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CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2021
VOLUME 92 NUMBER 1
02.21
ON THE COVER An ancient thermal spring is part of Terme di Saturnia, a 101-year-old hotel, golf, and spa resort in Italy, recently restored and renovated by London firm THDP. Photography: Giorgio Baroni.
features 108 LEARNING IS ALL A ROUND by Rebecca Dalzell
For a kindergarten school in central Vietnam, Laboratory for Visionary Architecture integrated organic nature-inspired forms. 116 FAIR EXCHANGE by Fiona Wilson
A landmarked telephone company building in Japan is transformed into part of the Ace Hotel Kyoto by Kengo Kuma & Associates and Commune Design. 126 BOOKS, BOATS, AND PHILOSOPHY by Rebecca Lo
Wutopia Lab redefines the contemporary library with nautical and Taoist twists at the Guangzhou, China, headquarters of ecommerce company Vipshop.
134 MASTER CLASS by Edie Cohen
An architecture and design connoisseur turns to veterans Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and the Wiseman Group for a second home in Truckee, California. 142 MOMENTS OF CLARITY by Annie Block
Wellness centers embodying tranquil environments, cleansing waters, and natural materials encourage inner harmony and serenity. 150 SPECIAL EFFECTS by Laura Fisher Kaiser
Gensler draws on classic silver-screen glamour—and modern movie technology—for the makeover of the Motion Picture Association headquarters in Washington.
CREATAR IMAGES
126
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CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2021
02.21
VOLUME 92 NUMBER 1
walkthrough 45 SKY HIGH by Georgina McWhirter
100 giants 53 FINDING OUR WAY by Mike Zimmerman
departments 21 HEADLINERS 27 DESIGNWIRE by Annie Block, Peter Webster, and Fred A. Bernstein 38 PINUPS by Rebecca Thienes 79 MARKET by Rebecca Thienes, Wilson Barlow, Colleen Curry, and Georgina McWhirter 97 DESIGN INSIDER A Complex Tapestry by Jen Renzi
At once progressive and timeless, textile legend Jack Lenor Larsen’s design vision is enduring. 103 CENTERFOLD Forest of Light by Colleen Curry
Aurelien Chen’s shimmering treeinspired pavilion draws visitors to the Dragon Mountain Natural Site on the China coast. 158 BOOKS by Stanley Abercrombie 160 CONTACTS
AURELIEN CHEN
163 INTERVENTION by Wilson Barlow
103
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e d i t o r ’s welcome
hope ahead With a tick-tock, tick-tock ever so loud...our February 2021 issue is here! This is not only one more effort of which we are very proud but also another edition devised, produced, designed, and assembled entirely at home—working our level best—in this most extraordinary moment. To be sure, these are heartrending times, with the pandemic now resurging throughout the nation, and its daily death toll amounting to that of 9/11. These are also challenging times, given the naked attempt to overthrow democracy we just witnessed at the Capitol in Washington. And finally, these are heady times, with a brand-new—and eager-totake-over—administration, which at least assures safe and experienced hands in all the wheelhouses of the executive branch. With the help of no small amount of prayer (and wellcrossed fingers to boot!) the Four Horsemen of 2020— hate, ignorance, incompetence, and strife—are on their speedy way to the landfill. A new season of hope is upon us. Along with welcoming a true American response to adversity, our know-how once again unleashed, I am looking forward to the bountiful harvest of ideas for the future that will follow our national reengagement. As card-carrying agents of all that is good, we in the design industry are chomping at the bit, raring to be front and center of constructing that better tomorrow. And we at Interior Design are stepping forward just as passionately, contributing our own ideas for that new future (cue the 100 Giants research, with abundant thought leader ship, in the following pages). We have been mercilessly tried. We have overcome. Let us all move ahead. Godspeed, xoxo
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“I want to design architecture that is soft, gentle, and friendly to people and nature”
headliners
Kengo Kuma & Associates “Fair Exchange,” page 116 principal: Kengo Kuma. office site: Tokyo. office size: 230 architects and administrators. current projects: Waseda Inter national House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library) in Tokyo; Ishigaki City city hall in Okinawa, Japan; Saint-Denis Pleyel Emble matic Train Station in Paris. honors: John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award; Architecture Institute of Japan Education Award; Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. role model: Frank Lloyd Wright for trying to realize an integration between nature and architecture. away: Kuma has satellite offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Paris. home: Since the COVID-19 crisis has begun, he’s been staying local in Tokyo, exploring his area, discovering interesting shops and restaurants, calling the experience “quite inspiring.” kkaa.co.jp
J.C. CARBONNE
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Bohlin Cywinski Jackson “Master Class,” page 134 founding principal: Peter Q. Bohlin, FAIA. office site: San Francisco. office size: 30 architects and designers. current projects: Residences in Waverly, Pennsylvania, and South ampton, New York; railway district mixed-use project in Jerusalem. honors: Interior Design Best of Year Award honoree; AIA Pennsylvania Honor Award.
role model: Swedish architect Sigurd
Lewerentz, who started as a classicist and became a modernist, doing work that was personal and intuitive. in the ground: Bohlin enjoys spelunking, the recreational exploration of caves. on the surface: He is also a gardener. bcj.com
Wutopia Lab
Commune Design
“Books, Boats, and Philosophy,” page 126 founder, chief architect: Ting Yu. firm site: Shanghai. firm size: 20 architects and designers. current projects: Bookstores in Shanghai and Sanya, China; a food court in Shanghai. honors: Interior Design Best of Year Awards; Prix Versailles; International Design Awards. role model: Kurt Gödel, the logician whose incompleteness theorems
“Fair Exchange,” page 116 co-founder, principal: Roman Alonso. firm site: Los Angeles. firm size: 15 architects and designers. current projects: Hotels in Seattle, Honolulu, and Poughkeepsie, New York. honors: Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award. role model: For Ace Kyoto, Charlotte Perriand and her work in 1940’s Japan because she immersed herself in the culture and recognized its incredible level of craftsmanship. disintegrated the classical view and fashion forward: Before starting ushered in an open and diverse one. Commune with Steven Johanknecht, Alonso worked for Isaac Mizrahi as VP and image director. printed matter: He is a co-founder of Greybull Press, an art book pub lishing company. communedesign.com
present: Yu earned his master’s and PhD in architecture from Tsinghua University and the East China Architecture and Design Institute. past: He’s inspired by the works of Ni Zan, a Chinese painter who lived during the Yuan Dynasty. wutopialab.com
Gensler “Special Effects,” page 150 principal, global director of design:
Jordan Goldstein, FAIA, FIIDA. current projects: Marriott Inter
national World Headquarters in Washington; Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia; CP Towers in Beijing.
