Design Anthology UK Issue 16 by designanthologyuk

CH07 Shell Chair

Aram

Catalog Interiors

Hans J. Wegner

Heal’s

Holloways of Ludlow

Innes

Skandium

1963-2023

twentytwentyone

Utility Design

60th anniversary edition

FSC-C135991

When presented in 1963, the CH07 Shell Chair by Hans J. Wegner was ahead of its time and is today considered as one of Wegner’s most iconic and groundbreaking designs. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Carl Hansen & Søn proudly introduces an exclusive edition in FSCtm-certified rosewood and oak, mounted with an engraved brass plate featuring Wegner’s signature. Only available from October 2 to December 31, 2023.

photo Giovanni Gastel

Grande Soffice sofa by Francesco Binfaré. “Smart” backrests slightly adjustable, soft lines, perfect curves, an extraordinary softness: fundamental elements for a total comfort and an everlasting elegance. The seating system is modular to fulfil any need. Scrigno container and Brasilia table by Fernando and Humberto Campana. A mosaic of mirror splinters. Each piece is unique and handmade.

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FROM THE EDITOR

n December 2018, Design Anthology UK sent its first issue to the printers. We made a magazine of beauty and substance, and the design world responded. Five years later, we’re marking the fifth anniversary of DA/UK with a special edition (our 16th issue) celebrating the formidable female talent we’ve covered going back to issue 01. This group of women has made their mark on design, architecture, art and fashion with work that is also emblematic of DA/UK’s core values: quality, beauty and innovation. No doubt their efforts and ideas will leave a lasting imprint because ultimately, they make the world a more hopeful, joyous place to exist. From advances in biotechnology, to campaigning for a more equitable design industry, to countless considered environments with soul and storytelling at their heart – it’s been our honour to showcase this work and these women, who I now consider part of the DA/UK family. When we gathered together for the cover shoot at London’s 5 Carlos Place – home to Matches, which kindly dressed them for the occasion – it was never clearer that Design Anthology UK has consistently tried to operate with integrity and be a force for good in what we offer our readership. Thank you to each of our cover stars, and the wider Design Anthology UK team, for your tenacity, vision, talent and grit. I, for one, feel reassured knowing you’re all out there doing your thing. Enjoy the issue.

Elizabeth Choppin Editor-in-Chief

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December 2023

Co-publisher & Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Choppin elizabeth@designanthologyuk.com Co-publisher & Creative Partnerships Director Kerstin Zumstein kerstin@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, Nell Card, Giovanna Dunmall, Philomena Epps, Grant Gibson, Julia Freemantle, John Jervis, Nicola Leigh Stewart, Karine Monié, Tessa Pearson Images Helenio Barbetta, James Brittain, Brian Buchard, Marina Denisova, Rory Gardiner, Romany Gilmour, Haris Kenjar, Joe McGorty, Louis Schnakenburg, Simon Upton Styling Tine Daring, Sorrel Kinder

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CONTENTS

Front cover Some of Design Anthology UK’s favourite women celebrate the magazine’s fifth birthday. Image by Joe McGorty. See p32

Radar

Journey

Products Collections and collaborations of note

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

Hotel openings New design-centric destinations to explore across the globe

Profile Interior design Rachel Chudley launches a paint range conceived by legendary colourist Donald Kaufman

Hotel, Marrakech LRNCE’s Laurence Leenaert and Ayoub Boualam open a riad with a contemporary take on traditional craft

Collective good DA/UK looks back on the last five years through the lens of some of the women who have graced its pages

Highland Base

A new adventureseeker’s paradise in Iceland’s untouched Ásgarður Valley is one of DA/UK’s picks of places to stay. See p44

Home 60

Alabama A collector’s home in Birmingham, reworked for comfort and curation

Liguria Arenzano’s mid-20th-century holiday homes are coming back to life – including this example by Eligo Studio

Devon Jonathan Tuckey Design’s chapel restoration meets a chorus of approval

Flensborg On southern Denmark’s coast, a design brand’s CEO creates space for repose

CONTENTS

Art + Collecting

Style

102

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

122

112

Profile How designer Matthew Hilton found new creative freedom in sculpture

Architecture 116

Hampshire James Gorst Architects’ Temple of Light, which looks at a spiritual building types with fresh eyes

Most wanted A compilation of clothing, tech and accessories that are beautiful, thoughtful and good

Pioneer 128

Nanna Ditzel A century after her birth, the designer’s groundbreaking work is celebrated in her native Denmark with a new show

Expression of faith A calm, contemplative experience awaits those who visit rural Hampshire’s Temple of Light by James Gorst Architects. See p116

Jellyfish mirror by Bryan O’Sullivan. Read the full story on p20

R ADAR Global design news

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Comité de Proyectos New to online platform Adorno is this Anni chair by Mexican design duo Andrea Flores and Lucía Soto, who work under the name Comité de Proyectos. It’s inspired by the work of Bauhaus pioneer Anni Albers, and her colour-theory-driven textiles. The chair is essentially a more vivid version of Comité de Proyectos’ three-legged De La Paz dining char: the brand consulted with interior design firm Maye to devise a brighter colour scheme, using Romo’s Linara linen for the upholstery. adorno.design // comitedeproyectos.mx

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Carl Hansen & Søn Denmark’s Hans J Wegner was one of the most prolific designers ever, and Carl Hansen & Søn continues to prove how his work stands the test of time. The latest product that the brand has brought out of the archives is the CH45 rocking chair. Wegner concerned himself with creating the perfect rocking movement as well as making sure the chair was easy to get in and out of, while the tall ladder back lends the piece a certain drama. It’s available in five oak finishes, with an optional seat and neck pad. carlhansen.com

Mud Handmade pottery and homewares from Australia have recently landed in a new showroom in London’s Marylebone. Mud’s tableware, which comes in a range of muted colours, is timeless and minimal, but its lighting is equally pleasing, making the most of delicate porcelain’s translucent quality when it is combined with a light source. Designed by Zachary Hanna Studio and handmade in Sydney, the Flared table lamp pictured hides its light within the base, casting a warm glow. mudaustralia.com

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Bryan O’Sullivan The darling of Mayfair’s hospitality scene from Claridge’s to The Connaught, interior designer Bryan O’Sullivan has opened a showroom-cumgallery on Brook Street to showcase a new collection of furniture, lighting and mirrors. The pieces have the same playful touches as the practice’s interiors, with curves everywhere: think fat sofas with squat feet (such as the Croissant, pictured), mirrors with ruffly resin frames and table lamp bases made from amorphous masses of jewel-like coloured glass. bryanosullivan.com

Mark Alexander Natural materials and traditional hand-making techniques have gone into Mark Alexander’s Collage III collection of wallcoverings. Japanese paper, abacá (related to the banana plant), sisal and raffia and have been used to create some texturally ingenious results, with a few wallcoverings given a final embellishment with embroidery. Suru, for example, is made from raffia with slim horizontal bars of hand-cut raffia running through it, while Kobe (pictured) interweaves abacá on a cotton ground. Irregularity, in both the colour and the weave, delivers pleasingly crafted, wabi-sabi results. markalexander.com

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Léa Zeroil First presented at Parisian gallery Maestria, Léa Zeroil’s Blood Moon collection evokes the warm colours – and the sense of mystery – of the lunar phenomenon of the same name. The collection is a tour-de-force of French artisanship and Zeroil worked with craftspeople across many disciplines to realise the collection, including glassmaking by Matthieu Gicquel and straw marquetry by Valérie Colas des Francs. Pictured are the Nauzami chair, Lampsi screen and Primo Paille stool. leazeroil.com

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Bauwerk Colour The Hoxton hotel group has collaborated with limewash paint manufacturer Bauwerk Colour to create a custom palette that alludes to the group’s global network of places to stay. Put together by parent company Ennismore’s in-house designers AIME Studios, the Neighbourhood Collection includes Charlottenburg, a plaster pink that echoes the stucco facades of Berlin; Casa, a soft orange inspired by the houses of Barcelona’s Poblenou; and House (pictured) a neutral that ties it all together. bauwerkcolour.com

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Danny Kaplan Studio

Adrian Gaut

Brooklyn-based ceramicist Danny Kaplan’s latest release is the Odin lamp, which comes in a number of glazed finishes, including the lustrous bronze pictured here. Handmade to order, each piece is thrown in two parts then joined together, before the ornamental waves that line the top are moulded from small coils of clay, adding a final decorative flourish. Kaplan says that, with each lamp, “there’s less emphasis on creating facsimiles and more attention on embracing the differences in each one.” dannykaplanstudio.com

Marbera Founded in Paris by designer Laura Torregrossa, Marbera specialises in marble and stone furniture whose simple forms bring out the natural beauty of the materials, with a particular emphasis on onyx and its many-hued guises. Materials are mixed to create pointed contrasts between stones (glossy, opulent onyx and matt, pitted travertine, for example) or used alone. Bespoke options are also available – choose your design and stone, and have a piece made to your own specification.

