Hasta La Ideas

British studio 1508 London has converted a Victorian post office in London into an apartment where perforated concrete shutters can be used to open and close different sections of the interior (+ slideshow).

Commissioned by an art collector, 1508 London planned an “impactful but warm” space where large artworks can be hung from the walls.

Smaller rooms are clustered together on one side of the apartment, freeing up the rest of the space for a double-height living room.

The concrete shutters were added to shield two bedrooms on the first-floor mezzanine, but the circular perforations offer residents glimpsed views down to the spaces below.

“This concrete elevation is the primary feature, allowing abstracted light to pass into the bedrooms in the morning and creating an unique installation of glowing lenses at night,” Chris Godfrey of 1508 London told Dezeen.

A double-height entrance foyer beyond is lined with steel panels that have been chemically weathered to create a grainy appearance.

“The raw, natural material palette further expresses the formal rationale and, by referencing the owner’s taste for Russian political art, creates a dramatic backdrop to the same,” said Godfrey.

A kitchen and bathroom are tucked away at the back, while a black steel staircase leads up to the mezzanine.

Photography is by Michele Panzeri.

Here’s a project description sent from 1508 Architects:

Converted Victorian postal office

Situated in a converted Victorian Postal office in central London, interior and architectural design studio 1508 London have created this imposing apartment for an art collector.

A clear and legible parti has been derived where strong, orthogonal volumes of accommodation are inserted with the pre-existing, near triangular, double-height space to create playful and intelligent inter-relationships.

The raw, natural material palette further express the formal rationale and, by referencing the owner’s taste for Russian political art, creates a dramatic backdrop to the same.

Each material has been carefully selected and crafted to provide depth, texture and richness.

Chemically weathered steel metal panels clad the double height entrance foyer; creating both a warmth of reception and a striking sense of purpose. A central perforated black steel staircase seems to float within the entrance foyer creating a strong yet delicate link between the two volumes but standing strong as its own element.

In the main reception, a powerful singular form comprising of pre-cast concrete panels define and shield the more private aspects of the apartment. Hundreds of purpose-made acrylic lenses puncture the concrete envelope are carefully positioned to playfully provide amplified light to, and distorted views from, the inner spaces; simultaneously highlighting the mezzanine programme from the reception side.

Imposing concrete doors open up onto the main living space from the mezzanine level, transforming the elevation and the spatial relationships: each space is therefore influenced the contiguous throughout different times of the day and modes of use.

The result is a impactful yet warm interior within which the owner can entertain, relax and display large and impressive pieces of art harmoniously.

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an apartment by 1508 London appeared first on Dezeen.

Art—thanks to the internet—is becoming more democratic and accessible than ever before. There are already numerous online platforms, like Artsy, which use the web to full advantage and encourage users to discover and experience art. Things…

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Competition: Dezeen is giving readers the chance to win a set of Christmas cards printed with wintery images of London‘s Modernist architecture by designer Stefi Orazi.

Stefi Orazi‘s range of six Modernist London Winter Edition greeting cards are festive versions of her original Modernist London range.

The cards depict the Barbican Estate, Centre Point tower, Golden Lane Estate, 2 Willow Road terraced housing, Brusnwick Estate and the penguin enclosure at London Zoo, all in the snow.

Orazi’s greeting cards can be purchased from her online store.

To enter this competition email your name, age, gender, occupation, and delivery address and telephone number to competitions@dezeen.com with “Modernist London Christmas cards” in the subject line. We won’t pass your information on to anyone else; we just want to know a little about our readers. Read our privacy policy here.

You need to subscribe to our newsletter to have a chance of winning. Sign up here.

Competition closes 2 December 2013. Five winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of our Dezeen Mail newsletter and at the top of this page. Dezeen competitions are international and entries are accepted from readers in any country.

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Christmas cards to be won appeared first on Dezeen.

Extravagant outfits and hats from the wardrobe of the late stylist and fashion muse Isabella Blow have gone on display in London (+ slideshow).

Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! at Somerset House celebrates the life of the British magazine editor, who launched the careers of designers including Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy, Hussein Chalayan and Julien Macdonald.

Blow entered the fashion industry in the 1980s as an assistant to Anna Wintour at US Vogue. In the UK she worked as the fashion director for the Sunday Times and Tatler before her death in 2007.

Blow’s collection, now owned by model Daphne Guinness, includes items designed specifically for her by fashion designer Alexander McQueen and milliner Philip Treacy.

Their experimental and flamboyant garments and hat designs contributed to her distinctive and recognisable style.

Designed by London architects Carmody Groarke, the exhibition is divided into sections themed around areas of Blow’s life.