Laboratory for Visionary Architecture
“Master Class,” page 134
“Learning Is All Around,” page 108 co-founder, director: Chris Bosse. office site: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. office size: 20 architects. current projects: Detech headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam; German Pavilion Expo 2021 in Dubai, UAE; KACST headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. honors: AIA International Chapter Architecture Award commendation; Sydney Design Awards. role model: The Institute for Lightweight Structures founder Frei Otto for his exper iments with naturally evolving systems to create new building typologies.
founder, president:
Paul Wiseman.
design director: James Hunter. firm site: San Francisco. firm size: 38 architects and
designers.
current projects: A residence
in Silicon Valley, California; a wine cave in Sonoma; Salesforce Towers in Tokyo, Dublin, and Sydney. honors: California Home and Design Award; Julia Morgan Award; SFDC Designers of Distinction Award.
in the kitchen: Wiseman is an avid home chef. on the stage: Hunter is board president of the nonprofit Epiphany Dance Theater. wisemangroup.com
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then: Bosse is originally from Stuttgart, Germany. now: Based in Sydney, where he’s also adjunct professor at the University of Technology, he just opened a LAVA office in Honduras. l-a-v-a.net
principal, design director:
John McKinney. current projects: Volkswagen of
America headquarters in Reston and Oxford Finance in Arlington, both in Virginia; Walker & Dunlop head quarters in Bethesda, Maryland. office site: Washington. office size: 350 architects and designers. honors: Interior Design Best of Year Award; NAIOP Northern Virginia Award of Excellence; IIDA Mid-Atlantic Merit Award. role model: On the MPA project, movie director Alfred Hitchcock for his mastery at building suspense. school of rock: Goldstein plays electric and acoustic guitar, which he learned from his neighbor, a renowned player. history lesson: McKinney is busy restoring his 1895 house back to its full Victorian glory. gensler.com
TOP: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON
The Wiseman Group Interior Design
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On January 1, 2021, the world collectively turned the page, hoping to leave the hardships of 2020 behind. To symbolize forward momentum, New Year’s Day was also when the Moynihan Train Hall in New York was unveiled. The monumental civic project has been decades in the making; it was 1998 when Skidmore, Owings & Merrill began on it with a goal to evoke the Beaux-Arts majesty of the original Pennsylvania Station across the street. The hall, named after late New York senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who proposed the project in the ’90’s, occupies 225,000 square feet in the landmarked James A. Farley Post Office Building (where Facebook has leased office space). Among its glorious features is a vaulted skylight, akin to what had capped Penn Station, composed of 500 glass and steel panels that traverse the entire space. Perhaps equal in breathtaking qualities is the art program: three permanent site-specific installations, one each by Stan Douglas, Elmgreen & Dragset, and Kehinde Wiley. The latter’s is a celestial stained-glass triptych fusing Renaissance painting and 18th-century ceiling-fresco styles with Black women and men breakdancing. It crowns the nearly 30-foot ceiling at a main entryway. “Unlike the mythological figures of Renaissance ceilings,” Public Art Fund director and chief curator Nicholas Baume says, “Kehinde’s subjects have the athletic skill to defy gravity, celebrating the joyous expression of Black bodies in motion.”
NICHOLAS KNIGHT/COURTESY OF KEHINDE WILEY, SEAN KELLY, NEW YORK, EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT, AND PUBLIC ART FUND, NY
Go, Kehinde Wiley’s 55-foot-wide triptych in hand-painted stained glass and aluminum, surrounded by decorative gypsum molding, and backlit by an LED panel, was commis sioned by Empire State Development and Public Art Fund for the 33rd Street midblock entry to New York’s Moynihan Train Hall by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with areas by Rockwell Group, FX Collaborative, and Elkus Manfredi Architects.
upward and onward To honor Black History Month, we’ve devoted this section to projects, exhibitions, and awards won by Black architects, artists, and designers
edited by Annie Block
design wire interiordesign.net/mth21 for more images of the train hall FEB.21
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towering success Moody Nolan—the nation’s largest African-American owned and operated design firm, with more than 230 staff members in 11 offices across the U.S.—has received the 2021 AIA Architecture Firm Award, the highest honor the organization bestows. Founded JONATHAN MOODY, CURT MOODY
From top: Ohio’s Columbus Metropolitan Library Martin Luther King Branch is a 2018 project by Moody Nolan, recipient of the 2021 AIA Architecture Firm Award. The firm’s Miamisburg, Ohio, headquarters for the Connor Group, a real estate investment firm, completed in 2014.
BRAD FEINKNOPF (2); PORTRAIT: SAM BROWN
in 1982 by Curt Moody, FAIA, NOMA, and the late engineer Howard E. Nolan, the firm exemplifies the belief that diverse perspectives foster creativity and more responsive solutions. The wisdom of that ethos is revealed in a multisector portfolio of distinguished projects that combine an astute awareness of cultural sensitivities with a subtle understanding of the impact its work has on individuals and communities. Outstanding examples include the 18,700square-foot Columbus Metropolitan Library Martin Luther King Branch in Ohio and the 300,000-square-foot CenturyLink Technology Center of Excellence in Monroe, Louisiana. Beyond compelling buildings, Moody Nolan sees its mission as fostering architecture careers in diverse communities and extending its legacy. Fitting, then, that Moody’s architect son Jonathan is the firm’s CEO. —Peter Webster
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The Fields Collection by Rachel & Nicholas Cope for KnollTextiles
pieces of history From top: In the public spaces of the new Manhattan headquarters of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East by Adjaye Associates, a 1930’s mosaic by Anton Refregier at the union’s old headquarters was recreated by artist Stephen Miotto, after moving it proved impossible. The Martin Luther King Jr. mural, created by transferring a photograph from the union’s archive onto tile. Under a barrel-vaulted GFRG ceiling, Stephen Alcorn’s 1990’s image of abolitionist Frederick Douglass printed on tile and fronted with bronzed-aluminum letters.
DAVID ADJAYE
d e s i g n w ire
DROR BALDINGER (3); PORTRAIT: CHRIS SCHWAGGA
The 400,000 members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the country’s largest healthcareworkers union, founded in 1932, have not had an easy year. But the completion of the public spaces in its new Manhattan headquarters was a high point. Sir David Adjaye, the Ghanaian-British architect, designed the project’s 16,500 square feet of lounges, galleries, meeting rooms, circulation routes, and library as a permanent celebration of the union’s 90-year fight for social justice and quality healthcare for all. The Adjaye Associates founder, renowned for his Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, recently moved to Accra, Ghana, in part to be near several important projects, including a vast national cathedral there as well as a museum in Benin City, Nigeria. But the union headquarters was hardly an afterthought. A trip to Mexico reminded him of the power of public murals and introduced him to a technique of transferring images onto tile by Cerámica Suro so exacting that even the amount of grout used is considered. “This is the first time I’ve used murals like this,” Adjaye says. But it won’t be the last; he says he’s working such “supergraphics” into other projects. One of several such murals at the 1199 facility is a soaring portrait of Martin Luther King Jr., who called SEIU the “authentic conscience of the labor movement.” Another is a likeness of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, bearing his timely quote: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” —Fred A. Bernstein
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this girl is on fire Talk about a shooting star. Gio Swaby, a Bahamian multimedia textile artist, earned her BFA in 2016. The very next year, she mounted a solo show at UNIT/PITT Society for Art & Critical Awareness in Vancouver, BC, where Swaby now lives. The 29-year-old is kicking off 2021 with similar brilliance: “Love Letters” is her exhibition of over a dozen new works at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York. “Medium is one of the last things I think about,” the artist, who studied painting, drawing, and ceramics as well as film and video, recently said. For her Pretty Pretty series, the medium is thread and cotton. “They reference female-centered activities like sewing, plus the concept of tradition, which is echoed in the theme of Black women passing down hair-care traditions for generations.” Swaby’s creations are, as noted in the exhibit’s title, a love letter to Black women’s style, strength, beauty, individuality, and humanity—and underscore joy and resilience overall.
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COURTESY OF GIO SWABY AND CLAIRE OLIVER GALLERY
Clockwise from top: Pretty Pretty 1, 3, 4, and 2, all in thread and cotton fabric on muslin and over 6 feet tall, are among the new works by Gio Swaby in her solo show at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem, New York, opening February 27.
