Project Runway: Blow Models HQ by Isern Serra.The balmy beige walls of Blow Models HQ act as a canvas for the body of models that walk through its doors. Designed by Isern Serra, one can almost hear Spooky by Dusty Springfield bouncing against the brick battered walls, an energy...
More Than Skin Deep: Shanghai’s One-stop Beauty Centre by FFFUN.SHI Space dances between the hyper-futuristic and the raw, industrial with ease. A multi-use building, the ground floor is a dedicated gallery and retail space, with the first floor making up the beauty centre and a private event space on...
A Slice of Heaven From a Slice of History: Buon Gusto Studios by Studio Shand.The design team did their homework, and the level of rigour applied to analysing the existing building and understanding the community led to a space that appears as if it had always been there. The new interiors instil a sense of memory...
Light On Tap: Modus Brewery in Newcastle by Prevalent.It's not often that the word 'tranquil' comes to mind when describing a brewery, yet for this reimagined post-war shed in Newcastle, Prevalent managed to achieve an elusive sense of serenity. Centred around the need of the user and driven...
Ripple Effect: Charlotte Chesnais’ Saint-Germain Store by Anne Holtrop.Charlotte Chesnais is as much a sculptor as she is a jeweller, so it was only right her Parisian boutique, designed by Dutch architect Anne Holtrop, reflected this quality. With sweeping moves and a material palette that is both tonal and...
Take a Showroom and Make it a Home: USM Shanghai by Halleroed.It’s safe to say everyone is very familiar with IKEA’s super clever business model of aspirational home displays. Well the Swedes have done it again, and this time it’s a serious step up from IKEA. For USM’s private showroom in...
Chiaroscuro Composition: Elogio del Grigio by Cardillo Architecture.Belgian artist and surrealist, René Magritte, often took everyday, familiar objects and placed them in unexpected scenes, posing questions as to where the boundaries lie between what is real and what is representation. Similarly, Italian...
Dutch Courage: A Collectors home in Amsterdam by DAB Studio.If the aim of the 1910 Amsterdam School movement was to create a total architectural experience, inside and out, then DAB Studio has very successfully followed in those footsteps. Housed in an Amsterdam School building, the Collectors Home...
Life Imitates Art: Casa Vasto in Barcelona by Mesura.They say work-life-balance is important, and you’d be hard pressed to disagree. In the case of Vasto Gallery in Barcelona’s Poblenou, Mesura took a reductive approach to spatial separation and programming in this gallery-slash-home....
