Swedish design studio Claesson Koivisto Rune will present a modular table system with plug sockets within the structure during Stockholm Design Week next month (+ slideshow).
Designed for Swedish furniture brand Offecct, the Xtra Large table can be extended to create a giant workspace. Claesson Koivisto Rune designed the system so a single piece of furniture could be used to create a flexible office space.
The table can be expanded over time and once it gets to certain size it can be used by employees working independently at one end while a meeting is held at the other.
“We wanted to create a hybrid between a meeting table and a writing desk; a table big enough to work undisturbed with your laptop but still be able to start up a conversation with someone sitting opposite,” said studio co-founder Eero Koivisto. “Even if there is a meeting taking place at the far end of the table.”
The table surface of each module is held up by two chunky cylindrical legs and braced by a square beam, which contains power sockets at each end. Electric wiring runs through the beams and down through the legs to keep the workspace free of cables.
“We have maximised a regular table with all the functions demanded in a modern office today,” said Koivisto. “You could say that this table is the equivalent of a Hercules aeroplane.”
French designer Mathieu Lehanneur has wrapped a pattern of woven rattan around one side of this radio for design brand Lexon, which is on show at the Maison&Objet trade fair that begins today in Paris.
Lehanneur used the natural material on his Hybrid radio for Lexon as a contrast to the digital technology. “Digital intelligence is blended here with a raw material, what might be called smart and craft,” said Lehanneur.
Formed from dried palm-like grasses and woven into a flexible material, the rattan is wrapped around one of the curved ends of the radio and framed by plastic on all sides.
Disks sticking out of the other end control the volume and radio frequency, which is shown using a small digital display on the front. The chunky antenna that pops from the top can be adjusted up and down to receive the best signal.
Small and large sizes are available, and both come with either a white or graphite-coloured case. The radio is being presented at Maison&Objet fair at the Nord Villepinte exhibition centre outside Paris, which commences today and runs until 28 January.
A bright red shipping container at the entrance to the offices of Cape Town branding agency 99c houses a waiting room for visitors.
The shipping container is one of several unusual interventions introduced by South African firm Inhouse Brand Architects, which was tasked with converting the top three floors of a new development in the east of the city that overlooks the nearby harbour.
The concept for the interior focuses on separating the work spaces from breakout areas that facilitate communication between employees and can be used for meetings or informal teamwork.
“The latest office design thinking contends that collaboration happens at the water cooler and does not necessarily need to tie up an office space or a meeting room that has been earmarked for client use, and often stands empty for most of the day,” said Inhouse creative director Aidan Hart.
To foster a greater sense of integration between employees on different floors, the architects removed a section of the concrete slab between the eighth and ninth storeys and inserted a new staircase that encourages movement around the whole office.
An existing staircase ascending to a mezzanine above the ninth floor was also replaced with a new wooden structure that resembles bleacher-style benches and incorporates steps that can be used as seating.
A large projection screen can be lowered so the steps become a screening room for watching films or reviewing work, while the space underneath the wooden addition hides a small kitchen.
Greenery is used throughout the interior, including in an indoor garden that features six potted trees and cafe furniture positioned on a wooden platform. Elsewhere, plants create green walls that visually separate some of the rooms.
Simple and sustainable materials such as pine and chunky chipboard introduce tactile surfaces that contrast with the building’s concrete floor and steel framework.
Surfaces painted burnt orange, blue, black and lime green are used to demarcate meeting areas and reference the client’s brand identity, while dome pendants with brightly coloured interiors add an extra splash of colour.
The architects sent us the following project description:
99c offices by Inhouse Brand Architects
When Inhouse Brand Architects was approached to create the new Cape Town offices of top local advertising agency 99c, its interior design team used the opportunity to produce an extraordinary – yet more efficient – work environment that sounds the death knell of the conventional office.
