Hasta La Ideas

“The Wrights preached practicality over the ‘total absurdity of the Old Dream,’ and no place was riper for implementing their vision than ‘The Vanishing Dining Room.’ Conceding that, to ‘a reader accustomed to a room devoted only to dining, with fixed and formal furniture, we may seem to have done frightening and unstabilizing things,’ the Wrights’ iconoclastic solutions included placing the dining table on lockable casters, so that it could be rolled next to the sink for clearing after the meal; using disposable paper plates and cups to eliminate part of the dishwashing chores, upholstering chairs in plasticized materials, and streamlining meals to limit the number of dishes and utensils needed—no more soup to open dinner, followed by salad, a garnished roast, and dessert; the one-dish, freezer-to-oven-to-table-casserole was king. Some of these suggestions have stood the test of time. Others have been dropped or modified to marry convenience with convention and aesthetics, although the rolling dining table, however intelligent, will always evoke images of Marx Brothers mishaps.”

-Culinary historian Cathy Kaufman on Russel and Mary Wright‘s 1950 Guide to Easier Living in “The Vanishing Dining Room,” an article that appears in the latest issue of Vintage Magazine

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An old brick and timber house appears to have been cut in two inside the new Shanghai flagship store for shoe brand Camper, designed by Chinese architects Neri&Hu (+ slideshow)

Intended to evoke the look and feel of one of Shanghai’s traditional narrow streets, the newly constructed building was inserted within an old industrial warehouse to turn the store into a “house within a house”.

“The Camper Showroom/Office in Shanghai recalls both the spatial qualities and the vibrant activities characteristic of life in a typical Shanghai alleyway, called a nong-tang,” explained architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu.

Constructed from reclaimed wooden frames and grey bricks, the house structure extends out from one wall of the interior. A mirror runs along one edge, creating the impression of a hinge, while the sliced edges are finished in bright red paint to match the block letters of Camper’s logo.

Offices are located within the house’s upper floors, while the lower level accommodates a traditional shop where shoes are presented on perforated bronze shelves that were custom made by the designers.

More shoes are attached to steel hooks and hang down from a series of suspended steel rods outside the house – a reference to clothes hanging out to dry.

The space below offers a gathering area, which can be used for hosting talks and presentations, and is naturally lit via a huge skylight.

Neri&Hu are the latest in a long list of well-known architects and designers to design interiors for Camper. Other recent stores include Nendo’s Camper New York, Shigeru Ban’s House of Shoes and a Lyon store by Studio Makkink & Bey with staircases that seem to go on forever.

Dezeen recently caught up with Camper founder Miguel Fluxá, who explained why the brand works with such a varied list of designers.

See more stories about Camper »
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Photography is by Dirk Weiblen, apart from where otherwise indicated.

Here’s more information from Neri&Hu:

Camper Showroom/Office
Shanghai, China

Drawing inspiration from the surrounding urban condition, the Camper Showroom/Office in Shanghai recalls both the spatial qualities and the vibrant activities characteristic of life in a typical Shanghai alleyway, called a “nong-tang”.

The exterior lane extends into the showroom creating a physical sectional cut of the new house and a gathering space used for presentations and talks. A mirrored surface at the end of the lane visually lengthens the sectional cut.

Neri&Hu inserted their interpretation of a brick and reclaimed wood clad two-storey house into the shell of an existing warehouse, resulting in a layering of spaces from exterior to interior to the in-between, which showcases a unique hanging shoe display.

The house is constructed out of timber framing using locally sourced reused wood and grey bricks as infill material. The wood salvaged from demolished lane houses reveal years of patina from paint, newspaper and wallpaper still attached to the planks.

A new skylight addition above heightens the experience of being in an exterior alley by casting long linear shadows across the walls throughout the day.

Several furniture pieces were custom designed for the project; the bronze perforated shelving, the Neri&Hu Solo Chair with special edition red legs, and a ‘Lazy Susan’ table for the Press Room.

The post Camper Shanghai
by Neri&Hu appeared first on Dezeen.

Exposed brickwork, pegboards and adaptable wooden display units feature in this Dublin clothing store by Irish studio Designgoat (+ slideshow).