AD Beatrice Rossetti - Photo Federico Cedrone
a cut above The Seattle Art Museum is giving its first solo exhibition of hometown artist Barbara Earl Thomas, who is also a former director of the city’s Northwest African American Museum. “The Geography of Innocence” is a poetic distillation of Thomas’s longtime concerns: light and shadow, perception and knowledge, Black lives and experiences, and the nature of empathy. The show comprises two parts: an immersive, single-room installation and an adjoining gallery of portraits. In the former, three walls are sheathed in backlit, intricately cut Tyvek panels, creating a lanternlike glow. Each wall includes a central “altar” in the form of a glass portrait and candlestick. Similar panels cut with detailed imagery form a 12-foot-tall luminaria in the center of the room. Hanging in the neighboring hallway, 10 portraits—in cut black paper with hand-colored backgrounds—depict people involved in the artist’s life. “My goal is to disarm,” says Thomas, who trained as a painter and printmaker at the University of Washington, where she earned her MFA. “It’s a portal into a place where you are surrounded by beauty and pause to take in the complexity of the stories being told.” —Peter Webster
d e s i g n w ire
From top: A backlit sandblasted-glass portrait and a glass candlestick, both by Barbara Earl Thomas, are part of “The Geography of Innocence,” her exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum on view through November 14. Grace, her 2019 cut-paper portrait. Cut, backlit Tyvek panels and a central luminaria in the full-room installation. 34
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TOP, BOTTOM: SPIKE MAFFORD (2); CENTER: SPIKE MAFFORD/COURTESY OF CLAIRE OLIVER GALLERY; PORTRAIT: INGRID PAPE-SHELDON/COURTESY OF BARBARA EARL THOMAS
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DAVID YEOW
sky high firm: ministry of design site: kuala lumpur, malaysia Hanging in the lobby of the YTL Corporation Berhad headquarters is Leaves, an installation of thousands of silver- and bronze-tinted aluminum shapes by Studio Sawada Design. FEB.21
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w a l k through
Clockwise from left bottom: Vertical grooves are carved into the Bugatsa White marble cladding structural columns in the eight-story lobby. Canopies of bead-blasted and bronzed aluminum and leather-upholstered benches form seating niches. Elevator thresholds are surfaced in the same metal. A ribcage of powder-coated aluminum rods wraps the spiral staircase that connects two of the building’s three amenity levels. Glass sconces by Joan Gaspar join oak-slat paneling in the café. Stair treads are surfaced in wood-look vinyl.
DAVID YEOW
Headquartered in Singapore, with satellite offices in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ministry of Design has established itself as a top talent in the region. Its Vanke Triple V building, a triangle that projects skyward at a vertiginous angle, earned founder Colin Seah a reputation for daring architecture. With its LED dazzle camouflage, his Race Robotics Laboratory confirmed a gift for conceptual interiors. The architect’s latest endeavor encompasses 32,700 square feet of lobby and amenity spaces inside a Kuala Lumpur skyscraper by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates that serves as the headquarters of YTL Corporation Berhad, a construction conglomerate. The project neatly toggles between grandeur and intimacy. “It was tricky finding the balance that would appeal to the broad spectrum of the 1,000 employees, from the older guard to the millennials,” Seah begins. The soaring entry lobby rises no less than 82 feet. “The challenge was how to enhance the majestic quality yet not dwarf human scale,” he explains. He and his team’s solution was to clad the space’s colossal columns in white marble, etch the stone with vertical grooves, and then anchor and interrupt them with base insets and horizontal ridges
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From top: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates designed the 42-story faceted glass tower with diagonal mega-braces. The coffee counter is faced in rough split-face granite and topped with a polished-granite slab, the same stone as the floor. A hot-desking area features custom stools and an oak-veneered ceiling matched to the vinyl underfoot.
of bronzed aluminum, which break up the dizzying height. In between the columns, the same metal is formed into delicate arched canopies, under which seating niches are nestled. Further tempering the vastness is a commissioned sculpture of silver and bronze pieces that descends like a glimmering cumulus from above. For the meeting and function areas, on floors eight through 10, MOD went warmer and smaller scaled. Also on the eighth floor is a café that’s similarly welcoming, serving baked goods and espresso. In it, MOD paired oak-slat paneling with a rough-hewn stone counter and seating clusters offering partial privacy. (Pre-pandemic, the café was conceived as the starting point through which all visitors pass through before proceeding to the range of meeting hubs.) Connecting levels eight and nine is a spiral statement stair encircled by golden rods—akin to an opulent birdcage. Its supple leather handrail is a sybaritic yet grounding touch. —Georgina McWhirter FROM FRONT THROUGH SPACE FURNITURE: BENCHES (LOBBY). INOVAR: TREAD SURFACING (STAIR). MARSET THROUGH NEIVIV HOME: SCONCES (CAFÉ). SAUM & VIEBAHN: BAN QUETTE FABRIC (HOT DESKING). THROUGHOUT VERITAS DESIGN GROUP: ARCHITECT OF RECORD. BRANDSTON PART NERSHIP: LIGHTING CONSULTANT. R&C CREATIVE STUDIOS: CUSTOM FURNITURE WORKSHOP. PVD TITANIUM COATING: METALWORK. QUANTUM ONE: WOODWORK. AXIS STONE:
w a l k through 48
INTERIOR DESIGN
FEB.21
DAVID YEOW
STONE SUPPLIER.
OUTDOOR SEATING + TABLES BY KONSTANTIN GRCIC
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INTRODUCING: VITRE LIGHTING DESIGNS
finding our way
CREATAR IMAGES
The headquarters for Red Star Macalline in Shanghai is by M Moser Associates [19]. FEB.21
INTERIORâ&#x20AC;&#x2020;DESIGN
53
Historic, tragic, relentless, and, in the end, a four-letter word—2020 was a lot of things. Our annual survey of business trends among the 100 Giants, aka the industry’s largest firms, shows the damage done by the COVID-19 pandemic and also leaves us with questions—and some positive takeaways. Total design fees for the group came in at $4.5 billion, a decline of nearly 8 percent over last year’s $4.85 billion tally. Maybe that doesn’t sound so bad in the context of what other industries experienced, but just because we’re technically out of 2020 doesn’t mean 2020 is quite done with us. The Giants 2021 forecast comes in another 6 percent down at $4.35 billion. If that’s the worst it gets, perhaps the news isn’t all bad. The problem is no one knows. This is the first downturn of any kind in the past 10 years. Since the end of the Great Recession, the design business has been on a fantastic upward curve (2010 fees totaled $2.2 billion, exactly half of this year’s take). That means it took a global pandemic to knock what had been a very strong business backward. The more alarming data: The financial haircut seems to have come primarily from corporate office and hospitality work—two of the three biggest segments in the industry (the other is healthcare). Office projects accounted for 33 percent of fees ($1.56 billion), down from 40 percent. Hospitality, 10 percent of the pie ($488 million), was down from 15 percent. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise given how the pandemic specifically targeted those areas. Widespread remote work has put all office space under the light, particularly high-rent urban spaces. And we all know what happened to travel and hotels. So, the (literal) million-dollar question is how quickly can vaccines and responsible behavior bring society back to even semi-normal? The rest of the Giants’ business segments were largely even for the year. Healthcare accounted for 14 percent of all fees ($667 million), with residential and government bringing in 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Other segments like educational brought smaller returns but have been steady. For the 2021 forecasts, the Giants expect a decrease in most segments except for hospitality and residential; also, some government and healthcare work could get a proverbial shot in the arm from increases in hospital and lab/training facility installations, one boon of the pandemic. Total square footage rocketed 40 percent to a new record of 1.68 billion (after a “mere” 1.2 billion in 2019). The Giants forecast even greater spaces: 1.9 billion square feet in 2021. That sounds good, but it’s actually proof that the Giants are being paid less for their work. Fees per square foot fell from $97 to $89 in 2020, but it should be noted that $89 is in line with 2016–19 numbers. Total jobs remained mostly steady at 71,380; the 2021 forecast, however, drops to 61,600, which would be the lowest in four years. This aligns with responses to our survey on the biggest business concerns for the 100 Giants. By far, “client’s willingness to pay what work is worth,” “getting clients to understand design value,” “earning appropriate fees,” and “dealing with clients’ increasing demands” are top of mind. Furniture and fixtures (F&F) and construction products also took a hit, with a total of $73.6 billion, down from $85.2 billion in 2019. This is the lowest total since 2015; $69.8 billion is the forecasted amount for 2021. Domestic work (78 percent of firms) versus jobs outside the U.S. (22 percent) held steady, but the traditional hotspots of Asia/Pacific Rim, Europe, and Canada have all been in slow volume decline. Growth everywhere in the world is expected to be down in 2021, with 83 percent of firms expecting better times in the U.S. (compared to 93 percent last year). And 86 percent of firms do not plan to expand their number of offices in 2021. As expected, 2020 affected staffing numbers. Consider the data a mixed bag. Total staff has dropped to 153,000 from 210,000 two years ago, but design staff has remained steady in the 20,000 range for three years. Looking for trends, the number of principals/partners and project manager/directors has increased by 26 percent and 15 percent, respectively. This may indicate that firms are taking a more internal approach, rather than using contracted or outsourced work. Each design staffer’s median contribution was $227,000 in 2020, down 13 percent ($260,000) from 2019 and the lowest median contribution since 2014. Firms may be getting less from their employees due to COVID-19. On a positive note, some salaries have ticked upward. Non-design staff pay rose $3,600 to $58,600, and designers made $73,000, up $3,000. Meanwhile, project managers held steady at $107,000, and principals/partners dropped slightly to $175,000. The latter could be of note. Principal/ partner salaries have decreased for the fourth year in a row. This may be due to the increase of senior members of staff being hired by the 100 Giants—possibly more proof that firms really are moving toward doing things internally. For all its design flaws, 2020 could wind up a turning point in the business. Remote work hits the 100 Giants in two ways: colleagues working from home and less in-person time with clients. So, while the word remote is ubiquitous, will it be permanent? Some have already transitioned to a hybrid model. “Following the guidance of global health authorities and local governments, we’ve successfully transitioned some staff back to the office,” Corgan director of workplace strategy Emily Strain says. “We’ve experienced a shift in how we engaged with each other and our clients, leveraging new technology and implementing socially distant, safe practices to best support everyone’s needs and preferences.” That may indeed be the new normal for firms: determining what works best in real time. Here’s the prognostication problem we face: 82 percent of the 100 Giants have confidence in their 2021 forecasts. So, the Giants think a 2021 drop off is inevitable but not existential. For the most successful Giants, business had been not just good but really good: The 10 firms with the highest growth exploded by $100 million in fees. Everyone else? Well, that’s the rub. 2021 will be a certain kind of year in, say, March, and hopefully a completely different year in November. If the light we see is the end of the tunnel, not the train, perhaps the next year may be worth our patience after all? —Mike Zimmerman
“The pandemic leaves us with questions— and some positive takeaways”
100 giants 54
INTERIOR DESIGN
FEB.21
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Chicago New York
San Francisco Washington, D.C.
Boston Denver Toronto
Hula by Benjamin Hubert
100giants
WORK INSTALLED
RANK 2021
56
FIRM headquarters / website
DESIGN FEES
VALUE
SQ. FT.
(in millions)
(in millions)
(in millions)
DESIGN STAFF
RANK 2020
1
GENSLER San Francisco / gensler.com
2
JACOBS Dallas / jacobs.com
$565.4 NR NR 2643 1 $213.6 $5,341.0 35.6 835 2
3
AECOM Los Angeles / aecom.com
$209.5 $8,057.7 NR 494
4
4
PERKINS+WILL Chicago / perkinswill.com
$198.0 $6,500.0 58.0 449
3
5
NELSON WORLDWIDE Minneapolis / nelsonworldwide.com
$167.1 NR NR 382 7
6
HOK St. Louis / hok.com
$150.0 $4,911.0 55.0 296 5
7
GOLD MANTIS Suzhou City, China / goldmantis.com
$149.7 $2,994.0 128.2 1651
-
8
IA INTERIOR ARCHITECTS San Francisco / interiorarchitects.com
$136.9 $2,976.0 45.8 510
6
9
HIRSCH BEDNER ASSOCIATES (HBA) Los Angeles / hba.com
$112.0 $6,975.0 NR 1480 8
10
CANNONDESIGN New York / cannondesign.com
$101.0 NR 34.0 210 12
11
STANTEC Edmonton, Alberta / stantec.com
$97.8 NR NR 656 9
12
HDR Omaha, NE / hdrinc.com
$96.6 $100.1 NR 105 15
13
SMITHGROUP Detroit / smithgroup.com
$96.4 NR NR 70 17
14
HKS Dallas / hksinc.com
$93.1 NR NR 152 11
15
CORGAN Dallas / corgan.com
$86.5 $1,567.2 21.6 124 14 $84.3 NR NR 110 16
16
DLR GROUP Minneapolis / dlrgroup.com
17
CALLISONRTKL Baltimore / callisonrtkl.com
$81.4 $1,074.4 744.9 241 13
18
ZGF ARCHITECTS Portland, OR / zgf.com
$69.8 NR NR 85 28
19
M MOSER ASSOCIATES Hong Kong / mmoser.com
$68.6 $824.0 NR 820 19
20
NBBJ Seattle / nbbj.com
$61.0
21
STEVE LEUNG DESIGN GROUP Hong Kong / sldgroup.com
$57.8 $14.6 23.7 347 20
NR
NR
NR
26
22
FLAD ARCHITECTS Madison, WI / flad.com
$54.2 $2,839.5 15.8 247 30
23
SHENZHEN MATRIX INTERIOR DESIGN Shenzhen, China / matrixdesign.cn
$53.8 $20.2 NR 351 32 $52.2 NR NR 100 23
24
HGA Minneapolis / hga.com
25
WARE MALCOMB Irvine, CA / waremalcomb.com
$49.9 $1,521.6 24.9 233 22
26
EYP Albany, NY / eypae.com
$45.7 $1,611.2 3.9 158 27
27
SKIDMORE, OWINGS & MERRILL New York / som.com
$44.0 NR NR 52 21
28
PAGE Washington / pagethink.com
$43.7 $874.0 8.7 198 34
29
LEO A DALY Omaha, NE / leodaly.com
$42.5 NR NR 90 25
30
TPG ARCHITECTURE New York / tpgarchitecture.com
$37.7 $1,475.6 9.0 156 24
31
EWINGCOLE Philadelphia / ewingcole.com
$37.4
NR
NR
NR
47
32
HLW INTERNATIONAL New York / hlw.design
$37.0 $190.0 1.0 192 41
33
RSP ARCHITECTS Minneapolis / rsparch.com
$35.9 $823.0 NR 153 39
34
LITTLE Charlotte, NC / littleonline.com
$35.8 $406.4 13.6 198 38
35
STUDIOS ARCHITECTURE Washington / studios.com
$34.5 $0.4 NR 232 35
36
SPACE MATRIX DESIGN CONSULTANTS Singapore / spacematrix.com
$33.3 $445.0 8.7 265 29
37
TED MOUDIS ASSOCIATES New York / tedmoudis.com
$32.5 $700.0 7.0 94 37
38
RICKY WONG DESIGNERS Hong Kong / rwd.hk
$31.4 $9.0 6.5 132 43
39
VOCON Cleveland / vocon.com
$30.4 $500.0 NR 157 42
40
YITIAN DESIGN Wuhan, China / ytdesign.cn
$26.9 $820.6 39.9 313 52
41
ASD|SKY Atlanta / asdsky.com
$26.5 NR NR 171 44
42
MARC-MICHAELS INTERIOR DESIGN Winter Park, Fl / marc-michaels.com
$26.3 $100.0 NR 53 49
43
SARGENTI ARCHITECTS Paramus, NJ / sargarch.com
$26.0 $26.0 4.2 54 40
44
LS3P Charleston, SC / ls3p.com
$25.5 $2,134.4 30.0 122 59
45
CDC DESIGNS Costa Mesa, CA / cdcdesigns.com
$25.5 $14.5 NR 56 50
46
ROCKWELL GROUP New York / rockwellgroup.com
$23.0 NR NR 180 33
47
POPULOUS Kansas City, MO / populous.com
$22.5 NR NR 52 48
48
OTJ ARCHITECTS Washington / otj.com
$22.3 NR NR 68 51
49
SHLEMMER+ALGAZE+ASSOCIATES INTERIORS & ARCHITECTURE Culver City, CA / saaia.com $21.3
50
DSP DESIGN ASSOCIATES Mumbai, India / dspdesign.co.in
INTERIOR DESIGN
FEB.21
$1.9
NR
82
45
$21.0 $308.6 4.0 285 36 *NR - not reported new to 2020 ranking
bring your inspiration to the surface. Clean. Durable. And stunningly unforgettable. Meet the newest addition to our Everform™ Solid Surface Collection. Everyone loves choices. Now you have even more to bring your vision to life. View the entire line now at formica.com/specialty.