Inhouse approached the design process with several key goals, the first, being to enhance the already spectacular site. The 3000 square meter premises occupy the top three levels of the Atlantic Centre, a new office development on Cape Town’s eastern foreshore. There is a magnificent double-volume interior partly broken by a mezzanine level, and one floor below. Fantastic views wrap around the building, taking in the harbour and Devil’s Peak. Being as yet unoccupied, it was an empty shell to start with… Inhouse’s second goal was to create a fully functioning environment to suit the client’s daily business needs; and the third, was to reflect the creative nature of the agency and its employees.
Before starting any design work, an extensive study into the company’s daily activities was undertaken. The Inhouse team, steered by Inhouse Creative Director Aidan Hart and team leader and senior designer Moiisha Visagie, looked at the employees’ possible needs from the perspective of Activity-Based Work principles and was then able to provide 99c with an understanding of what the most effective space-planning layout would be.
Inhouse allowed for all types of interaction and both “high-focus” and “high-communication” zones. High-focus zones were defined as individual desks where interaction with others would be minimized. High-communication zones were defined as spaces that would encourage and allow for teamwork, interaction and collaboration.
In a more traditional office environment, a meeting room or cafeteria would constitute a high-communication zone. Here, however, the need to meet less formally is catered for by various, so-called “campsites”, which are collaborative, shared spaces. According to Hart, “the latest office design thinking contends that collaboration happens at the water-cooler and does not necessarily need to tie up an office space or a meeting room that has been earmarked for client use, and often stands empty for most of the day.”
Hence, making optimal use of the available area and encouraging collaboration and connectivity, were crucial to Inhouse’s scheme. Particularly, because the office is split over three separate levels.
According to Hart, stimulating connectivity is paramount because one of the problems with corporate office space is level-by-level stagnation where departments are divided into operational silos that foster an “us and them” mentality. “We feel as a design company that part of our strength lies in enhancing cross-floor communications and hopefully improving inter-personal connectivity. In this instance, the client was progressive, and wanted to use the opportunity presented to improve the work environment,” says Hart.
According to 99c Managing Director Andrew Brand, it was “important that our new office space not only expresses our creativity but also encourages and enhances it. As an agency, 99c creates the positive change that our clients require to achieve brand success, and we also embrace this ethos ourselves in our daily lives and work environment.”
To achieve greater connectivity for the 99c team, Inhouse cut a hole in the existing concrete slab between the 8th and 9th floors (where the mezzanine level is located) and inserted a new stairwell. The boardroom was intentionally placed on the 8th floor, away from the 9th floor reception and lounge areas, in order to force movement between the floors.
The existing staircase between the 9th floor and the mezzanine level was also removed and a new stadium structure was installed. The structure houses (and cleverly hides) the kitchen that services the café and bar area below. The stadium steps double as a staircase leading to and from the mezzanine as well as unassigned seating, providing an arena that is a gathering spot for the entire company. A large motorized projection screen, that is discretely hidden when not in use, turns the arena into a big-screen cinema to review work, or watch advertisements and films.
A series of semi-private pods and high-energy meeting spaces was created throughout the space to allow employees to interact freely without tying up “valuable” or already booked “real estate” like boardrooms. These areas reveal a select palette that incorporates the corporate colours. Burnt orange, blue, black and lime yellow are used to brighten detailing and feature walls. Colourful elements include oversized dome pendants that illuminate the generous space.
Taking advantage of this double-volume span, Inhouse installed 6 large trees around which café tables were structurally laid out. This indoor, landscaped garden was positioned on decking and raised slightly to demarcate a communal, informal zone. In addition to the trees, numerous living walls were placed throughout the space to link it to the natural environment. The green factor enhances the interior for the user and softens the office environment.
Honest and sustainable materials such as pine and plywood were used extensively throughout. Textured-looking Oriented Strand Board (OSB), which has a patterned yet smooth finish, was used extensively for tactile impact and warmth. Moreover, it achieves a stylish effect for a modest cost.
