Hasta La Ideas

French architect Paul Coudamy has converted this former butcher’s shop in suburban Paris into a private residence and included mysterious figures in the photographs (+ slideshow).

Paul Coudamy renovated the old charcuterie in Bagnolet into a home by adding a spiralling oak staircase and a bookcase with moving sections.

“Renovating professional premises to change them into living accommodation is now a frequent occurrence in Paris and its surrounding suburbs, an exercise in architecture that requires thinking of new concepts of living, interchanging private life and public life,” said the designer.

The Blur home was converted for a motorbike enthusiast, for whom Coudamy created a garage in the previous doorway to store his vehicle.

The designer also installed a tilted mirror above the bookshelf so the owner can keep an eye on his parked bike while relaxing in his armchair.

Sitting and reading areas are located behind the large shop window facing onto the street.

Alternate cubby holes in the wooden bookshelf are fitted with pivoting metal boxes, which can be tucked away to save space or pulled out to create a more interesting display.

The same wood and metal are used for the spiral staircase, which has fan-shaped treads that get smaller towards the top.

This staircase leads up to a bathroom, partitioned with screens covered in a condensation pattern.

Surfaces on the ground floor have been retained from the building’s former use, including wall and floor tiles plus large metal refrigerator doors.

Paul Coudamy has previously used figures in the photoshoots for his projects. He has also included an invisible man and woman in the images of a Paris apartment and a guy wearing a gimp mask at another residence in the French capital.

Photography is by Benjamin Boccas.

Read on for more information from the designer:

Paul Coudamy has transformed a butcher shop in Bagnolet, France, into a private home. Renovating professional premises to change them into living accommodation is now a frequent occurrence in Paris and its surrounding suburbs, an exercise in architecture that requires thinking of new concepts of living, interchanging private life and public life. Blur is therefore a transparent environment made up of spaces that never totally discloses its fragile privacy. It is formed of a continuous succession of concrete and glass symbolising a period that combines work and pleasure in a single movement.

On the ground floor the former boutique fronted by a shop window has been turned into a sitting-room/library with a storefront, directly connected to the specifically created garage: the owner is devoted to his motorbike, it is therefore no surprise that he has placed a mirror above his books to be able to keep an eye on his pride and joy from the comfort of his armchair!

The bookshelves designed by Paul Coudamy are based on a wooden structure into which the architect has fitted pivoting metal boxes. The principle enables greater storage capacity and the façade is permanently redefined as books are sought out. There is a set of suspended boxes levitating between the ground and the ceiling, some inside and some outside.

Metal and wood are repeated for the oak staircase connecting the ground floor and the first floor in an open-sided bespoke spiral, a natural upward surge into space. It forms a beautifully designed raw metal backbone to the building cutting a contrast with the vernacular tone.

Lastly, the bathroom upstairs that Paul Coudamy has created combines both dry and wet areas. He has used a composite trompe l’œil partition in a permanent state of condensation as a border that will always be dry/wet. It is again continuity between two functions, spaces and visual impressions.

During the last Furniture Fair in Milan, Jean Nouvel made an appeal to reconvert and to make work premises and residential accommodation more inseparable: the natural movement of urban aesthetics exploding with vitality to adapt to new space constraints.

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a home by Paul Coudamy appeared first on Dezeen.

An angular wooden staircase ascends the lobby of this office renovation in the Dutch town of Hoofddorp by Amsterdam architects Studioninedots (+ slideshow).

Studioninedots was tasked with renovating an entire 1970s office building. The architects began by removing an existing staircase and enlarging the space around it to create a void that visually connects a communal area on the ground floor with the levels above.

The staircase acts as the focal point of this large atrium and was made by cladding a steel structure in plywood sheets to create a series of bridges and access points to the various floors.

Broad treads encourage spontaneous interaction between employees of the different firms that occupy the shared offices.

“The staircase as a tool for communication, lends the building a collective identity,” said the architects. “As a vertical lobby that offers views of all floors, it tells occupants that they are part of a larger world.”