Designgoat exposed the structural layers of a four-storey building to create the industrial interior for clothing and accessories brand Indigo & Cloth.

The main retail space is located on the ground floor and houses clothing, accessories and a coffee bar over a raw concrete floor.

Exposed brickwork lines the interior walls, while an adaptable shelving and display system enables the shop owners to customise the way they display products.

“The shelving on the ground floor was designed by us and built to be flexible,” Designgoat director Ahmad Fakhry told Dezeen. Each shelf can sit flat for displaying shoes and products, or at an angle to display magazines.

A long wooden display counter stretches along the centre of the space and doubles up as a coffee bar. The counter, benches and stools are all made from solid white ash and glass, and feature custom-made steel sockets for their powder-coated white legs.

On the back wall of the store, two pine pegboards are used for displaying accessories such as hats, shoes and bags.

The store extends to the first floor, where black painted steel and oak clothing rails display more clothing and products.

The second floor accommodates an office with customised light fittings and desks, while the top floor is being refurbished to create a photography studio, meeting space and storage area.

Other retail interiors we’ve featured recently include a pop-up skincare shop in Tokyo that has wooden chairs piled on top of one another and a bakery that features a tree growing out of its curved timber counter. See more shop interiors »

Photography is by Al Higgins.

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by Designgoat appeared first on Dezeen.

Architect Carles Enrich converted an old laundry space in Barcelona into an apartment that has a bookshelf merged with the staircase (+ slideshow).

Carles Enrich slotted three levels into the single-storey space to turn the dilapidated basement into a studio apartment for a young family, located in the Gràcia neighbourhood of the Catalan capital.

“[The project] is a fantastic opportunity to rethink the use of an unused place and optimise the conditions of the space,” said Enrich.

To create enough floor area, the south west portion of the long narrow plot was excavated to form a study and nursery.

Above this, a raised bedroom is supported on rows of black I-beams fixed to the wall on one side.

The other ends connect to vertical sections along the edge of the mezzanine, housing bookshelves in between that create low partitions.

The tops of the columns attach to more horizontal beams bolted to the opposite wall, high enough for people to walk underneath.

Steps up to the bedroom are suspended from the last two beams using thinner black metal elements. On the ground floor is the dining, kitchen and seating area.

A pergola-covered courtyard sits between this main building and a smaller single-storey volume containing more living space, with a terrace on its roof.

This outdoor living area can be seen from all spaces apart from the enclosed bathroom.

Original masonry walls and the small ceramic ceiling vaults between wooden beams were retained and exposed where possible. Brick and plasterwork have been painted white on most other walls.

The floor of the middle level is finished in a layer of polished concrete screed, while furniture and flooring downstairs are made from light wood.

Other apartments with combined bookshelf and staircases include another Barcelona apartment renovation, a loft conversion in north London and a South Korean house that also has an indoor slide.

See more combined bookshelves and staircases »
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More information from Carles Enrich follows:

Refurbishment of a studio-apartment in Gracia, Barcelona

The reconversion of an old laundry in the Gracia neighbourhood in a studio-apartment for a young family is a fantastic opportunity to rethink the use of an unused place and optimise the conditions of the space.

We propose to live in an open space, with the exception of the bathroom that is the only enclosed room. All the activities take place in a single space with visual contact of the interior patio. To achieve this, all the partitions that surrounded small rooms without natural light or ventilation where eliminated and the openings to the patio were extended.

The original materials are recovered, such as the brick walls, the ceramic ceiling and the wooden beams.

The lower excavation enables the incorporation of a loft made of metallic beams and a three-centimetre wood board, which works as an independent living area inside another bigger area, without being never enclosed room. This small loft is meant more like a suspended furniture than a room.

An old storage room at the back of the plot is converted into a satellite studio that operates independently from the main space. This fragmentation of the program makes the patio an intermediate space that can be used as an outdoor room most part of the year.

A pergola made of metal beams and a cane network provides privacy and climate control. The progressive growth of plants and trees generate a natural environment within the dense urban area.

The post Renovation of an apartment in Barcelona
by Carles Enrich appeared first on Dezeen.

