Hasta La Ideas

The Sonoran desert and foothills of the McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale inspired Frank Lloyd Wright to build Taliesin West as his personal winter home in 1937, and since that time the gorgeous topography has continued to draw people to the region. In the growing resort town known for galleries filled…

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Shanghai studio Archi-Union used differently sized bricks to make waves across the exterior of this restaurant and members’ club at a cultural heritage park in Chengdu, China (+ slideshow).

The architects used an algorithm to specify nine different brick types, which were laid by hand to create the wave-like texture across each wall.

Sloping roofs visually divide the longitudinal building into separate blocks and their curving shapes were designed by Archi-Union to reference mountains and rivers, as well as a typical form in Chinese architecture.

“The Lan Xi Curtilage is an interpretation of traditional Chinese architecture through the language of digital fabrication methods,” Archi-Union’s Crisie Yuan told Dezeen.

The restaurant and private club are positioned on opposite sides of a central courtyard, where pathways divide the lawn and dictate routes towards different rooms.

The Lan Xi Curtilage is located at the International Intangible Cultural Heritage Park, which plays host to a biennial festival dedicated to language, music, dance, storytelling, carnivals and rituals.

Earlier this year Archi-Union also completed a teahouse and library with twisted concrete walls.

Above: ground floor plan – click above for larger image

Other recent stories from China include skyscrapers inspired by spacecraft and a village of towering apartment blocks in the mountains.

Above: first floor plan – click above for larger image

See more stories about design in China »
See more stories about brick buildings and projects »

Above: roof plan – click above for larger image

Photography is by Shen Zhonghai.

Here’s some more information from Archi-Union:

The Lan Xi Curtilage

The spatial layout of this project represents a new interpretation of a traditional South China Garden. The multiple layouts of the longitudinal residence and courtyard reflect a hierarchical and multi-dimensional spatial pattern of traditional gardens. The silhouettes of the building’s roof embody rolling mountains and rivers, and also function as metaphor of the traditional Chinese sloping roof culture.

Above: courtyard concept diagram – click above for larger image

The design of the ripple wall derived from a digital interpretation of water, a flexible yet natural conception. We developed an algorithm that mimicked the transient behavior of water, which could be frozen in time allowing a literal architectural expression of its transient behavior. We adapted this algorithm to process a traditional building material, blue bricks, in a staggered joint pattern, in the same way as it produced a surface before, creating a bonded brick pattern with the intrinsic dynamics of water, and providing a light and transparent effect as well as structural walls.

Above: brickwork pattern diagram – click above for larger image

The design focuses on developing an artistic pattern as well as on creating a feasible fabrication pattern. As a robotic arm was not available to lay the bricks automatically due to financial constraints, the masonry had to be completed manually in order to match the rigorous schedule of the three month construction period. Five kinds of brick joint template were devised and the joint gradient was achieved through the permutation and classification of the five template values, which were translated to a simple brick-laying schedule. The finished building is testament that light and shadow playing across the façade embody the dynamic effects of water. A careful combination of digital design and lo-tec fabrication to actualize digital fabrication exactly reflects the combination of digital technologies and local materials and fabrication.

Above: roof structure diagram – click above for larger image

Location: International Intangible Cultural Heritage Park, Chengdu, China
Client: Chengdu Qingyang Suburb Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
Area: Approx 4000m2
Design: June, 2008 – March, 2009
Construction: April, 2010 – October, 2011
Architect: Philip F. Yuan / Archi-Union Architect

The post The Lan Xi Curtilage
by Archi-Union appeared first on Dezeen.

Students at this cooking studio in Lithuania can prepare meals at worktops with knife-shaped legs, before sitting down to eat in a dining room carpeted with fake grass.

Named Ciop Ciop, the cook-for-yourself restaurant functions as a venue for one-day culinary classes and was put together by Lithuanian designers Martynas Kazimierėnas and Paulius Vitkauskas within an old factory district in Vilnius.

“The establishment is named after the expression ‘chop-chop’, giving a clue for fast, tasty and painless food preparation experiences,” said the designers.

Cooking pots are suspended from the ceiling as lampshades, while plant pots filled with herbs are dotted across the tabletops and surfaces.