Elsewhere, the architects employed a pared-back approach so that they “could channel more resources into one spectacular, shared amenity that boosts the whole building” – the staircase.

Latticed panels milled from the same plywood used for the staircase create decorative railings around the edges of the atrium.

Removing suspended ceilings revealed cast concrete beams that contrast with the warm wood of the staircase.

Large windows fill the lobby with natural light and provide views of the surrounding neighbourhood from every level.

Photography is by Peter Cuypers.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

De Burgemeester renovation by Studioninedots

From an abandoned and anonymous office building to a vibrant multi-tenant complex. That’s De Burgemeester, a commercial property in Hoofddorp renovated by Studioninedots and opened on 5 November 2013. The secret of the transformation? A vertical lobby featuring an open staircase where people meet face to face, a space that brings people together both literally and figuratively.

We space. That’s our name for this communal area at the heart of the building. It’s a place that brings people together. Out of the concrete floors we carved a 14-metre-tall void that houses a giant staircase that cuts diagonal lines through the void as it makes its way upwards, linking the different floors to one another. Now people are on the move, making their way back and forth on the timber steps. Some of them linger for a chat, and there’s space on the broad treads to sit for a moment. The sound of chatter and the aroma of coffee from the café below now fill the hall. Most of the office space has already been leased, bringing the building back to life once again.

De Burgemeester was part of the ‘cloud’ of blue foam models on show in the Dutch pavilion at the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale. In an exhibition entitled Vacant NL, the pavilion housed a vast model that depicted all the unoccupied buildings in the Netherlands. The exhibition proved confrontational for the way it captured the sheer scale of empty space and rendered it visible at a glance, and for the conclusion expressed: the era of growth is finished, and scarcely anything more needs to be built.

At the same time, that sea of blue also contained a promise. Vacant NL posed a creative challenge to architects: discover the potential of these buildings; adapt them for our era of economic stagnation and population decline; transform them, temporary or otherwise, into flexible and sustainable structures; to ensure a new appreciation of these buildings.

What’s more, the crisis offers opportunities. The pressure of cost-cutting measures creates scope for other values. More does not necessarily mean better, and that’s something increasing numbers of people are coming to realize. Born out of the idea of cutbacks and facilitated by the internet, a flourishing culture of sharing has emerged.

Thanks to Greenwheels, Peerby and Airbnb we borrow and rent cars, tools and even homes from one another. People in more and more cities are setting up resident associations to make their neighbourhoods more sustainable. And vacant sites are taken as ‘test sites’ for new spatial developments such as urban farming. The sense that ‘everybody for himself’ no longer works, and the feeling that we can really achieve something by joining forces, is gaining widespread support. And, just as important: we’ve come to realize that it’s all much more fun together.

The renovation of De Burgemeester is a response to these developments. Ymere housing association granted the building a new life as an office complex and in 2012 asked us to draw up a proposal. But the persistent crisis thwarted that ambition; it turned out to be unfeasible for a single client to occupy the entire building. That’s the reason it was decided to team up with an investor called Lingotto and turn the building into a multi-tenant complex.

Since office space with all sorts of extra amenities was no longer a realistic option with a lower budget, we completely changed our original proposal. Workspaces are fitted out without any frills so that we could channel more resources into one spectacular, shared amenity that boosts the whole building. The sculptural staircase, a social space where people can meet, a place that connects people to one another both literally and figuratively. The staircase as a tool for communication, lends the building a collective identity. As a vertical lobby that offers views of all floors, it tells occupants that they are part of a larger world. And precisely that feeling is the major quality of the renovated building.

On top of that, we maximized those qualities that De Burgemeester already possessed: views of the surrounding neighbourhood and generous amounts of daylight. The openness and transparency achieved through the addition of glass partition walls and the voluminous atrium ensures views to the outside from almost everywhere within. Suspended ceilings have been removed to reveal the authentic concrete floor with T-beams. Now this rough, column-free load-bearing structure determines the atmosphere.
The timber-clad stairs and banisters add warmth to the interior. The staircase is constructed of steel and wrapped with simple sheets of plywood with a transparent varnish finish. Custom-made railings are milled from the same sheets using an affordable industrial technique that lends the result an almost handcrafted appearance.

