Design Anthology UK Issue 06 by designanthologyuk

CRAFTED FOR CUSTOMIZATION | BM SHELVING SYSTEM |

BØRGE MOGENSEN | 1958

Børge Mogensen’s flexible shelving system – in the spirit of the furniture architect – invites individual applications. The carefully crafted system, which consists of shelves and cabinets with elegant details, accommodates changes that life presents: it can be expanded, built up and adapted to individual needs. In stores from October 2020.

U K & R E P U B L I C O F I R E L A N D D I ST R I B U TO R : AT R I UM LT D, 2 8 L E O N A R D ST R E E T, LO N D O N , E C 2 A 4 BY, + 4 4 (0) 2 07 6 81 9 93 3 - S A L E S @ AT R I UM . LT D.U K

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY ZO Ë G H E RT N E R

ARRANGEMENTS BY M I C H A E L A N A STA S S I A D E S

2018 F LO S .COM

FROM THE EDITOR

o say that a lot has happened since I wrote my last editor’s letter in early March would be an understatement of the highest order. The world has changed irrevocably, and with it so has the design industry and most of what we cover in Design Anthology UK. Countless building projects stalled as lockdown began. Events and fairs that punctuate the design and art calendars were cancelled, or taken online one by one, which challenged brands, organisers and institutions to rethink the way they communicate and present work. Some efforts to pivot were more successful than others, but a spirit of innovation and openness underpinned it all, and hopefully, the lessons gleaned from 2020 will stand us in good stead. For a start, June’s global protests sparked by the death of George Floyd amplified questions that were long overdue about systemic racism and a lack of representation in design, architecture and art. People like Cheryl D Miller, the subject of this issue’s Pioneer (p176), were probing these issues long before 2020, but this year has seen a reckoning of sorts, and we’ve all had a part to play. On p146, we speak to London-based artist Sinta Tantra about identity, elitism and why taking art to the street is its own form of activism. In a broad sense, we’ve also had to learn that digital doesn’t always play second fiddle to a physical experience. This is made evident by the trend for hyper-real CGIs, which have become a powerful tool for virtual storytelling. We speak to some of the foremost artists of this genre on p28. However, the abiding theme of the last few months has been the importance of home – whatever shape that takes for you. Whether it’s art and colour (p82) or making the most of a compact space (p118), many of us have stopped to appreciate our good fortune because goodness knows there are people struggling to get their basic needs met. Finally, the Design Anthology UK team would like to acknowledge the emotional rollercoaster of lockdown with a small token to our readers. We’ve collaborated with Netherlands-based epicurean designers Studio Appétit to offer a specially conceived cocktail recipe that can be adjusted for three different moods: restraint, glee and balance (p36). We hope they’ll give you joy – or whatever it is you’re looking for. Until next time, Elizabeth Choppin Editor-in-Chief

MASTHEAD

September 2020

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Choppin elizabeth@designanthologyuk.com Art Director Shazia Chaudhry shazia@designanthologyuk.com Sub Editor Emily Brooks Commercial Director Rebecca Harkness rebecca@designanthologyuk.com Editorial Concept Design Frankie Yuen, Blackhill Studio Words Charlotte Abrahams, Emily Brooks, Roddy Clarke, Philomena Epps, Amy Frearson, Rossella Frigerio, Joe Lloyd, Dominic Lutyens, Charlotte Luxford, Harry McKinley, Karine Monié, Emma Moore, Becky Sunshine, Ginny Weeks Images Einar Aslaksen, Julio Feroz, Ido Garini, Nick Glimenakis, Stephan Julliard, George Marazakis, Ruth Maria, Carola Ripamonti, Adam Scott Illustration Stina Persson, jellylondon.com

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Vieques 2008 / bathtub, design Patricia Urquiola Vieques 2011 / washbasin, design Patricia Urquiola Sen 2008 / taps, design Gwenael Nicolas, Curiosity Revolving moon 2018 / mirror, design StudioPepe

www.agapedesign.it

CONTENTS

Front cover A Parisian apartment designed by Marcante Testa. Image by Carola Ripamonti. See p82

Radar

Journey

Hotel openings New design-centric destinations to explore, in Europe and beyond

Profile Designer Kelly Wearstler brings the “fiercely local narrative” of Proper Hotels to downtown Los Angeles

Photo essay George Marazakis travels across Greece to capture the often-unnoticed changes that humans exert on nature

Products Collections and collaborations of note

24 Read Delve into a selection of books on design, architecture and interiors 26

Openings New showrooms and retail hotspots in Amsterdam and Copenhagen

Digital art The rise of the render: the hyper-real worlds that triumph on social media

Profile Architect Agathe Labaye, designer of Paris’ polished Hotel de Pourtalès

Gastronomy Design Anthology UK gets its own personalised cocktail courtesy of Studio Appétit’s Ido Garini

Home 68

New York City A classic Brooklyn townhouse that subtly intertwines preserved historical details and contemporary elements

Paris Architecture studio Marcante Testa and gallerist Pascale Revert create a playful melting pot of art and design

Menorca Art isn’t needed in this rural home by Marina Senabre Roca, since the views are poetic enough already

106 London A sensitively restored Victorian home with a secret courtyard garden inspired by the tranquility of Japanese design

A thirst for adventure Studio Appétit’s Ido Garini devises a cocktail experience for Design Anthology UK, complete with imagery. See p36

118 Dublin Interior designer Róisín Lafferty makes every space count in a compact family home that is minimal and moody

CONTENTS

Art + Collecting

Style

132 Diary The most compelling art and design events for the coming months

170 Most wanted A compilation of clothes and accessories that are beautiful, thoughtful and good

142 Ceramics Lava, the seductive stoneware brand by Athens-based Anestis Michalis 146 Profile Artist Sinta Tantra – equally at home in a gallery setting or taking her work to the streets – talks about identity

Pioneer 176 Cheryl D Miller One of the first women of colour to succeed in graphic design, and a lifelong advocate for diversity

Architecture 154 London Explore Greenwich’s dedicated design hub, masterminded by HNNA 162 Oslo Deichman Bjørvika, a welcoming new public library in the Norwegian capital

Legacy maker Cheryl D Miller, who inspired the recent Where are the Black Designers? initiative. Illustration by Stina Persson. See p176

F O L K — T H E D I N I N G C O L L ECT I O N By surprising yourself, unsurprisingly, creative flair will strike you in everyday life. This is Allermuir.

FOLK BY PEARSONLLOYD

allermuir.com

Digital render by Seba Morales. Read the full story on p28 Image from Dreamscapes & Artificial Architecture, © Gestalten 2020

R ADAR Global design news

R ADAR / Products

Hermès Paris-based artist and illustrator Gianpaolo Pagni has designed this Escalator rug as part of Hermès’ latest collection for the home. Pagni’s methods include drawing, stencils, collage and rubberstamping, but here his linear designs have been translated into meticulously hand-embroidered cotton cords that trace each line. The collection also includes a Jasper Morrison-designed oak chair first created for the French convent of La Tourette in 1998, now joined by a complementary dining table. hermes.com

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Lee Broom The Maestro chair repays close attention for its fluid tubular frame, whose three different elements create the front and back legs and wrap underneath the seat before meeting in a triple loop across the back. Lee Broom was inspired by the intricacy of musical instruments in its design – “much like a chair, they have their beauty and they have their function,” he says – as well as by mid-century aesthetics. Maestro is available in chrome, satin brass or matt black, upholstered in velvet or wool. leebroom.com

Studiokhachatryan The work of Brussels-based Armenian designer Noro Khachatryan, Post is a pair of white onyx tables/pedestals that can be orientated either way up. Made in a limited edition of ten plus two artist’s proofs, they were created to coincide with a solo show of Khachatryan’s work at Antwerp gallery St

Vincents. The designer founded Studiokhachatryan is 2010 and seeks “to build bridges between objects and architecture” with his sculptural furniture, made from materials such as marble, brass and bronze. studiokhachatryan.com

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Lambert & Fils Starting life as an award-winning pendant design, Lambert & Fils’ Dorval light has expanded to become a family of products, with a wall, floor and linear pendant version added, as well as this desk light. The collection is the work of French studio SCMP Design Office, and straddles an industrial and domestic aesthetic; the light source is diffused by an acrylic prismatic lens, a material more usually seen covering standard strip-lights, yet the product’s curved edges give it a friendly feel. lambertetfils.com

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Alix Lawson Known for interiors that bring personality and warmth to clean-lined minimalism, designer Alix Lawson has launched a collection of upholstered furniture. The seating designs have a multidirectional approach – they are created to be seen in the round, not pushed up against a wall – with circular and back-to-back designs, as well as an ottoman and footstool. Lawson was inspired by Scandinavian, Australian and Japanese design, and the collection is united by its strong, simple geometric shapes. alixlawson.com

Resident Hitting the market at just the right time to furnish all those newly created home office spaces, the Jiro swivel chair offers an antidote to the overwrought appearance of traditional workplace seating. New Zealand-based furniture and lighting company Resident turned to British designer John Tree to

create the chair, which is ergonomic, responsive and adjustable despite its pared-down looks. Jiro comes in upholstered and non-upholstered versions, with a black or white base, and a natural or black oak back. resident.co.nz

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Kelly Wearstler Star US designer Kelly Wearstler’s product portfolio continues to grow, with a new lighting collection the latest to land. Simple forms and clean lines define her work, with sculptural bronze lamp bases, industrial-inspired tubular pendants and the use of opulent materials such as burnished brass and alabaster. Pictured is the Apareil lantern, shown in a bronze finish, alongside a Dume table and Fairfax chairs. Read Design Anthology UK’s profile of the designer and her Proper Hotels initiative on p54. kellywearstler.com

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Bower Studios While a mirror could already be described as an illusionistic device, Brooklyn’s Bower Studios is taking the concept to another level; its products deceive the eye even further with deep frames and trompe-l’oeil effects created by geometric shapes and contrasting tints. This Cuadra mirror is its latest offering and was inspired by the slim wall openings at Mexican architect Luis Barragán’s Cuadra San Cristóbal. Sizes, tint colour and frame finishes can all be customised across Bower Studios’ collection. bower-studios.com

SCP Philippe Malouin’s Group collection for SCP has expanded to include this lozenge-shaped chaise. The family of products is based on primary shapes, with curved backs and arms that wrap around the base and a fixed bolster running around the inside to support the back; adapting the design to create a

chaise was a logical next step. Manufactured in SCP’s Norfolk workshop, it’s available in an array of plain fabrics, as well as the option for customers to supply their own upholstery material. scp.co.uk

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François Bazin Studio With its subtly abstracted design, this ceramic Fragment wall light is inspired by the bas-relief sculpture made by early-20th-century artists such as Jean Arp. It’s the work of designer François Bazin, who collaborates with small workshops across France to realise his limited-run pieces: these particular lights are handmade in Normandy. Bazin’s other creations are frequently inspired by nature as well as art and architecture, and include a carved-walnut wall light in the shape of a palm leaf. francoisbazinstudio.com

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Grau Ceramica Isac Coimbra and Diogo Ferreira, the founders of Lisbon ceramics studio Grau Ceramica, describe working with clay as “productive therapy” and their output does appear to be imbued with the joy of two people who have given up their day jobs (as an architect and a designer) to work with their hands. This Reversible bowl is so-named because it works either way up, with a different-shaped receptacle on each side. Grau doesn’t have a website, relying on its Instagram account to do some brisk business. @grau_ceramica

Tacchini Milanese design firm Studiopepe has created the Five to Nine daybed for Tacchini’s latest collection. Its core design features a row of cylindrical cushions, with a series of add-on accessories – a back rest, small tray table (both pictured) and an arm rest – to subtly switch the functional emphasis. Studiopepe

says that it was influenced by the idea of an imaginary artist’s atelier of the early 20th century, with the daybed providing a place to recline, relax and seek inspiration between bouts of creativity. tacchini.it

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Mater Space Copenhagen has once again teamed up with serial collaborators Mater, releasing three warm and tactile new products. The Dining Chair is based on the design of Mater’s High Stool, and features a veneer backrest upholstered in soft leather and a solid wood base. A version of the High Stool with a backrest, and a side table in three sizes, completes the set of new designs. The chair is pictured with an Accent dining table and Maija Puoskari’s Terho lighting, whose shape was inspired by an acorn. materdesign.co.uk

RADAR / Read

Out of the Woods

MC24

People have been using wood to build shelter, tools and objects for millennia, and despite the material innovations of the modern world, timber is a material that has just as much relevance today. From historic Japanese houses to the tactility and warmth of wood in contemporary interiors, Out of the Woods tracks the universal appeal of a sturdy, sustainable material beloved by the world’s best architects. Curated by Gestalten editors, this visual journey winds through a collection of timber homes spanning geography, time and scale.

“Practically everything we do needs to change,” says Canadian designer and educator Bruce Mau in his long-awaited manifesto, MC24, on how design can change the world. Three decades in development, the book contains essays, observations, case studies and design work by Mau and other high-profile architects, designers, artists, scientists, thinkers and environmentalists, “giving a practical, playful, and critical toolkit that will empower readers to make an impact and engender change on all scales,” according to publisher Phaidon.