Hind Laoui

marbera-studio.com

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Studio Atkinson Interior designer Susie Atkinson, whose projects include Beaverbrook Hotel in Surrey and Soho House Berlin, has recently grown her portfolio of her own products. This Noughts and Crosses dining table is based on a bamboo example that Atkinson picked up at a French market: the “noughts” are represented by its fluted cotton-reel base while the “crosses” make up the feet. The collection also includes a coffee table, side table and console, all in a bleached oak that brings out the natural grain. studio-atkinson.com

Kast Concrete washbasin manufacturer Kast has added a wiggle to its latest offerings. Wave is a collection of three basins that all feature scalloped edges and undulating lines: Tilde (pictured) has an integrated splashback, Prim is a pretty circular countertop basin while Dune is a larger model that can be wallor surface-mounted. Available in 28 colours, all three bring a sense of playfulness and personality to the bathroom, and make plain white ceramic suddenly seem like a rather conservative choice… kastconcretebasins.com

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Carpet Edition Italian rug company Carpet Edition is known for its savvy choice of collaborators, the latest of which is architecture and interior design studio Marcante Testa. Made from wool and Tencel, the Cut Out rug pictured is one of three new designs and features rows of square apertures picked out in contrasting colours; it is available in three standard sizes plus bespoke options. To mark the launch, the rugs have been photographed in the hallowed halls of the former Olivetti factory complex in Ivrea, Piedmont. carpetedition.com

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Novocastrian The Insulator table light is inspired by the stackedsaucer shape of the pin insulators on an overhead rail cable. Its maker, Novocastrian, has taken a familiar form and refined it, with a machined brass base and pressed glass shade, and the light source running vertically; choose from polished or dark brass, and clear or frosted glass. Novocastrian is a collective of makers, architects and engineers inspired by the manufacturing skills that built the industrial north-east, and metalwork in particular. novocastrian.co

Roman and Williams Described as “high craft for home and entertaining,” Bloesem Haus is a large collection of tableware by Roman and Williams Guild – the product-design arm of the architecture and interiors firm that has defined New York City’s aesthetic over the past 20 years. Its founders Robin Standefer and Stephen

Alesch have designed some of the pieces, but they have also co-opted the talents of others, with a focus on Japanese makers, including Akiko Hirai, whose diminutive stoneware vases are pictured. rwguild.com

To those who strive for new horizons occhio.com

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Deep Green

100 Women: Architects in Practice

by Claudia Pasquero & Marco Poletto (Routledge)

by Dr Harriet Harriss, Naomi House, Monika Parrinder & Tom Ravenscroft (RIBA Books)

London’s ecoLogicStudio sits at the forefront of biodesign for the built environment, and this book by its founders explores how that technology can create a new approach to designing cities. The first part is framed through a lens of the studio’s built projects, such as the AirBubble, a pavilion at Warsaw’s Copernicus Science Centre whose air is purified by 520 litres of chlorella algae. Part two speculates how “design intelligence” from biological sources, such as mycelium networks or slime mould, can inform artificial intelligence. The vision is for a world where regenerative processes that are a “bio-digital” hybrid can dictate how and where we build – working with rather than against nature for a sustainable future.

Women remain painfully under-represented in architecture, but this book of insightful interviews gives visibility to some of the most important female architects working today. The global selection includes Japan’s Momoyo Kaijima of Atelier Bow-wow, The Netherlands’ Francine Houben of Mecanoo and Ireland’s Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects. They may all have a different ethos and output, but the introduction identifies some common ground: “Practice innovation; care and connection; unpredictable participation; future place-making; equity.” The writing team casts an academic eye over each profile, celebrating women’s leadership and contributions to the industry.

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Now You See Me!: An Introduction to 100 Years of Black Design

The iconic British House: Modern Architectural Masterworks Since 1900

“For decades, Black designers have been sheathed in an invisible cloak,” writes author Charlene Prempeh, who is also the founder of creative agency A Vibe Called Tech. Now You See Me! pays respect to these “invisible” names, and is divided by creative discipline (fashion, architecture and graphic design) with longform illustrated essays punctuated by Q&As. It’s not always a comfortable read, with the road to success frequently paved with rejection and discrimination, but the creative output speaks for itself – from couturier Ann Lowe’s wedding dress for Jackie Kennedy, to the lightfilled atrium of architect Norma Sklarek’s LAX airport Terminal One Station, to Art Sims’ film posters for the likes of Do The Right Thing.

This book traces 120 years of the British house via 50 outstanding one-off examples. Some are so important that they have been saved for the nation – Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House, for example – while others are future classics of the country house genre, such as James Gorst’s sublime Hannington Farm. Architectural photographer Richard Powers provides the exquisite imagery, but the book aims to be not just a chronicle of an amazing architectural heritage, but a call to action too. “Icons are extremely useful for galvanising interest and framing ambition,” writes Alan de Botton in the foreword, “but their true destiny is to provide the models for the mass-produced houses we need for tomorrow.”

by Charlene Prempeh (Prestel)

by Dominic Bradbury (Thames & Hudson)

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The colour schemer

Interior designer Rachel Chudley brings to a wider audience the bespoke paint that creates the magic in each of her projects

Words Charlotte Abrahams Images Simon Upton/ Sean Myers

achel Chudley is an interior designer with an artist’s sensibility. She fell in love with interiors as a child, thanks in part to the pineapple wallpaper that wrapped the entrance hall in her grandmother’s house, but when she left school she went on to study history of art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and began her professional life working in galleries. It was while she was working on an exhibition at London’s Cob Gallery – mixing work by Grayson Perry and the 20th-century surrealist painter and photographer Eileen Agar with one-off pieces of fine furniture – that she finally decided it was time to set up her own

interior design studio. “I looked at the show and realised that this was I wanted to do in people’s homes,” she explains. “Then someone came in and invited me to do just that. It was serendipity. I said yes straight away.” A decade later, Chudley, who works from her studio in east London, has now completed numerous residential projects on both sides of the Atlantic, and her exuberant interiors with their sophisticated, rule-breaking clashes of period, pattern and colour have won her a clutch of accolades. It is the latter of these that really sets her apart. Colour is her thing. Her

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Facing page In a west London townhouse, glossy walls are overlaid with tapestries and generous window dressings, with a leopard-lined dining nook

father-in-law is the American artist and master colourist Donald Kaufman and the two have worked together ever since Chudley accepted that first commission. Kaufman, who founded Donald Kaufman Colour with his wife, Taffy Dahl, in 1976, has almost mythical status. His work includes the legendary New York nightclub Studio 54 and Obama’s Oval Office, and his archive contains over 40,000 custom colours. “I am extremely lucky to have the privilege of working with Don,” says Chudley. “All of his experience as an artist and a colour maker has been diluted into the colours that I have developed and made for our clients.” Anyone fortunate enough to encounter one of Chudley’s rooms in person will see – and feel – the effect these bespoke paints have on a space. They have a brilliance that makes them feel alive. “What makes our paints different is the number of pigments they contain,” says Chudley. “Most companies use three pigment jars for one base paint, whereas some of ours contain 15 because Don’s theory is that you need a full spectrum – as you have in natural sunlight – to bring a colour to life.” Creating these colours is an exacting process involving layering minuscule particles of pigment. Kaufman describes the effect as “one of colour luminosity – of light coming from within”.

Above Designer Rachel Chudley at home in her London flat

These colours were only available to Chudley’s interior design clients until now, but that is set to change with the launch the Rachel Chudley Colour Studio. The collection will contain colours the two have collaborated on, plus new ones inspired by Kaufman’s archive and, while they are not cheap, as Chudley points out they are “a lot more accessible that hiring an interior designer.” The release date is set for early 2024, so start prepping your walls now.

Below Unique bespoke colours are made for every project

Collective good

Design Anthology UK celebrates its fifth birthday with a special get-together of some of our favourite women, dressed by Raey at Matches Words / Emily Brooks Images / Joe McGorty Styling / Sorrel Kinder

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ive years ago, the first issue of Design Anthology UK rolled off the printer and a new publication was born, dedicated to the values of quality, beauty and innovation (and, most importantly, a belief that those values are far from mutually exclusive). Among the features inside were thought-provoking ideas on biodesign, a travelogue of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, and homes in London, Paris and rural Denmark.

where biodesign can have the biggest impact,” she says. “In the next 12 months we hope to share a perspective of the kind of real material and environmental impact we can hope to make with biotechnology.” What’s changed now, says Chiesa, is that many more designers are embracing biodesign as a part of their everyday practice: “We are reaching this milestone where everybody can get involved.” Laura Fulmine of M.A.H (Modern Art Hire) was featured in DA/UK’s third issue “in its infancy when we were just finding our feet and unbeknown to us, heading into the eye of a lockdown storm with Covid.” A stylist and creative director, Fulmine spotted a gap in the market for a business that could supply art and design pieces for shoots, short-term loans or purchase: since then, “the gallery has grown substantially,” she says, with a sister space, The House, opening last year and several successful collaborations, including with Soho House.

The events of the intervening years can only be described as seismic, but DA/UK didn’t skip a beat: in fact, armchair daydreaming about other places, other spaces and other people’s brilliant ideas often delivered a critical means of escape. So, for the magazine’s 16th issue, and fifth birthday, the editorial team thought it was worth taking a step back to reflect on and celebrate all that’s been achieved, viewed through the lens of some of the women who have graced its pages. This formidable group are all dressed in clothing by Raey – Matches’ peerless in-house label – and shot at 5 Carlos Place, its Mayfair townhouse HQ.

Sophie Ashby’s design career, meanwhile, has gone stratospheric (“it’s been a rollercoaster,” she says); a monograph of her work is out next year and she’s working on projects from Brooklyn to Hong Kong. But she’s also found the time to create a product line, Sister (with a capsule collection of fabrics its most recent launch); move to a new HQ near St James’s Park, featured in DA/UK issue 12; and cofound United in Design, with fellow designer Alexandria Dauley – a charitable trust that addresses the lack of diversity in the industry. It now runs a highly successful apprenticeship scheme that links design professionals with graduates from black, Asian, ethnic minority and low socio-economic communities. Ashby says that Dauley is one of the people she looks up to the most in the industry: “She is a force; a passionate and talented designer but also a committed campaigner to our cause.”