“These herbs are important, because the ones in stores don’t have the same taste and they also give a nice touch to the interior,” Kazimierėnas told Dezeen.

Mismatched chairs fill the dining room, but each one is painted white or upholstered with white fabric to give a unified appearance. Diners are also encouraged to take off their shoes and walk barefoot across the grassy floor.

The worktops with knife-shaped legs were especially created by the designers for the studio. “We believe that designers should always reinvent things, even such classics as a table,” said Kazimierėnas.

Another cooking studio we’ve featured recently is a baking school with translucent screens and lamps made from top hats.

This week we’ve also published a restaurant with a bar made out of cooking pots. See more stories about restaurant design.

Photography is by Darius Petrulaitis.

The post Ciop Ciop by Martynas Kazimierėnas
and Paulius Vitkauskas appeared first on Dezeen.

Norm Architects of Denmark used industrial pendant lights, woollen blankets and reclaimed wood to create rustic Scandinavian dining rooms at Höst, a new restaurant in Copenhagen.

Norm Architects collaborated with Danish designers Menu to create the spaces for restaurant brand Cofoco, which has nine other restaurants in the city, each with a unique design and menu.

For Höst, the designers tried to combine traditional Scandinavian cosiness with minimalism, incorporating weathered materials such as recycled wooden planks and pallets.

“The theme has been to transform the feeling of eating outside on a Scandinavian farmyard in rural settings to an urban and more minimalist indoor context,” Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen told Dezeen.

Wooden shelving units screen a private dining area at the back of the restaurant, while reclaimed windows salvaged from an old hospital line the edge of a conservatory.

Dining areas also occupy the basement, where vintage wooden chopping boards hang from the walls and high-back chairs offer more comfortable seating.

The designers created a collection of tableware especially for the restaurant, which includes basic white plates and dishes, alongside blue and grey pieces and slabs of granite.

“We tried to see if we could find a balance where the interior, the dinnerware and the food told the same story, without it being too old-fashioned or too much of a theatrical backdrop,” said Bjerre-Poulsen.

Stools designed by Norm Architects for &tradition sit beside the bar, while small pendant lights are clustered together to create a chandelier in the stairwell.

See also: our recent feature about Copenhagen eatery Noma, the best restaurant in the world, as well as two restaurants at Grand Hotel Stockholm in Sweden by Ilse Crawford.

See more restaurant and bar interiors »

Photography is by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen.

Here’s some information from Norm Architects:

Höst and New Norm Dinnerware – a symbiotic relation of contrasts Norm Architects and Danish designhouse Menu have joined forces with Copenhagen restaurateurs Cofoco, to create a distinctly urban restaurant with obvious romantic and rural references. Höst is an embodiment of the clash between romanticism and modernity.

A space of multiple stories intertwining and correlating to form an inspirational and aesthetic universe for all senses. An obvious and reoccurring characteristic of both concept and cooperation is the juxtaposition of elements. Höst is rustic gone simplistic. Rural gone urban. Past gone contemporary.

The classic virtues of Nordic cooking have found its contemporary counterpart at Höst. In the kitchen traditional ingredients are combined with the visions characterizing New Nordic Cuisine. And in the restaurant loads of green plants, woollen blankets and the warmth of used wooden planks soften and complement the tight no-nonsense architectural aesthetic so distinct for Norm.

Furthermore, Norm has ventured into sustainable interior design by implementing details such as cut-up Euro-pallets, vintage lamps and even windows from an old hospital. Norm and Menu have designed and produced New Norm Dinnerware exclusively for Höst, and if you dig deep you will find a hidden world of Scandinavian taste. On several levels modernity and interaction become evident in New Norm Dinnerware.

The multitude of parts, materials and colors provides numerous possibilities and expressions, and when you flip over certain parts, you will find an entry to www.newnorm.dk, an online inspirational universe of everything distinctly Scandinavian – from moods and designs to produce and recipes. The juxtapositions found throughout Höst and New Norm Dinnerware serve as the foundation for a symbiotic relation that comes to define what is “New Nordic”: A timeless aesthetic rooted in traditions and driven forward by visions.