It starts with a display of family photographs depicting her aristocratic upbringing in Cheshire, UK, during the 1950s.

A section dedicated to McQueen and Treacy includes their graduate collections and early work created from found materials, such as Blow’s wedding headdress.

Both designers’ Autumn Winter 1996 collections are also displayed. McQueen dedicated this collection to Blow and it was the show that shot him to fame. Blow also styled Treacy’s show for the same season.

Clothing by Viktor & Rolf, Jeremy Scott, Comme des Garçons and Julien Macdonald all feature in a section dedicated to Blow’s love of the English countryside.

Full outfits worn by Blow have been recreated on mannequins by set designer Shona Heath using old photographs.

One of her most famous and successful shoots, for British Vogue December 1993, has been put up alongside London-themed installations by Heath that exhibit more hats and shoes.

The final portion shows the Spring Summer 2008 collection that Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy collaborated on and dedicated to Isabella after her death, on show to epitomise her legacy.

The exhibition, created with the Isabella Blow Foundation and Central Saint Martins, opened earlier this week and runs until 2 March 2014.

Photos by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images for Somerset House

Somerset House sent us the following information:

Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!

20 November 2013 – 2 March 2014 Embankment Galleries, Somerset House

This autumn, Somerset House, in partnership with the Isabella Blow Foundation and Central Saint Martins, is proud to present Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!, a major fashion exhibition celebrating the extraordinary life and wardrobe of the late British patron of fashion and art.

Born into the rarefied world of British aristocracy, Isabella’s thirty year career began in the early 80s as Anna Wintour’s assistant at US Vogue. On her return to London in 1986 she worked at Tatler followed by British Vogue. In 1997 she became the Fashion Director of the Sunday Times Style after which she returned to Tatler as fashion director. Driven by a passion for creativity, Isabella is credited for having nurtured and inspired numerous artists and designers.

The exhibition will showcase over a hundred pieces from her incredibly rich collection, one of the most important private collections of late 20th Century/early 21st Century British fashion design, now owned by Daphne Guinness.

This includes garments from the many designer talents she discovered and launched, such as Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy, Hussein Chalayan and Julien Macdonald amongst others.

Isabella is also known for discovering models Sophie Dahl and Stella Tennant, and for her collaborations with major photographers such as Steven Meisel, David LaChapelle and Sean Ellis, which pushed the boundaries of convention in her increasingly provocative fashion spreads and establishing herself as a legendary figure within the international fashion and contemporary art worlds.

Curated by Alistair O’Neill with Shonagh Marshall and designed by award-winning architectural firm Carmody Groarke, with installations by celebrated set designer Shona Heath, the exhibition will display thematically the breadth of Isabella’s collection, a life lived through clothes.

Isabella’s Background

The first section of the exhibition will explore Isabella’s background, and her British aristocratic ancestral roots.

Born Isabella Delves Broughton in 1950s post-war Britain, with a family seat at Doddington Hall in Cheshire, her family history can be traced back to the 14th Century – a factor which played an important part in Isabella’s life. Highlights include family photographs and the sculpture entitled Isabella Blow by Tim Noble and Sue Webster.

Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy

This section will feature pieces from Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy’s graduate MA collections from Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art respectively, including Isabella’s wedding headdress.

Exploring the way in which both designers used whatever they could get their hands on to make their garments and hats, this section celebrates the beginnings of their careers and the talent Isabella saw in them, celebrating her eye for discovering young talent.

The next section exhibits key items from McQueen and Treacy’s AW 1996 collections. McQueen dedicated his AW 1996 collection, entitled Dante, to Isabella and this was his first season toreceive international critical acclaim. This same year Isabella styled Philip Treacy’s AW 1996 collection, key items of which will be exhibited.

Countryside

A huge hedge installation, inspired by Isabella’s love of the English countryside will display groups of clothing from her collection presented in four themes that conjure the fantastical world Isabella inhabited and drew inspiration from, reflecting her love of birds, flowers and the surreal.

Works in this section show off a number of Isabella’s favourite designers, including clothing by Jeremy Scott, Comme des Garçons, Julien Macdonald, Viktor and Rolf and Undercover alongside accessories by Philip Treacy and Erik Halley.

Isabella’s Outfits and Style

Shona Heath will create bespoke Isabella Blow mannequins wearing full outfits worn by her, built referencing archival documentary images. These will demonstrate her distinctive, eclectic style and mixing of designer pieces. She was quoted as saying “Fashion is a vampiric thing, it’s the hoover on your brain. That’s why I wear the hats, to keep everyone away from me”, demonstrating the way in which Isabella wore her clothing as a form of armour.