Some of this talented group were right there in issue one: fashion designer Edeline Lee; Natsai Audrey Chiesa of biodesign lab Faber Futures; interior designer Tatjana von Stein of Sella (formerly Sella Concept, whose daring interiors and furniture launch were also both featured in the most recent issue of DA/UK, bringing things nicely full-circle); and interior designer Sophie Ashby. They’ve all gone on to deliver game-changing work, with the sense that all of them are still only getting started. In 2018, Chiesa – whose ambition is nothing less than to overturn the textile industry’s reliance on petrochemicals – talked about the challenge of scaling up and standardising Faber Futures’ bacteria-based dyes (which use no harmful chemicals, and 500 times less water, than normal dying processes). In 2023, a new brand, Normal Phenomena of Life, was launched at the London Design Festival, cofounded by Faber Futures as a marketplace for biodesign products, including a bacterially dyed silk jacket. “Having a lifestyle brand allows us to really explore the possibilities of

Facing page Left to right: Pooja Agrawal, Sheena Murphy, Emily Furniss Potter, Genevieve Bennett. All clothing, Raey at Matches (matchesfashion.com). Agrawal wears shoes by Tod’s, Murphy wears shoes by Gucci, Furniss Potter wears shoes by Bottega Veneta, Bennett wears shoes by Le Monde Béryl, all Matches (as before)

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“If you are bringing another product into the world, it has to be excellent – not just on trend or fashionable”

Architect and planner Pooja Agrawal has also been busy meeting the challenge of societal inequality. In issue 09 in 2021 DA/UK featured her Sound Advice project (and subsequent book, Now You Know), an examination of the discrimination not just within her industry, but also stitched into the fabric of buildings and spaces themselves. She’s now CEO of the notfor-profit she founded in 2017, Public Practice, which gives the public sector the tools to help tackle inequality. “Public Practice believes that societal inequality plays out in places, be it the lack of housing, access to clear air or the feeling of belonging in public spaces,” she says. “By supporting local authorities’ skills and capacity, we can achieve more equitable places.”

clubs), says that she approaches projects “by not designing” as a way to foster longevity. “Instead, we prioritise developing a strong narrative that serves as the foundation for each project. By rooting our designs in a strong narrative, rather than focusing on aesthetics, we aim to create spaces that will withstand the test of time.” Genevieve Bennett is head of design for Liberty Interiors (whose show in Milan this year, FuturLiberty, co-hosted an event with DA/UK). For her, longevity is also a prime consideration (perhaps not surprising given the 150-year heritage of the fabled department store she works for): “As textile designers we have a very strong focus on innovative fabrication, working with exciting suppliers on fabrics which are long lasting and timeless in terms of design and materiality,” she says. Currently designing Liberty’s 2025 collection, Bennett says that one of the barriers to achieving this is simply carving out the time to do her best work: “The modern workplace is one of permanent connectivity which can be very positive, but the pay-off is it can be very hard to find sustained, focused creative time to develop ideas, in terms of thinking, research and then creative development – and those are the things that are needed to produce really good, mature, long lasting and relevant work.”

What ties everyone together here is their desire to leave behind something with meaning and substance, whatever the discipline. When it comes to makers and creatives, that means walking a path between generating something new that genuinely fulfils a need, and treading as lightly as possible. “It is always about making the best product. In terms of quality, but also how we make it, what we use to make it, how we ship it, how many products we should make,” says Cassandra Ellis of Atelier Ellis, whose paint emporium in Bath was featured in issue 14 in spring 2023. “If you are bringing another product into the world, it has to be excellent – not just on trend or fashionable.”

Sustainability is often at the heart of this issue of creating substance, and uppermost in people’s minds as a professional and personal concern. “When we meet with new clients this is certainly one of the big issues that we discuss. It’s increasingly important as a consideration for everyone, from corporate brand strategy to home energy bills,” says Emily Furniss Potter of Daytrip Studio, whose Clapton house project was featured in DA/UK issue 11 in 2022 (a collaboration with M.A.H’s Laura Fulmine). “The challenge is around how we qualify ‘sustainability’; it is a dense topic with

Clémence Pirajean, interior designer and cofounder of Pirajean Lees (whose 20 Berkeley project was in DA/UK issue 15, a venue that also hosted one of the magazine’s supper Facing page Left to right: Tatjana von Stein, Edeline Lee, Louisa Grey. All clothing, Raey at Matches (as before), except Lee wears dress by Edeline Lee (edelinelee.com). Von Stein wears shoes by Souliers Martinez (all jewellery her own), Grey wears boots by Bottega Veneta, both Matches (as before)

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constant progression.” Her recent projects include the interiors for architect Waugh Thistleton’s Black & White Building, an office block that made headlines for its all-timber construction; Daytrip’s contribution followed the same sustainable path, using recycled materials and working with local artisans and creatives with a similarly conscious outlook.

more curious we are about this, the more exciting the work will become, for all of us.” These women may be striving for equity and sustainability, but there’s still plenty of room for beauty in all this – or perhaps more specifically, room for the way beauty can foster a sense of wellbeing and belonging, which is at the heart of DA/UK’s philosophy. “My work seeks to celebrate the poetry of movement and to create spaces that people instantly relax in,” says interior and product designer Mimi Shodeinde of Miminat, whose work appeared in issue 14 at the beginning of 2023 (since then she’s started work on several new global products, including her first hospitality project, in Antigua). Emily Furniss Potter of Daytrip Studio says she has noticed how clients “are placing more emphasis on comfort, ease of use and wellbeing. Spaces are required to support user activities and express positivity more than ever.” Cassandra Ellis similarly notes how “people have to feel good – safe and uplifted – by how and where they live.”

For Louisa Grey of design studio House of Grey, whose London Design Festival “home concept” pop-up was in issue 01, all these subjects are interlinked: for her, design must be tackled as a big picture, where materials must not only be circular for the planet, but healthpromoting for humans, what she calls a “whole person whole world” approach. “Regenerative design is holistic,” she says. “Instead of primarily focusing on solving or minimising humans’ negative impacts, we create ways for humans to enhance and contribute to thriving, living systems across the globe.” Pooja Agrawal observes that “there is a bit of an existential crisis in design and architecture practices, where people are asking themselves if their work reflects their ethos and values.” Her solution is collective work for public good, to “take on the responsibility of addressing the lack of good quality homes, or the unequal distribution of green spaces, or the lack of practical steps to reach net-zero in practice. Encouraging people to explore different career opportunities, like working in the public sector, is one way to make meaningful change.”

Some of these women feel they have faced discrimination at work for their gender, but it clearly depends on which industry you work in. When Ellis was setting up her paint company, “it felt like wave upon wave of ‘no’ because I was a woman – they felt like I was dabbling. But I am tenacious, and I finally met someone serious.” Interior designers are a part of the construction industry, where “people generally assume you’re just a decorator, and that you don’t know much about the technical side of projects and construction,” says Clémence Pirajean. “It can be very frustrating, but you have to trust your instincts, have confidence in your knowledge and just keep going.”

Sheena Murphy, founder of interior design studio Nune, had just returned to London from living in New York when one of her Manhattan residential projects was featured in DA/UK issue 02. Now fully settled in the UK, she says that “one of the best and most important things about doing this work is acting as a vessel through which clients learn about emerging and less well-known talent, and we are committed to being as inclusive and as ethical as possible in that role.” That includes working with those from less-represented communities, “because it feels like there must be a massive amount of unexpressed talent out there, and we do need to balance the scales. The

Artist Sinta Tantra, whose work was profiled in DA/UK issue 06 in 2020, is concerned with Facing page Left to right: Cassandra Ellis, Laura Fulmine and Natsai Audrey Chiesa. All clothing, Raey at Matches (as before). Ellis wears shoes by Birkenstock, and socks, stylist’s own; Fulmine wears shoes by Bottega Veneta, rings by Paola Sighinolfi and Sylvia Toledano; Chiesa wears boots by Isabel Marant, necklace by Alighieri, all Matches (as before)

Photographer’s assistants, Holly Taylor and Stefania Carli; stylist’s assistant, Flora Leahy; make-up artists, Dina Catchpole and Grace Hatcher; retouching, Nadin Lapawa

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“One of the best and most important things about doing this work is acting as a vessel through which clients learn about emerging and less well-known talent”

identity (her own multicultural background, as well as the way others might find their own identity reflected in her art). She describes what she calls “over professionalising” as a way of compensating for the low expectations of others – being so incredibly qualified and knowledgeable that no one can ever catch you out for not getting it right: “Sometimes I think that over-preparation is actually a superpower.”

designers are inclined to think holistically and consider how something feels – not just focus on the specification and the aesthetic. We also tend to be self-sufficient and extremely organised, which makes for a much easier life.” There’s also a generosity among these women to recognise those around them. “For the biggest commercial project we’ve won to date, I did the pitch when I was 39 weeks pregnant,” says Sophie Ashby. “What excites me about that, beyond the fact that the client could see past my pregnancy, is that it’s a real testament to the strength of my team and the belief in us as a collective rather than the individual. It takes an army.” Ellis says that her biggest recent achievement is “growing our team well – choosing good people who fundamentally have the same approach and moral guide.”

For every negative story, though, there are many more about how these women run their own businesses with pastoral care in mind, not just the bottom line. Ellis talks about how she has built in personal leave days for her staff, for “sick children, dogs, friends, or just having a crappy time” and has strict rules on working hours: “I ask people to bring their whole selves to work, and they can’t do that if I’m emailing them at 10pm.” Tantra says she is “interested in creating a mini community within my own studio practice,” including taking a leaf out of sculptor Antony Gormley’s book and making lunch for everyone. “It’s a form of nurturing but it’s also breaking away from the artificiality of what art is. The simplicity of eating something well can feed you in so many ways. You need that time out from the working day.”

Laura Fulmine says that “I could not have got to where I am without an incredible team of people,” and muses on lingering ideals that say that women can have it all, which is unrealistic, and a burden. “I think women carry a lot on their shoulders, striving for perfection in every area of their lives. Telling yourself you don’t have to be the perfect designer, businesswoman, mum, yoga warrior and best friend all the time, and accepting that you are enough, is a huge and very important thing.”

Louisa Grey thinks that there is something distinctive about women-led businesses. “The approach is slightly different – there’s a sense of warmth, more open and collaborative, more imaginative and thought-led with higher levels of attention to detail,” she says. “Female

“It is crucial for us to champion and support one another, ensuring that we provide young female designers with the optimal opportunities for development and growth in the industry,” says Pirajean. “There is an abundance of remarkable women in the design industry. Perhaps we should vocally highlight our accomplishments more.” And Design Anthology UK will promote those accomplishments just as intently – whether it is championing people at the beginning of their careers or celebrating those who have already reached the top.

Facing page Left to right: Mimi Shodeinde, Clémence Pirajean, Sophie Ashby, Sinta Tantra. All clothing, Raey at Matches (as before). Mimi wears rings by Paola Sighinolfi, shoes by Bottega Veneta; Pirajean wears shoes by Givenchy, ring by Paola Sighinolfi; Ashby wears sandals by Birkenstock; Tantra wears necklace by Alighieri, cuff and ring by Sylvia Toledano, all Matches (as before)

Artwork by Aethan Wills in an interior project by M de M Architects (photo by Ollie Hammick)

A new approach to discovering and acquring contemporary art. Start your collection with unique artworks carefully selected by experts.