(Gestalten)

by Bruce Mau (Phaidon)

RADAR / Read

Richard Seifert: British Brutalist Architect

Design in Asia: The New Wave

Dedicated to the oeuvre of brutalist architect Richard Seifert, this volume surveys his most recognisable buildings including London’s Nat West Tower, Euston Station and Centre Point. Seifert is credited with changing the face of the capital during the 1960s and 1970s and built dozens of towers, office buildings and hotels over the course of his career; his impact on the city has been compared to Christopher Wren’s. He’s remembered as having an unwavering commitment to modernism, and his prolific body of work divides opinion even now.

The editors of our sister title Design Anthology Asia have authored a book that presents an overview of 100 of the most promising emerging practices working in the region, including Korean designer Wonmin Park and Hong Kong’s Studio Lim. With firsthand accounts from each designer, the book reveals their inspirations, collaborations and the challenges they face. A special edition, limited to 500 copies and stored in a refined slipcase, with a foreword by curator Aric Chen, is available via Design Anthology Asia’s website.

by Dominic Bradbury (Lund Humphries)

by Philip and Suzy Annetta (Thames & Hudson)

RADAR / Openings

Lemon South African collectible design brand Lemon has launched a showroom in Amsterdam. Focused on modern furniture, wallpaper, prints and lighting, all pieces are designed in-house and made to order, with some stock available to buy off the floor. The idea was to create a more consumer-focused destination, since Lemon is already established with design professionals. Yaniv Chen of Master Studio created a serene look for the brand’s Cape Town outpost, and the Amsterdam space will have a similar feel. lemon.za.com

RADAR / Openings

Ferm Living Danish brand Ferm Living has set up its first bricks-and-mortar boutique and showroom in Copenhagen, in a historic building dating back to 1777. Nestled alongside houseboats on one of the city’s central canals, the 1,900 sqm space houses staff offices as well as light-filled spaces open to private customers and trade. According to founder Trine Andersen, the ambition was to create a “Ferm Living universe” with roomsets showing the various collections of homeware and furniture in one place. fermliving.com

From Dreamscapes & Artificial Architecture, © Gestalten 2020

RADAR / Digital art

Escape from reality

Digital artists are creating fantasy worlds that triumph on social media – and, mid-pandemic, manufacturers have shifted their focus to tap in to the zeitgeist

veryone’s done it. Squint, zoom in: is that a photograph, or a render? Computergenerated imagery is so convincing now that it’s easy to be fooled, but an emerging group of digital artists don’t want you to be in too much doubt, creating captivating, surreal worlds that tread a line between fact and fiction. Publisher Gestalten recently released a book on the subject, Dreamscapes & Artificial Architecture, featuring work from leading proponents such as Seba Morales and Alexis Christodoulou. “My goal is not to hide the fact that it’s 3D. It is interesting to play with the border between the reality and the dream,” says digital artist

Victor Roussel. “I like [to create] an exaggerated version of real life. The environments are mostly possible… and then I add in little pieces of magic.” Instagram has been highly instrumental in popularising Roussel’s genre of work; he says that half of his commercial commissions now come from the social media platform. Charlotte Taylor has become the one to follow for digital renderings of dreamlike spaces. An artist, illustrator and set designer working under the name Dello Studio, she also has a side project, Maison de Sable, which sees her collaborate with digital artists to create a series of mythical homes. There’s the Tiled House

Words Emily Brooks

Above The Tiled House, a collaboration between Charlotte Taylor and Hannes Lippert Facing page The work of Alexis Christodoulou, as featured in a new book by Gestalten

RADAR / Digital art

Above Villa Saraceni, Charlotte Taylor and Riccardo Fornoni’s concept for a home beside the Scala dei Turchi in Sicily

(created with Hannes Lippert), which imagines Dutch brand DTile’s products cladding every interior surface of a home; and Villa Saraceni (with Riccardo Fornoni) a dwelling that laps the sea next to the snow-white cliffs of Sicily’s Scala dei Turchi. “We get a lot of requests to rent the villa, and we have to say, ‘no, it only exists in the digital realm,’” says Taylor. “It’s been shared so much without people crediting it, so people do get angry about it.” The popularity of Taylor’s Maison de Sable projects has given her huge visibility and she is now setting up an agency with her collaborators to take on commercial work. The pandemic has boosted the workload of digital artists, as brands look for alternatives to physical photo

shoots for their marketing materials. “There has been a big shift towards digital content,” says artist Stefano Giacomello. “Covid and the necessity to continue to produce content has made brands more comfortable with the idea of 3D spaces and working with designers on the other side of the world.” Design brands are also using more renders so they can tap into the zeitgeist. Now, they proudly tag the artist in question, whereas a few years ago that individual would almost certainly have remained anonymous. New York design show Offsite recently created a series of renders of newly launching products when it quickly had to pivot from being a physical show to a digital one, and the results show how

RADAR / Digital art

imaginative the medium can be while still staying anchored in real-life product design. Despite the fact that artists could create any environment that their mind allows, there is a recurring visual language going on: arches, steps and shallow pools, desert rocks and pink skies occur a lot. “I try to add a sense of scale to every scene, whether that’s steps, archways or pieces of furniture,” says artist Joe Mortell. “That makes it a lot more inviting, because it feels like something you could actually step into.” Taylor says that her style comes from the fact that everything has its starting point in her collection of reference books. “I have so many – from all over the place, but typically eighties interiors books – and I’m constantly going

through them. So everything has some sort of root in a real space, then it’s adapted and adapted.” She cites Luis Barragán, Ricardo Bofill, Albert Frey and Linda Bo Bardi as the architects she finds most inspiring. While much of the architecture created by this new genre isn’t ever going to be built, furniture is a different story. After his pink, petal-covered chair went viral on Instagram, Argentinian artist Andrés Reisinger developed a version of the real thing with product designer Júlia Esqué, and it looks like others are following suit. When Stefano Giacomello posted a striking rainbow-hued table and a comment asked whether it was for sale, his answer was tantalising: “Not yet. Working at it.”

Above Left to right: a render of Russian studio Supaform’s furniture created for New York Design show Offsite; Simon Johns’ Dolomite Table in an imaginary space designed by Charlotte Taylor and Victor Roussel, also for Offsite

RADAR / Profile

A distinctive impression

The renovation of Paris’ Hotel de Pourtalès has made architect Agathe Labaye a name to note

Words Emma Moore Images Stephan Julliard

er name may not trip from the tongues of the design literati just yet, but French architect Agathe Labaye is quietly building a following by putting her stamp on a growing portfolio of projects, both residential and commercial. Her recent renovation of Paris’ Hotel de Pourtalès might mean that global recognition is only a few bookings away. It’s not so unusual, especially in the French architectural tradition, to find architects who can navigate multiple creative highways and expertly evade pigeonholes. Few, though, are quite so flexible in their approach as Labaye, who describes herself as architect, artist, designer, philosopher, anthropologist, interior decorator and ‘gatherer’. “I am always gathering people,” she says, and while she eschews social platforms, her face-to-face social skills make for successful amassing of creative companions. “Isn’t that after all what a ‘studio’ is?”

Facing page Hotel de Pourtalès’ Garden Duplex suite; the huge painting is by Redfield & Dattner

Labaye’s route into her metier began at an unusually young age. Born into a military family, she saw her childhood homes change every few years. She lived in big cities and small villages throughout France, in both houses and flats, and early on she developed a close bond to architecture, drawing houses, designing spaces and endlessly rearranging the furniture in her room. The itinerant lifestyle also gave her the distinctive approach that

filters through her work today – a philosophical fascination with how humans live and interact with the space in which they live. “My early nomadism helped shape my thirst for human and social sciences,” she explains. “Designing spaces doesn’t begin with an object, but with how the humans live in the space.” Her artistic maturity at 15 saw a prescient art collaboration with her peer, Florian Sumi. The teenage friends parted ways professionally, with Labaye taking up architectural studies and Sumi pursuing art – only to come together 15 or so years after their first joint artistic forays, to work on a collection of furniture entitled Le Salon with leather artist Dragovan. While she was studying at L’École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Paris, Labaye worked to earn her way, assisting the artist and urbanist Françoise Schein, and taking time out to work on a project in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, which she later returned to as part of her studies. She gained a job at the architectural firm Abinal and Ropars, and she cites her first career break as working alongside Edouard Ropars on the Arthur Rimbaud Museum in Charleville-Mézières, renovated in 2014. She continued to immerse herself in a number of other creative studios, working for a time with the Belgian designer Xavier Lust and with the artist-designer Pierre Bonnefille.

RADAR / Profile

Since opening her eponymous studio in 2018, Labaye’s renovation of the Hotel de Pourtalès, completed between March and November last year, has been her largest project. Formerly the No Name Hotel, its owners turned to her to update the tired interior. It is made up of two buildings, an 1839 edifice designed by François Durban, architect of Paris’ École des BeauxArts, and an adjoining 1960s structure, so the challenge was to unify the architecture and bring a sense of personality and homeliness to the equation, while working in some pieces from the owners’ Chinese furniture collection. Labaye found herself in her element, gathering carefully selected vintage pieces by the likes of Charlotte Perriand alongside work by her favourite contemporaries – Pool, Ariane Prin, Charlotte Jankowski. For one of the suites she commissioned a huge painting by Redfield & Dattner: “I wanted a vast landscape as a reference to the presence of large-format paintings in the interiors of the 19th century, when the Hotel de Pourtalès was built.” A collection of custom furniture, designed with her serial collaborator Florian Sumi and made with the help of marble specialists Van Den Weghe with bespoke finishes by Pierre Bonnefille, stitch the whole scheme together. Although it was more rational than Sumi and Labaye’s first furniture collection, the approach was nevertheless similarly human-led and carries the same hallmarks. “Our work always keeps the elements that connect the different parts of a piece of furniture. We design each screw, each bolt and they in turn become stylistic elements,” says Labaye. While each apartment has its own personality, coherence across the hotel is brought through harmonising light, sound and tonality.

Diane Arques

Labaye has defied those who have urged her to focus her expertise in order to progress. Current work includes a social project in Paris for a single-parent association and a jewellery store on rue Saint-Honoré, the city’s fashion superhighway. A project she is just launching herself into with palpable glee is a stud farm near Versailles. Labaye’s studio is proving to be an ecumenical practice of polish and pedigree.

“Designing spaces doesn’t begin with an object, but with how the humans live in the space”

Facing page Top to bottom: Architect Agathe Labaye; a table from the collection of furniture she custom-designed for the Hotel de Pourtalès with the help of collaborator Florian Sumi

Above The two rooms and nine suites are filled with classic pieces such as Cassina’s Utrecht armchair, alongside work from Labaye’s favourite contemporary makers

RADAR / Gastronomy

A thirst for adventure

Known for his experiential culinary approach, Studio Appétit’s Ido Garini has brought his unique brand of creativity to a Vienna bar. Not only that, he has devised a multisensory cocktail for Design Anthology UK and made some arresting accompanying imagery for it, too. Prost! Words / Harry McKinley Images & Styling / Ido Garini

he Hague’s embassy quarter is perhaps the last place one might expect to find the conceptual design house Studio Appétit. The neighbourhood’s sleepy, genteel streets are in stark contrast to the riotously creative work of the studio, which is rooted in an experiential approach to food and drink, and counts the likes of Ikea, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and the Victoria & Albert Museum among its high-wattage clients. Then again, founder and creative director Ido Garini thrives on defying convention, both personally and professionally. A global citizen by nature, he was born and raised in Tel Aviv, educated in New York City and is currently based in the Netherlands.

THE DA/UK MARTINI Studio Appétit has created a martini especially for Design Anthology UK. This recipe is the foundation: wonderful on its own, it can also be finished with a series of essence drops to suit the mood. The martini uses two gins that come from different sides of the world yet complement and elevate each other, mixed with a traditional Italian vermouth to tie it all together. It’s recommended as a frozen martini, premade and chilled, so it won’t require ice when served. INGREDIENTS

300ml Isle of Harris gin 150ml Ki No Bi Kyoto gin 150ml Del Professore Classico vermouth 150ml water P R E PA R AT I O N

“No one needs me for the normal stuff,” he begins, with a trademark candour. “There are already a lot of people out there doing very nice, if typical, work. My USP is a different way of thinking, which is essentially the result of my well-managed ADHD.” Again, he’s nothing if not an open book.

1. Prepare in advance. The drink will need around three hours to chill 2. Using a small funnel, pour all the ingredients into an airtight bottle (750ml-1000ml, preferably glass that can go in the freezer) 3. Seal the bottle and turn gently to mix 4. If making this more than six hours ahead, refrigerate first and move to the freezer three to four hours before consumption S E RV I N G

“I live my life as a wide receiver of input and I’ve found my own way to focus,” he explains, smiling broadly. “Focus being a relative thing. I have a condition and can’t control it, so I’ve found a way to elevate it to a working method.