410 Argento Terrazzo Matrix
Formica® and the Formica® Anvil Logo are registered trademarks of The Diller Corporation. Everform™ and Find Your Perfect™ are trademarks of The Diller Corporation. All rights reserved. ©2020 The Diller Corporation.
100giants
WORK INSTALLED
RANK 2021
DESIGN FEES
VALUE
SQ. FT.
(in millions)
(in millions)
(in millions)
DESIGN STAFF
RANK 2020
51
SHEPLEY BULFINCH Boston / shepleybulfinch.com
$19.2 $440.4 1.3 55 54
52
CBT Boston / cbtarchitects.com
$19.0 NR NR 129 53
53
CLARK NEXSEN Virginia Beach, VA / clarknexsen.com
$18.9 NR 5.5 12 61
54
HED Southfield, MI / hed.design
$18.3 $210.0 4.6 195 -
55
SWITZER GROUP New York / theswitzergroup.com
$18.0 $485.0 2.8 40 77
56
YABU PUSHELBERG New York / yabupushelberg.com
$17.3 NR 1.2 71 56
57
B+H Toronto / bharchictects.com
$17.1 $100.1 NR 146 66
58
NICOLEHOLLIS San Francisco / nicolehollis.com
$17.0 $9.0 0.1 78 93
59
WIMBERLY INTERIORS New York / wimberlyinteriors.com
$16.9 NR NR 86 64
60
ELKUS MANFREDI ARCHITECTS Boston / elkus-manfredi.com
$16.0 NR NR 49 71
61
TRIO Denver / triodesign.com
$15.6 $13.8 0.6 48 67
62
DENTON HOUSE DESIGN STUDIO Salt Lake City / dentonhouse.com
$15.1 $26.5 NR 69 98
63
CHIPMAN DESIGN ARCHITECTURE Des Plaines, IL / chipman-design.com
$14.8 $230.0 1.4 48 -
64
CO ARCHITECTS Los Angeles / coarchitects.com
$13.8 $63.9 0.2 115 113
65
STG DESIGN Austin / stgdesign.com
$13.7 $300.0 NR 39 74
66
AVROKO New York / avroko.com
$13.4 $1.0 0.4 101 87
67
SPECTOR GROUP New York / spectorgroup.com
$13.2 $252.0 1.8 71 92
68
GETTYS GROUP Chicago / gettys.com
$13.2 $175.0 NR 50 75
69
MEYER DAVIS STUDIO New York / meyerdavis.com
$12.7 NR NR 56 69
70
MILO KLEINBERG DESIGN ASSOCIATES (MKDA) New York / mkda.com
$12.5 $243.7 NR 58 78
71
JCJ ARCHITECTURE Hartford, CT / jcj.com
$12.2 NR NR 36 46
72
ROTTET STUDIO Houston / rottetstudio.com
$11.9 $1.7 NR 56 68 $11.7 $210.0 1.7 67 62
73
HUNTSMAN ARCHITECTURAL GROUP San Francisco / huntsmanag.com
74
HMC ARCHITECTS Ontario, CA / hmcarchitects.com
$11.7 NR NR 18 89
75
BASKERVILL Richmond, VA / baskervill.com
$11.3 $178.1 NR 94 57
76
ROBERT A.M. STERN ARCHITECTS New York / ramsa.com
$11.2 $220.0 NR 8 91
77
FOGARTY FINGER ARCHITECTURE New York / fogartyfinger.com
$11.0 $9.5 NR 87 76
78
RAPT STUDIO San Francisco / raptstudio.com
$10.7 $150.0 0.8 32 85
79
LAWRENCE GROUP St. Louis / thelawrencegroup.com
$10.5 $240.0 1.4 78 97
80
ENV New York / env-team.com
$10.3 $127.5 1.6 75 81
81
PARTNERS BY DESIGN Chicago / pbdinc.com
$10.3 $150.0 1.2 37 86
82
RYAN YOUNG INTERIORS National City, CA / ryan-young.com
$10.1 $9.8 0.4 42 90
83
SMALLWOOD Atlanta / smallwood-us.com
$10.1 NR NR 44 141
84
KASIAN ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR DESIGN AND PLANNING Vancouver, BC / kasian.com
$10.0 NR NR 71 82
85
STONEHILL & TAYLOR ARCHITECTS New York / stonehilltaylor.com
$9.9 $1,694.0 9.0 59 80
86
MANCINI DUFFY New York / manciniduffy.com
$9.6 $82.6 2.1 45 70
87
AP+I DESIGN Mountain View, CA / apidesign.com
$9.5 $320.0 NR 37 79
88
PDR Houston / pdrcorp.com
$9.4 $443.0 NR 51 83
89
HORD COPLAN MACHT Baltimore / hcm2.com
$9.3 $93.0 NR 19 88
90
ANKROM MOISAN Portland, OR / ankrommoisan.com
$9.2 $1,873.1 8.7 208 -
91
BDP Manchester, England / bdp.com
$9.1 NR NR 1088 -
92
KZF DESIGN Cincinnati / kzf.com
$9.0 $529.1 5.5 71 145
93
NK ARCHITECTS Morristown, NJ / nkarchitects.com
$9.0
94
BERGMEYER Boston / bergmeyer.com
$8.8 $55.0 NR 42 99
95
ANDERSON MIKOS ARCHITECTS Oak Brook, IL / andersonmikos.com
$8.7
96
FXCOLLABORATIVE New York / fxcollaborative.com
$8.6 $114.6 3.0 14 118
97
DESIGN REPUBLIC PARTNERS ARCHITECTS New York / designrepublic.us.com
$8.2 $175.0 NR 42 102
98
CHAMPALIMAUD DESIGN New York / champalimaud.design
$8.0 $0.3 NR 30 94
99
WOLCOTT ARCHITECTURE Culver City, CA / wolcottai.com
$7.9 $150.0 NR 41 104
CID DESIGN Naples, FL / cid-designgroup.com
$7.8 $1,020.0 7.4 35 114
100 58
FIRM headquarters / website
INTERIOR DESIGN
FEB.21
NR NR
NR NR
NR NR
125 164
*NR - not reported new to 2020 ranking
EL ALMA II - EA02-510X â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Custom Axminster
El Alma: The soul of our craft.