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Rosemary, Marrakech. Read the full story on p52 Image by Marina Denisova

JOURNEY Distinctive destinations

JOURNEY / Openings

New hotels

Highland Base – Kerlingarfjöll

Unique places to stay, in destinations of note

JOURNEY / Openings

Highland Base, Iceland Located in Iceland’s untouched Ásgarður Valley, Highland Base is a year-round adventure destination from the same team behind the world-famous Blue Lagoon. Its three accommodation offerings range from triangular huts to luxury standalone lodges, all designed to blend into the natural surroundings and withstand the Icelandic elements. Wood-panelled exteriors conceal minimalist spaces that together blend tradition and modernity. Sustainable and hardy materials such as rich aged woods add a rustic touch to the pared-back guest rooms, which sport a muted colour palette, vaulted ceilings and layers of textiles to create a cosy and calm retreat on the edge of the Kerlingarfjöll mountain range. highlandbase.is

JOURNEY / Openings

Jan Luyken, The Netherlands tiled fireplace), accessorised with a mix of vintage finds and contemporary design pieces. The 62 guest rooms veer from chic neutrals to a bold monochrome palette, jazzed up with red retro telephones, houndstooth headboards and furnishings from local brands such as Elle La and Bonnie Barlag. janluykenamsterdam.com

Jan Luyken; Tomooki Kengaku

Design studio Nicemakers has transformed three historical townhouses to create Amsterdam’s newest boutique hotel. Named after the city’s 17th-century poet and etcher Jan Luyken, its design is inspired by its residential beginnings and the vibrancy of the surrounding area. Communal spaces have a cosy domestic feel (think plump velvet sofas in the hotel library and snug armchairs set around a restored

JOURNEY / Openings

Trunk Hotel Yoyogi Park, Japan Tokyo’s Keiji Ashizawa Design and Copenhagenbased studio Norm Architects have joined creative forces once again on the third property from the Trunk hotel group. The contrast between Tokyo’s urban metropolis and the serene greenery of the nearby Yoyogi Park has informed Keiji Ashizawa Design’s architecture, with plant-filled balconies incorporated into the almost brutalist-style exposed

raw concrete structure. The use of concrete continues indoors and is softened with calming neutrals, woven rattan furniture and layers of light wood in a blend of old and new that mirrors Tokyo’s mix of modernity and tradition. There’s a pizzeria/trattoria, plus a rooftop pool and lounge with park views. yoyogipark.trunk-hotel.com

Anna Malmberg

JOURNEY / Openings

Hotel Corazón, Spain Mallorcan architecture studio Moredesign was tasked with reimagining a centuries-old finca in the Tramuntana mountains as the island’s newest boutique stay, Hotel Corazón. Inside the 15 guest rooms, curved lines and walls rendered with plaster and natural pigments create a soft backdrop for the bespoke furnishings, gauzy linens and tonal ceramics, crafted by local artisans. Original artwork by owners Kate Bellm and Edgar Lopez and their circle of creative friends adds the finishing touch, and sets the scene for the hotel’s Artist in Residence programme (the first such artist, Yasmin Bawa, spent her time sculpting the rock-like reception desk) and series of exhibitions and music events. hotelcorazon.com

The Largo, Portugal Five interconnected 15th-, 16th- and 19th-century buildings bring together several hundreds of years of history and architectural styles at Porto’s The Largo. Danish design studio Space Copenhagen was handed the keys to hotel’s 18 guest rooms, which bring an instant sense of calm through their subdued colour palette and tactile materials such as stone, wood and brass. To honour the hotel’s

heritage, many original design elements have been preserved, including the ornate ceilings and restored staircase, while the bespoke furnishings pay homage to Portuguese craftsmanship and tradition: case in point, the smooth minimalist bathtubs, luxuriously carved as a singular piece in Portuguese stone. thelargo.com

Joachim Wichmann; Francisco Nogueira

JOURNEY / Openings

Hotel Rebello, Portugal Sitting on the other side of Porto’s Douro river to The Largo (opposite), this collection of former industrial buildings has been revived as Hotel Rebello. Architects Metro Urbe retained the 19thcentury facades and stone structures while creating a blank canvas for Spanish interior designer Daniela Franceschini of Quiet Studios, who took inspiration from the key elements that surround the hotel

– water, wine, wood and industry – to imagine the various sized apartments. Steel and concrete nod to the building’s industrial past, while accessories make reference to the riverside location: think deep-blue velvet furnishings and curved headboards that mirror the soft ripples of the Douro. therebello.com

A rosetinted world A new boutique hotel in a Marrakech riad, made with love and local craftsmanship Words / Julia Freemantle Images / Marina Denisova

JOURNEY / Marrakech

first foray into hospitality from designer Laurence Leenaert and her husband Ayoub Boualam, founders of renowned brand LRNCE, Rosemary in Marrakech is quite literally a labour of love. One that took years to see through from conception to fruition. The five-room boutique hotel, in one of the medina’s oldest neighbourhoods, inhabits the former Riad Zitoun Jdid. It had been formerly renovated by the Belgian architect Quentin Wilbaux, who was responsible for documenting, photographing and personally restoring close to 150 properties in the medina and appointed by UNESCO to map the area in the 1990s; later it became a family home before being acquired by Leenaert and Boualam in 2021. The couple’s entry into hospitality happened by chance rather than design. A Frenchwoman (Rose-Marie, who the riad is named for) had visited the LRNCE studio in 2018; she was in the process of selling a riad and convinced the couple to come and have a look. From there, the notion of a boutique hotel was born. The logical culmination and continuation of the LRNCE brand, the project is a fitting way for art and design lovers to experience the evolution of Leenaert’s creative pursuits and products in an all-encompassing and intricately conceived multi-sensory way. “With Rosemary, we have pushed our concept into creating spaces where our guests could be immersed in our lifestyle and art-de-vivre, from the moment they arrive until they leave,” she says. That experience celebrates the riad’s history, context and wider Marrakech – the blush tones of the city outside creating a warm cocoon countered by cool greens, and softened further by sinuous pattern and endless texture. Given LRNCE’s broad offering, from hand-painted vessels to tableware and tiles, textiles, rugs and framed artworks, the level of customisation and detail here shouldn’t be surprising, but it is astounding nevertheless – from the finishes to the furniture and every decorative detail. “I had to think through the whole experience from start to finish in order to create an authentically modern, Marrakchi world,” says Leenaert.

Above Rosemary was several years in the making – the time it took to restore the riad using master craftspeople from Morocco, and search for the right furnishings and objects Facing page Laurence Leenaert and her husband Ayoub Boualam, the hotel’s owners Previous page Leenaert’s contemporary take on traditional craft, with earthy tones, hand-woven cushions, abstract artwork and sculptural ceramics

JOURNEY / Marrakech

To imbue this level of authenticity, some 30 craftspeople made manifest the couple’s vision. Leenaert travelled the country to find the best in their respective crafts – including women specialising in stained glass in Meknes, potters in Safi, hand-chiselled zellige from Fez and marble vendors in Rabat. The remainder (carpenters, metalworkers and plasterers) live locally. The courtyard’s terrazzo tiles were hand poured at a rate of 30 a day, while another team inserted 8,000 red marble lozenges into the main staircase. Almost all of the materials were sourced in Morocco. While authentic down to the last detail, it is also often contemporary, always joyful, and at times even irreverent. This striking modern interpretation of traditional craft complements the existing features of the riad, and so seamless are the new interventions that it’s sometimes hard to tell which elements existed before – case in point, the original 1920s hammam with its astonishing burgundy marble, which was largely untouched aside from the addition of a signature LRNCE octopus mosaic.

artwork in itself. Every picture tile in the guest cloakroom handpainted by Leenaert herself, every cornice and towel, even the notepads, purpose designed and considered. This commitment to immersion extends to the craft-oriented, hands-on and culturally rich experiences the couple want to offer guests during their stay, inviting them deeper into the LRNCE universe. This might include mixing your own soaps and scrubs for the hammam with traditional herbs, spices and flowers found in the nearby Mellah ( Jewish quarter), to tablescaping and craft classes with Leenaert. When you do leave, you can even take a piece of this remarkable oeuvre with you. All the design you see is for sale (with the dining room doubling as a subtle and beautifully styled showroom), allowing you to bring Leenaert’s world into your own home.

“Getting to know Rosemary has been a significant part of my artistic evolution,” says Leenaert. So personal is the space that pieces from her own private collection feature too – artwork given by friends over the years adorn the walls, while her and Boualam’s wedding chairs sit on the jacaranda-shaded roof terrace. Similarly, the items that were acquired purposely for the space (those that weren’t custom crafted) were accumulated gradually. Several years of collecting went into finding the vintage Scarpa armchairs and light fittings (found in long-defunct hotels), 1920s desks and American Fanimation ceiling fans, Moroccan glass tumblers and silverware. This level of consideration and curation can be seen in every corner – with every opportunity and space used to create something beautiful for the eye to rest on. A landing isn’t merely a landing, but a surface to artfully assemble books and objets, the stairs leading up to the roof a symphony of pleasing earth tones and graphic patterns culminating in a breezeblock wall. A handle is not simply a handle, but an

Facing page LRNCE ceramics sit on plasterwork shelving in the Clemande Room Below A tiled, covered dining nook offers shady respite

H O M E OF L EG E N D S

Within these historic walls, discover a new and inspiring home as the Old War Office is reborn as The OWO. Experience the finest in service and style at Raffles Hotel and Residences, unparalleled culinary experiences and a transformational spa. R A F F L ES .C O M / LO N D O N

A converted chapel in Devon by Jonathan Tuckey Design. Read the full story on p82 Image by James Brittain

HOME Timeless spaces

Southern belle

Owned by an avid collector, this house in Alabama has undergone a transformative renovation Words / Karine Monié Images / Haris Kenjar

HOME / Alabama

ohn Hagefstration is an avid collector, as his home in Birmingham, Alabama, will attest. Hagefstration – an attorney and the founder of a property investment company – bought the 418 sqm house a couple of years ago, but it has undergone extensive renovations since the purchase, with the interior design spearheaded by Betsy Brown, whose eponymous studio is also based in the city. The house is sited in the neighbourhood of Redmont, which was mainly developed from the 1910s to the 1930s and features some of the best examples of revivalist architecture in the country, from Tudor and English cottage designs to Spanish, Dutch and classicalinspired homes. This property, however, which was designed by architecture firm Shepard & Davis in 2007, is an ode to French rural style. “In the past, Birmingham’s primary industry was steel production,” says Brown. The house is built atop Red Mountain, named for its seams of iron ore, and “has an impressive view of the city and one of its more dramatic historic landmarks, a massive, sculptural relic of an ancient domed blast furnace in lovely shades of faded rust. We decided to use the warm, red colours of the relic with the greens of the surrounding trees, so the client’s rooms would blend seamlessly with the panorama.” The interior designer began by sourcing a beautiful worn Persian rug with these tones and the rest of the house grew from there.