1. Remove from the freezer and turn lightly 2. Pour into a chilled martini or coupe glass 3. Garnish with a twist of lime, or add three to five drops of the mood essences – Restraint, Glee or Balance – detailed on the following pages. Or be creative and choose your own path…

RADAR / Gastronomy

It can be difficult for others to understand how I draw connections, or relate one thing to another, but I have a process that allows me to harness something as an ability that could otherwise be portrayed as a disability.”

Hague to discuss; in his studio, the shelves are bursting with various trinkets from previous collaborations and the resident cat vies for attention, sauntering between chair legs and adding to the general idiosyncrasy of the place.

As for the “not normal stuff ” for which Garini is frequently tapped, well, envisage an edible mineral collection devised for the London Design Festival; an elixir intended to transport the imbiber through time, from ancient Egypt to the Tudors, for Design Miami; or a lollipop that tastes of love for TEDxMünchen, and you’re some way there. There are also product collections with the likes of RawFinnish and Laufen, plus Studio Appétit’s own series.

“What I talk about can sound artistic and cerebral, but it’s the responsibility of every designer to not just be creative, but practical and realistic,” he says, when asked about LVDWIG, the hotel bar in Vienna he’s been working on. “The owner, Barbara Ludwig, wanted to expand the offer creatively; to express ideas seen elsewhere in the hotel in new ways. It was my job to take that brief and translate it into something that surprises, but that also works and can be executed well.”

In recent years, though, the studio has become particularly recognised for its accomplished hospitality work – the much-Instagrammed, art-centric afternoon tea at Rosewood London, for example, which was developed by Garini. It’s one such project that we join him in The

The bar, which was designed by architect Gregor Eichinger, had a soft opening early in the year. Alas, any further fanfare was nixed by the pandemic and an opening party with Austrian actor Christoph Waltz was cancelled.

Previous page The Design Anthology UK martini. Drink on its own or with Studio Appétit’s essence drops to suit the mood Facing page Restraint essence drops are designed for celebrating accomplishments, large or small

RESTRAINT Olive oil, celery seeds and nettle. A flavour of detail and nuance. Refinement of ingredients. Know where to hold back and where to splurge. P R E PA R AT I O N

1. In a small pipette bottle, mix cold-press organic olive oil (three-quarters of the

bottle’s capacity); lightly shredded nettle leaves, or nettle oil (one quarter of the bottle’s capacity); celery seeds, lightly toasted in a pan (one teaspoon per 15ml) 2. Wait at least three days before serving (if using fresh leaves, keep cool or refrigerated) 3. Garnish with celery curls

W H E N TO D R I N K I T For a moment of

accomplishment. Can be a big milestone but also just completing a task S O U N D T R AC K Jeff Russo feat. Lisa

Hannigan, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds S U G G E S T E D F O O D PA I R I N G S Bottarga,

tomato-based dishes

RADAR / Gastronomy

GLEE Orchid, rose-geranium, lavender and rosemary. A flavour you can feel: the essence of blossom, aroma and colour in a drink. P R E PA R AT I O N

1. In a small pipette bottle, mix two parts rose geranium essential oil, one part

2. 3. 4.

orchid essential oil and one part lavender essential oil. (In season, the geranium and lavender oils can be made from fresh leaves) Add five to 10 rosemary leaves, separated and slightly crushed Wait at least 48 hours before serving Garnish with an edible orchid on a sprig of rosemary

W H E N TO D R I N K I T Moments you want

to burst (applies for both bursts of joy and the lack thereof) S O U N D T R AC K Brigitte Bardot,

Bubble Gum S U G G E S T E D F O O D PA I R I N G S Aged

goat’s cheese, key lime pie

The bar lies within Hotel Beethoven, a privately owned boutique hotel opposite the Theater an der Wien in the heart of the city, steeped in tradition. Beethoven himself once lived in the building and it was here that he composed his opera, Fidelio. Set over six floors, each themed differently, it is a love letter to Vienna from its current owners – one level dedicated to the “strong women of the fin de siècle,” another to the city’s illustrious and storied cafe culture and another to the Vienna Secession.

When the world ground to a coronavirusinduced slow crawl, Garini spent time dabbling in temporary drinks menus, each a commentary on the times – the Disinfection Collection and the Summer Travel series, the latter coming with its own LVDWIG-branded passport.

“There was a period when the area was a bit down on its luck,” says Garini, “and during this time the building was famously used as a brothel. I’ve tried to take all those layers of history and narrative and apply them to the bar concept and menu.” An example of his leftfield approach: one of the cocktails that he has developed foams in the mouth like soap, an evocation of the Viennese “laundry girls” who populated the neighbourhood during the 19th century, characterised in paintings from the time as buxom and louche.

The mainstay menu of seven cocktails, recently unveiled, features a signature serve – called the LVDWIG, naturally – followed by Vienna in Six Sips, each relating to a floor of the hotel and its particular premise. One concoction is intended to be paired with an absorbing soundtrack and comes with a set of headphones. “For that we’ve designed tableware kits that have the glasses incorporated into them,” says Garini. “Guests don’t just order a drink, they order their own micro cosmos; their own experiential pocket universe.”

“A successful experience for most people lies in the mix of familiarity and innovation,” he says. “It starts with identifying something people can relate to and then building on that.”

Facing page Glee essence drops are for when you need to “enhance or reclaim your smile,” according to Studio Appétit

RADAR / Gastronomy

BALANCE Raw honey, forest mushroom, coffee berry and orange bitters. A flavour of foraging and exploration. A bold, unexpected mix of ingredients. P R E PA R AT I O N

1. Add a handful of dehydrated forest mushrooms, softened slightly, to a jar

2. In a saucepan, heat 350ml of honey on low heat until it liquefies; add orange peel strips and dried cascara (coffee berry), or crushed coffee beans if easier. Simmer for 20 minutes (do not boil) 3. Let cool, then pour over the mushrooms 4. Wait three to five days before serving 5. Garnish the martini with citrus blossom and/or honey-glazed orange peel

More large-scale projects are on the horizon, the relative slowdown of the pandemic giving way to a frenzied pursuit of fresh ideas by brands and institutions. For now, there’s little Garini can divulge, as his imagination bursts with a thousand possibilities and then coalesces around just a few. One project revealed here is the multisensory tipple he has made for Design Anthology UK, Studio Appétit’s creative process in the shape of a bespoke cocktail. It says something about Design Anthology UK’s ethos, of course, but also Garini’s. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a partnership with a luxury fashion house in Paris, a Scandinavian design company or a beautifully curated print publication in the UK, it always comes down to the need to connect,” he says. “I may think differently, my mind may work in unusual ways, but in the end isn’t everything experiential just about the search for human connection?”

Facing page With mushrooms and honey, Studio Appétit’s Balance mood essence turns an unlikely pairing into equilibrium Right Ido Garini, the creative force behind Studio Appétit, currently based in The Hague

W H E N TO D R I N K I T When you want

to hit restart. Understanding that pushing your boundaries and exploring is a mindset that will keep you growing S O U N D T R AC K Sigur Rós, Festival S U G G E S T E D F O O D PA I R I N G S Banana

bread, confit garlic, blueberries

Making places colourful

usm.com

USM Modular Furniture 49–51 Central St, London EC1V 8AB, 020 7183 3470, info.uk@usm.com

Nobu Hotel Warsaw. Read the full story on p50

JOURNEY Distinctive destinations

JOURNEY / Openings

New hotels

Frederick Wissink

Unique places to stay, in destinations of note

JOURNEY / Openings

Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô, Vietnam After the success of its magnificent tented lodge in the Namib desert, hotel group Zannier is promising the wow factor again with a new, much larger proposition in Vietnam. Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô resort is located on a little-known peninsula on the south-central coast and includes 71 standalone villas spread across a 98-hectare plot. Designed by Zannier Hotels Interior and Studio KO, the villas are built to resemble three different architectural styles unique to Vietnam. The rooms offer a natural palette inspired by beachside living, with hessian lampshades, reclaimed wood furnishings, smooth bamboo floors and lime-washed walls, creating a soothing backdrop to the vibrant greenery outside. zannierhotels.com

JOURNEY / Openings

NoMad London, UK Design details are scarce, but expect the designers’ signature layered bohemian style, alongside postwar American art, and photography by Martin Parr. Food and drink options include all-day dining in a striking light-filled atrium, a pub, a relaxed library area and an east-London-style bar. thenomadhotel.com

Benoit Linero

Europe’s first NoMad hotel will open in London later this year in a spectacular 19th-century listed building opposite Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House. Behind the project is Andrew Zobler, founder and CEO of New York-based hospitality company Sydell Group. Formerly the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, the building has been redesigned with long-term collaborators Roman and Williams.

JOURNEY / Openings

Forestis, Italy South Tyrolean architect Asaggio and an in-house design team have remodelled this mountain hotel, a former sanatorium with a history dating back to the first world war. The building now maximises its skyhigh position on the southern slope of the Plose mountain, right opposite the Dolomites, a World Heritage Site. All 62 suites have panoramic views, with rooms featuring cream soft furnishings, pale

timber and minimalist beds. Designed as a wellness retreat, the hotel encourages guests to connect with the surrounding elements: spring water, mountain air, sunshine and a mild climate. Forestis was a carbon-neutral build and will be run on 100% renewable energy sources. forestis.it

JOURNEY / Openings

Nobu Hotel Warsaw, Poland As Warsaw’s thriving art scene and creative energy draw in visitors, design-led hotels are starting to appear. One of note is Nobu Hotel Warsaw, a first in Poland for Nobu Hospitality group and its 12th hotel worldwide. The group chose local architecture studio Medusa Group and California-based Studio PCH for the project, which is housed in a unique building made up of two separate wings, the first an art deco building dating back to the 1920s interwar period and the second an ultra-contemporary new build. The 117-room hotel has the signature Japanese design influences of all Nobu hotels, but offers guests the choice of either classic or modern rooms to suit their tastes. Not forgetting the cultural offering, public floors highlight modern Polish art masterpieces from the Jankilevitsch Collection. warsaw.nobuhotels.com

JOURNEY / Openings

Lopud-1483, Croatia among the ramparts, complemented with sea-view terraces and medicinal gardens; the surrounding fortifications include a secret sea cave. The project is the work of art collector Francesca ThyssenBornemisza, whose family have contributed private art and antique furnishings to Lopud-1483. lopud1483.com

Reto Guntli

Welcoming guests for the first time in 2020 after a 20-year restoration project, Lopud-1483 lies in the heart of the Elaphiti islands, on the northern tip of the car-free Croatian island of Lopud. This 15thcentury monastic complex has been sensitively restored and partly rebuilt with the help of Zagreb architecture firm Studio Markovic and Italian designer Paula Lenti. Five unique suites are dotted

JOURNEY / Openings

Artist Residence Bristol, UK The latest venture from Charlie and Justin Salisbury looks to be their most ambitious yet. The founders of quirky boutique hotel group Artist Residence have transformed a dilapidated building into an eclectic, luxurious space. Part Georgian townhouse, part former boot factory, the hotel is set in a listed building in the heart of the creative St Pauls district and features original beams, industrial sliding doors,

Georgian cornicing and exposed brick walls. The 23 bedrooms are housed above a bar, cafe, restaurant and events space, while the art collection celebrates Artist Residence regulars Maria Rivans, Bonnie & Clyde and The Connor Brothers alongside local names Annie Clay, Rose Vickers and Kedals. artistresidence.co.uk

JOURNEY / Profile

Bring the drama

Kelly Wearstler takes the “fiercely local narrative” of Proper Hotels to downtown Los Angeles

“N

arrative is everything,” says the awardwinning LA-based interior designer Kelly Wearstler, “whether it’s residential or commercial.” We’re on the phone discussing the launch of the Downtown LA Proper Hotel, the fourth instalment of the US-based hotel chain creatively directed by Wearstler and founded by Brad Korzen, Brian De Lowe and Alex Samek, the team behind Viceroy Hotels. Korzen is Wearstler’s husband, with whom she has two teenage sons, and Proper is their tenth hotel partnership in 20 years. The hotel, which opens in October, is housed inside a 1926 red brick building designed by Curlett & Beelman. It was a private club in the 1930s before becoming a hotel in the 1940s and then finally a YWCA until 2004. It’s now spectacular, and sure to be a success thanks to Wearstler’s impeccable taste. “The building hadn’t been touched for years,” she says. “There was a mishmash of architectural styles and renovations, so it definitely needed a lot of TLC when we started working on it four years ago.” The exterior had been designated a historic cultural monument, so the brickwork and original window casings were kept. The rest, in Wearstler’s hands, is now pleasingly colourful, modern and very clearly placed in its fashion district locale. That’s a signature for Wearstler and now the Proper Hotel brand she’s helped develop: neighbourhood architecture and culture is key, therefore her design always feels rooted in its vicinity. Furniture, materials and works of art are mostly fabricated or sourced locally, while

artist collaborators are often drawn from a pool of emerging talents from the area. Downtown LA, where this hotel is based, has a distinctly Spanish-Mexican-Californian vibe, with hints of Moroccan and Portuguese style too. It feels fitting for this place.