In keeping with the theme of sustainability and respect for the natural environment that runs throughout – and also as a nod to the creative nature of the agency’s skills – a recycled shipping container has been innovatively converted into an up-to-the-minute waiting room. It’s “out the box” thinking ironically demonstrated in a box… The container also echoes 99c’s purpose – it exists to produce creative solutions that are shipped around the globe, just as the container, in its original form, is a quintessential method of moving goods around the planet. With the office’s panoramic views of container ships in the harbour, the waiting room serves a subtle reminder to 99c employees of the importance of client service and delivery. In turn, what Inhouse has delivered is a world-class office solution, one that embraces elements of Activity-Based Work thought-systems and tailors these into a standout, contemporary environment for its client.
Latticed wooden screens form balustrades for a red pigmented concrete staircase inside this renovated mews house in west London by British studio Jonathan Tuckey Design.
Named Submariner’s House, the three-storey residence was redesigned by Jonathan Tuckey Design for a resident who used to work on a submarine. This client asked for a home that maximises space and includes a new basement and roof terrace.
The compact proportions of the building led to a simple layout with one main room on each floor and a focal staircase that runs along one wall.
“Our ambition was to provide a series of new domestic spaces that were pulled together as a whole by a new staircase and voids between the different levels to create a psychologically expanded space,” said project architect Ryuta Hirayama.
Red pigment was added to concrete to give a warm colour to the staircase. It is fronted by screens made from timber slats, which are white washed so that they appear bleached and have diagonal braces for handrails.
On the ground floor, an illuminated glass box sits at the end of the staircase to allow light to reach a shower room in the basement.
The rest of the newly excavated basement is used as a games room. Felt-lined walls slide back to reveal shelves and cupboards, and the room can also be partitioned to create a small guest bedroom.
More built-in cupboards line the walls of a ground-floor kitchen and dining room, while old stable doors open the room out to the quiet street.
The living room occupies the first floor and the client’s bedroom can be found on the storey above. There’s also an en suite bathroom including a limestone bath and a skylight with adjustable opacity.
Here’s a project description from Jonathan Tuckey Design:
Submariner’s House
Reconstruction of a mews house in the conservation area of St Luke’s Mews, west London.
Brief
Full refurbishment of a three storey mews house and construction of a new basement for a private client who is an ex-submariner. The house consists of a kitchen/dining room on the ground floor, living room on the 1st floor,bedroom/bathroom on the 2nd floor and media room in the basement which can also be used as a guest bedroom.
This late Victorian mews house is located in a conservation area allowing us only minor alteration works to the external facade. Briefed to maximise both the living and storage space in this small mews house, our ambition was to provide a series of new domestic spaces that were pulled together as a whole by a new staircase and voids between the different levels to create a psychologically expanded space.
Concrete stairs and screen
The staircase is made from red pigmented concrete and is veiled in a delicate screen of whitened timber slats that acts as both balustrade and room divider. In places this screen parts to reveal views through the house and, together with the strategically positioned new windows, helps to join the different levels and spaces of the house into one. Polished plaster walls also tie the spaces together and draw light deep in to the building.
A newly excavated basement allowed for the addition of a new media room and guest accommodation and a sequence of felt-lined panels and cupboards allow this space to accommodate its mix of functions.
The main entrance garage door can be opened out a full 180 degrees and with an integrated folding table can create a dining room extended into the street. A glass box by the entrance door lets natural light into the basement shower room. The entire polished plaster wall alongside the kitchen/dining room conceals a cupboard with black MDF shelves.
Skylight on the pitched bathroom roof allows natural light to flood into the bedroom. A control on the skylight allows the client to adjust the opacity of the glass while looking up at the sky from the bathtub. Bathtub is made of limestone and the floor is tiled with natural cement tiles.
Wooden structures and traditional joinery are used in this Melbourne takeaway chicken shop by local interior designers Hecker Guthrie to evoke the appearance of a chicken coop.