Brown already had experience working with Hagefstration for his office space, which made this new collaboration familiar, smooth and efficient. “John is a lot of fun and loves to research vintage and antique pieces that he can incorporate into his home and office,” says Brown. “As part of our previous project together, we took a high-ceilinged area under a pyramidal, copper hip roof that had once been used for mechanical equipment, and created a large, open area with comfortable seating and bookcases for his employees to relax and gather, for meetings, parties and events.” Hagefstration’s new personal property became the perfect opportunity to develop this bold creative vision and go even further. As the original house had an awkward floor plan that gave the rooms a vacant, unwelcoming feel, Brown worked on creating more logical alignments that would create a greater sense of comfort. This was not achieved, however, without its share of challenges. The front door opens on to an interior landing with four steps down to a large great hall that spans the depth of the house, right the way to a terrace at the rear. “It had a somewhat untethered quality that we wanted to remedy so the room could feel warmer and more inviting,” says Brown, who decided to use a large oval table near the front door as an anchoring entry piece that could also serve as a dining table. Closer to the rear terrace – beyond which the eye is drawn to a view of the city – the designer reversed a

Previous page Wit and scale in the entrance area, with a replica of Michelangelo’s David that rests on an oval table Facing page Interior designer Betsy Brown was guided by her client’s collection of photography, including a work by Vik Muniz above the cabinet

Above This fireplace was previously part of the adjacent kitchen, but has been reversed to create a focal point in the sitting area

Facing page The open-plan entrance gives way to comfortable seating, with a sofa by Grant Trick and vintage Danish chair

HOME / Alabama

“We searched for vintage pieces with patinated leather and oak, then designed the custom pieces using oak finished in a similar tone”

fireplace that had previously been facing the kitchen to now form part of a seating area. “These initial decisions transformed the space into a room where everyone naturally gravitates and gathers,” she says. Another important change was to switch the previously dark oak front door to steel and glass, making the entire great hall area sparkle with light. Too small due to an existing working pantry, the kitchen was made more spacious by removing one wall and the fireplace to allow for a more congenial seating area. Bespoke timber stools, and photographs by Ray K Metzker and Helen Levitt, elevate the space. Hagefstration’s vintage and contemporary photography was the inspirational guiding light throughout, energising each of the rooms. For example, in the library, the largely red, black and white Black Door, The Temple Downtown, Mobile, AL by Andrew Moore is the perfect backdrop for the Milo Baughman leather chairs with an Aldo Tura vintage table and a Rose Uniacke plaster cone light. In the sitting room, Diorama Map by Sohei Nishino and Green Monkey, after George Stubbs (Pictures of Magazines) by Vik Muniz dialogue with each other from above the sofa and oak cabinet respectively. In the living room, Katsura Temple by Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Grand Central (New York City) by Robert Polidori and Coolidge Dam, San Carlos, AZ by Toshio Shibata create the perfectly balanced atmosphere.

The study is furnished with a desk by Birmingham-based design studio MDM, with an antique klismos desk chair sitting on a custom sisal knotted rug from Lawrence of La Brea, and adorned with photographs by Abelardo Morell and Fan Ho. The original intent was to refinish the pecky cypress panelling, but the colour of the raw wood ended up fitting the palette so well that Brown decided to keep it as it was. “We searched for vintage pieces with patinated leather and oak, then designed the custom pieces using oak finished in a similar tone,” says Brown. “We complemented the cypress, leather and oak with various stones that added lovely pattern and colour to the scheme.” Brown’s team worked with Hagefstration to source patinated mid-20th-century pieces by designers such as Marco Zanuso, Jindrich Halabala, Carl-Axel Acking and Franz Xaver Lutz. Among some of the outstanding furniture and lighting fixtures that complement the art are dining chairs by Axel Einar Hjorth, lamps by Marcel Breuer and a sideboard by George Nakashima, to name only a few. Brown’s final assessment of the project is that it is “a fun and welcoming space that sparks with energy and works well for entertaining or lounging at home.” And although it is highly curated, this house is also inviting and easy to live in – with a newly achieved sense of flow that pervades every corner.

Facing page The study’s cypress panelling was originally going to be refinished – but its mellow tones suited the wider scheme so well that it has stayed

Facing page In the newly enlarged kitchen, two bespoke timber stools are pulled up to a marble-topped island

Above An opulent yet minimal basin in the powder room, with a mid-20th-centuryinspired mirror hanging above

Right Views from the house – of greenery, plus the rust-red of a former blast furnace in the distance – inspired the house’s earthy palette

Turning the tide

The chic mid-20th-century holiday homes of Arenzano in Liguria are coming back to life – including this eye-catching example by Milan’s Eligo Studio Words / Giovanna Dunmall Images / Helenio Barbetta

HOME / Liguria

he pine forest of Arenzano in western Liguria was the site of an intriguing architectural experiment that started in the second half of the 1950s. The initial idea and masterplan for the exclusive enclave of holiday homes located on a lush plateau, overlooking the sea 70m below, was that of Ignazio Gardella, Marco Zanuso and Guido Veneziani. Soon other big-name architects and designers came on board too, with the likes of Vico Magistretti, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Roberto Menghi, Anna Castelli Ferrieri and Giò Ponti designing holiday homes and residential complexes for the attractive site. Fast-forward several decades, during which time this special place was the subject of what could only be called architectural vandalism, and the buildings and homes are slowly being renovated one by one and returned to their former aesthetic beauty. One of them, an apartment located on the ground floor of a three-storey building designed by the engineer Teofilo Mosca, has been recently redesigned internally by Milan-based Eligo Studio. Like the other structures in this complex, the building itself is a “classic 1960s structure, with soft curves,” says Alberto Nespoli, the studio’s co-founder. “It’s a blend of Mediterranean architecture with Bauhaus references.” Although the building had been recently renovated, the first thing the studio did was to transform an underused perimeter courtyard into a covered, skylit “wellness area” with a bathroom and a custom designed circular shower. “The idea is that as the owners arrive from the beach, they can shower first before they go indoors. Our inspiration came very much from Le Corbusier,” says Nespoli. The client was after a coastal home that could be lived in year round so the designers rejected their initial idea to clad all the floors in vibrant blue glazed tiles and opted instead for largeformat matt terracotta tiles (by Italian manufacturer Domenico Mori) in a calmer siena red and blue, which would work in the colder months of the year too. The rooms are furnished simply but luxuriantly with lots of natural materials such as oak and

Above Emerald green tiles (and a matching ceiling) in the kitchen Facing page Sun-like circular motifs are a recurring feature – here, incorporated as wall lighting Previous page Eligo Studio has celebrated the 1960s architecture of the apartment block in its work

rattan. Oak has been used for doors and arches, as well as the elegant in-built wardrobes in the bedrooms, where they are covered in Loro Piana fabric or mirrors, while rattan can be seen on the headboards, radiator covers and ventilation grates. Oak has also been used to enlarge the kitchen window: “We did it to restore symmetry to the space, as the window was off to one side,” says Nespoli. As is to be expected in a home and site with such a strong design pedigree, the lights and fixtures are architectural and/or of the era. There are Sillaba and Sillabone dimmable lights by Fontana Arte (designed by Piero

“The building is a classic 1960s structure, with soft curves. It’s a blend of Mediterranean architecture with Bauhaus references”

Left Oak-lined arches separate the principal rooms Facing page The striped terracotta-tiled floor that runs throughout is topped by a glossy painted red ceiling in the hallway

HOME / Liguria

Castiglioni) on the walls and ceiling of the bathrooms, and Arenzano lamps (designed by Ignazio Gardella in the mid-1950s and named after the resort) produced by Tato Italia on the bedside tables. On the walls of the bedroom, corridor and wellness area, squat Fresnel lights made by Oluce and designed by Joe Colombo recall industrial ships’ lighting. A playful leitmotif across the project is provided by the suspended sculptural furniture elements made from white disks (referred to as i soli, or “the suns”). Dotted around the home, they reference the work of early-20th-century German artist Erich Borchert. In the entrance space, the disks double up as an atmospheric backlit light; in the living room they are both light and a very original mantelpiece; while in the bedroom the disks are part mirror, part chest of drawers and part dressing table. “The idea was that these pieces should be functional,” but also invite contemplation,” says Nespoli. Another inspired element is the protruding custom-made angled curtain rail that doubles up as a dimmable light in the two main bedrooms and living room. Most of the furniture has been made bespoke for the project, or is part of Eligo Studio’s already rich collection of furniture that can be purchased. For example, the Campanino cherry wood dining chairs are based on an original early19th-century woven straw and ladder-back seat by Genoese furniture maker Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi, but modernised and produced by Eligo Studio. They are paired to great effect with a lone Impero chair (also produced by the studio) in lacquered blue with a vegetable-tanned leather seat, and a glossy blue dining table designed Ignazio Gardella and made by Tato Italia. The simple electric blue chair in front of the dressing table in the main bedroom is also inspired by the Descalzi chair (as well as Giò Ponti’s Superleggera chair), but its seat is made from paracord nylon climbing ropes, woven by an artisan in Liguria. It is perhaps colour that is the greatest recurring theme in the home, which has been used for flooring and furniture or objects against mostly white walls and ceilings to create different

Above Eligo Studio’s chromatic mastery is demonstrated in the deep-blue bathroom, with its glimpses of red and green beyond Facing page The bedroom’s bright blue chair is strung with nylon climbing rope

atmospheres. “The floor always responds to, or plays with, the ceiling,” explains Nespoli. He is referring to the white painted timber stats laid on the ceiling to mirror the floor patterns and geometries in the main living and sleeping areas. But also to the bathroom, which features deep marine high-shine blue tiles on the walls, a glossy blue ceiling and a matt blue painted floor, as well as to the kitchen, which follows the same concept and pattern as the bathroom but in a vibrant emerald green. Tying it all together is the long geometric blue and red tiled corridor with its deep Tuscan red painted ceiling – a central light-filled space that sets the scene for all the joyful colour to come.

