Hasta La Ideas

A floating white box glides through this fashion boutique in Japan designed by Tokyo studio Specialnormal Inc. (+ slideshow).

Located inside a shopping mall in Kobe, the Note et Silence boutique was designed like a stage set, where moving walls and rooms can be used to reconfigure the layout of the space.

“Humour and playfulness were key when we started this project,” explained designer Shin Takahashi. “If the box is placed near the entrance, it creates a corridor and a very aggressive atmosphere. If it is placed at the back of the shop, it creates a bigger area. With the effect of the box, the space can be configured for different scenes like a gallery.”

Each of the sliding walls is suspended from the ceiling and none of them meet the floor, so the ankles and feet of customers can be spotted moving behind them.

Arched openings denote doorways, while square openings create windows to two sets of display shelves.

Other interesting Japanese shops we’ve featured include a boutique filled with doors and a shop with a little house inside.

See more shops interiors on Dezeen »

See more projects in Japan »

Photographs are by Koichi Torimura.

Floor Plan – click for larger image

Side elevation

Front elevation

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Specialnormal Inc. appeared first on Dezeen.

Freelance writers and journalists can work for as long as they want without being pestered by waiting staff at this black and white Parisian cafe by local design studio POOL.

Designed for professionals who don’t have a permanent office, Cafe Craft lets customers use the internet and power points while they work but doesn’t force them to continually order food and drink for the privilege.

“We chose black and white for the walls to highlight the architectural lines, staying mostly neutral so not to disturb the studious atmosphere,” designers Léa Padovani and Sébastien Kieffer told Dezeen. “We added yellow and brass details to blur the border between cosy cafe and workshop.”

Different floor materials denote the three areas of the cafe: speckled terrazzo is laid in the entrance, the serving area is surrounded by chequerboard tiles and herringbone parquet is used in the workspace area at the rear of the cafe.

Most of the furniture was designed or customised specifically for the cafe and is arranged to create a variety of working environments, such as the twelve-seat table in the middle of the workspace for collaborative work.

Noticeboards and shelves hang from a wall-mounted wire trellis, which also functions as a screen to separate seating areas.

The cafe is situated close to the Canal Saint-Martin, in an area with a large population of freelance writers, journalists and creative professionals.

Photography is by Samuel Kirszenbaum.

See all our stories about cafes »
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Here is some more information from Pool:

Design by POOL

POOL realized the graphic identity, interior design and most of the furniture of Craft. This is the first 360-degree project for the young studio founded in 2010 by Lea Padovani and Sebastien Kieffer. Dominated by the contrast of black and white, their project graphically highlights the architectural lines and plays on alternating floors to signify the various spaces, without hurting the depth of vision. Between diversion and refinement, noble and industrial materials, apparent mounting and precious finish, POOL expresses its dual style and writes a usage scenario faithfulto the spirit of the café.

Markings

Craft combines the visual codes of a coffee shop, an office and an apartment to give the space the shape of an ideal library. To materialize this ubiquity without betraying the unity of the place, POOL imagined three distinct floor areas and combined three materials rarely associated with each other.

Terrazzo

The place opens on a white-flecked black Terrazzo floor, a material often used in the mass catering universe. This is one of many winks sown by POOL as references to the imaginary of craft or industrial worlds. To complete the design, POOL added to the entrance a supported suspension light, which hangs over a conventional arrangement of tables.

Black and white tiles

Is the diamond shape POOL’s signature? Their first objects and projects were indeed giving hints in that direction, this project is confirming it. In a very subtle way, diamonds are present in the chevron-shaped junction between the terrazzo and the black-andwhite-checkered floor, which is a key feature in the imaginary of Parisian cafés. So is the alternating tiles motif on the baseboard around the counter, the second core area. Around it, apparently-pinned wooden stools are ennobled with a large brushed-brass handle to move them around easily. Thus, as it is often the case in furniture designed by POOL, the functional element becomes ornament; and so is the switch of the Vulcan lights, aligned on the large work table.