With El Alma, we celebrate the storied, diverse textile traditions and craftspeople of cultures rooted in Mexico and Central America. The art, the individuals, and the living history of their crafts are an inspiration for the world of design and an enduring soul of the artistry in textiles and carpet. EL Alma Collection features 10 patterns in various constructions from woven axminster to tufted broadloom, allowing you to meet the needs of different spaces within the hospitality environment. www.tarketthospitality.com
TOPTEN
giants by sector
*in millions
office
hospitality
retail
Gensler $361,844,614
Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) $112,000,000
CallisonRTKL $48,016,348
Nelson Worldwide
$110,282,297
M Moser Associates
$67,261,320
Nelson Worldwide
Perkins+Will $99,000,000
Gold Mantis
$37,425,000
Gensler $33,922,933
IA Interior Architects
Gensler $28,269,110
$69,816,960
Sargenti Architects
$19,500,000
$16,900,000
RSP Architects
$16,146,000
$16,608,000
Gold Mantis
$13,473,000
DLR Group
$12,643,500
Page $13,110,000
HOK $36,000,000
Gettys Group
$12,229,500
Little $11,096,010
Ted Moudis Associates
AECOM $64,955,540
Wimberly Interiors
Jacobs $57,682,332
Yabu Pushelberg
DLR Group
$46,359,500 $32,500,000
HOK $12,000,000
Chipman Design Architecture
SmithGroup $30,846,976
Rockwell Group
TPG Architecture
government
healthcare
educational
Jacobs $106,819,134
Perkins+Will $63,360,000
CannonDesign $25,250,000
AECOM $52,383,500
HDR $57,987,000
Gensler $22,615,288
Gensler $28,269,110
CannonDesign $55,550,000
Stantec $20,544,844
HOK $22,500,000
AECOM $46,097,480
SmithGroup $18,315,392
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
$11,960,000
$10,360,000 $8,294,000
$12,320,000
HKS $43,765,229
HOK $15,000,000
Page $12,236,000
HOK $39,000,000
AECOM $14,667,380
EYP $11,432,160
NBBJ $32,330,000
Corgan $13,841,600
SmithGroup $6,747,776
SmithGroup $30,846,976
DLR Group
NBBJ $6,710,000
Gensler $28,269,110
Perkins+Will $11,880,000
Leo A Daly
EYP $25,150,752
Flad Architects
cultural
transportation
$6,372,870
residential Gold Mantis
$12,643,500 $10,845,000
$55,389,000
Gensler $33,922,933
Gensler $28,269,110
Shenzhen Matrix Interior Design $52,186,000
HOK $12,000,000
Corgan $25,953,000
Steve Leung Design Group
$48,586,440
AECOM $10,476,700
AECOM $16,762,720
CDC Designs
$25,450,000
DLR Group
ZGF Architects
Marc-Michaels Interior Design
$25,013,500
Stantec $5,869,955
HOK $13,500,000
Ricky Wong Designers
$20,434,132
HGA $5,220,250
YiTian Design
Jacobs $8,545,531
$8,429,000
$16,059,750 $8,599,775
Stantec $16,631,540
OTJ Architects
$3,348,750
TRIO $13,260,000
Denton House Design Studio
$3,020,000
Perkins+Will $5,940,000
NicoleHollis $12,750,000
SmithGroup $2,891,904
Stantec $4,891,630
Denton House Design Studio
Studios Architecture
IA Interior Architects
$12,080,000
$2,756,800
100giants 60
$38,431,709
INTERIORâ&#x20AC;&#x2020;DESIGN
FEB.21
$4,106,880
Shower-toilet SensoWash® Starck f. Iconic design. Maximum comfort. Duravit and Philippe Starck present SensoWash® Starck f, the latest addition to our new generation of shower-toilets for state of the art, natural toilet hygiene. Maximum comfort is guaranteed thanks to technical finishing touches including a motion sensor for automatic lid opening and a wide range of options for seat settings including heating, water spray and an adjustable warm air dryer. Available in the versions SensoWash®Starck f Plus and SensoWash® Starck f Lite, and as a wall-mounted or one-piece toilet. Combinable with all Duravit design series thanks to its uncompromisingly puristic design. www.duravit.us
Gensler [1] designed the headquarters for TikTok in Culver City, California.
100giants most admired firms
Gensler Jacobs
(1)
(2)
BENNY CHAN/FOTOWORKS
Yabu Pushelberg (3)
62
INTERIORâ&#x20AC;&#x2020;DESIGN
FEB.21
FACE TO FACE CARPET TILE IN CONNECTION, TYPE LVT IN CONVERSE
Dialogue Brings People Together Drawing inspiration from language in its many forms, the Dialogue collection integrates different points of view into a thoughtfully crafted family of products. From spoken word to vintage type, Morse code to handwriting, each starting point has been abstracted beautifully to create designs that speak to one another and the people who inhabit the space. Hard surfaces and texture-rich carpets mix and mingle in beautiful interactions. Each versatile piece inspires unscripted design for a range of focused, open and communal spaces. Explore Dialogue at shawcontract.com
How has the pandemic affected your business and your outlook on the industry overall? “Virtual work means “Work areas must “We’re moving the pace of research observe spacetoward automation planning and pro and collaboration with technology is faster and the tocols to ensure design, interactive technology platform employee health and digital content we use to deliver comfort. Sustainability creation, and more accessible. is even more critical smart building But to participate, to good design and technologies. upskilling is required well-being going There’s a demand on the part of most forward.” for touchless and designers. This —David Bourke, IA digital interface new learning is Interior Architects technologies.” on the rise and —Kim Heartwell, CallisonRTKL nonhierarchal.” —Bill Bouchey, HOK
The Shanhaiwan Marketing Center in Kunming, China, is by Ricky Wong Designers [38]. 64
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“We have seen growth in satellite offices and a reeval uation of the head quarters and its function. There has also been added focus on neuro diversity and the importance of outdoor space.” —John Mack, HLW
“Design must support a fluid, flexible, and agile way of working, where individuals can choose space and work styles based on tasks and behavior, and one which evolves over time.” —Megan Spinos, Vocon
100giants
“As we get through and past the pandemic, clients are exploring ways to bring public space to life, like new solutions for restaurants to account for more outdoor areas.” —David Rockwell, Rockwell Group
“There’s no denying “A focus on well“Now is the time to that the pandemic being and workplace plan big holistic has accelerated many safety requires pivots, to ask what trends the industry increased knowledge we really want and had been anticipating in human health, need out of the work and reacting to over psychology, disease space and the work the past few years. prevention, and experience. We have This moment provides building systems. the chance to rean opportunity to Multidisciplinary, inscribe a deeply design spaces with specialty teams are human element into the right lighting and becoming a necessity. workplace—and workair filtration, areas to In terms of opera force—planning.” tions, we’re focusing —David Galullo, meditate or exercise, and eco-friendly on resilience like Rapt Studio materials and locally never before, preparing for similar sourced products.” —Margaret McMahon, global disruptions.” Wimberly Interiors —Sascha Wagner, Huntsman Architectural Group
“Gratuitous design and designers are irrelevant in this new world. Multidisciplinary firms that leverage their DNA to understand the new business problems and provide solutions will thrive in the market we’re entering.” —Lauri Goodman Lampson, PDR
CHEN WEIZHONG
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hospitality
office
retail
government
healthcare
educational
residential
transportation
cultural
other
$488 (actual) $511 (forecast) $1,559 (actual) $1,543 (forecast) $267 (actual) $260 (forecast) $336 (actual) $258 (forecast) $667 (actual) $571 (forecast) $313 (actual) $259 (forecast) $373 (actual)
fees by project type
$388 (forecast)
*in millions
$149 (actual) $131 (forecast) $121 (actual)
100giants
$101 (forecast)
From top: The Samuel Oschin Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles is by HGA
$212 (actual)
[24]. IA Interior Architects [8] designed Sterling Bay’s Chicago headquarters.