The cafe in Port Melbourne is named Foxes Den after the animals renowned for pilfering chickens from their roosts, so Hecker Guthrie played on this theme by referencing the wooden enclosures used to keep chickens. The studio created pine wood structures that house the kitchen, serving area and dining tables.
“The built forms inserted into Foxes Den where informed by agricultural shapes and framing ideas seen in chicken coops, and also barn forms and lean-tos,” said Hecker Gutherie senior interior designer Josh Watt.
The structure in the centre of the space is used as a dining table. Beige canvas blinds around the sides aim to make the otherwise open four-poster table more intimate.
Screens made from diagonal planks, wooden beams and columns appear to be dip-dyed in orange paint. The walls are lined with concrete panels and dark slate tiles are used for the floor.
“There is certain nostalgia to the diagonal pine wall linings, which provide warmth and texture against the concrete and canvas,” the designers said.
Pine wood stools designed to match the other carpentry each have three legs locked together with a metal joint, created by Australian designer Henry Wilson. Benches and shelving along the walls support plant boxes that hang from the ends of the surfaces.
The menu is written on blackboards above the counter, which is covered in white tiles across the front. Photography is by Shannon McGrath.
This boxy wooden cabin with an assortment of circular and rectangular windows was built by Hungarian studio T2.a Architects in just two days in a forest outside Budapest (+ slideshow).
Bence Turanyi of T2.a Architects designed the Photographer’s House for his friend, photographer Zsolt Batar.
The architect used prefabricated and cross-laminated timber panels to construct the house, meaning it could be put together extremely quickly and easily.
Both the architect and the photographer brought different ideas to the project, but their overall aim was for “a building which looks good and unique, is of excellent quality, and can be built during very short time and for a reasonable price”.
“When two different ways of thinking meet, the result is something completely new,” said Turanyi. “Our conversations about art, architecture and design were brought to life in this house.”
Rectangular windows stretch around each corner of the building, while smaller square and circular windows are positioned along the sides.
There are two floors inside the cabin; an open-plan lounge and dining room make up most of the ground floor, while a pair of bedrooms and bathrooms can be found upstairs.
Wooden panels line walls, ceilings and floors throughout the house, and floor-to-ceiling windows offer views out into the surrounding forest.
Architect Bence Turanyi and photographer Zsolt Batar decided to unify their artistic and professional visions, and the result of their work is an extraordinary house in a forest. The idea behind the building was to create harmony among man, nature and economic aspects. The sustainable wooden house breathes together with the surrounding trees, and its life is documented by the artist who lives in it. The house was one of the favourites of the international jury for Hungary’s Media Architecture Prize 2013.
If I would have to tell one story to define contemporary Hungarian architecture, among the finalists of 2013, it would definitely be the story of Bence Turanyi’s house – this is how Daniel Kovacs, member of the professional jury of the Hungarian Media Prize 2013 commented on The Photographer’s House.
The birth of this exceptional building is the result of the co-operation between an architect and a photographer, which is much more than a traditional client-architect relationship. Owner of the house, renown architectural photographer Zsolt Batar is an old friend of Bence Turanyi. The two brought ideas and ways of thinking from their own areas, and unified them in a common project.
“When two different ways of thinking meet, the result is something completely new. Our conversations about art, architecture and design were brought to life in this house.” – says Bence Turanyi about the crossover experience. For Zsolt Batar, the house is not only a home, but also a source of inspiration. The series about the house has become an important milestone in his artistic career: he records the relationship of the house and the forest day by day, in every season.
Architecture is in a new and challenging situation nowadays thanks to significant changes in the economical and social environment. We still need well-structured, quality houses, but often there is a choice among sustainability, technology and price. The creators wanted a building which looks good and unique, and is of excellent quality, while it can be built during very short time and for a reasonable price. A mere week passed between sending the digital data to the manufacturer and the completion of structural assembly on site, while the House was built in two days. The structural framework of the House is made of prefabricated, cross laminated and glued timber panels (CLT).