Herringbone parquet

Another chevron-shaped transition marks the junction between the checkered-tiles floor and the herringbone parquet, an implicit reference to the Haussmann-styled Parisian apartments. This area is split between the large coworking table and a lounge separated from the rest of the space by a metal trellis. Behind it, deep wooden benches covered with three-colored fabrics, mismatched coffee tables and a few ferns create a versatile environment suited both for focused meetings or total relaxation..

Community Table

At the heart of the concept, the large worktable embodies Craft’s identity. It provides clients with 12 comfortable workstations, from which they can freely use power outlets and Ethernet cables. The wooden apparent mounting of the base winks at the workshop while its composite material top surface refers to mass catering. Although from rustic inspiration, its details unveil unexpected sophistication, a duality that runs throughout the project and which characterizes the style POOL

Weft

Altogether separation element and wall decoration, the trellis frames echo the tile floor and offer a wide surface of expression. Halfway between a notebook page and a Facebook profile, it can bring together pictures, magazines, ads, menus and all sorts of information that calls to and stimulate the imagination of Craft’s regulars.

The post Cafe Craft
by POOL appeared first on Dezeen.

Glass bottles rest on rows of hand-made iron nails along the walls of this Aesop skin and haircare shop in Paris by French designers Ciguë (+ slideshow).

Located in one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, Aesop Tiquetonne was inspired by old-fashioned workshops and garages, where tools are often fixed to the walls with hooks or nails.

Architect Hugo Haas told Dezeen that he had bought the nails during a visit to Japan, and had decided later to use them to create an entire shelving system. ”The main idea with Aesop is to find different ways of displaying their products,” said Haas. ”The bottles are so classical they have their own existence. They just need a good background to help them levitate.”

The square-sectioned nails form neat rows along the sycamore-covered walls, creating spaces to hang and stand products of different sizes. ”These old nails are pretty hard to control, so to make sure we had straight lines we laser-drilled them to the wall,” explained Haas.

Unlike other Aesop stores designed by Ciguë, the counter and sink are separated from one another, due to the narrowness of the shop.

The taps and pipes are made from unpolished steel, and the architects chose to fit them themselves instead of consulting a plumber.

Pale blue paint gives the shop a colourful exterior. “The only place we wanted to put colour was the window,” said Haas. “We didn’t want to use colour in the store, as we prefer to use the colours that are inherent to materials. It seems a more natural process for us.”

Aesop regularly commission designers to come up with unique concepts for their stores and this is the fifth one created by Ciguë. Others we’ve featured by the studio include one filled with steel caps from the city’s plumbing network and one modelled on a medical laboratory.

See all our stories about Aesop »

Here’s some text from Aesop:

Aesop’s latest Parisian signature space, a fresh collaboration with Cigue, opened in rue Tiquetonne in mid-June. Home to many tradesmen in the mid-twentieth century, the area features a number of workshops that have remained unchanged for decades. The store’s design is entirely in keeping with this aesthetic – reminiscent of a garden workshop housing well-worn tools that defy obsolescence.

The design makes ingenious use of the most humble materials; shelving is fashioned from rows of large, hand-made square-sectioned wrought iron nailed – on which Aesop products are arranged like lovingly ordered implements. Walls feature stone and raw sycamore maple wood, which is also used for a large sink. A waxed concrete floor and pipes and taps of unpolished steel add further references to modest industry. The interior represents not only respect for local tradition, but a marriage of intelligent design, straightforward functionality and unadorned beauty.

The post Aesop Tiquetonne
by Ciguë appeared first on Dezeen.

Spanish design studio Masquespacio have turned a dilapidated Valencia art gallery into an office for a law firm, featuring clusters of empty picture frames on the walls (+ slideshow).

The 100 square metre office has been divided into compact work areas with full-length glazed walls.

The original wooden ceiling beams were restored to complement the wood of the tables, counter and chair legs.

The overlapping wooden picture frames on the meeting room wall are “a metaphor of the diplomas usually displayed in a law firm,” the designers explained.

Thin strips of wood hanging vertically on the walls are partially painted in the company’s colours of grey and black, which are also picked up in the furniture around the office.