The post Höst by Norm Architects
and Menu appeared first on Dezeen.

Danish studio Space Copenhagen has overhauled the interior of Copenhagen eatery Noma, which was this year named “World’s Best Restaurant” for the third time in a row (+ slideshow).

The designers have replaced the brown hues of the original interior with muted black and grey tones and have also swapped the tables and chairs with ones from the Ren collection they designed for furniture brand Stellar Works.

Fur cloaks hung over the the chairs before and the designers have added more over the new ones.

“We felt a great importance in protecting the honest, earthy feel of the restaurant and balancing it with refinement of detail and elegance,” explained designers Peter Bundgaard Rützou and Signe Bindslev Henriksen. “It was very much about using organic materials such as wood, stone, leather, brass and linen in a new way; materials that age beautifully over time.”

A new oak floor runs through the entire restaurant, while a new wall defines the space in the lounge and the bar is rebuilt using dark wood and brass.

“The most radical change has been the redesign of the lounge area,” said Bindslev Henriksen, before explaining how the renovation gives the restaurant a more cosy Nordic feel. Quoting the words of chef and owner Rene Redzepi, she said: ”It is as if the restaurant has moved 1000 kilometres north.”

Earlier this year architects 3XN transformed Noma’s warehouse into an experimental food laboratory.

We also featured Noma as part of our report into the cross-pollination between the worlds of food and design.

See more stories about restaurants »

Here’s a statement from Peter Bundgaard Rützou and Signe Bindslev Henriksen:

“The complete renovation had to take place while the NOMA team was in London during the Olympics, leaving us a total work period of less than three weeks. Time was a challenge in itself, but also the fact that the NOMA is located in an old listed warehouse building presented a lot of restrictions.

Working with NOMA for so many years has created a mutual respect and understanding of both the space, but also the mindset, values and preferences of all the people involved. That makes dialogue and communication very easy, which is always very valuable for a creative process. But in the beginning we all thought that NOMA should be turned upside down, that we should do something completely new and unexpected. After quite a long initial sketching period, we all came to the conclusion that it seemed forced and pretentious for a place like NOMA to do something too conceptual or formally upscale — whether it was modern, nostalgic or a combination of the two. Rene Redzepi defined his vision: it is important that the space is not perceived as a superficial layer between the costumer and the actual food experience.

We decided to respect and protect the existing atmosphere of NOMA, but work carefully with the space and functional elements in terms of detailing, tactile surfaces, colours — more or less as a 1:1 mood board of samples, wood, stone, leather, textiles, furniture. a balance between the rough and the refined detail and elegance.

We built a brick wall in the lounge and changed the entire floor to a beautiful oak floor from Dinesen in falling width, which made a huge difference in atmosphere. Apart from not doing a lot of actual construction on site, we changed almost anything else.

All the furniture, surfaces, curtains, painted surfaces, toilets have been completely changed or renovated. Especially the lounge area involved quite a lot of construction. We build a long brick wall facing the rest of the building to get a more defined lounge space, and the long massive bar was replaced with spatial elements in grey wood and brass – mounted at the columns which creates a completely different flow and openness of the space.

The chairs and tables in the restaurant are the same design as in the original Noma, but we changed the surfaces and colors. The Chair is from J.L. Møller and the tables we designed ourselves. But in the lounge we changed all the furniture, and here we used the Ren Chair and Sofa which we recently designed. The Ren Chair is a part of a completely new collection we have made and launched in collaboration with Stellarworks. For NOMA we had a modified version made for the new lounge in a different lowered height and materials to accommodate lounge seating dimensions as well as designing a two-seater sofa to complete the area especially for this project.

The chair reflects values that we feel match and complement the aesthetics of Noma. It is a genuine honest chair with high detailed features in black solid wood, brass and black leather. The chair has an organic shaped body and fine detailing in brass, it picks up the tradition of classic Danish design, but also shows a curiosity towards other cultural points of reference, sampling Asian features into the design. The intention is through choice of materials and surface finishes that the chair patinates and builds character over time when being worn.”

The post Noma Restaurant by
Space Copenhagen appeared first on Dezeen.