London studio Featherstone Young have completed the interior of a new office for space advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy in London. The project involved adding mezzanine floors to the double-height spaces and creating a flexible auditorium space for 160 people. Garage doors leading off this room separate smaller rooms for meetings.
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Photographs by Tim Brotherton
Santa-Caterina Market, originally dating back to 1848, is based in the heart of Barcelona, which has recently been renovated taking seven years to develop. The new roof for the market was designed by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue of EMBT Arquitectes.
As Barcelona is the city of Gaudi, the architecture of Santa-Caterina Market has been produced to duplicate the surrounding urban culture of surrealism, bringing the city together with its range of colours.
The multicoloured waved roof contains around 325,000 different geometrically ingenious glazed stone tiles by Ceramica Cumella. These tiles were created with high temperatures being fired at them, from Seville, giving off a glaze that reflects its neighbouring buildings.
The interior of the Santa-Caterina Food Market houses around 100 stalls with three floors, selling all types of food. Like the roof, the interior has a glow of various colours from the fruit and vegetables that brightens the market up inside.
Architects were given this site, Santa-Caterina Market and had many options of what they could change it into but decided to keep it a market but make it more ambitious and eye-catching. When generating the structure and form of the roof, each laminated panel had been cut by hand, as the computers didn’t have the ability to create the curves that were required.
The design of Santa-Caterina Market’s roof is simple but very effective, keeping in touch with Barcelona’s style of architecture and culture.
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Anthropologie, the eclectic American retailer specialising in hip, boho clothing and chic home ware products opened in London’s busy Regent St earlier this month. The label originally evolved from a stylish sportswear line developed by sister store, Urban Outfitters. The opening of the boutique marks the brand’s European retail outlet debut and the first opening of an Anthropologie store outside the USA.
Anthropologie derived from the word ‘Anthropology’, which means the study of the human being and how we all differ from one another, has an interior and products that reflect its name’s meaning. With an assortment of fashion brands and home ware products as well as an interior that features a living wall of various plant species, individuality and differentiation are ongoing visual themes. Shortly after its opening, the front window display featured a cluster of tea bags suspended from the ceiling like a chandelier. The tea bags, which appeared to be used, created a sense of wonder at the potential of everyday objects and how they fill our lives. The interior design, like the products, is not only aesthetically pleasing, it is cerebral and instantly take their viewer on a journey; how many tea bags do we use every day? How many thoughts and ideas did these tea bags assist with in their own little way?
There are many quirky interior design and visual merchandising details within the boutique that add to its character. Teapots, cups and saucers continue on from the tea theme to decorate the walls. As with the tea bag chandelier they are presented intriguingly; they are wrapped in fabrics like lace and loosely knit wool that appear to be supporting them to the wall, like the objects are caught in a spider’s web. At the entrance a mannequin wears a skirt made out of smashed cups and saucers, adding to the theme of recycled or lost and found everyday objects. Overall the entrance area feels like fusion of shabby chic, eco-friendly design and the mad hatter’s tea party.
Different sections of the Regent St Anthropologie store offer different experiences. The basement offered a sea theme as an enormous sculpture of an underwater creature hung from the ceiling. Below this a table decorated with ropes and rocks displayed culinary tools. The top floor displayed a bed with logs beneath the base, evoking the idea of a cosy fireplace at a countryside cottage. All areas are connected by a gigantic vertical garden; literally a wall of greenery which extends from the basement through to the top floor providing an organic backdrop for the staircase. The garden features several different types of plant species and shades of green- blues and purple-reds.
Amazingly, the eclectic mix of brands, products and interior design concepts works really well together. Exploration, individuality and differentiation weave their way through the Anthropologie boutique, making it a truly inspirational place. The space is a perfect example of how creative and strong interior design is so important when it comes to creating that word-of-mouth buzz.