Words Becky Sunshine Images The Ingalls

“We really looked at the history of the building and found that it had a Spanish Mission flavour,” explains Wearstler, “so having looked at a lot of historic photographs, the property is early Californian/Spanish, slightly Mexican themed. There’s a lot of warm colour and pattern and we’ve worked to bring visual drama to some of the spaces. The Proper brand is fiercely local in its narrative, so it’s been an amazing time working with a lot of talented local people, from ceramic artists to chefs and sculptors, exploring many different skill sets.” Originally from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Wearstler, who studied graphic design and architecture in New York, celebrates 25 years of her studio this year. Her very distinct brand of luxurious laid-back design layers deliciously unexpected combinations of colour and pattern with her great love of both contemporary and rare vintage furniture, lighting and art; she and her 50-strong team are heavily in demand. Her portfolio of residential and commercial projects is impressive: private homes in New York, California and Texas, as well as hotels and restaurants including The Avalon in Beverly Hills, Viceroy hotels in Santa Monica and Miami and a Four Seasons in Anguilla. Collections of branded products, including furniture, lighting, wallcoverings and rugs,

Facing page Kelly Wearstler, creative director of Proper Hotels, which is about to open its fourth instalment in LA

Facing page The sideboard is a custom-made piece, and incorporates tile inserts by Los Angeles-based ceramicist Morgan Peck

Above Muted colours and patterns in one of the suites. A vintage French light is paired with a Wearstler-designed sofa

JOURNEY / Profile

which sell both on her own website and her showroom in Los Angeles, have been a great success, as have collaborations with other brands, including The Rug Company, Lee Jofa and Ann Sacks. There are five monographs dedicated to her work and the latest, Evocative Style, was published last year by Rizzoli. One of the many things Wearstler is adept at is creating an immersive lifestyle experience that feels both dynamic and relevant. Her interiors are achingly cool and elegant, but somehow still welcoming and relaxed. As part of her remit for Proper Hotels she’s had a hand in all aspects of branding. “When you go to a destination, it needs to ignite all of the senses,” Wearstler explains. “When you walk into a hotel, you want to know what’s the smell, what’s the music playing, what does the card key look like? The design of everything has to work cohesively and tell the story of where you are.” The Proper Hotel in Santa Monica, which opened in 2019, is the perfect example. “You’re by the ocean so you want to feel like you are. Every chair, every book in the library, every material used makes you feel like you’re at the beach in California,” she explains. At the new Downtown LA location, visitors will find 148 rooms and suites, each individually designed. A hundred different types of tiles were incorporated, from antique discoveries to handcrafted new works from a maker based in Pasadena (and Wearstler also recommends the flea markets in Pasadena for great vintage art and furniture). A large-scale custom stained glass screen has been created for the lobby by Judson Studios, while a hand-painted mural greeting guests at one of the hotel’s entrances is by local artist Abel Macias. The hotel’s life as a YWCA has been swept away, or imaginatively incorporated: an indoor basketball court has become a supersized suite, as has an indoor swimming pool, which now features a ceramic mural by local artist Ben Medansky. A pool and restaurant have been built on the roof and they are clearly set to be a hotspot. Set within a lush landscaped sky garden, there are numerous decked levels for the bar and lounge areas and a dining terrace

with views across the city, proof of how brilliant Wearstler is at creating theatre. The one thing Wearstler isn’t good at is sitting still. During the lockdown earlier this year she worked at full pelt, either from her home office or alone at her studio, with her team working remotely. She even managed to up her daily 90-minute workout to two hours. Of course she did. She’s plotting another monograph for 2022 and is working on the next Proper Hotel opening in Portland, Oregon for next year. A new partnership with a well-known paint brand (“I can’t say who it is yet, but it’s incredible”) launches in spring 2021. What else can she possibly fit into her schedule? “We have several new residential and commercial projects on the go and actually I’d love to take the Proper Hotel concept to London. I would so love a project there.” We look forward to it.

Above The downtown hotel was built in 1936 and had been previously used as a YWCA Facing page Suede-like plaster walls in one of the suites are a subtle nod to the Spanish Mission aesthetic that the building had in the past

“We really looked at the history of the building and found that it had a Spanish Mission flavour. There’s a lot of warm colour and pattern”

Altered terrain

Even the wildest of landscapes have usually been shaped in some way by the hand of man. For his photo essay A Cure for Anthropocene, George Marazakis travelled across Greece to capture the often-unnoticed changes that humans exert on nature, from fish farms to power plants, finding beauty and sadness in these large-scale interventions

Above Greenhouse at sunset, Malia, Crete

Above Reservoir, Lasithi Plateau, Crete

Previous page Wildfire outside Distomo, Viotia

Above Fish farm, Saronic gulf, Attica

Above Coal power plant at dawn, Ptolemaida, West Macedonia

Happy D.2 Plus. Design and technology perfectly combined. The perfect combination of iconic design and innovative technology: the bathroom classic Happy D.2 Plus with harmoniously rounded corners in new variants. The unique Duravit technologies like the patented c-bonded open up new, individual solutions. Design by sieger design. For more bathroom design visit www.duravit.co.uk and pro.duravit.co.uk

A house in Hackney by Fraher & Findlay. Read the full story on p106 Image by Adam Scott

HOME Timeless spaces

Balanced brownstone A classic Brooklyn townhouse that subtly intertwines preserved historical details and contemporary elements Words / Karine Monié Images / Nick Glimenakis

HOME / New York City

oday, social media is part of everyday life. For some, it is a source of inspiration; for others, it is a tool to connect with a dynamic like-minded community. Its purpose can be exchanging ideas or discovering new places, brands and creative minds – which, of course, includes architects and interior designers.

willing to pay a little more for the quintessential tree-lined Brooklyn block. I’m originally from London and [this area] reminds me a lot of Ladbroke Grove. Part of the appeal of living here is to embrace and respect the surroundings and history.” The soul and energy of the house sealed the deal: “The home had this incredible charm, and the previous owner was so lovely and had three equally amazing daughters.”

Lindsay Nelson and Kayvan Salmanpour first spotted the work of interior designer Jae Joo on Instagram. The young executives – UK-born Salmanpour is chief commercial officer at Boston Globe Media and US-born Nelson is chief experience officer and brand officer at TripAdvisor – got married in Morocco about a year ago, and decided it was the right time for their first project together: building a home.

After landmark permits and some delays, the extensive scope of the makeover finally started, consisting of blowing out the back of the home in order to expand the spaces, excavating to raise the ceiling height and opening up the parlour floor – previously subdivided into apartments – to transform it into a bright and airy open-plan living space. The renovation also included raising the floor of the secluded master suite, installing large steel and glass openings on the rear facade to let in natural light on two levels of the extension, and adding three new terraces. Inspired by the house’s original arched doorway and front windows, the designer has repeated the arched motif throughout on the internal doors.

The couple bought an Anglo-Italianate-style brownstone in Brooklyn, built in 1860, and contacted Joo, the founder and principal at Jae Joo Designs. Passionate about working on brownstone properties, the designer tackled the challenge of renovating and enlarging the 350 sqm townhouse in collaboration with architects BAAO Studio. With five bedrooms and four-and-half bathrooms, the layout is organised around a basement, a “parlour floor” (traditionally the grandest floor in these types of dwellings, with the highest ceilings), and second and third levels.

Since their first meeting, Joo and her clients have had a great connection. “Lindsay and Kayvan showed a lot of enthusiasm and no fear, which motivates me even more,” she says. “Almost everything has been redone, yet it somehow feels as if it’s been there for years.” To achieve this, many original details were kept. The staircase was restored, and became one of the most striking architectural elements in the house; a skylight at the top of the stairwell was

Described as a “hidden gem” by the owners, the vibrant neighbourhood convinced the couple to take the plunge. “Townhouses in Fort Greene move quickly,” says Salmanpour. “We initially fell in love with the street, so we were

Facing page A three-storey extension has been added to expand the living space. Steel doors lead from the open-plan kitchen-living area to a deck

Previous page Soft colours and original features contrast with contemporary furniture, such as the Berin club chair from BDDW

HOME / New York City

replaced with one in an oval shape, echoing the footprint of the staircase and the curved architectural features seen elsewhere.

trims and mouldings throughout the house in off-white tones, and balanced it with the edgier finishes like the matte black staircase,” says Joo.

“The biggest challenge for any brownstone project is creating a functional and attractive layout that feels natural to the space,” says Joo. “I wanted the entire house to have a pareddown, refined look to it without any townhouse stuffiness. I tried to consider the lifestyle aspects of each decision so that every detail would feel necessary, giving the home an impression of effortless style.”

With the owners spending most of their time in the kitchen, this room is the focal point. “It has a distinct space but maintains line of sight from the outdoor terrace through the bar and dining room,” says Salmanpour. “The project was built to enjoy and celebrate life in the morning and at night, with no part of the house overly precious.” Joo also took particular care in the cosy master suite, with the objective of making it her clients’ favourite space. “I chose archways to create a more natural transition between rooms and reinforced this effect by restoring the original wood floors throughout the entire suite, even in the bathroom, and finished by adding hints of raw brass and Calacatta Bettogli marble to bring the suite together,” the interior designer explains.

Bringing a contemporary touch to a historic structure was at the heart of the creative concept. Despite many changes, Joo preserved the soul of the place and conveyed the innovative yet unpretentious spirit of Brooklyn through the aesthetic and atmosphere. “I designed the fireplace to be a part of the architecture, like the archways,” Joo says. “I wanted it to be a highlight of the living space without breaking the continuity of the floor.” The entire wall is covered in rough-textured plaster, with the curved section featuring the fireplace in a fluted texture, a job that was done by local plaster specialists Kamp Studios. “I love how organic it feels,” says Joo, while the homeowners describe it as “truly a work of art. It creates a beautiful balance of texture and curves that juxtapose the steel doors.”

“The first thing we do in the morning is make a coffee and sit on the balcony off of the bedroom, and stare at the peaceful beauty of the hundred-year-old oak tree smiling down at us,” says Nelson. Balancing simplicity and decorative detail, this private oasis with generous natural light and minimal clutter was a challenge to renovate, but worth it. “We feel lucky and privileged,” say the homeowners. “All those years of hard work and living on top of each other in small apartments in the city were for a reason.”

The neutral colour palette throughout creates a sleek modern feel and a sense of moodiness. “We added classic brownstone details in the

Previous page Flos’ Arrangements pendant hangs over the kitchen island. Designed with socialising in mind, the kitchen spans the width of the house

Facing page Brooklyn-based Kamp Studios created the finish for the fireplace wall, which the homeowners describe as “truly a work of art”

Above The dining room’s panelled walls are a new, in-keeping addition Facing page The restored original staircase, which is topped by a skylight

Overleaf Twin arched doorways in the perfectly symmetrical master bedroom lead either to the bathroom or out to a passageway

Facing page The bathroom of the master suite, with its marble vanity unit and wall lights by Arne Jacobsen for Louis Poulsen

Above Horizontal wall niches are a minimal alternative to shelving, allowing the homeowners to display their collections

Playing with space Gallerist Pascale Revert’s Parisian pied-à-terre is an idiosyncratic melting pot of art and design Words / Dominic Lutyens Images / Carola Ripamonti

HOME / Paris

talian architecture studio Marcante Testa has redesigned a two-bed apartment in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in the centre of Paris, whose character is both extrovert and introvert. The 150 sqm flat has an intriguing asymmetric layout that both overlooks a courtyard and the nearby Place Saint-Sulpice. At its core is the hallway that connects with the flat’s most impressive spaces – the highceilinged, street-facing dining room and living room, which boast elegant, tall windows with views on to the square. A load-bearing wall once separated these rooms but this has been shortened, creating a semi-open-plan space. Another intervention by the architects was the inclusion, in the hallway, of an idiosyncratic, diagonally positioned partition with an earthy clay finish that doesn’t reach ceiling height and separates the entrance from the dining and living rooms. “The part of the screen in front of the dining room is longer, helping to conceal it as this is a more private area. In fact, the screen orientates any visitor’s gaze towards the more public living room,” explains Andrea Marcante, who worked on the project with the practice’s co-founder Adelaide Testa; the duo formed the company in Turin in 2014.

Facing page A study area with a vintage desk by Janette Laverrière and a Bold chair by Moustache Previous page The warm claytoned finish on the walls was partly inspired by French architect Roger Anger’s utopian housing project in India, Auroville

By drawing the eye towards the flat’s streetfacing side, this peekaboo screen reinforces the outward-looking quality of this Paris pied-àterre. Its owner, Pascale Revert, is chiefly based in London: five years ago she founded a gallery there, 50 Golborne, which shows work by contemporary artists of African origin. “The apartment is very central: convenient for showing Paris-based clients works by our artists beyond our presence in London and at art fairs,” says Revert. Furthermore, the Place Saint-Sulpice “has the best south-facing caféterrasse in Paris. The area has recovered some of the glamour and intellectual aura it had in the 1960s and 1970s with a recent influx of interesting shops and cafes.”