Pastel gradients spread up the walls of this languages school in Valencia by local design studio Masquespacio (+ slideshow).

Masquespacio completed the interior design and brand identity at the 2Day Languages school for learning Spanish, inside a neoclassical building.

“We wanted to limit our intervention to a minimum,” said the studio’s creative director Ana Milena Hernández Palacios, “without forgetting the importance of equalising the mix between modern decoration and the beauty of the neoclassical architecture of the building.”

Decorative cornices and mouldings around doors, windows and columns were kept alongside new pine wood flooring and furniture.

Each classroom is colour coded with pastel blue, yellow or pink on the walls, metal chair legs and pendant light cages.

“Every classroom contains a different colour that is fading as if presenting the progress in language learning,” the designer said.

Wooden box lights overlap at right angles above study tables and are positioned in cross shapes over the reception desk.

There’s also a communal lounge for students to relax in, decorated sparingly with a combination of shades used elsewhere, plus a staff room.

Visitors can follow the colourful signs around the buildings to find the right room.

Small plant boxes have been attached to the walls, while other foliage grows in pots that dangle from the ceiling.

Thin samba wood slats form undulating ribbons that hide lights along the corridor ceilings.

The branding uses the same colour scheme and patterns as the interior, paired with bold fonts.

Other interiors of educational facilities we’ve posted include a public school in Amstelveen that uses poetry as a design device and the economics department at the ROC professional training school in Apeldoorn, both in the Netherlands.

Photographs are by David Rodríguez from Cualiti.

See more design for education »
See more architecture and design in Valencia »

Read on for Masquespacio’s project description:

Masquespacio present their last project done in a central area from Valencia, Spain. The studio specialised in interior design and communication created in this case the interior and the identity of 2Day Languages, a new Spanish school in Valencia.

This project in first case is based on the identity of 2Day Languages represented by a flag that is fused with a text bubble including the three fundamental characteristics of language learning: the levels, the goal and the conversation.

On the other hand it integrates the historic values from the city of Valencia that mixes modern and old architecture. A fusion symbolised in this new Spanish school through its neoclassical architecture and the intervention from Masquespacio’s designers. The space is developed on an area of 183 m2 that contains three classrooms, a staff room and a lounge. Each of the classrooms and common rooms are a defragmentation from the brand identity of 2Day Languages and also incorporate parts of the Spanish language and the architecture of Valencia.

In first place it can be seen that the classrooms are containing the three brand colours, which in turn are a representation of the three levels A, B and C established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, here seen as the colours blue, yellow and pink. Every classroom contains a different colour that is fading as if presenting the progress in language learning. On the other hand the sculptural lamps are another defragmentation from the graphical elements.

Ana Milena Hernández Palacios, creative director of Masquespacio comments: “As in the classrooms the students and their teachers are the protagonists, we wanted to limit our intervention to a minimum, without forgetting the freshness and ‘good feeling’ that needed to breathe each space, as well as the importance to equalise the mix between modern decoration and the beauty of the neoclassical architecture of the building. We opted for warm materials like pine to generate pleasurable sensations with functional features to make easier the school operations. Two tables instead of one in each classroom were chosen to be separated and stacked during activities. Also the chairs were chosen to offer maximum comfort to the students and with stack options for better circulation during activities.”

Getting out of the classrooms in the common areas, where the students of the different levels meet each other, levels and colours are mixed up together. This happens in the reception, but also in the hall through little shreds from the gradient colours added to the bottom part of the wooden ceiling. Last but not least the lounge room follows the same unity of colours, but this time merged into the decorative elements subtracted from the brand identity. Undoubtedly this part of the project is the one where the decoration has a more prominent role, faithful to the design established in other parts of the school. Headliner here is the representation of the communication elements, relevant words of the Spanish language and some icons from the architecture of Valencia, using a technique of knitting with wool and nails.

Masquespacio in this project wanted to remain true to its philosophy traduced into creativity, identity and democratic design always under the concept of designing a space to live and enjoy with a freshness that makes the users feel comfortable while being overwhelmed by emotions generated by the space itself.

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by Masquespacio appeared first on Dezeen.