Below Inspired by Le Corbusier, a courtyard is now a covered “wellness area” with a shower for rinsing off after the beach

Facing page The bedroom’s Arenzano table lamps were designed in the 1950s by Ignazio Gardella, one of the resort’s original architects

True convert

Jonathan Tuckey Design’s restoration of a Devon chapel meets a chorus of approval Words / Charlotte Abrahams Images / James Brittain

HOME / Devon

onathan Tuckey Design is one of the UK’s leading advocates for sensitively remodelling and radically transforming old buildings for modern use, so a commission to convert a former chapel into a 21st-century private home is not unusual. However, while the basic structure of this particular building dated back to the first half of the 20th century, internally it was a 1970s conversion overlayed with a series of 1990s interventions, none of which had any historic or architectural value. “Someone had clearly spent quite some time converting this chapel for domestic use,” says Tuckey, “but it had been clumsily done and the interior had lost its raw beauty.” It was the desire to reinstate that beauty that made Tuckey say yes to the project. “I was intrigued by the challenge of taking something which we didn’t find very appealing and scratching beneath the surface to see how we could bring it back to something with essential character,” he explains. To add to the intrigue, the clients, a retired creative couple, had fallen in love with the building’s location – it sits in a small village within sight of a picture-postcard Devon cove – and its potential to be both a permanent home for themselves and a holiday house for their visiting children and grandchildren. What they had not fallen in love with was the idea of living in a chapel. It is the job of a designer to make spaces that their clients love and it’s testament to the skill

of Tuckey and the project architect, Elena Aleksandrov, that they have done that here while still remaining true to the building’s ecclesiastical heritage. That heritage is most evident in the vast main room on the first floor, which is home to the kitchen, living room and dining room. The soaring wooden trusses are original, but they had been painted black, and the rest of the ceiling, along with the stone walls, had been clad in white plasterboard. Tuckey and Aleksandrov began by stripping all that away and opening the ceiling to its full height. “We had very little historical knowledge of the building,” says Tuckey, “so we put in place what we felt should be there. For example, for the ceiling, we sanded the trusses back to the wood and installed reclaimed timber boards flush with the existing joists, and we also exposed and repointed the arched stone wall between the living area and the kitchen.” The result brings to mind Shaker style or the simplicity of historic churches in rural America, a language that is repeated in much of the furniture too. A painted wooden inglenook bench unit sits beside the woodburning stove marking out the seating area; in the kitchen, a pared-down pantry unit by Devol Kitchens complements the bespoke bandsaw joinery, while the windows running along both sides of the living/dining space are dressed with plain bifold shutters. Unornamented it may be, but there is plenty of detail to delight the eye

Facing page An arched stone wall that separates the living area and kitchen has been exposed and repointed Previous page The underside of a new plywood staircase rises through the kitchen

HOME / Devon

“I was intrigued by taking something which we didn’t find very appealing and scratching beneath the surface to bring it back to something with essential character”

– those simple shutters, for example, only cover the lower half of the window so as to frame the view of the undulating hills outside, while the new plywood staircase, twisting up to an attic bedroom and bathroom above the kitchen, is a playful echo of the steps into a church pulpit. Downstairs, which is painted in a single tone of white/grey inspired by JMW Turner’s late, abstracted paintings of the sea, the mood is even quieter, monastic even. “The client wanted as many bedrooms as possible so we worked with this idea of cells in a monastery,” says Aleksandrov. The four rooms are sparsely furnished and the windows have been turned into doors to make them self-contained, as they might be at a retreat. As with upstairs, these small, ascetic spaces are made welcoming through considered detailing and exceptional materiality. Look closely at the opening linking the master bedroom to the dressing room and you will notice that the plasterer has softened the edges and rounded the corners. These slight imperfections speak of the human hand and bring to mind ancient stone buildings. The same effect has been used on the niches, which are set into the walls upstairs and down. These openings were originally born out of a practical solution to a lighting problem. “The corridor linking the bedrooms and bathrooms is very narrow and has a low ceiling, so wall and ceiling lights weren’t appropriate,” Aleksandrov

explains. “Our solution was to create a recessed plaster niche and set a ceramic drop-arm wall light (by Dyke & Dean) inside. It worked so well that niches became a recurring motif throughout the house. Some contain lights, others have been fitted with mirrors, and some are for display.” The entrance hall is another quiet triumph. “The great room was always pretty nice, but the journey to it was awful and the rooms downstairs felt like a basement,” Tuckey says. “We wanted to let in more light, improve the circulation between the living spaces and the bedrooms and create a real sense of arrival.” What was a bathroom is now a beautiful, practical hallway (bespoke panelled wood cupboards conceal the accoutrements of family and beach life), at the back of which is a new staircase, lit invitingly from above. Finally, stretching across the space and up the stairs, is a richly textured floor composed of handmade terracotta tiles laid with such generous mortar joints that it looks woven. Tuckey and Aleksandrov’s new entrance hall is true to the original layout but, as Aleksandrov says, this project was not really a restoration. “So little was left that we had to use our imaginations and we were quite experimental in what we brought in.” The fact that it is now impossible to tell what those experiments were is a mark of success. The new Old Chapel is a storied home, imbued with a sense of its past and fit for its new incarnation.

Facing page Reclaimed timber boards have been installed flush with the ceiling, above the trusses Next page The arrangement of the downstairs bedrooms was inspired by the serenity of cells in a monastery

Facing page The stairwell, with its terracotta-tiled floor, frames a gothic arched window

Above The chapel was converted in the 1970s, but a lack of wider historical knowledge about the building gave the architects a certain freedom in their design choices

Press pause

On southern Denmark’s coast, a design brand’s CEO creates space for repose Words / Tessa Pearson Images / Brian Buchard Styling / Tine Daring

HOME / Flensborg

“E

very weekend feels like a holiday here,” says Nikolaj Meier of his coastal home in southern Denmark, which occupies a rural plot overlooking the Flensborg Fjord, not far from the German border. Meier, CEO of Danish design brand New Works, lives here with his wife Lene and their three children aged from 11 to 16: the couple relocated from Copenhagen almost 15 years ago, swapping city life for a slower pace just after their second child was born. “It’s quite a fun story, actually,” Meier recalls of how they ended up here. “Lene’s good friend lives in the area and had invited her for a weekend stay. What she didn’t know was that her friend had actually arranged for ten visits with the local estate agent. The final viewing was the house we now live in.” The pair knew that the house, which dates back to 1927, was a project that required a lot of work, but the bones of the building and the beauty of the surrounding landscape added up to an opportunity that was too good to pass up. Not ones to rush the process, the couple kept things simple to start with, focusing on painting, plastering and working on the garden. It was over a decade before they enlisted the help of an architect to overhaul the layout and enlarge the kitchen and living area. New windows and doors were added at this stage, chosen to better reflect the home’s original architecture, enhance the connection to the garden and flood the interior with natural light.

Now that it is complete, the house is a paean to warm, liveable minimalism. Its quietly beautiful aesthetic allows the light and the architecture to shine, highlighting the quality of understated yet defining elements, such as the wide-plank Douglas fir flooring from Dinesen, or the sleek Reform kitchen – a collaboration with Norm Architects. No stranger to good design, Meier worked as an importer and agent for the likes of Tom Dixon, Magis, DCWéditions and &Tradition before co-founding New Works in 2015. He teamed up with Knut Bendik Humlevik, who became the brand’s creative director, responsible for honing an identity that pays homage to Scandinavian craftsmanship while gently pushing the boundaries of contemporary design.

Pieces from New Works’ portfolio can be found throughout the house, alongside design classics and a discerning collection of art and sculpture. While minimal, the interior is far from austere: “We wanted it to feel calm, but also somewhere you can host a really great dinner party,” says Meier, referencing that inimitable, intrinsically Danish notion of hygge. The overt simplicity also demonstrates a certain confidence, something that appears to be integral to New Works’ ethos, where fussfree forms allow materials and workmanship to take centre stage. It’s something that comes naturally to Meier too: “I’m not one for overdecorating,” he muses. “You can see enough beauty by just looking out of the window.” And in a location like this, it’s no wonder that life focuses more on what’s going on outside the house. “It’s a very small village and everyone here lives in harmony with the sea and the forests,” Meier explains. “Both Lene and I grew up in the countryside, so we had no desire to bring our children up in the middle of a city.” That said, with his business based in Copenhagen, the family get the best of both worlds, often visiting for long weekends or day trips. Being so close to Germany has its perks too: “We often drive over the border to Hamburg; we love it there.” City breaks aside, life in this peaceful spot sounds just as idyllic as you’d imagine. “We’re very good at enjoying our downtime, particularly in the summer. We swim in the sea, walk in the hills, tend to the garden and enjoy dinner outside on the terrace at the end of the day,” says Meier. House and lifestyle combined, one might well assume that this would be the family’s forever home, but Meier suggests otherwise. “Right now, this is the perfect space, but who knows? We’ve discussed ideas for the future, but nothing concrete. I’m pretty sure we’ll continue to evolve the design of the house, too – it’s important to try new things.” Because, despite this home’s sense of serenity, perfectionism is not the end goal here. Meier’s approach is one that shuns the idea of good design as an absolute, delighting instead in the process of questioning, refining and experimentation that happens along the way.