Revert used to own Paris gallery Perimeter Art and Design, which specialised in collectible contemporary design, but grew disillusioned with this field: “The pieces became increasingly expensive and not innovative. While taking three years off, I was invited to be on the Tate’s acquisition committee for contemporary African art. I liked how African artists fuse art, design and craft and feel free to transform humble materials, textiles and techniques taken from traditional craftsmanship yet use them in a conceptual way.” Context informs the design of the apartment’s living and dining rooms in particular, thanks to Revert, who imparted her knowledge of the area’s history to the architects. Place SaintSulpice is dominated by its eponymous ancient church – after Notre-Dame, the second largest in Paris. Over the decades, Saint-Germain acquired a reputation for being avant-garde, left-leaning and louche. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was an openly gay nightclub, Le Fiacre, on Rue Saint-Sulpice whose customers spilt onto the street in summer despite being yards from the venerable church. According to Revert, Marxist philosopher Guy Debord frequented the cafe on the square, writing automatic poems while observing passers-by. Yet the iconic Catholic church acknowledges science with its 18th-century gnomon – a meridian line made of brass inlaid in the floor, designed to determine the times of equinoxes. Some believe this rational device spared the church from destruction during the French Revolution. “I wrote a brief for the architects giving context about the square – the glamour of Yves St Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld, who both lived there, as does Catherine Deneuve today,” says Revert. “After that, the architects and I had conversations about everything chosen for the apartment. I proposed using some furniture from my own collection and they also picked

HOME / Paris

some pieces, including a desk by Gio Ponti and a mirrored coffee table by [Swiss-French interior designer] Janette Laverrière. “I found the architects’ suggestions for colours, textures and materials exciting. The warmtoned clay finish they used echoes views of the square which is strongly lit by a south-facing light.” Marcante says that the finish was also inspired by French architect Roger Anger’s Auroville, a utopian housing project in India founded in 1968, intended as a community welcoming all creeds, politics and nationalities. The architects also referenced the nearby church by adorning the living-room ceiling with a new moulding replicating the symbol of the Society of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice. This rather arcane detail pulls the eye up to the ceiling, making the living room look taller. Here and in the dining room, pale colours predominate to capitalise on the daylight. That said, the space is enlivened by a large artwork made of raffia, copper, gold and human hair by French-Ivorian artist Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien, who is represented by Revert. Offsetting the room’s pallor is a built-in cobalt blue sofa designed by the architects, which Mercante describes as “microarchitecture”. Monolithic, curvaceous furniture pops up throughout the flat, such as the Pierre Paulin armchair in the same room. The dining area is dominated by a table also designed by Marcante Testa, manufactured by SEM Spotti Edizioni Milano. Called Duale, it comes in two tessellating sections, allowing for greater flexibility in terms of the numbers of people sitting around it. Revert was introduced to Marcante Testa by Paris-based American Ashley Maddox, who finds and renovates buildings in the city and project-managed the remodelling of this flat. “I liked the architects’ cultured, respectful but playful approach when working on existing

buildings while enhancing their history and particularities,” says Revert of why she became their client. “They also know how to open up spaces well, so they flow in a pleasing way.” However, any visitors burrowing their way into the courtyard-facing parts of the flat gradually come across a very different atmosphere, characterised by stronger colours and ritzy finishes. The kitchen hints at this change of tempo with its eau-de-nil and baby blue walls, flamboyant copper-coloured kitchen units and a marble worktop. In the main bedroom, jolts of turquoise and royal blue, which make a stark contrast with mushroom-coloured surfaces, reinforce this impression. Here, the bed (with a minimal white frame by Tobia Scarpa for Cassina) has a turquoise bedcover, while the ensuite bathroom features a vanity unit with a lusciously vibrant turquoise washbasin. The space incorporates a small study, which is discreetly partitioned off from the main bedroom. In the guest bedroom are yet more bursts of colour, including a jade green bedcover and a wallpaper by Hermès in a rich oxblood shade, while Mercante Testa designed a wardrobe in ivory and pastel blue that stands next to a Gio Ponti desk in sherry-pale wood. A quirky, playful touch is the addition of electric sockets in bright blue porcelain by Katy Paty. “The guest bedroom which overlooks the courtyard was a bit gloomy, so, to compensate for this, we decided to use more colour here,” explains Marcante. There’s a lot to take in within this apartment – culture, history, art and a very contemporary use of colour – not to mention the multifaceted character of its location. The combined input of Marcante Testa, Revert and Maddox has resulted in a truly multifaceted project that is nevertheless satisfyingly unified.

Facing page Works from the homeowner’s gallery are on display throughout the apartment, including a photograph by Joana Choumali Previous page Off-white furniture, including a Sesann sofa from Tacchini, picks up on the colour of the ceiling, which features a motif replicating the symbol of the local priesthood

“The area has recovered some of the glamour and intellectual aura it had in the 1960s and 1970s”

Facing page A diagonally placed dividing wall in front of the main door loosely creates a hallway, orientating the visitor’s gaze to the left towards the living space

Above Marcante Testa designed several pieces for the apartment, including the Duale table for SEM Spotti Edizioni Milano and lighting for Rossi Illuminazione

Above The living room features a sculpture by Beninese artist Romuald Hazoume

Next page Hermès wallpaper wraps the bedroom walls; the bed and wardrobe were custom-designed by the architects

Facing page A Gentry Home bathtub is paired with Gio Ponti taps in the guest bathroom

Natural connection A rural Menorcan house where art on the walls isn’t needed, because the views are pure visual poetry Words / Karine Monié Images / Julio Feroz

HOME / Menorca

fter spending many holidays in Menorca, renting different houses in the village of Es Mercadal, and looking for the right plot for years, the Spanish owner of this home didn’t hesitate to trade his urban life in Barcelona for a full-time existence in the island’s countryside. “His wish was a house in contact with the territory, which could be enjoyed both inside and outside most of the year,” explains architect and designer Marina Senabre Roca. Senabre Roca worked tirelessly on this project, which included significant changes including extending the house into the garden and letting the panoramic views enter the home through an improved layout. “This type of project requires a very close relationship with the client. In the end, it was about creating a home for a specific person and translating his way of living into the space,” she says. Spread over 200 sqm, the house comprises two volumes, which work independently. The larger (of approximately 140 sqm) is a cuboid shape, and hosts the living spaces including the kitchen, dining area and lounge. All of these spaces not only connect with one another, but also with the exterior, through large openings and interior patios. The smaller volume (of around 60 sqm) has a gabled roof, and so takes on a more traditional appearance. It acts as an

auxiliary pavilion and contains the guest room, a space to work out and a small indoor pool that invites dwellers to relax and contemplate the views. Facing each another, the two buildings create a dialogue through the same language of composition and materials. “I designed the house to give the feeling of being part of the countryside,” Senabre Roca says. The architect harnessed the contrast between the purity of the building’s geometry and the wilder character of the surrounding landscape: “I wanted to represent, on one hand, a typical Balearic island construction, and on the other, contemporary architecture.” The timeless interior spaces reflect the same duality. Minimalism and warmth meet, thanks to the abundant use of micro-cement covering most of the horizontal and vertical surfaces, including the floor, the bathroom walls and the kitchen island. Traditional elements, such as natural woodwork, provide a simple materiality that weaves through each room. In answer to the owner’s love of cooking, the kitchen became the natural spot to create a showstopping view, with a large square window overlooking the roaming cows in the adjoining field. “Without a doubt, they are the best neighbours we can imagine,” says the architect.

Previous page A tranquil-looking pool in the guest house invites quiet contemplation of the landscape beyond Facing page The walkway between the house’s two buildings, with views right through and out the other side

HOME / Menorca

Influenced by the modern movement and Mediterranean design, Senabre Roca has been increasingly drawn to Japanese, Scandinavian and Portuguese architecture in recent years. “The colour palette is neutral and there is no place for ornament. This home values concept, proportions and simplicity,” she says. With almost no decorative elements, the windows work in the place of pictures on the walls. “Nature is the true work of art,” she adds. Several lamps in the house are by design studio and manufacturer Contain, which was founded by Argentinian duo Mauricio Obarrio and Juan Peralta and is based in Mallorca. The Nuvol Double floor lamp in the dining room, for example, is made from brass and opaline glass with a local stone base. “We tried to create two types of atmosphere,” Peralta says of how they envisaged the lighting for the house. “For the common areas, we selected lamps with dimmers that create a more relaxed ambience, while for the bedrooms we used reading models.” The owner chose the colours of the stone, the sizes of the lamps and the brass finishes as part of Contain’s custommade design approach. “Our philosophy is to create unique and unrepeatable pieces for every project, in collaboration with customers and architects,” says Peralta.

Facing page A rustic wood table provides maximum contrast with the crisp white walls and micro-cement floor Next page Large timber-framed windows take up most of the wall space, replacing the need for artwork

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Although principally known for its lighting, Contain manufactures furniture, too. In the living room, a terrazzo-topped table was specially designed by Senabre Roca and Contain. It was based on existing models but this new piece is now part of the brand’s portfolio of permanent products. A photograph by Julio Feroz, a rustic coffee table and Norr11’s Nomad Chair (from Papillon Menorca, a small store with a thoughtful selection of highquality pieces) are a few of the other elements that subtly grace the rooms. “I really like the scale of this project,” Senabre Roca says. “The single family house is a typology that allows design from start to finish, down to the smallest detail.” The house honours the modesty and purity of the vernacular architecture (Es Mercadal is known for its uniform whitewashed buildings) while adding a contemporary twist, and its two-part approach gives rise to a fascinating geometric conversation. Thanks to its direct relationship with the exterior, it blurs the lines between inside and out so that every corner and detail naturally and seamlessly take on its full meaning. “My intention was to design spaces that help people feel in contact with the island,” says the architect. The goal was ambitious, but the outcome speaks for itself.

Above Norr11’s Nomad chair, and a light from Mallorcan manufacturer Contain

Facing page With contrasting shapes, the buildings are in dialogue with each other

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House of wabi sabi

A sensitively restored Victorian home united by Japanese influences and a secret garden Words / Charlotte Luxford Images / Adam Scott

HOME / London

f you pass by a row of Victorian terraces from the back, it often looks like a bit of an architectural hotchpotch – a brick box stuck on here, a dormer window jutting out there – with features added over time as modern life outgrows the floorplans of the 19th century. However, it’s rarer to stumble across a period property that has been patchworked back together so seamlessly, it still feels whole. Maintaining architectural integrity was the key to this renovation in Hackney, while also breathing new life into its dilapidated shell. Owners Gemma Ruse and Xavier Sheriff were keen for a project they could get their teeth into, but Ruse admits they probably bit off more than they could chew. “When we viewed the house in 2017 it was in a bad way and pretty unloved,” she says. “Artex and strip lighting adorned the ceilings and dodgy conversions plagued the internal structure, including a darkroom in the attic that had been installed in the sixties, and a bizarre porch extension with an internal window opening on to a roof. I’m not sure what we were thinking.”

Previous page Split levels are connected via a concrete peninsula, with a snug-cumplayroom leading off the hallway Facing page The Japaneseinspired courtyard garden is visible from almost every room in the house

The couple wanted to transform the fourstorey property by extending to the rear, side and loft level, but also needed to incorporate an existing basement annexe into the design. They enlisted the help of architects Fraher & Findlay to come up with a solution that would connect the old and new architecture. Their day jobs, as co-founders of retail designers Studio XAG, also fed in to their ideas. “At Studio XAG we make what we call ‘wow moments’,” says Ruse. “We design temporary installations that are

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bold, eye-catching and designed to pique your interest. I wanted to bring the essence of this into the house, but in a subtler way.” Fraher & Findlay’s response was a pint-sized yet pertinent installation; a Japanese-inspired micro-courtyard (or tsubo niwa) measuring just three square metres. ‘Tsubo’ has two meanings in Japanese: the first is an area equal to two tatami floor mats, while the other is ‘vessel’. The tsubo niwa is the holistic centrepiece of the entire property; it has become a quiet constant among the flurry of daily life, visible from almost every room in the house. “We needed to keep a sense of separation between the annexe and the house but we also wanted to ensure the existing building didn’t become swallowed by the extension,” says Lizzie Fraher, director of Fraher & Findlay. “The courtyard garden was a way of introducing natural light into the heart of the ground floor while also acting as a mediator and breathing moment between the Victorian architecture and the new additions.” “Because the house is very big and we’re a small family at the moment, it made sense to maintain the annexe,” adds Ruse. “The tsubo niwa seemed a beautiful way to execute this. I loved the idea that you had to travel through this miniature garden to get to another internal space, and the sense of greenery that permeates the entire home is wonderful.” Japanese influences run through the entire redesign. When dealing with period features, a

A low concrete bench creates a subtle divide from the kitchen but keeps the space sociable

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“The courtyard garden was a way of introducing light into the heart of the ground floor while also acting as a breathing moment between the Victorian architecture and the new addition”

From the kitchen, steps lead down through the courtyard garden to the basement annexe

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HOME / London

Facing page Thick layers of old paint on the cornicing and skirting boards were stripped off as part of the house's restoration

wabi sabi approach was taken, that is, one that embraces the property’s imperfections and history. The thick layers of old paint that coated the skirting, ceiling roses and cornicing were stripped back to reveal the age of the house, while pink plaster walls create a restful backdrop. “The period features have been left very raw in a way that makes them feel quite contemporary,” says Fraher. “The new elements have a high level of craftsmanship and that is the nature [of the era] in which the period details were first made, so there’s a natural relationship between the two.”

make the garden more private. The peninsula island bridges the split level and cleverly zones the space without the need for partition walls to create a more sociable layout, with a snug and playroom area for son Raffi on the upper level. There are plenty of “perch points”, including an oriel window seat and bench seating that flows out into the garden. “We love being able to slide the doors open and make the outdoor space feel part of the room,” says Ruse. “The consistent flooring running from the kitchen to the terrace makes it feel like you’re in a much larger space.”