Pieces here include McQueen for Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Fendi, Philip Treacy, Escada, Teerabul Songvich, Dior, Prada, Jeremy Scott, Benoit Meleard for Jeremy Scott, Viktor and Rolf, John Galliano for Dior, Manolo Blahnik and Marni.

Isabella at Work/Head & Feet

Taken from Isabella’s owns words: “Tip: Always accentuate the head and the feet”, this part of the exhibition will look at the importance that hats and shoes played in her life – she was rarely seen without a McQueen outfit, Treacy hat and Manolo Blahnik shoes.

Representing Isabella’s work and urban London life installations by Shona Heath will be created to exhibit hats and shoes from her collection.

This section also features one of Isabella’s most famous and successful shoots with Steven Meisel for British Vogue December 1993 entitled Anglo Saxon Attitudes featuring Stella Tennant, Honor Fraser, Plum Sykes, Bella Freud and Lady Louise Campbell, the first time any of them had graced the pages of a magazine, showcasing Isabella’s eye for spotting talent.

Legacy

The final section in the exhibition displays La Dame Bleue, the S/S 2008 Alexander McQueen collection that Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy collaborated on and dedicated to Isabella after her death. The collection was inspired by Isabella and to end on this note evokes both her legacy and her importance.

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exhibition of Isabella Blow’s collection appeared first on Dezeen.

Skincare brand Aesop‘s latest shop in Marylebone, London, by architects Studio KO features shelves that reference ladders used to collect fruit.

Paris and London-based architects Studio KO designed the Aesop store on Marylebone High Street, stripping back the interior of the former maternity clothing store to expose original features.

“All the existing fabric was hidden behind linings, plater boards and shop fittings,” Studio KO partner Clemence Pirajean told Dezeen. “One needed much imagination to see it as rough as it is today.”

Renovation work inside the building revealed hidden windows, a fireplace and coal store. These were all kept to preserve the original footprint.

Products are presented on white-washed pear wood shelves inspired by fruit collectors’ ladders, which line the exposed brick walls coloured in a musk tone.

“The existing floorboards are retained, restored and sealed,” said Pirajean. “One plank is missing with a mysterious green moss growing through.”

A cast concrete sink sits near the entrance beneath three black pendant lamps that match the facade.

Aesop designs each of its stores so no two are the same. When we interviewed the brand’s founder Dennis Paphitis told us that he was “horrified at the thought of a soulless chain”. The most recent designs we featured include the Berlin Mitte shop lined with emerald-coloured tiles and a pop-up shop in Tokyo where wooden chairs were piled on top of one another to create the shelves.

Photography is by Dan Glasser.

Here’s some more information that Studio KO sent to us:

The property sits in between two very contrasting urban scenes: to the front, a beautifully animated Marylebone High Street and to the back, a quiet mews with paving stones and little brick houses.

The back ‘courtyard’ echoes the English countryside, which was not too far from central London a little while ago.

With a window to the back courtyard and a large vitrine to the front high street, the store acts as a link between these two scenes. The initial idea was to allow those two different worlds enter the space from both points, creating a continuity and emphasising on the transparency.

We used the vegetation as a strong conceptual element from the beginning: we liked the idea of ferns or wild vegetation growing through the cracks of old walls. In the end, the idea of robust ferns was retained, with various sizes and species.

All the architectural existing elements where brought back to life: restored and maintained forming an integral part of the design. Once the plasterwork and the dry linings are removed, traces of history appear: a former fireplace, a coal store, remains of old rooms/crevices. All elements bringing complexity to the volume.

Then comes the monochrome: a super-matte colour extracted from the smoky clay colours surrounding the store. A matte powder of foggy red was sprayed onto the textured walls and ceilings, revealing bubbles and irregularities of plaster.

The existing floorboards are retained, restored and sealed. One plank is missing with a mysterious green moss growing through.

Shelving units, made from white-washed scaffold wood, were designed for displaying the Aesop products. Inspired from fruit ladders, simply leaning against the painted bricks, utilitarian looking. Looking closer, one can see the detail of a very honest fixing system, partly adjustable, with timber rods supporting the shelves, and a timber hinged front face preventing products from falling out.

The point of sale refers to the honest construction of a palette, using planks of white wash scaffold boards, cross layered with end-grain planks. A former fireplace is retained, framed using wrought iron to emphasise its depth and shade.

The long basin in rough cast concrete, complete with oversized taps and exposed pipes resembles a water drinking trough. It sits against the staircase leading to the basement, encased between reclaimed brick walls.

The wrought iron hatches above, with their Georgian wire glass inserts, use the language of a greenhouse. The black painted façade and outdoor elements frame the interior view of the store. The abstraction and simplicity contrasts with the richness of the colour and the textures.

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by Studio KO appeared first on Dezeen.