The Photographer’s House is a unique example of slow design: you can get your hands dirty while you collect wood from the forest to heat the fireplace, it sharpens all your senses thanks to the vivid presence of the forest, and it creates an emotional bond among man and nature. The House literally breathes together with forest, while in the inside there is the constant smell of wood. And this special smell is part of the living structure of the building. In wintertime, the fireplace heats the house, while during summer nights cool breezes from the woods are let through the open windows.
Architect: T2.a Architects Location: Pilis forest, near Budapest, Hungary Architect in charge: Turanyi Bence Collaborator: Pinczes Eva Area: 120 sqm Year: 2012
Microscopic views of flower petals informed the rippled timber facade of this flower kiosk in west London by British firm Buchanan Partnership (+ slideshow).
Buchanan Partnership used a combination of digital and handmade fabrication techniques to build the St Helen’s Gardens flower stall in Ladbroke Grove.
Horizontal timber slats were CNC-cut with wavy profiles to create a rippling effect around the facade. These were then layered up and bolted to a galvanised steel structure that sits on the lozenge-shaped concrete base.
The studio wanted to look beyond conventional floral motifs for the small commission. “We took inspiration from electron scanning microscopic images of flower petals, which reveal tiny three-dimensional ridge patterns across the petal surface,” said architect Kyle Buchanan.
The kiosk doors rotate open during the day, creating space to prepare and wrap the flowers on the Accoya timber countertop.
Stainless steel letters spelling out “THE KIOSK” sit on the roof of the structure.
The flowers are displayed on shelves that are placed on the surrounding pavement, and are stored and locked in the kiosk at night.
This project came about as part of a change of use application for a neighbouring shop, which had previously been a florist. Initially turned down by planners, the project won approval after gaining huge local support.
“London has an interesting history of kiosk buildings, including the ornate ironwork public toilet on Foley Street and the police station in Trafalgar Square, which is in the base of a lamp post and was the smallest police station in the world when it was manned,” he said.
The project is one of the first completed by the practice’s recently opened London office.
Here’s a project description from Buchanan Partnership:
Flower Kiosk
A new permanent flower kiosk in Ladbroke Grove, built using digital and handcrafted fabrication techniques.
This project, for a permanent flower kiosk in Ladbroke Grove, came about as part of a change of use application for the neighbouring retail unit, which had previously been used as a florist.
The concept for the rippling CNC-cut timber layers of the facade resulted from an ambition to reinvent the conventional idea of a floral motif.
We took inspiration from electron scanning microscopic images of flower petals, which reveal tiny three-dimensional ridge patterns across the petal surface. These ridges intensify the colour of the flower and act as a graspable surface for bees and other insects.
Using both digital and traditional fabrication techniques, the ridges are referenced in the external form of the kiosk, so that the nano-condition of the petal is translated into a contemporary interpretation of the floral motif in the architecture.
The lozenge shape of the kiosk rotates to be open during the day, creating space to prepare and wrap the flowers. The flowers are displayed on shelves that are placed on the surrounding pavement, and are stored and locked in the kiosk at night.
Contract value: £47,000 Location: St Helen’s Gardens, London Client: Mountgrange Heritage and The Cundall Partnership Fabrication: William Hardie Design Planning Consultant: Ian Fergusson of Turley Associates Structural Engineers: Tall Engineers
Dutch architecture studio OMA installed tessellated wood curtains as part of its design of the Paris flagship store for French fashion label Maison Ullens (+ slideshow).
Maison Ullens’ first Paris store was designed closely with the brand’s founder to ensure the interior complimented the attire on show.
“The project was developed through a close and personal relationship with Mrs Ullens,” OMA partner David Gianotten told Dezeen. “Therefore the interior design of the store became a good combination of the modern architectural style of OMA and the brand philosophy of Maison Ullens.”