To complete the story, we also designed the building’s visual identity. The leitmotif for the colourful graphic design is the comma, an optimistic punctuation mark that evokes positive expectations. De Burgemeester is already well on its way to meeting those expectations.

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wooden staircase by Studioninedots appeared first on Dezeen.

A spiralling stack of chunky wooden blocks forms this staircase designed by architecture studio QC for an apartment in Poland.

QC, which is based in Rzeszów, created the staircase during the renovation of a two-storey apartment for a young couple and it comprises a pile of spruce blocks that fan out around a central pivot.

The blocks are glued together and connected with steel rods, plus some have been anchored to the wall with additional rods.

“The idea was to make the stairs a ‘box on box’, composed of monolithic wooden steps prepared for easy assembly for any handyman,” architect Lucjan Kuc told Dezeen.

To give each block a unique worn appearance, Kuc poured water over the wood and then dried it out in a kiln so the material would expand and crack.

“The only problem was the drying of such large dimensions; to obtain a satisfactory result the wood was dried three times in the kiln dryer,” said Kuc. “This process made the wood hard, so it deforms and is lightly cracked in a definitive way.”

“The reason for drying parts of the stairs was the only technical solution, but the final ‘weathered effect’ can add a whole charm,” he added.

The staircase connects an open-plan kitchen and living room on the ground floor with a first-floor bedroom and bathroom.

Photography is by the architects.

Here’s some a project description for the entire apartment from QC:

Split Flat

A functional and at the same time elegant and simple split-level flat designed and made by QC, a young architectural firm. The design concept was to fully utilise the metric area of this small flat, making a comfortable space for a couple of young people who value harmony, quietness and order.

The integration of the kitchen into the living room has given a fully open daytime zone in the ground floor. The zone area, comprising the kitchen and the living room, has become mobile – it gets smaller or larger depending on the circumstances. When watching pictures or projecting them on the wall with a projector, you can feel that the area of the living room expands to include the kitchen. The occupants of the flat can use the daytime zone according to their needs. The predominating white colour has been complemented by wooden features: a high wooden table and a black sofa that completes the final effect.

When entering the flat mirror hanging along the entire length and width of the wall on the left. The mirror does not only make the space look larger but also functions as a toilet/utility room door.The architect has decided to mount a suspended ceiling to camouflage the gas installation, retaining the air inflow at the same time, and to gain additional lighting effects.

Simple and austere, the wooden stairs connect the day-time zone to the night-time one.

“For the flat design I adopted a certain principle. The big patches of space were made at the lowest expense possible but the details were in turn selected carefully, which translated into higher costs. With one exception: The stairs, which have become a distinctive element of the entrance zone, were made in a very simple and cheap way. With no compromise to the quality of the details,” the architect explained.

For the second floor, the architect applied a functional system including a bathroom, a wardrobe and a sleeping room. The effect is a perfect private space for the young couple.

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chunky wooden blocks by QC appeared first on Dezeen.

A spiral staircase made from Brazilian ironwood links two floors inside this São Paulo house, which was designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld as a private gallery and guest house for two art collectors (+ slideshow).

Isay Weinfeld was commissioned by the couple to create a house they could use to present exhibitions, host parties and house guests during events such as the São Paulo Art Biennial.

Located on the same street as both the client’s own home and the Isay Weinfeld-designed Yucatan House, Casa Cubo is a three-storey building in São Paulo’s Jardins district.

A double-height living room on the ground floor is the largest space in the house. With white walls and a poured concrete floor, it offers a blank canvas for displaying pantings, sculptures and a selection of designer furniture pieces.

Two staircases are visible inside the room. On one wall a folded steel staircase leads up to a first-floor mezzanine accommodating a library, while on the opposite side a wooden staircase ascends from the first floor to three bedrooms at the top of the house.

Both staircases are suspended from above and appear to be floating just above the floor.