The German embassy in London has commissioned an installation of the artist duo Awst & Walther’s, commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago. The temporary piece is located outside the German Embassy on Belgrave Square. It was constructed in the early hours this morning (since today is the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall) and will be dismantled throughout the day. The piece is entitled ‘Work in Progress’ and according to the artists ‘offers a moment of hesitation and reflection upon what is the continuing process of German reunification’.
Taking its inspiration from Vietnamese street food, Soho eatery, NAM, offers a fast, healthy and cost effective option for the busy downtown diner. Conveniently located on Dean St, NAM, is a collaboration between entrepreneur, Hai Nguyen, and architectural interior design company B3 Designers.
The Vietnamese eatery, which opened in October 2009, is distinctive in terms of both ambience and culinary experience. Hai approached B3 in May 2009 wanting to open up a Vietnamese offer in the heart of Soho. Inspired by the street food of her native Vietnam she wanted to translate this experience into something that could work in the busiest part of London. Consisting of fresh ingredients, street food offers healthy meals that can be served quickly: an ideal option for the busy and health conscious Soho customer.
NAM is an accessible eatery with ready-to-eat options for the busy Soho diner. Patrons are able to select from a variety of healthy options including summer rolls made from rice paper, ‘bun’ a freshly made noodle dish available with chicken, pork or tofu as well as a selection of rice dishes and Vietnamese baguettes.
The design for the petite eatery combines the urban and traditional aspects of Vietnamese culture with colonial French heritage. Long communal bamboo tables contrast with industrial Tolix stools, merging the delicacy of traditional organic objects with the sharp style of modern design engineering. Traditional, handmade Vietnamese lanterns hang from the ceiling, bringing a soft, romantic atmosphere to the restaurant design, particularly in the evening. Again these are contrasted against the stainless steel display counter, which is stamped with communist style graphics. Colourful artwork depicting scenes of Vietnamese village life decorate the walls. Patterns reminiscent of French colonial tiles are cost effectively sprayed onto the concrete screed. All the little touches show the different facets of Vietnamese culture in an approachable and fun way. NAM offers a truly authentic experience, that won’t dig a big hole in your pocket.
Architect Rem D Koolhaas has completed the interior of a new flagship store in Amsterdam for his shoe brand. Called United Nude, the brand was founded by Koolhaas with shoe manufacturer Galahad JD Clark. Shoes are displayed inside back-lit recesses in an undulating wall, which continuously changes colour. Others are presented in glass cases on wooden plinths, or positioned along wooden steps.
From injection moulded shoes to high-end carbon fiber heels, United Nude is a brand founded on conceptual design, elegance and innovation. The characteristics of the brands products and DNA are also evident in the interior design of the flagship store, designed by brand Creative Director and architect Rem D Koolhaas. The store is a “dark-shop” concept which means the store is completely dark in all areas other than those where the products are showcased and literally highlighted. The most important and prominent element of the store design is the Wall of Light™, a computer-controlled LED wall which displays the United Nude products as a work of art encapsulated in geometric frames.
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At the Dutch Design Week in EIndhoven, Roos Kuipers presented an open coffin where the dead body is gradually covered in layers of fabric. Called Mark the Last Veil, the piece is made of elm with rounded corners and slots in the side to accommodate six layers of bamboo, cotton and silk fabric. The veils would be draped over the corpse one at a time and tucked into the opposite side, gradually obscuring the mourners’ view of the body.
Description: At a funeral, the closing of the coffin is often a grim moment. A hard, abrupt action that is inappropriate for the sensitive and emotional grieving and mourning process. Roos Kuipers designed an open coffin made of traditional elm, with round, soft forms that softens this moment. Six transparent veils of bamboo, cotton and silk hang from its side. At the moment of leave-taking, the veils are layered over the body one by one, by which the image of the deceased is gradually obscured. By tucking the veils layer by layer into a groove in the wood, the body of the deceased is similarly ‘tucked in’ with loving care and respect.
