Your Tennis Training with Acemate’s Revolutionary Rally Robot first appeared on Yanko Design.

In the quiet streets of Tottenham, London, a modest 1970s clergy house has been reimagined as an environmentally conscious family home, cloaked in the textured warmth of cork. Known as Nina’s House, the transformation was led by design studio Nina+Co in partnership with ROAR Architects, demonstrating how regenerative materials and thoughtful design can be used to turn a passive facade into an engaging and high-performing community landmark.

At the heart of this “deep retrofit” is cork, a material considered as poetic in its physical presence as it is powerful in its technical performance. Once cold and uninspiring, the building has been made to radiate warmth, curiosity, and intention, as it has been covered entirely in expanded cork panels. Dark, mottled, and tactile, this natural cladding is made to invite the hands of schoolchildren, the questions of neighbors, and the admiration of passersby.

Designer: Nina+Co and ROAR Architects

The use of cork in architecture represents a shift toward biomaterials that are both high-performing and sensorially engaging. As a material, cork combines sustainability with durability, offering a renewable alternative to synthetics while delivering superior insulation. It reduces the building’s embodied carbon and enhances its energy efficiency, making it a strategic material choice for climate-resilient design.

Cork, which is harvested from the bark of cork oak trees, is known as a renewable and biodegradable material with strong insulation properties. In Nina’s House, expanded cork was chosen for its regenerative farming practices, zero synthetic binders, and minimal build-up requirements; no plastic membranes or toxic adhesives were included. Its low-impact manufacturing process uses only heat to expand the cork, further emphasizing its role in environmentally responsible construction.

According to Nina Woodcroft, founder of Nina+Co, cork stands out as a natural material that is not only effective but also appeals to the senses. She emphasized her fascination with cork’s scent, feel, and sustainable story, noting that this project used cork for both function and visual impact. The house, she explained, was intentionally wrapped in a breathable and insulating material to offer both environmental performance and gentle street presence.

Cork’s application at Nina’s House challenges the misconception that natural materials are limited to rustic or niche aesthetics. Instead, it demonstrates how cork can serve as a contemporary architectural finish, one that ages gracefully and contributes to long-term resilience.

Rather than extend the home, the existing footprint was maximized. The ground floor layout was opened up, and the small garage and porch were brought into the thermal envelope, so that a sense of flow and cohesion was created. Budget was directed toward infrastructure: the gas supply was removed, underfloor heating and an air-source heat pump were installed, airtightness was improved, and all glazing was replaced with high-performance alternatives, including suspended film technology and triple glazing.

Expanded cork was made to play a starring role both outside and in. On the facade, it is used as an insulating skin; inside, cork can also be seen in flooring, while walls have been finished with lime-based plaster containing cork granules. In areas where external insulation was not possible, these lime plasters were applied to provide an internal thermal buffer. The decision to leave some internal surfaces raw and sealed with a non-toxic glaze was made both for stylistic and economical reasons, so that practicality could be blended with beauty.

Cork’s versatility enables it to be used beyond cladding. Its acoustic properties make it ideal for interior finishes, especially in homes that aim to be peaceful and meditative. It also helps regulate humidity and temperature indoors, supporting healthier living environments.

Throughout the house, reclaimed and local materials have been used to reflect a low-waste, high-value design ethos. Pine floorboards that were removed for structural work were reworked into ceiling cladding. A statement kitchen island, designed by Woodcroft, was crafted by local artisans from a London Plane tree that had been felled in Soho Square, an urban tree that was given new life by the organization Fallen & Felled. The kitchen also features recycled plastic countertops, by which the home’s dedication to circularity is echoed.

All joinery was made ultra-locally using British Douglas Fir tri-ply board, thereby showing how sustainable design can be used to support local economies while reducing carbon impact.

The cork cladding is expected to last between 15 to 25 years. When its surface has weathered, lime render will be applied over it, so that its life can be extended while its appearance is subtly altered. This long-term approach reflects a preference for resilience over superficial finishes. Cork’s biodegradability also ensures that it can return safely to the earth at the end of its lifecycle, reinforcing the circular logic behind its use.

In total, Nina’s House measures 112 m² (1,206 ft²), modest in scale but grand in vision. Its open-plan layout has been designed to support a young family’s dynamic lifestyle, with zones for connection and quiet being offered. Movement, gathering, and even dancing are encouraged, so that sustainability can be felt less like a constraint and more like freedom.

The post This 1970s House Gets a Sustainable Cork Makeover And It’s Disrupting London Architecture first appeared on Yanko Design.