Other buildings in Valencia we’ve featured include a house with a glass facade that reveals what’s going on inside and a nursery with circular holes in its concrete walls.

We’ve featured lots of offices on Dezeen, most recently a Russian internet company with walls designed to look like pixels – see all of them here.

See all our stories about offices »
See all our stories about Valencia »
See all our stories about Spain »

Photographs are by David Rodríguez from Cualiti.

Here’s more information from the architects:

Masquespacio present their last project realised in an emblematic building from the end of the 19th century, situated in the historic centre of Valencia, Spain. The project designed for the law office Zapata y Herrera starts from his historic values to which are added the firm’s corporate values by the use of colours black, grey and natural wood tones.

At first the old beams have been restored, making them an essential element of the project. The noble wood is one of the protagonists of the office, not wanting to stand out, but in order to transmit confidence as one of the most important values of Zapata y Herrera. The grey colour takes over, symbolising stability and professionalism, while the powerful black transmits certain elegance and especially the seriousness with which the firm practices its profession.

Down the noble wooden entry stairs is standing out the combination of different sensations transmitted by the office. Some will call it elegant and sophisticated, while others call it sober and robust. Going further into the description of the lawyers’ office, on the left we can find the offices where the central element is a curtain of wood strips that repeats the colours of the firm’s values. The small space was maximised using L-shaped tables positioned above the storage lockers. The three pillars from the entry garden at their time are repeating the primary colours.

Above: office plan

In front of the last offices and behind the reception we can find the interns’ area with a sense of green offered by a range of aloe vera plants matching with the Green chair from Javier Mariscal, 100% recycled and 100% recyclable

On the other way of the entrance we find the boardroom starring a bunch of frames proposing a metaphor of the diplomas usually exposed in a law firm. The oeuvre, as well as the wood strips curtains where created by Masquespacio’s creative director, Ana Milena Hernández Palacios. At last, alongside the boardroom is situated a lobby in which we can recognise the Float couch, the latest design from Karim Rashid for Spanish brand Sancal.

Masquespacio in this project didn’t want to fall into the usual clichés of a law firm, so they converted them into metaphors. The law office Zapata y Herrera can be considered as an example of a corporate space that transmits its values, giving more importance to the work of their employees highlighting their seriousness, professionalism and confidence, with a vanguardian look unusual for a law firm.

Finished: 22/09/2012
Space: 100 m2
Client: Zapata y Herrera
Address: Plaza San Nicolas 3, 46001 Valencia
Design: Masquespacio
Address: Paseo de la Alameda 65, 34 B, 46023 Valencia
Designer: Ana Milena Hernández Palacios
Graphic Design, oeuvre and interior design by Ana Milena Hernández Palacios
Materials:
Construction: José Manuel Paz Agra Construcciones
Visitor office chairs: De Vorm
Director chairs: Inclass
Couch and lobby tables: Sancal
Intern chairs: 114 Mobles
General lighting: Arkos Light
Reception lighting: Luzifer
Lobby and boardroom chairs: Hay
Storage lockers: BM2000
Floor: Rapidmix

The post Zapata y Herrera lawyers’ office
by Masquespacio appeared first on Dezeen.

Chocolate appears to be dripping down the walls at this cafe in Opole, Poland, by interior designers Bro.Kat.

Located in the market square, the cafe only occupies a 30-square-metre unit but the designers have built a mezzanine to fit extra seating areas into the space.

“The chocolate melting on the walls is the only embellishment of the room,” said designers Roma Skuza and Bogna Polańska, before explaining that the “milk drops” hanging from the ceiling are lamps.

Black, brown and cream are the only shades used for furniture and decoration, reflecting the three main varieties of chocolate.

Ground floor plan – click above for larger image and key

A dark brown-coloured bar and kitchen are located beneath the mezzanine, which the designers refer to as ”a square of chocolate”.

Mezzanine plan – click above for larger image and key

We’ve featured a couple of spaces with chocolate-like decorations. See our earlier stories about a chocolatiers’s shop in Belgium another one in Japan.

See all our stories about chocolate »

Photography is by Radosław Kaźmierczak.

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by Bro.Kat appeared first on Dezeen.