The designers divided the space into public and private areas using a wall covered in ivory-coloured onyx stone. In the entrance space, a single statement garment is hung from a brass hook on a section of the onyx wall below the brand’s logo.
Golden panels line the doorway between the two display rooms on one side of the wall. Garments are on show in the first central area and accessories are presented in the other room.
The tones in these spaces are muted to show off the clothing and so the interior remains appropriate for future fashion trends. “The colours of the materials were kept neutral, except for the brass accent,” said Gianotten. “Therefore the collection and the interior will shape and re-invent the identity of the space based on the fashion seasons.”
Surrounded by dark wood walls, the area at the back of the store is divided into a series of small spaces that contain a fitting room, a small bar and a lounge for entertaining private clients. The store opened this week on Rue de Marignan in central Paris, to coincide with the city’s haute couture fashion week.
This house in the Dutch city of Almere by Swedish architect Johan Selbing and Swiss landscape architect Anouk Vogel is completely covered in reflective glass to allow it to blend in with its surroundings (+ slideshow).
Selbing and Vogel designed the private house for a plot in an experimental housing development in Almere – a city that was only established in 1976 but now has over 195,000 residents – in response to a competition brief calling for a building that would relate to a site within a forest clearing.
The house’s simple boxy shape is constructed from an aluminium frame that supports panels of toughened mirrored glass, with a mirrored composite panel running around the top and bottom edges of the facade.
“The Mirror House is a private villa with a facade consisting entirely of reflective glass, which acts as a camouflage and an obstruction of the view of its interior,” explained the architects.
Doors sits flush against the facade and are only noticeable thanks to handles that project from the surface and a change in the ground level that rises to meet the height of the floor inside the building.
An entrance at the the side of the building leads into a compact interior with a home office at one end and master and guest bedrooms at the other.
Sliding partitions between these rooms and the open-plan kitchen and living space can be opened or closed to meet different requirements.
“Long sight lines in the interior make the house appear larger from the inside, and anchor it to its surroundings,” the architects pointed out.
Surfaces are covered in pale birch multiplex panels that compliment the light-filled interior and views of the nearby trees.
Built-in storage covers one wall and is punctuated by a secret window that looks onto the street but is invisible from outside.
Selbing and Vogel were one of twelve winning entrants in the design competition. They were invited to construct their building but had to source a client to pay for it.
“In dialogue with the client, the competition proposal was worked out to the smallest detail, taking a demand for optimum accessibility into consideration,” the architects added.
The Mirror House is a private villa with a facade consisting entirely of reflective glass, which acts as a camouflage and an obstruction of the view of its interior. The floor plan has been designed to be as compact as possible, with the possibility to adapt to different lifestyles. All interior walls are covered with a birch multiplex panel, whose warm appearance contrasts with the elegant and strict glass facade.
After De Realiteit and De Fantasie, the third edition of small experimental housing settlements in Almere has been launched under the title De Eenvoud. The brief of the competition called for an individual house with a strong relation to its surroundings. The twelve winning teams were given the possibility to realise their designs in an open area in the forest of Noorderplassen-West, but had to find the buyers of the houses themselves.
The Mirror House is a private villa with a facade consisting entirely of reflective glass, which acts as a camouflage and an obstruction of the view of its interior. The floor plan has been designed to be as compact as possible, with the possibility to adapt to different lifestyles. In dialogue with the client, the competition proposal was worked out to the smallest detail, taking a demand for optimum accessibility into consideration.
The original concept with a slightly raised floor (for a better view), sliding doors, built-in cupboards and a single-level layout, has therefore been further refined. Long sight lines in the interior make the house appear larger from the inside, and anchor it to its surroundings. All interior walls are covered with a birch multiplex panel, whose warm appearance contrasts with the elegant and strict glass facade.
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