The modern interventions are impactful yet considered. Honest materials, patina and texture were key when dressing the new spaces, punctuated by elements of surprise. “I was really inspired by Chan + Eayrs,” says Ruse. “The spaces they create are incredible and embody this idea of understated luxury, where the luxury comes from the time taken to craft the spaces and hand-make the things that populate them.” The kitchen is a classic example of this muted glamour. Chunky concrete forms are softened by honed marble and handcrafted oak veneer doors for a brutalism-meets-art-deco vibe. Bespoke brass lighting from Atelier Areti and handles created by Swarf, both old Central Saint Martins chums, add the final flourish. “I went to town on the lighting and hardware, which I think of as the jewellery of the house,” says Ruse.

With generous proportions to play with elsewhere in the house, Fraher convinced the couple to turn one level into a spectacular master suite by knocking through three relatively poky rooms to create a bedroom, dressing area and en-suite bathroom. “I’m not sure I would have done it had we not been working with architects as it’s quite bold, but to counterbalance that we put a couple of bedrooms in the loft,” says Ruse.

Sitting on a half level between the basement and ground floor, the kitchen extension is slightly sunken to create more headroom and

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The family bathroom is equally lavish, with a sense of faded Italian grandeur echoed through its palatial vaulted ceiling, tessellated marble floor and brass detailing. Black accents add a contemporary note, framing the window in a graphic way – a theme that runs throughout the entire property. “My favourite spot is the bathroom,” says Ruse. “It just feels so capacious and indulgent. The property overall feels understated but luxurious. It’s spacious and contemporary, but also very considered, tactile and serene. We just love the whole house.”

Above Simple, low-level timber seating doubles up as practical storage in the kitchen extension

Facing page Raw, unfinished plaster walls unite the house's old and new parts; this stairwell leads to the loft

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Above A glimpse through to the bathroom on one of the half-landings of the original Victorian house

Above right Floor tiles from Ca’Pietra in the bathroom, where the ceilings have been opened up to roof level

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“The period features have been left very raw in a way that makes them feel quite contemporary”

Reeded glass doors lead to the bedroom. The architraves and window frames have been picked out in black for a graphic look

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Depth & tactility

A compact Dublin home that’s minimal and moody yet designed for family life Words / Charlotte Abrahams Images / Ruth Maria

HOME / Dublin

hen interior designer Róisín Lafferty first saw what became known as the Ravensdale Residence, it was just an empty space. A narrow, triangular empty space in the heart of Dublin’s city centre. Its owners, a couple with two dogs and two young sons, had a wishlist of things they wanted from the house that would fill this void, top of which was an open-plan layout with a designated dining area and some private adult space. As briefs go, this was not unusual; the difficulty for Lafferty, founder of the award-winning design studio Kingston Lafferty Design, was the size of the site. “This was one of the smallest houses I’ve ever worked on,” she says, “which made it a pretty cool challenge, because every inch needed to function at the highest level.”

The outside area at the end of this path could be described as more of a roofless room than a garden. Originally an awkward angle “which didn’t work at all with the sharp lines of the inside,” Lafferty turned it into an aesthetically consistent box by fencing off the back section, a decision that also provided the clients with a triangle of much-needed storage space. She then wrapped the floor and walls in a collage of Mutina’s Puzzle tiles. This burst of playful pattern is at once surprising and familiar. Surprising because everywhere else the pattern is inherent in the materials themselves – the veins in marble and travertine, the nap of leather, the formation of timbers on the floors and walls. Familiar because the tiles’ neutral

It was the architects Tyler Owens’ decision to place the staircase in the centre of the building that provided a starting point for Lafferty. “Fitting the stairs into this curved cylindrical space in the middle of the house almost divided it in two,” she says, “and that gave me the flexibility to create separate spaces.” The front of the house became a sophisticated and cocooning adults-only lounge wrapped in dark wood and polished plaster, an orange Mulhauser chair providing a pop of hot colour, while the main living area was put at the back. Or rather living areas, because even in this open-plan section, Lafferty wanted to create clearly defined areas for cooking, eating and living. There are no doors and a Crittall screen frames a linking view from the kitchen to the eating/living spaces, but each zone is marked out by a change in the flooring – concreteeffect slabs in the kitchen, pale oak boards in the living area – the transition from one to the next highlighted by razor sharp junctions. “Creating separate areas made the hallway quite narrow,” says Lafferty, “so I decided to make that a virtue. I built this boardwalk running from the front door all the way back down to the end of the garden so, when you open the front door, regardless of the different zones to the side, you get this defined visual path leading you right through the house.”

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Previous page The minimal, monolithic kitchen has a steel and glass partition dividing it from the living area Facing page Built-in storage helps to maximise available space Below The courtyard garden, with tiles from Mutina

HOME / Dublin

Facing page The “adults only” living space, wrapped in walnut panelling and featuring a Nortstudio table Below An orange George Mulhauser chair practically glows against the dark panelling behind it

tones and flashes of blue echo the same palette used within, while their clean geometry reflects all those razor-sharp lines. In the garden, as in the house, the furniture is built in for a more streamlined look. “In a small space, loose furniture just looks jumbled,” says Lafferty, “so we made it part of the structure. Downstairs, we designed the whole back living area as a series of modular joinery elements, almost like building blocks, with storage hidden inside. Upstairs in the master bedroom, we created a very simple floating vanity unit and concealed a walk-in wardrobe behind a full-length linen curtain that makes the room feel as though it’s wrapped in fabric.”

The result is a level of minimalism hard to believe possible in a busy family home. The kitchen, for example contains no more than a hint of its function: even the oven is concealed behind a black walnut wall. There are no architraves and, while the invisible doors in that wooden wall do have handles, they’re the same size as the pattern of vertical batons, so the eye barely registers them as handles at all. Rigorous minimalism can be sterile, but this house is more jewel-box than laboratory, an achievement that is down to Rafferty’s use of materials and colour. The palette is gentle – muddy neutrals downstairs, dusty pinks and reds in the master bedroom and bathroom upstairs – and the materials have been chosen for their depth and tactility. Dark black walnut, brooding smoked mirror and a band of intricately veined marble enrich the pareddown kitchen; a bench upholstered in soft navy-blue leather frames the dining area; pale oak floorboards line the floor of the living zone and a wall of grainy orange-red travertine transforms the diminutive tiled bathroom into a warming cocoon. Lafferty explains more about the overall ethos of the design.“We focused very much on the feel of the materials,” she says. “Aesthetically, the brief was for a minimal, clean look, but this is a home so it also needed to be comfy and inviting. And durable too,” she adds. “We took a lot of our inspiration from nature, the decoration that doesn’t ever date, and we chose materials that improve with age and use. Creating an environment that will stand the test of time and enhance the day to day lives of the people who inhabit it is a part our responsibility as designers.” This house has certainly been put to the test over the last few months. The coronavirus lockdown kept the family confined here for months; two adults, two energetic young boys and two dogs occupying one very small – but very well designed – space. A message that the owners recently sent to Lafferty proves that it has passed with flying colours, though. “Just to tell you that this house is amazing,” it reads. “It brightens our lives.”

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“This was one of the smallest houses I’ve ever worked on, which made it a pretty cool challenge, because every inch needed to function at the highest level”

Facing page Interior designer Róisín Lafferty describes the narrow band of timber flooring as a “boardwalk” leading the eye through the house

Above Tucked into a narrow cylindrical space, the staircase sits at the centre of the house and therefore acts as a divider between rooms

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Above Muddy lilac walls in the bedroom, which has a built-in mirror-topped vanity unit with storage

Facing page A walk-in wardrobe is concealed behind a full-length linen curtain, creating a cocooning effect

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Above An opulent travertine vanity area with built-in basin in the bathroom

Facing page The bathroom layers hot colours, from burnt orange to subdued pink

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“Creating an environment that will stand the test of time and enhance the day to day lives of the people who inhabit it is a part our responsibility as designers”

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* LAGARTA modular seat by Corque Design // SLIM chair by Christophe de Sousa PHOTOGRAPHS by Magyk // PLANTS by Fiu - Jardins Suspensos

Associative Design ‘The Best of Portugal’ Global Showcases. Featuring an expertly curated mix of contemporary and luxury Portuguese design and innovation.

Statera by Sinta Tantra. Read the full story on p146

ART & COLLECTING A cultural review

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Agenda

Sights to behold: a calendar of shows and fairs for the coming months Words / Philomena Epps

Lygia Clark: Painting as an Experimental Field, 1948–1958, Guggenheim Bilbao Until 25 October

Guggenheim Bilbao has extended its show of Lygia Clark’s work until the end of October. Timed to coincide with the centenary of the pioneering post-war Brazilian artist’s birth, the exhibition examines a decade of her early work, when Clark was immersed in the artistic milieu of

Rio de Janeiro and travelling through Europe, pushing the boundaries between abstraction and figuration with work such as 1951’s Staircase (Escada), pictured opposite. The exhibition demonstrates the breadth of her inspirations, from geometric constructivism to concrete art.

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Courtesy of The World of Lygia Clark Cultural Association. Photo: Fernando Silveira

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Jonathan Baldock: Me, Myself and I, Kunsthall Stavanger

Fantastic Women, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk

Jonathan Baldock’s practice, encompassing sculpture, installation and performance, is closely bound up with his interest in theatre and performance, particularly ritual, mythology and folklore. The artist is particularly engaged with the material qualities of textiles and craft. For his solo exhibition at Kunsthall Stavanger (formerly Norway’s historical Stavanger Art Society), he will exhibit a series of new large-scale textile wall hangings, as well as a number of hand-crafted life-sized marionettes.

This Danish show pays homage to the women artists of the surrealist movement. The fantasy of the female form was at the heart of the surrealist project: women were regarded as muses and sex symbols by their male counterparts, yet female artists were able to appropriate these notions of liberation and desire to explore gender and identity. The show features well-known names like Louise Bourgeois (pictured) as well as some more obscure artists such as Edith Rimmington and Alice Rahon.

10 September–8 November

Until 8 November

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Courtesy the artist & Galleria Continua. Photo: Ela Bialkowska

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Kader Attia, Kunsthaus Zürich Until 15 November

For his first exhibition in Zürich, the artist and activist Kader Attia addresses the consequences of Europe’s colonial past and how Western societies engage with non-Western cultures. In a new video installation created for the Kunsthaus, Attia considers the history of

Switzerland and its national collections, drawing on the topical issue of the “restitution” of African artefacts and the relationship between museology and colonialism. A series of sculpted busts made by the artist in 2015, now in the museum’s permanent collection, will also be on show.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Rashid Johnson, Hauser & Wirth, London 6 October–23 December 2020

Rashid Johnson’s intricate multidisciplinary practice is known for a use of a wide range of media, including everyday materials and objects, as a means to explore collective aspects of African American intellectual history and cultural identity. In October, Hauser & Wirth in

London will exhibit a body of new work by the American artist, including Standing Broken Man (pictured), made from broken tiles, oak flooring, spray enamel, oil stick, black soap and wax, as well as a series of drawings made in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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A Barboza

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio, Nottingham Contemporary 26 September 2020–3 January 2021

According to Nottingham Contemporary, Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio is “a cross between fan-fiction, study and biography”. The show questions notions of black image-making and gender binarism, exploring the art of theatricality and reinvention, by showing “a range of

Grace Joneses: from disco queen to dub cyborg; Jamaican to French; runway model to nightclub performer; black to white; feminine to masculine.” The iconic singer’s numerous collaborations are also focused on, including those with ACT UP, Azzedine Alaïa and Andy Warhol.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Magical Soup, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin 6 September–3 January 2021

Occupying Hamburger Bahnhof ’s expansive Rieckhallen space, Magical Soup features key works from over 20 media art pioneers and emerging artists, from the 1970s up to the present. The works explore self-expression, identity and observation, focusing on the intersection between

music, sound, and images in social and imaginary spaces. Renowned names include Nam June Paik – whose I Never Read Wittgenstein (I Never Understood Wittgenstein) is pictured – Cyprien Gaillard and Pipilotti Rist, as well as younger acclaimed artists such as Sung Tieu.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Barbican Centre, London

Matisse: Like a Novel, Centre Pompidou, Paris

A Countervailing Theory is a site-specific installation by the Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola, commissioned specially for The Curve. Forty monumental portraits will be spaced throughout the 90m-long gallery, exploring an imagined, prehistoric civilisation dominated by female rulers and served by male labourers. An immersive soundscape scored by Peter Adjaye and a text by Zadie Smith will accompany the work.