$204 (forecast)
project locations
international 22%
domestic 78%
refresh previously completed projects 5.4%
new construction 53.4%
project categories
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FROM TOP: KIM RODGERS; GARRETT ROWLAND
renovations 41.3%
Spills. Splatters. Supreen. Luxuriously supple and completely impermeable, Supreen is a revolutionary fabric that combines proprietary woven and coated technology. Supreen outperforms in the places and spaces where life hits hard. Learn more at www.supreenfabric.com.
top business issues for firms uncertain economy 81.3% eanring appropriate fees
65.6%
dealing with clients’ increasing demands
57.3%
increasing interference from client’s consultants
24.0%
creating cutting-edge design solutions
11.5%
managing the growing needs for sustainable design
10.4%
managing vendors 7.3%
annual salary
firms with most fee growth
principals/partners
$175,000
project managers
$107,068
designers
$73,500
other id staff
$58,589
ZGF
Smith Group NBBJ
EwingCole
Shenzhen Matrix Interior Design LS3P
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Yitian Design PETER MOLICK
Page [28] designed the Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas.
TAGWALL
INFINITE POSSIBILITIES Discover the possibilities today at tagwallny.com
321 West 44th Street, Suite 200 New York, NY 10036 212.354.9255
FROM TOP: ROCÍO ROMERO; KEVIN SCOTT
offering staff appropriate pay scale and benefits (15%)
keeping track of profits and expenses (9%)
marketing firm’s capabilities (19%)
FEB.21
creating new business/diversifying into new services/segments (53%)
INTERIOR DESIGN
training staff (40%)
is by AECOM [3]. NBBJ [20] designed the F5 Tower in Seattle.
retaining qualified staff (32%)
From top: Accenture Bilbao Industry X.0 Center in Bilbao, Spain,
recruiting diverse staff (41%)
recruiting qualified staff (60%)
70
retaining current clients (15%)
finding new clients (46%)
getting client to understand design value (50%)
client willingness to pay what it’s worth (62%)
client willingness to take design risks (30%)
expectations (41%)
managing client
new competing business entities entering the market (24%)
100giants
client issues practice issues
Terra AVF01-514 Fusion
PVC Free Type II Wallcovering
m e m os am p l e s . c o m
METHODOLOGY The first installment of the two-part annual business survey of Interior Design Giants comprises the 100 largest firms ranked by interior design fees for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2019. The 100 Rising Giants ranking will be published in July. Interior design fees include those attributed to: 1. All types of interiors work, including commercial and residential. 2. All aspects of a firm’s interior design practice, from strategic planning and programming to design and project management. 3. Fees paid to a firm for work performed by employees and independent contractors who are “full-time staff equivalent.” Interior design fees do not include revenues paid to a firm and remitted to subcontractors who are not considered fulltime staff equivalent. For example, certain firms attract work that is subcontracted to a local firm. The originating firm may collect all the fees and retain a management or generation fee, paying the remainder to the performing firm. The amounts paid to the latter are not included in fees of the collecting firm when determining its ranking. Ties are broken by dollar value of products installed, square footage of projects installed, and staff size respectively. Where applicable, all percentages are based on responding Giants, not their total number.
Stony™ Panels ©2018 modularArts, Inc. U.S.
Chisley™ PANEL ©2017 modularArts, Inc. U.S.
Crush™ PANEL @2011 modularArts, Inc. Photo by Factioned Photo, @factioned
Slater™ Panels ©2015 modularArts, Inc. U.S.
All research is conducted by ThinkLab, the research division of the SANDOW Design Group.
Bizbee™ Panels ©2015 modularArts, Inc. U.S. Photo: DLZ I INTERIORS, Inc.
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DOMETIC.COM/MOBAR
Silent-Silo Thinks Outside of the Box Conceived by Carl Gustav Magnusson, the clever circular design of Silent-Silo takes up a smaller footprint while maximizing functionality. And unlike most office booths, Silent-Silo has oodles and oodles of finish options. Choose from forty-two Dukta Flexible Wood options, sixty-six colors of 100% Wool Design Felt, and add a leather insert in the door pull. Go big and bold on the interior or choose colors that are soft and soothing to make each Silent-Silo oh-sounique and highly customizable. spinneybeck.com/silent-silo
Plectere Divides Without Disconnecting Designed by Amsterdam-based designer Petra Vonk, Plectere braids together wool felt strips to make a soft and dimensional hanging panel. Available in straight and curved with both standard and custom sizes, Plectere divides space while providing openness and allowing light through. Combine multiple Plectere panels to create undulating dividers that meander through a space or hang on their own to make an impact. filzfelt.com/plectere
866.398.1530 | VERMONT USA | DESIGN@VTFORGE.COM | HUBBARDTONFORGE.COM
All Designs and Images ©1989 - 2021 Hubbardton Forge, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Hubbardton Forge is the registered trademark of Hubbardton Forge, LLC.
INTRODUCING: OLYMPUS LIGHTING DESIGNS
hidden gems Nothing says deluxe quite like natural stone. It’s timeless and elegant, but not always durable, especially when it comes to softer varieties like marble. Ceramiche Piemme responds to this quandary with Opulence, a tile collection that oh-so-accurately apes the look and luster of marble as well as granite and crystal but in hardy, recyclable colored-body porcelain. There are five polished-stone effects in four rectangular and square formats: Pleasure (a mottled black “granite”), Bliss (similar but in white), Eccentric (a goldkitchen/bath streaked murky green), creamy Delight, and ink-blot black-and-white Caprice. There are also three intriguing inlay effects that form elaborate patterns, including Balance, a graphic array of stripes and half-moons. ceramiche-piemme.com
edited by Rebecca Thienes text by Wilson Barlow, Colleen Curry, and Georgina McWhirter
market
OPULENCE BALANCE
OPULENCE PLEASURE
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Alberto Sánchez and Eduardo Villalón for Harmony
Susie Atkinson for Drummonds
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product Whitewater. standout The interior designer and manufacturer, both British classicists, riff on the contoured silhouette and imperial feet of cast-iron slipper baths for this enameled tub painted the palest rose. drummonds-uk.com 80
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product Bow. standout With Mediterranean shore towns in mind, the MUT founders devised a narrow matte-ceramic wall tile, its concave form nodding to the region’s characteristic roof shingles. harmonyinspire.com
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George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg for Salvatori
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product Anima. standout The Yabu Pushelberg founding partners and Interior Design Hall of Fame members build upon their product pro wess with this collection that includes a Gris du Marais marble countertop basin resembling molded clay. salvatori.it
Fiona Stewart of Margate Tile Works
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product Natural Finish Terracotta Tiles. standout The young British studio named after its seaside location uses domestically sourced clay in all of its handmade works, such as these minimalist terra-cotta tiles etched with geometric shapes. handmademargate.co.uk
PRODUCT 2: DANIELA TROST
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Céline Cornu for ZigZagZurich
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product Kaleidoskop. standout The cotton shower curtain is printed with a joyful pattern developed by the French textile designer, before being sealed with a surprisingly soft waterproof acrylic coating. zigzagzurich.com
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Jason Wu for Brizo
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Natalie Myers for Big Chill
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product SmartTouch Pull-Down Faucet. standout Whether frocks or fittings, creations by the celebrated fashion designer are always runway-ready, like this square-spout sink faucet, its eyecatching matte-white finish paired with a sleek lever handle. brizo.com
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product Winter Edit. standout The Veneer Designs owner and principal debuts a curated palette of desert-inspired colors—Green Brown, Ochre Yellow, Beige, and Ivory—for the brand’s eminently customizable appliances. bigchill.com
Francesco Lucchese of Fir Italia
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product LifeSteel. standout The stainless-steel faucet by the art director of this newly minted company has a razor-thin silhouette that bagged it an impressive honorable mention at the 2020 Compasso d’Oro. fir-italia.it FEB.21
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DARIA ZINOVATNAYA
SODA 1
“It’s a celebration of creativity”
make it yours A blank space can mean potential. For the young Ukrainian designer Daria Zinovatnaya, it’s intended to be filled with color. At first glance, the rich shades and geometric shapes on her Soda matte-glazed porcelain tiles for Ceramica Bardelli may look chaotically laid out. But actually, the 16 different patterns are intended to fit together in an infinite number of combinations. That’s because they are supplied randomly mixed, leaving it to the designer to assemble them into a suitable field. The 10-inch-square tiles come in three colorways— or “decorative languages,” as Zinovatnaya terms them— dubbed Soda 1, 2, and 3, with neutral solid colors available alongside. They are suitable for floor or wall, indoor or outdoor—anywhere in need of a splash of color. ceramicabardelli.com 82
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fu r n iture
lig ht ing
a c c e sso r ie s
1 3 4 M a dis o n Ave N e w Yo r k d d c nyc . c o m
systems
75 It’s a diamond anniversary for Sub-Zero Group, which just celebrated 75 years. The third-generation family-owned company based in Madison, Wisconsin, was started in 1945 by self-taught engineer Westye Bakke, who was eager to establish how to refrigerate insulin at a constant temperature for his diabetic son. Today, there are 35 showrooms in the U.S., and double that abroad. Across the decades, Sub-Zero has consulted on appliances for Frank Lloyd Wright, adapted technology used by NASA for antimicrobial air purification, and added the Cove dishwasher and Wolf stove and oven brands to the mix. Recent introductions include the Sub-Zero glass-fronted wine storage unit, the Pro Series stainless-steel refrigerator, and the Wolf dual-fuel range. The average product has an eye on sustainability, too, consuming less energy than a 75-watt light bulb.