Furniture chosen for the living room includes pieces by Alvar Aalto, Pierre Jeanneret, Gio Ponti and Lina Bo Bardi. Glass doors run along one edge and open the space out to a terrace, garden and lily pond.

The exterior of the house is primarily clad with cement panels, apart from a section near the top that is covered with wood.

Photography is Fernando Guerra.

Here’s some more information from Isay Weinfeld:

Casa Cubo by Isay Weinfeld

Casa Cubo, the initiative of a couple of art collectors, was conceived to house a lodging and support center to artists and the development of the arts, but with all necessary facilities to serve as a home. The program was solved within a cubic block, split vertically into three levels and a mezzanine, whose façades are treated graphically as a combination of lines defined by the cladding cement plaques, by the glass strip on the mezzanine, and the striped wood composition that changes as the bedroom windows are opened and closed.

The service nucleus is located at the front of the ground level, comprising a kitchen, a restroom, a dining room and an entrance hall giving way to the wide room with double ceiling height and polished concrete floor, intended to host events, exhibitions or even work as a lounge that opens onto the backyard.

The mezzanine of the lounge, standing on the slab topping the service nucleus on the ground floor, houses the library, which is marked by three strong elements: a shelving unit extending the whole back wall, a strip of fixed glass next to the floor and a spiral staircase covered in wood that leads to the private quarters upstairs.

Private quarters consist of 3 bedrooms and a living room thoroughly lit through a floor-to-ceiling opening. The garage and service areas are located in the basement.

Architecture: Isay Weinfeld
Collaborators: Domingos Pascali, Marcelo Alvarenga
Project manager: Monica Cappa Santoni
Design team: Juliana Scalizi, Leandro Garcia

Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Built area: 715m²

General contractor: Fernando Leirner – Bona Engenharia
Structural engineering: Benedictis Engenharia Ltda
Staircase mettallic structure engineering: Inner Engenharia e Gerenciamento Ltda
Electrical and plumbing engineering: Tesis Engenharia Ltda
Air conditioning: CHD Sistemas De Ar Condicionado e Instalações Ltda
Landscape design: Isabel Duprat Paisagismo

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Isay Weinfeld appeared first on Dezeen.

Architects are increasingly designing staircases that double as seating, allowing office workers to congregate between floors, circulation to be turned into event space and homeowners to curl up with a book on the landing. Here are some of our favourite stair/seating configurations (+ slideshow).

Steps with deep treads and high risers are incorporated into traditional staircases, often to one side of the thoroughfare.

In informal working environments, such as data storage company Evernote’s offices in Silicon Valley, employees are encouraged to stop and chat on the padded side of the staircase.

Extra-wide staircases can also provide seating for auditoriums in schools and public buildings. The climbing wooden floor of a Bratislava book store is just one example.

In libraries, shelves can be integrated into the risers so visitors can sit down with a book.

Chunky steps are ideal in spaces for children, where large steps become extra play surfaces and stages for shows.

Tiered platforms that are even larger, three steps deep and high, can even be used as places to nap.

We’ve also published a South Korean house where a slide is incorporated into the giant steps and a residential project that features stairs you can sit on both internally and externally.

Outdoor stairs with deep treads and low risers, often referred to as bleachers, are also regularly used as temporary seating when public spaces are turned into performance venues.

These make-shift arenas vary from small open-air theatres to elaborate landscaping projects, such as 3XN’s cultural centre in Molde, Norway, where stairs climb up over the roof to a viewing platform.

“By using steps instead of traditional seats, the atmosphere becomes more informal,” 3XN creative director Kim Herforth Nielsen told Dezeen. “People use the [Plassen Cultural Centre] to meet and hang out on a daily basis just as much as they come there for live performances. By turning the building into an integrated part of the public square it becomes more than a building. It turns into a piece of land art, which adds an extra dimension to the place and generates life.”

We recently compiled a selection of combined bookshelves and staircases and also ran a slideshow of houses with ground floors that open up to the garden.

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you can sit on appeared first on Dezeen.