Marking the most extensive exhibition of Henri Matisse’s work since a retrospective at the Grand Palais in 1970, the Centre Pompidou will mark the 150th anniversary of the artist’s birth with a show that explores the relationship between text and image in his work. Devised in nine chapters, it looks at his fruitful relationships with authors like Stéphane Mallarmé and Louis Aragon, as well as the literary inspiration behind some of his iconic works.

Huma Bhabha, Baltic, Gateshead

Diversity/United, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Baltic mounts the first major survey exhibition in Europe dedicated to Pakistani-American sculptor Huma Bhabha. Her references range from science fiction and horror films to Roman antiquities and post-war abstract act, and the show will feature sculptures made from found and discarded materials including Styrofoam, cork and wood, such as 2018’s Waiting for Another Game, pictured.

This survey exhibition seeks to address issues pertaining to freedom, democracy and migration; the curators stress the importance of finding unity in a moment of political instability and division. More than 200 works from 81 artists include Lucy and Jorge Orta’s Antarctic Village – No Borders, pictured. The show will travel from Moscow to Berlin and then Paris over the next 18 months.

Until 24 January 2021

Courtesy of Lucy & Jorge Orta. Photo: Thierry Bal / ADAGP

21 October–22 February 2021

From 23 October

11 November–21 February 2021

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Courtesy the artist and Xavier Hufkens, Brussels. Photo: HV-studio

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul, Royal Academy of Arts, London 15 November–28 February 2021

This exhibition, organised by Oslo’s Munch Museum in partnership with the Royal Academy, will explore how Edvard Munch has influenced Tracey Emin’s work. The confrontational intensity of his expressionist practice, particularly the way he foregrounded the complexity

of his human vulnerability, made a deep impression on Emin as a young woman. In 1998, she made short video work in homage to Munch’s The Scream, in which she appears naked, crouched in the foetal position, at the edge of the water of the Oslo Fjord.

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Courtesy of the Ulay Foundation

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Ulay Was Here, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam 21 November–18 April 2021

This will be the first retrospective dedicated to GermanDutch artist Ulay since his death in March. Born Frank Uwe Laysiepen, he initially settled in Amsterdam in the late 1960s, spending much of his life living and working between there and Ljubljana. A section of the show will

be devoted to his relationship with the cultural history of the city, in addition to his engagement with socio-political issues surrounding gender identity and liberation. Ulay’s intuitive practice of body art and his famous partnership with Marina Abramović will also be explored.

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ART & COLLECTING / Ceramics

Earthy paradise

With his ceramics brand Lava, Anestis Michalis has moved from styling to seductive stoneware

or Greek creative director and interior stylist Anestis Michalis, simplicity rooted in nature is the purest expression of creativity. It is an aesthetic that he has followed throughout his decades-long career, which began with his creative direction for the pages of ELLE Decoration in Greece and subsequently unfolded into his creative consultancy practice. A new collection of Michalis’ stoneware, made under the name Lava, is the most recent manifestation of this vision. His fascination with ceramics began during his university years, where he first came into contact with the discipline but where the focus was placed on sculpture, rather than the creation of objects that had a purpose. Through Lava he seeks to bridge that divide and explore the nuanced space between form and function. Launched in early 2020 from Michalis’ studio in Athens, Lava revolves around the concept of individuality. No two pieces are alike; however, each is brought together by Michalis’ reference to his own personal experiences, culture and emotions. Each creation remains open to the interpretation of the individual viewer, who is given the freedom to view it as a piece of art or a functional object – or both. He wants people to have an emotional response to his ceramics, not merely covet them for their looks. “Through each piece, I want to create unique feelings and positive vibes. It can be anything from a deep emotion, but also even a distinct

smell that is brought to life in your mind when you see the piece,” he says. “At the same time, I wish to leave each piece open to each individual’s interpretation, asking ‘what do you see?’ Inevitably, everyone’s answer will be different, and that, to me, is where the beauty lies in each piece.”

Words Rossella Frigerio

This conceptual open-endedness is reflected in the names given by Michalis to each collection. They are grouped into a particular family that share the same design DNA, such as the Ribbon or Ring series, but remain limited in quantity to maintain a sense of exclusivity. Michalis works in close collaboration with a small team of local craftsmen specialised in the art of shaping clay, who assist him in refining his original designs and add the finishing touches to a glaze. Michalis revels in the earthy tactility and colour of the material, reaffirming the close and balanced connection to nature that defines his wider work. Lava affirms Michalis’ strong belief that creativity in collaboration is far more impactful than creativity enacted singularly, and while he spearheads the project, his creative approach when developing a family of ceramics is one rooted in inclusivity. Lava’s creations are available to order through the studio directly, and a curated selection will soon be unveiled within a handful of gallery spaces in Athens, London and Italy, bringing to a wider audience Michalis’ vision of a pared-down aesthetic brimming with emotion.

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Facing page A Ring bowl and Ribbon vase. Lava ceramics are available in limited editions, but no two are quite alike

Ribbon vases in glazed stoneware; Michalis works with local artisans in Greece to realise his creations

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The Ropi vase consists of two concentric circles of clay, the upper one propped up on a single leg

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Luca Piffaretti

View from the outside

At home in a gallery setting or taking her work to the street, artist Sinta Tantra knows her identity Words / Harry McKinley

ART & COLLECTING / Profile

s with many artists, Sinta Tantra felt the impact of lockdown. Her most recent London exhibition, at the Kristin Hjellegjerde gallery, opened just three days before public spaces were shuttered across the UK. It shifted to a digital format, but nonetheless closed before doors reopened. An Amsterdam group show was extended, but wrapped in August while tourism to the city was still at an atypical low. As for the future, she’s currently working on two large-scale public works in Jakarta and a project with the Benetton Foundation – a love seat for an Italian square, where the users are suspended one metre from each other, “physically apart, but also together,” as she says. Whether it will go ahead remains uncertain. Both inspired by, and named after, Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film Modern Times, the recent London show saw some of Tantra’s usually colourful canvases muted to a more subdued palette, retaining her signature flat, geometric style, like blueprint drawings for unknown machines. She covered one of the gallery’s glass

walls in pink film, bathing everything in a rosy glow, and piped in birdsong, a nod to when Chaplin’s character in the film awakens in a prison cell to a beautiful chirping outside, a reminder of the freedom just beyond his grasp. Tantra’s viewpoint is timely for beyond the pandemic, a wave of social activism is sweeping the country. Race, identity and equality are the talking points, and she has something to say. Born in New York to Balinese parents, she considers herself Balinese but was mostly raised in London, training at both the Slade School of Fine Art and the Royal Academy. “I’ve always straddled multiple cultures, but the higher up in the art world I get, the whiter and more male dominated it is,” she says. As the Black Lives Matter movement – and wider conversations around representation – come to the fore, she feels now could be the time to challenge the art world’s foundations. “I always knew growing up that to be successful I’d never go through the front door and that I’d

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Previous page Tantra’s recent show at the Kristin Hjellegjerde gallery in London Above Balinese artist Sinta Tantra, who studied in London Facing page Polarised Sky, Rotating Screens (Buckminster Fuller), a threedimensional triptych from 2018

Rick Roxburgh, Luca Piffaretti

“There’s now a reconfiguring of ideas of race, gender and sexuality and yet that diversity isn’t reflected in terms of who holds the power”

ART & COLLECTING / Profile

have to find my own way in,” she says. It was the YBAs that proved an inspiration. They had a show at the RA around the time she was completing her A Levels and, in the era of New Labour and Cool Britannia, the likes of Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst showed a private education wasn’t a prerequisite to a creative career. “There was something a bit rock and roll about it. I saw the possibility for the first time that I could be an artist,” she says. When she progressed to art school, she felt grateful to benefit from an education at some of the world’s top institutions. But as time has passed and her perspective has matured, she’s begun to recognise some of the quiet, insidious ways that stereotyping impacted on her development and in the evolution of her work. “I’ve always been a bit apologetic,” she says, with a laugh. “But now I feel more empowered to talk about my journey.” For which she credits Reni Eddo-Lodge’s bestselling book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race. “I used to feel like there was no racism, because I was there. But I remember little details, like a tutor saying my work would look good in a Thai restaurant, or saying my style was me screaming out for attention because it was more camp than people expected of it, of me. It was quite elitist and there was an assumption that I would produce work that reflected my ‘Asian female’ identity.” Of course any lack of positive reinforcement didn’t suppress her buoyant, colourful approach and she’s become renowned for her behemothic public works that have graced buildings, bridges and pavements in the likes of Hong Kong, Sharjah and her home city, London. “Some people compare my work to graffiti,” she says. “And underneath they both have that same sense of wanting to be heard, to be seen and of blurring the boundaries of what constitutes art. It’s about stepping out of the canvas and creating work outside of the white cube. Doing something on a city wall makes me feel like I exist in the world.” Even her work on canvas, which has become more prolific over the years, carries many of the

same themes – of using universal visual language, colour and line, to express complex ideas, or challenge the observer to fill the space with their own. She uses pink, for example, as a thought exercise on gender; the colour was once considered masculine in the UK, then feminine, while in other countries it’s genderless. Her work is informed by the baked-in notions each of us carry with us, both meaningful and, as social constructs, meaningless. The same often applies to how we judge and label people, especially minorities. Her pieces now regularly hang in prestigious galleries around the globe but, even so, she riles against what she considers, at times, a constraining, selective art world that feels inaccessible – and, indeed, is inaccessible – for many. In the current cultural climate, there’s an opportunity to address it. “Galleries are intimidating and institutions are about exclusivity. They’re helmed primarily by white, middle-class people who have become the gatekeepers of the industry. There’s now a reconfiguring of ideas of race, gender and sexuality and yet that diversity isn’t reflected in terms of who holds the power within these establishments. You can take a statue in Bristol and throw it in the river in a couple of hours, but to topple institutions, or evolve them, can take generations. A lot of that is due to the economy of the art world and what it takes to make a living as an artist. We’re stuck on this capitalist rollercoaster and we can’t get off.” Of course there are no easy answers and, for Tantra, much of what needs to change boils down to a widening of the stories and the ways in which they’re told. “It’s like when you have an argument with someone,” she explains. “Right now it’s all coming out and I think, once the heat has died down, it will be time to have conversations. There’s a place for art to be part of that activism beyond the gallery: changing public spaces in order to change ourselves. Maybe instead of looking up to these institutions asking them to make space for diverse voices, we look at how to remake the system altogether and how to create new platforms. Maybe it starts with us.”

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Facing page Clockwise from top left: Your Private Sky (Buckminster Fuller), 2018; Bali Birdsong (Evening), 2020; Bright Dawn (2019), a 30-metre-long mural in a Karachi park

Luca Piffaretti, Jamal Ashiqain

Gallery | Studio | Props www.betonbrut.co.uk

Deichman Bjørvika in Oslo. Read the full story on p162 Image by Einar Aslaksen

ARCHITECTURE Surveying the built environment

ARCHITECTURE / London

United front

A permanent hub for London’s creative industries is about to open on the Greenwich Peninsula

“I

firmly believe that the creative industries are one of London’s greatest assets,” says Helen Arvanitakis, director of London’s new Design District, currently under construction on the Greenwich Peninsula. “The punch that our creatives pack can be felt around the world, making everyone sit up and pay attention.” In creating a purpose-designed, designated and permanent hub that brings the community together, could it rival the most innovative regions situated across the globe? Anchored by The O2 arena, the Greenwich Peninsula is an ever-evolving cityscape of towering residential blocks. The Design District, the O2’s newest neighbour, comprises of 16 distinct buildings designed by eight different architectural practices, all featuring smaller, individual silhouettes and humanscale characteristics within a one-hectare plot. The teams were asked to work blind of each other, to achieve a result that echoes the way the city’s more established neighbourhoods have evolved organically over time. Conceived and initiated four years ago by developer Knight Dragon, with masterplanning by Hannah Corlett of HNNA Architects, this project has been a collaborative feat. Bringing the eight studios together – each with their varying architectural approaches – within a single development is a mammoth undertaking. HNNA has designed two of the district’s buildings, while enlisting the creative forces of

SelgasCano, Mole Architects, David Kohn Architects, Barozzi Veiga, Architecture 00, Adam Khan Architects and 6a Architects for the remainder. By asking each team to focus on elements of accessibility and affordability, rather than visual stipulations, it has allowed individual narratives to emerge alongside auxiliary benefits of reduced running costs and energy consumption. Having swerved external opposition thanks to a planning environment where no previous housing tenants were displaced, coupled with a strong partnership with the Greater London Authority, the teams have been able to push forward in experimenting with the boundaries of their creative outlets, leading to some bold and distinct results. David Kohn Architects’ building sits at the complex’s entrance, and features a row of chunky rust-red columns at its base, with Design District spelled out in giant letters above the roof; 6a Architects has designed a pair of buildings inspired by the work of sculptor Richard Artschwager, with a diamond pattern of glass and stone; while one of Mole Architects’ two contributions is a ziggurat-shaped structure made from crosslaminated timber and wrapped in Corten steel. This unique project, with its cooperative yet autonomous, approach, could make a deep impact upon the capital’s design sector. Currently, London’s creative community is dispersed across the city and, while there have