Facing page The co-founder of New Works has filled his home with the brand’s work, including a Florence dining table, Covent chairs and Margin Pendant light Previous page A Mass daybed (also from New Works) drinks in the daylight in the living room

Above White walls and a sweeping sculptural staircase create an understated aesthetic that allows the quality of light to shine

Facing page The dark oak Profile kitchen – a design by Norm Architects – is by Reform, with wall shelving by New Works

“I’m not one for over-decorating. You can see enough beauty by just looking out of the window”

Facing page The bedroom’s palette of neutral tones – Douglas fir flooring, Borås Cotton bedding and a walnut chair – create a serene sleeping space

Above Left to right: new windows and doors give the 1920s house a more appropriate period feel; the tranquil view out to Flensborg Fjord

Sculpture by Matthew Hilton. Read the full story on p112 Image by Romany Gilmour

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

Tartan, V&A Dundee Until 14 January 2024

To mark its fifth anniversary, V&A Dundee’s Tartan brings together more than 300 items illustrating this iconic cloth’s appeal across the centuries, featuring fashion from Westwood, McQueen, Dior, Nicholas Daley (above left) and Zandra Rhodes (above right),

including contemporary iterations such as Charles Jeffrey Loverboy’s from 2022 (opposite). Explore modern dancer Margaret Morris’ use of tartan in her pioneering Celtic Ballet, and see the Bay City Rollers trousers handmade by a fan and the MacBean tartan that went to the moon.

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Michael McGurk/Louie Banks

Jenkin van Zyl, FACT, Liverpool

Daido Moriyama, The Photographer’s Gallery, London

Until 28 January 2024

Until 11 February 2024

Jenkin van Zyl’s practice comprises film, performance, writing and sculpture, employed to create hallucinatory, carnivalesque installations. His 2023 film Surrender has travelled to FACT in Liverpool, after its initial release in London. The ground floor galleries have been transformed into immersive environments, from a dancefloor inside the belly of a rat to an energy-drink-lined trophy room. The film traces the phenomenon of 20th-century dance marathons – gruelling endurance competitions wherein couples competed for hundreds of hours in almost-nonstop dancing – via concepts such as the cryptid lore of the rat king and the Japanese love hotel.

Daido Moriyama: A Retrospective brings together more than 200 works and large-scale installations, as well as the photographer’s rare photobooks and magazines, for the first time in the UK. Born in 1938 in Osaka, Moriyama’s work is known for a distinct style characterised in Japanese as “are, bure, boke” (“grainy, blurry, out of focus”). The exhibition begins with his early works for Japanese magazines, interest in the American occupation and engagement with photorealism and the mass media. The second half is dedicated to his reflections on photography, exploring themes of reality, memory and cities through tireless documentation and the reinvention of his archive.

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Courtesy the artist and Edel Assanti; Daido Moriyama/Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Courtesy Frank Walter Family and Kenneth M Milton Fine Arts

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Frank Walter: Artist, Gardener, Radical, Garden Museum, London Until 25 February 2024

The Garden Museum is showing a major exhibition of landscape and nature paintings and sculptures by Antiguan artist Francis Archibald Wentworth Walter, also known as Frank Walter, one of the most significant Caribbean visual artists. The show presents more than 100 works by

Walter, exploring issues of environmentalism, Caribbean and black identity, social justice and the complexity of nature. In addition to his artistic practice, Walter led a pioneering and unique life as an environmentalist, intellectual and philosopher.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Paraventi, Fondazione Prada, Milan Until 28 February 2024

This innovative exhibition investigating the history of the folding screen is curated by the director of London’s National Portrait Gallery, Nicholas Cullinan. It traces the cross-pollination and cultural migration of ideas between East and West, and explores hybridisation between art

forms and collaborative relationships between designers and artists. The presentation includes over 70 folding screens from the 17th century to the present (pictured is a example by Sol LeWitt from 1987), including 15 new examples commissioned specifically for this project.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Mark Rothko, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris Until 2 April 2024

This is the first retrospective in France dedicated to Mark Rothko to take place since 1999. Rothko is most closely associated with the radical New York school that emerged during the 1940s; during a career that spanned five decades, he created a new and vital form of abstract

painting. The exhibition brings together 115 works, presenting a chronological survey of the artist’s career, from early figurative paintings (such as the 1936 self portrait pictured), pivoting to abstract expressionism and the large-scale abstract works he is renowned for today.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

The Glass Heart, Two Temple Place, London 21 January–21 April 2024

Conceived by curator and writer Antonia Harrison, The Glass Heart presents more than 100 glass artworks spanning 170 years. Bringing together important regional collections, techniques and artists by plotting the key moments in the UK’s glassmaking history, the exhibition

traces an evolution, from the artistry of stained glass from the Arts & Crafts movement to the 20th-century artists who pushed the material’s boundaries and traditions (such as Sam Herman, whose Torso is pictured) and the experimental artists working with the medium today.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

John Craxton: A Modern Odyssey, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

Unravel, Barbican Art Gallery, London

This retrospective of the British romantic artist John Craxton showcases paintings, drawings, illustrations, ceramics and theatre set designs. It traces his experiences of confinement and exile, his sexual liberation and his representations of travel, inspired by poetry, Greek archaeology, mythology and Byzantine mosaics. The show features a new film by Tacita Dean, Crackers (Dean met Craxton when she was 16, when her family were on holiday in Crete, staying opposite Craxton’s house); made on 16mm film, this elegy to the artist features scenes from in and around his house, alongside his favourite artistic subjects, from Crete’s White Mountains to city cats.

Subtitled The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art, this large-scale survey brings together a range of contemporary artists who explore the transformative and subversive potential of textiles. The practitioners include the quiltmakers of Alabama’s Gee’s Bend, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Mounira Al Solh, Mercedes Azpilicueta, Louise Bourgeois and Jeffrey Gibson (whose Speak To Me So That I Can Understand from 2018 is pictured). More than 100 artworks show how artists have embraced textiles to communicate multi-layered stories, addressing themes such as gender, sexuality, colonialism, the displacement of people and ancient forms of knowledge.

Until 21 April 2024

14 February–26 May 2024

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Kim Lim: Space, Rhythm & Light, The Hepworth, Wakefield Until 2 June 2024

Space, Rhythm & Light is a comprehensive survey of the work of Kim Lim, whose artistic contribution has been often overlooked in histories of post-war British art. Lim was born in Singapore to Chinese parents and settled in the UK after travelling there in 1954 to study art. This

show displays 100 artworks created over four decades, highlighting her technical mastery of materials and exploring her engagement with abstraction, from the wood and metal sculptures she made from the 1950s to the 1970s to her later minimalist stone carvings.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, Tate Modern, London 15 February–1 September 2024

Yoko Ono has been a leading figure in the development of conceptual art, performance art, experimental film and music, and is also renowned for her activism for peace and environmental campaigns. Spanning over six decades, this exhibition will trace the evolution of her artistic

practice, from her early performances such as Cut Piece (1964) to her association with the avant-garde Fluxus movement. Tate Modern will show an array of films, works on paper, objects and music, as well as a selection of Ono’s activist projects for world peace.

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ART & COLLECTING / Profile

Shape shifting

How British furniture designer Matthew Hilton found new creative freedom in sculpture

Words Grant Gibson Images Romany Gilmour

t’s safe to say that Tough Moment is a departure for Matthew Hilton. He is, after all, one of the leading names in the British design industry, renowned for furniture for the likes of De La Espada, Case and SCP (his curvy, laid-back Balzac armchair for the latter, designed in 1991, is considered a modern classic). However, his recent exhibition at Paul Smith’s Mayfair store features pieces that can only be described as sculpture. The obvious question that needs to be asked is, why did he change tack so dramatically? “I’ve been wanting to do sculpture – or at least something that’s purely creative – for a long time,” he explains. “Also, it’s my time of life I suppose. If I don’t get on with it then it’s not going to happen.”

Interestingly, Hilton hasn’t compromised. He could have taken an easier route and created a limited-edition furniture collection in precious materials, for instance. Yet these aren’t pieces that could in any way be described as “design art”, as he’s keen to point out. “I want to make sculpture: completely non-functioning objects that are not pretending to be anything other than sculpture.” That said, they have a distinctly industrial aesthetic. At moments the work reminds me a little of a 2014 Design Museum show In the Making, curated by designers Jay Osgerby and Ed Barber, where they exhibited 24 objects from a cork stopper to a laptop. Critically though, each piece was unfinished, having been removed from the manufacturing process part-way through. It illustrated the beauty of production wonderfully well. Hilton’s sculpture possesses that same factory sensibility – combined with an acute sense of geometry – even though these pieces will never turn into finished products. “I wanted to use industrial processes rather than ones more associated with the art world,” he confirms, “so I didn’t want to use lost-wax bronze casting, for example. Instead, I looked at rough sand casting and laser cutting and CNC and the things I know about and are, I believe, really interesting.” While much of his recent furniture work has been made from timber, here he elected to use tough, industrial materials such as stainless steel and aluminium. All of which means the pieces might have been a little clinical, but instead there is a humanity and warmth to the work that’s hard to put your finger on. “I wanted to find ways of including imperfection, some kind of rawness and evidence of making. Just because I like

Right Big Standing sculpture, made from Corten steel

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ART & COLLECTING / Profile

that,” he continues. “The later pieces began to develop a reference to human relationships. There are couples. It was one of the things that helped me decide where I wanted the work to go. Or where it was leading me.” So is the process of creating sculpture similar to designing furniture? “I’m using the skills and methods of design but the thought process is nothing like it,” he explains. “Design is about getting the best out of a set of criteria – getting the best possible result out of quite tight, controlling forces around cost and materials; and transport; and what the market wants; and what I want; and what the person running the company wants; what’s possible and where things are made…which means you’re constantly compromising. And compromise in that situation, for me, isn’t a negative word. It’s just what design is about.” However, that framework doesn’t exist for his art. “I don’t have anybody. It’s totally an internal

thing. What do I want to do? I have to make my own framework. I decide what I’m trying to say and trying to explore,” he says. In many regards, it sounds more vulnerable terrain to inhabit. “Absolutely. Very vulnerable. I was very, very nervous about it until the opening night and then I just felt such a good vibe from everyone, it was fine,” he says. That sense of uncertainty was one of the reasons why he alighted upon the show’s title. So is Hilton’s future in sculpture? Or is this a brief sojourn away from his daytime gig? He doesn’t seem certain, although he is clear that shifting into the art world isn’t straightforward. “I present myself as a furniture designer and I want to do some sculpture. Some art galleries say they’ll take a look but most people are not really interested.” However, you get the sense he’s committed to his new practice. “I very much want to keep making sculpture, so I’ve got to find a way to do that,” he concludes. It’s a question of watching this space.