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Words Roddy Clarke

Facing page The entrance building, designed by David Kohn Architects. Startups and creative industries will have a home here, at subsidised rents

ARCHITECTURE / London

“The relationship between large and small is what sustains the creative industries so it’s essential to generate a district which supports that” been developments built for specific sectors (such as Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour), this site will be the first time a designated location hosts a cross-section of fields including fashion, technology and architecture. With capacity for 1,800 creatives, the area will house workspaces, pop-up retail units and food and drink venues alongside shared amenities such as a rooftop multi-sports court. Construction on site has now resumed after lockdownimposed delays, and the district will be opening in some form later this year, with the full launch rolled out in 2021. The site’s public realm has been planned by the Copenhagen studio Schulze+Grassov. As the development’s cohesive vein, the outdoor areas showcase the district’s strong identity while exuding a welcoming and open atmosphere to passers-by. The buildings are positioned in four loose clusters, each with a shared courtyard connected to a central space that houses a serpentine food hall designed by Spanish architects SelgasCano. Details such as the semi-private working courtyards, seasonal

planting and accessible seating help maintain a sense of activity throughout the year. As well as providing facilities for larger creative agencies, it is also a promising prospect for emerging and independent talents. Established organisations will lease at commensurate rents with the aim of reducing the burden on smaller businesses with rents scaling from £7 per sqm. From the outset, Knight Dragon was keen to highlight the importance of up-and-coming creatives in giving them the room, and facilities, to flourish. “We are going to play our part in changing this by providing extraordinary workspaces with accessible costs,” says Knight Dragon’s CEO Richard Margree on the challenges that are facing many creatives. “Not temporary. Not tokenistic. Not cynical. The Design District is a real place for real people to take their ideas and create real things.” With many of London’s creatives being priced out of traditional hubs by gentrification, rising rents and the conversion of office space to residential, the Design District will also be

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Above Left to right: the contributions of 6a Architects and HNNA Architects Facing page The eight firms involved did not see each others' work, in an effort to create a neighbourhood that felt like it had evolved over time

Taran Wilkhu

ARCHITECTURE / London

offering a more flexible model, in which tenants can have the option to rent office space for between one and three days a week. The On/Off Office, as it will be known, will open up the district to an increased variety of projects and residents, so the benefits of a permanent office are attainable while reducing the financial commitment and time needed to run such a space. “Every big brand or wellestablished business looks towards smaller organisations, new start-ups and emerging individual talent to seek new energy, innovative ideas and inventive processes or techniques,” says Arvanitakis. “It’s an ecosystem, and the relationship between large and small is what sustains the creative industries so it’s essential to generate a district which supports that.” The recent exponential growth of the freelance community should have been a good thing for the district, but many freelancers have taken a huge financial hit because of Covid-19. The financial strain has given a sense of uncertainty to these independent creatives and even the cost of a catchily named On/Off Office may be too much to ask. The district could adapt further in a push to ensure spaces remain accessible, allowing for creativity to continue in what could be the most challenging market of any post-war development. With an ability to adapt already a part of the Design District’s DNA, it hints to a long-term success if those behind the project continue to respond in a flexible way going forward. With the architecture and tenants mirroring the diversity and variety seen within the capital itself, providing a space that facilitates crosscollaboration between sectors is crucial in tackling the wider issues the community faces. Design plays a huge role in combating issues such as climate change and social disparity; sharing knowledge, ideas and resources across sectors could be a step in reaching a socially and environmentally sustainable future.

Above Top to bottom: Mole Architects' stepped building, clad in Corten steel; the food pavilion, designed by SelgasCano,

Offering this space where emerging designers – frequently the boldest in their approach – are exposed to larger institutions, is the unorthodox mindset needed in dismantling stagnant traditions and customs ingrained within the

Facing page The Design District takes shape; it will open later this year and be fully open in 2021

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ARCHITECTURE / London

“If we can do for the creative industries even a fraction of what the City of London has done for banking and business, we’ll have left a positive legacy” industry. “We are seeking out businesses that can help break down barriers, that want to collaborate and that see the benefit from sharing their knowledge for wider gain,” says Arvanitakis. “If we can do for the creative industries even a fraction of what the City of London has done for banking and business, we’ll have left a positive legacy.” Accelerating these conversations will lead to action in changing narratives and disrupting the world

of design. It should bring a renewed energy to London’s role as a global design capital. Considering a post-pandemic society, after lockdown has proven the benefits of flexible and remote working, this intimate yet dynamic working environment is a new opportunity for London’s creatives, pushing boundaries and increasing the rate of change towards a bolder, more positive and inclusive future.

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Above Friendly looking awnings define Adam Khan Architects' design Facing page The district's low-rise buildings contrast with the City of London's skyscrapers across the river

Taran Wilkhu

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A year of landmark buildings opening in Oslo includes an all-embracing new public library Words / Amy Frearson Images / Einar Aslaksen

ARCHITECTURE / Oslo

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ARCHITECTURE / Oslo

“B

uilding a public library is the best task for an architect to do,” says Einar Hagem, founder of Norwegian studio Lundhagem. It’s an encouraging thing to hear when the library in question, the Deichman Bjørvika in Oslo, is located next to one of the most spectacular buildings of the 21st century, the Snøhettadesigned Oslo Opera House. After a wander through the new structure, with its multifaceted interior geometries and deep channels of light, you can see the appeal. It is a building where activity and solitude, study and play all manage to coexist. As Hagem says, “it’s for everybody.” Lundhagem designed the Deichman alongside another local studio, Atelier Oslo, after the pair won a competition for the project all the way back in 2009. For the past 87 years the library had been housed in a neoclassical building in the St Hanshaugen district. Its replacement is certainly an upgrade – along with 450,000 books, most of which are in open stacks, it includes places for playing musical instruments and video games, cinema and lecture facilities, maker spaces with 3D printers, a restaurant, an archive and a children’s library filled with colourful play areas. It is a distinctly open and welcoming space, despite being six storeys high, and it is impossible to understand its complexities from any single viewpoint. It encourages all who enter to ascend its grand escalators and peer over its balconies. The library actually has the opera house to thank for its most striking architectural feature. Externally the building is elegant but largely unexciting, with translucent and clear glass panels creating varying levels of transparency. Look up in the upper northern corner, though, and you’ll see a dramatic triangular cantilever.

Previous page The set-back lower floors retain sightlines between the city’s opera house and its central railway station Left Architect Einar Hagen says that the vast, light-filled topfloor lounge is “a great gift to the citizens of Oslo”

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ARCHITECTURE / Oslo

Right Top to bottom: views of the Oslo Fjord; the overall interior is imagined as a forest, with concrete columns as the trees Facing page The floor plates are punctured by irregularly shaped light wells, a layout that invites visitors to explore other floors

This is the result of a demand from Oslo’s city planners to keep a visual connection between the opera house and the central railway station to the east. The lower storeys are thus set back, with the larger upper floor used as a vast lightfilled lounge. While the opera house famously boasts a roof you can walk across, here you can enjoy the same view over the Oslo Fjord in a more rain-safe setting. Hagem describes it as a big living room for the city: “it’s a great gift to the citizens of Oslo.” Broadly, the internal layout is based on the idea of a forest. Three large light wells puncture the concrete floorplates in an irregular fashion, just as daylight breaks through a tree canopy, while three huge columns extend upwards like tree trunks, accommodating secluded study areas, multimedia spaces and library stacks. Together these elements allow for a diverse mix of spaces: dark and light, loud and quiet. “The forest is a nice metaphor for a library because it’s open, you can move freely, but there are still many places,” explains Atelier Oslo co-founder Marius Mowe. “You can find intimate places or you can come to a clearing where you can imagine bigger things happening.” Simple details help to reinforce this character. The acoustic ceiling has a honeycomb pattern reminiscent of overlapping branches. There is some clever custom-designed furniture by interiors studio Scenario, including perforated modular shelving units, designed so that they

can be seen through. There’s even a cave-like chamber, by Scottish artist Katie Paterson, which won’t be opened for 100 years. Every year between now and 2114, a different author will add a new volume to this secret store. The library is the first of three major new cultural buildings set to open in Oslo over the next year, along with new locations for the Munch Museum and the National Museum, and it is by far the most thrilling of the bunch. Despite restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic – visitors are temporarily limited to 1,000 rather than the usual 3,000 – the library hopes to welcome more than two million visitors every year. With so much to offer, it could become the city’s new star attraction.

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Maxi Pillbox hats by Eliurpi. Read the full story on p170

STYLE Fashionable pursuits

Most wanted

Clothing, accessories and products that are thoughtful, expressive, beautiful and good

STYLE / Products

Eliurpi Based in Barcelona’s gothic quarter, milliner Eliurpi was created in 2010 by Elizabet Urpi and her partner Nacho Umpiérrez. With a reverence for craftsmanship, they make everything by hand, often using antique hat blocks. Eliurpi straw hats (above) include those for everyday wear alongside statement-making oversized designs in pillbox and

flat plate-like shapes, plus an especially flamboyant one-metre-diameter version (perfect for social distancing) aptly named Le Grand. These are complemented by limited-edition pieces such as the silk and linen Flower Fascinator pictured opposite. From €220 ; eliurpi.com

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STYLE / Products

Typology Skincare company Typology’s minimalist packaging may announce its no-nonsense approach but there’s a lot going on behind those plain labels. Its botanical blends solve a host of issues and include extracts such as hydrating papyrus and firming nopal. The cult French brand, which was set up by the founder of made.com Ning Li, only recently hit the UK but

is already winning applause for its focus on highquality (and highly concentrated) formulations at affordable price points. It has a list of blacklisted ingredients such as silicones and parabens that it never uses, and products are vegan and cruelty free. Botanical blends, from £19.80; typology.com

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STYLE / Products

Tekla Founded by Charlie Hedin in 2017, Copenhagenbased Tekla is a linen brand with a typically Nordic focus on robust, functional and simple style. Tekla’s unisex sleepwear complements its range of organic cotton bedlinen, and includes thick terry bathrobes with an oversized fit – “designed to elevate the joy of feeling comfortable at home” – and pyjamas in a

crisp poplin weave. Pair with of one the brand’s merino wool or mohair blankets, which have been designed in collaboration with John Pawson, for the ultimate pre-bed wind-down scenario. Robe, €179, pyjama trousers, €119, and pyjama shirt, €179; teklafabrics.com

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STYLE / Products

Cobra Rock Artist Donald Judd put the west Texas town of Marfa on the map when he moved there in the 1970s and nearly half a century later this remote outpost’s creative scene has bedded in. Colt Miller and Logan Caldbeck are the names behind footwear brand Cobra Rock, which has its only physical store in Marfa, and its western-inspired desert boots are

as perfect for urban exploration as they are for dusty Texan plains. With hard leather square toes derived from a cowboy boot, this South Highland design is one of Cobra Rock’s best-sellers; pre-order if the latest batch has already sold out. $550; cobrarock.com

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STYLE / Products

05 Studio This Elodie velvet bra is the work of Bulgaria’s 05 Studio, whose ethos for its collections spans five adjectives: simple, modern, comfortable, functional and individual. The brand wants to create “basics that are not boring” and does this across a subdued palette of black, burgundy, sage green and dusty pink. The studio uses deadstock fabrics to reduce

the amount of waste in the fashion industry and the garments are made by seamstresses in a small factory local to its Sofia headquarters. In addition to underwear there’s an equally covetable range of swimwear, and custom orders are taken, too. €30; the05studio.com

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PIONEER

Legacy maker Graphic designer Cheryl D Miller, a recent inspiration for the Where are the Black Designers? platform Words / Joe Lloyd Illustration / Stina Persson, jellylondon.com

“W

hen you’re in the middle of making history,” said Cheryl D Miller, “you don’t know you’re making history.” Miller was among the first women of colour to succeed as a graphic designer. Her agency, Cheryl D Miller Design Inc, counted American Express and Chase as clients, and brought pictures and stories of black America into corporate communications. Her writings continue to inspire activism today. Earlier this year, the Where are the Black Designers? initiative cited Miller’s Print magazine article from 1987, titled Black Designers: Missing in Action? as its foundational text.

design,” she recalled. In 1985, while studying for a Masters at the Pratt Institute, Miller wrote her thesis on the barriers facing black designers. These ideas were distilled into the 1987 Print article. Lucidly anatomising the economic, social and cultural factors that curtailed the African-American contribution to design, it exploded like a bombshell in an industry dominated by white men. Miller closed her agency in 2000 in order to raise a family. The story might have ended there, had she not penned a follow-up article in 2016; two years later, her archive was acquired by Stanford University. She is now writing Black Designers: Found in Action – a conclusion to the series she began more than three decades ago – and working to create an open-source archive of black designers along with several dozen collaborators. Having cemented her own place in design history, Miller is now helping to bring the stories of others to light.

Miller was born in Washington DC to an AfricanAmerican father and a Filipino-American mother. She was encouraged to visit museums and her first brush with artistic success came aged ten, when she won a painting competition with an imitation of a Picasso still-life. “I knew early on, this is in my DNA. I’ve got an eye for

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