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Above Matthew Hilton, who has added a purely artistic side to his role as one of the UK’s leading designers

The Office. Reimagined.

Workspaces to make your everyday extraordinary. foraspace.com

New Temple Complex by James Gorst Architects. Read the full story on p116 Image by Rory Gardiner

ARCHITECTURE Surveying the built environment

ARCHITECTURE / Hampshire

Expression of faith

What does a non-denominational spiritual building look like? James Gorst Architects’ Temple of Light offers fresh inspiration

n the edge of the South Downs, near Liss in rural Hampshire, an elegant modernist complex in brick, glass and timber has recently materialised. The Temple of Light – a series of low-lying pavilions topped by a tall glass lantern, sitting amidst landscaped gardens – is home to White Eagle Lodge. Founded in 1936, this “wisdom school” offers “a path of love, service, inner peace and the realisation of a spiritual life,” resting on teachings channelled through medium Grace Cooke by her Native American “spirit guide”, White Eagle. Losing patience with the leaky concrete of its existing temple, White Eagle Lodge held a limited competition for a replacement, won by London- and Suffolk-based James Gorst Architects. Best known for finely crafted oneoff houses, the practice had just completed a beautiful whitewashed Greek Orthodox chapel on Mykonos. This new commission, however, offered an opportunity for a fresh expression of faith, free from the accumulated traditions underpinning most religious buildings. The clients, described by architect Steve Wilkinson as “essentially a benign group of spiritualists,” were committed to an architecture open to all, yet articulating a faith encompassing astrology, healing and meditation. Slightly elevated, the site enjoys plentiful light and generous views of pastoral landscapes and night skies. Capitalising on this, the Temple of Light’s structural timber frame encloses extensive glazing, from the lantern’s clerestory windows to the covered walkways. The latter connect the inner temple to the pavilions containing a library, lecture hall and foyer – a procession from religious to secular – creating a gravelled courtyard akin to a medieval cloister. There is also a spiritual precedent for the fluid concrete arches that support the lantern, which help to provide an expressive counterpoint to the prevailing minimalism.

“Common to domed religious buildings, from Hagia Sophia to St Paul’s, is the problem of marrying the square and circle, forms that symbolise man and Earth, and God and the divine – pendentives provide continual support at the meeting point,” explains Wilkinson. The immediate model, however, was temporal: the glorious interiors of John Soane’s neoclassical Bank of England, demolished in 1925.

Words John Jervis Images Rory Gardiner

When seeking examples of inclusive faith buildings, the architects turned to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India: “At the cardinal points of its square plan, there’s a ceremonial entrance – anyone from any faith from across the world can enter and be welcomed – so our plan has four completely openable entrances.” Allusions are layered throughout the Temple of Light in “a constant loop of information and symbolism”: the circular door handles are quartered to form the Lodge’s symbol of a cross within a circle of light; the building’s geometries encompass Platonic solids and golden sections; the zodiac is inscribed on the lantern’s entablature. And, in a serendipitous gesture, tiny Buddhist plaques brought back from Thailand by the spiritually inclined site manager were laid within the brickwork. A restrained palette unifies the complex, drawing from the local environment. The adjacent oak forest – once a source of timber for naval dockyards in Portsmouth – is echoed by the Siberian larch frame, as well as the spruce and ash inside. Lime mortar invokes the chalk ridge traversing the Downs, while surrounding clay beds are reflected in the facade’s pale bricks, lightly pigmented on one side, roughly textured on the other. The landscape is reflected in other ways. The site rests on a ley line, with the inner temple’s onyx altar marking its central point. A 1.1-metre grid utilised throughout the Temple

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Facing page Top to bottom: The temple marries the square and the circle, an architectural symbol common to religious buildings down the centuries; an onyx altar marks a ley line running through the site

ARCHITECTURE / Hampshire

“The clients were committed to an architecture open to all” and its gardens references chakra points identified along this line through dowsing. Even the Dutch bricks, with their attenuated shape, were chosen to dovetail with this scheme. The rural location made sustainability a functional as well as ethical requirement – the limited electricity supply required the installation of solar panels to power a groundsource heat pump, and passive cooling beneath raised floors in place of air conditioning. Scarred by the acoustic failings of its previous temple, the Lodge required reverberation times for its choral recitals that would be challenging to achieve in the inner temple’s domed space. So, on the advice of theatre consultants, the dome’s timber beams were exposed to scatter sound. The attractive dogtoothing of the uncut brickwork – absent from the competition design – and the ash panelling’s micro-perforations also play a role.

There is a strong mid-century feel throughout. The landscape-hugging pavilions, exposed frame, covered walkways and reflecting pools evoke desert modernism, while the curvaceous concrete speaks of South America. Wilkinson, however, is keener to point to Scandinavia, in particular St Mark’s, Stockholm, a compelling postwar church in uncut brick by Sigurd Lewerentz embracing crafts and community. For Wilkinson, the process of navigating these aspirations and constraints was a rewarding one, engaging deeply with “sensible, considered people…to create a balance between landscape and building, and form one coherent, harmonious design, exploring architecture in a spiritual context.” The result feels simple and effortless, embracing the qualities of light and material, immersed in nature, rigorous in detailing – a restful presence in the landscape; a calm, contemplative experience within.

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Above With its larch frame and pale bricks, the temple sits well in its rural surroundings Facing page Exposed beams and dogtooth brickwork provide more surface area to absorb sound, aiding acoustics

Long cocoon coat by OTK Studio. Read the full story on p126 Image by Edward Howell

STYLE Fashionable pursuits

Most wanted

Suzanne Koller

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

STYLE / Products

Raey Matches’ in-house brand, Raey, has cold-weather dressing sorted with its latest collection. Oversized silhouettes and tactile, cosy materials are a signature, with shearling aviator coats, chunky hand-knits and a rotund hooded “mega puffer” to protect from the elements. Pictured are a funnel neck bouclé blanket coat (opposite), which has a loose trench frame that

can be tied with a belt, and a slouchy Merino-blend jumper (above). Your chilly extremities are also well catered-for, with complementary shearling mittens, long cashmere-blend gloves and mohair socks. Blanket coat, £895, and crew-neck jumper, £395; matchesfashion.com

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STYLE / Products

Piglet in Bed Lightweight, natural and breathable, linen is the only choice for many when it comes to bedlinen, and it has exactly the same benefits for sleepwear, too. Homeware brand Piglet in Bed specialises in all things linen, including pyjamas for men and women that have that relaxed, just-gets-better-with-age quality that makes them more comfortable with

every wear. The pyjama set pictured comes in the blush pink with contrast grey piping shown, but there are many other options including stripes and checks, plus a version with shorts. Add an optional stitched monogram to make it personal. £125; pigletinbed.com

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STYLE / Products

La Boite Concept At DA/UK, we are unable to resist technology that combines high-definition sound with head-turning aesthetics. This LX turntable and Bluetooth speaker is a special collaboration between two chic French brands: La Boite Concept supplies the tech and the dark-stained beech framework, and Lelièvre Paris delivers the finishing touch by wrapping it

in its fabrics (either the labyrinth-patterned Hera pictured, or Riga, a forest green corduroy). The LX incorporates La Boite Concept’s patented Wide Sound technology, allowing the listener to hear in perfect stereo, wherever they are in the room. €4,490; laboiteconcept.com

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STYLE / Products

As spotted recently at one of roving concept store Lone Design Club’s London pop-ups, this cocoon coat by OTK Studio can make every day feel like a duvet day. Made from Loro Piana Merino wool with a soft organic cotton lining and padded with feathers and down, it has an oversized fit and a selftie belt; the short version is shown here, but an

all-enveloping longer iteration is also available (pictured on p121). OTK’s brand is all about “conscious comfort inspired by art and nature”: its initials stand for “open the kimono”, a phrase used in business to denote a desire for transparency. £1,200; otkstudio.co.uk

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Edward Howell

OTK Studio

STYLE / Products

Ferian The signet ring has broken free from its associations with the ruling classes and entered the realm of high fashion. Rather than adorning them with the family crest, though, Ferian’s designer Leonie Branston incorporates vintage Wedgwood cameos, glass enamel and semi-precious stones, such as this rhodochrosite example from her latest Guardian

collection (the collection’s name alludes to the way that rings have historically been worn to protect the wearer). Designed to be worn by both men and women, Ferian’s signet rings are made to order in London using ethically sourced silver or gold. £705; ferian.co.uk

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PIONEER

Imagination unlimited

A century after her birth, Nanna Ditzel is now considered the mother of modern Danish design Words / Nell Card Image / Louis Schnakenburg

“I

deas don’t come out of thin air,” the Danish designer Nanna Ditzel once said of the creative process. “They are hard work.” A lifetime of Ditzel’s hard work is currently being exhibited at the Trapholt Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in Kolding, Denmark, in a show that continues until August 2024. The bright, sensory display of furniture design, textiles, jewellery and immersive installations celebrates the free-thinking spirit of Ditzel, a century after she was born.

Ditzel’s work was characterised by her alternate world view and playful approach to design – both of which were underpinned by a tenacious and indefatigable spirit that enabled her to navigate a field almost entirely dominated by men. Following her husband’s death, she went on to collaborate with a number of manufacturers including Georg Jensen, Fredericia and Kvadrat. Her experiments with fibreglass, wickerwork and foam rubber produced light, organic, experimental forms such as the delicate Trinidad chair and the kid-friendly Toadstool, which could be rolled, spool-like, across a room on its side.

Ditzel studied at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts before setting up a design studio with her husband, architect Jørgen Ditzel. They became known for their innovative, split-level floor seating (a precursor to today’s oversized, modular sofas), an idea that came from them spending an evening standing on top of their dining table, imagining a living room without chair and table legs.

She is best known for 1959’s Hanging Egg chair, which could dangle from the ceiling or branch of a tree. “Its gravity-resistant form suggested a liberated lifestyle, free from earth-bound anxieties,” the academic Penny Sparke wrote in Ditzel’s 2005 obituary: the legacy of a woman whose feet were firmly, intentionally, off the ground.

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