years
WOLF DUAL-FUEL RANGE
subzero-wolf.com
now and then SUB-ZERO WINE STORAGE
PRO SERIES REFRIGERATOR
“We manufacture to last for generations” m a r k e t kitchen/bath
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caesarstoneus.com
Introducing Arabetto Life In Stone
A swirling galaxy of dynamic grey stripes and speckles that span across a crisp white surface - part of our new Whitelight Collection.
Experience the entire collection at our virtual booth at KBIS 2021 or visit us at caesarstoneus.com.
m a r k e tcollection kitchen/bath
“At Norm, we find designing products that last is an overlooked driver of sustainability”
PROFILE NORM ARCHITECTS
great danes
For their second collaboration with fellow Danish firm Norm Architects, Reform focused on one simple element: the handle. That’s the central feature of Profile, a system of kitchen fronts and countertops intended to be used with IKEA kitchen carcasses as well as Reform’s own. The integrated handle has a gently extruded and rounded aluminum profile, lending the design its name, and is available in a white powder-coat or three anodized metallic finishes. It’s recessed within the MDF kitchen fronts, lending the collection a clean, minimalist look. Kitchen fronts come in five subtle tones of matte spray paint: Gray, Dark Gray, Sand, White, and Anthracite. Or choose from dark or natural quarter-sliced European oak veneer. Countertops, meanwhile, can be found in Fenix laminate or a robust ceramic manufactured at high temperatures so hot pans can be placed directly on the surface without damage. reformcph.com
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Shown: 33 Chair in Valencia Cider & Shearling Lined Slippers
off the wall It may come as a surprise that Nathalie Du Pasquier, a founding member of Memphis, has never designed ceramic tile. Until now, that is. Mutina rights that wrong with Mattonelle Margherita, a glazed porcelain stoneware tile collection for floors and walls. The 41 patterns are an explosion of Du Pasquier’s inimitable skill with color and shape. Full of naïve florals, stars, parallel lines, and deep oranges and reds, dusty blues, and sage greens, they were conceived in just 10 days, then refined during Italy’s springtime lockdown. “Think of a house covered in tiles throughout, tiled floors and walls. . .it would be wonderful!” she muses. “But they’re also an interesting option for skirting or strips, some fairly simple details.” With the latter, more subtle take in mind, she developed a series of paints to specifically complement the collection. mutina.it
MATTONELLE MARGHERITA
m a r k e tcollection kitchen/bath
“It is the perfect collection for tiny spaces, with floors, moldings, and walls entirely covered in different graphics” 88
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PORTRAIT: ILVIO GALLO
NATHALIE DU PASQUIER
THE ART OF CRAFT | FK63 |
BOOKCASE SYSTEM PREBEN FABRICIUS & JØRGEN KASTHOLM | 1963
FSC C135991
The FK Bookcase System embodies Carl Hansen & Søn’s commitment to craftsmanship excellence, carefully shaped from FSC ® -certified solid oak into flexible modules that bear the hallmarks of great cabinetmaking techniques and traditions: elegant dovetail joints, seamlessly sliding trays and minimalistic doors fitted with brass handles.
carlhansen.com Carl Hansen & Søn Flagship Store, New York Carl Hansen & Søn Flagship Store, San Francisco
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greener pastures Trending elements freshen up the bathroom 1. Lollipop Rings bath fittings in PVD Satin Greystone by Franz Viegener. franzviegener.com 2. Modulo Stone Flex shower drain for natural stone flooring by Easy Drain. easydrain.com 3. Studio DBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blake tub in SculptureStone engineered solid-stone composite by MTI Baths. mtibaths.com 4. B.1 sink fitting in chromed brass by Duravit. duravit.us 5. Modern Emulsion washable water-based
paint in Peignoir with mildew/mold protection and hydrophobic resin finish by Farrow & Ball. farrow-ball.com 6. HI-FI Shelf shower mixer in 726 Warm
Bronze Brushed PVD finish by Gessi.
5: JAMES MERRELL
gessi.com 7. Lore vitreous glass mosaic tile in Fern by Artaic. artaic.com
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Eco-luxury has a new name
A 29% biobased leather alternative, UltraleatherÂŽ | Volar Bio sets a new standard. Durable and modern, the collection features a thoughtful color palette crafted for the designs of tomorrow. ultrafabricsinc.com
1. SD2F-P1X built-in countertop 3-in-1 combination sink, produce cleaner, and dishwasher in stainless steel with bacteria-eliminating pasteurization by Fotile. shop.fotileglobal.com 2. Itai Bar-On 3D Arrow tile in concrete by Ann Sacks. annsacks.com 3. Industrial positive lock pulldown faucet in brass in Rose by Waterstone Faucets. waterstoneco.com 4. 48-inch Platinum series range with 12-inch
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griddle color-matched to Aegean Teal, the Benjamin Moore & Co. 2021 Color of the Year, by Bluestar. bluestarcooking.com 5. IKON 33 1¾ low divide sink in Silgranit granite composite in White by Blanco. blancoamerica.com 6. Portofino dishwasher, range, ventilation hood, and stainless-steel refrigerator by Smeg. smegusa.com 7. Fun Autumn 02 glazed porcelain tile by Ceramica Sant’Agostino. ceramicasantagostino.it 8. Archdale quartz surfacing by Cambria. cambriausa.com
get cooking
3
Hot fixtures, surfacing, and appliances make it hard to leave the kitchen
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Upfit Bring the Indoors, Outdoors Now more than ever, bringing the fundamental aspects of life indoors outside has proven crucial to the health and vitality of our communities. Upfit takes the complexity out of designing custom outdoor structures, providing a modular, scalable system to adapt to a siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s specific needs. From lighting and power, to infill panels and retractable screens, to seating, storage and dining solutions, Upfit transforms outdoor areas into sought-out destinations. Find us at landscapeforms.com or contact us toll free at 800.430.6205
connecting & engaging the A+D community
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G A R D E N I A OA K M AG N O L I A H I C KO RY
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d e s i g n insider
Jack Lenor Larsen, who died in December at age 93, was invariably referred to as a weaver—a descriptor that’s totally apropos, yet only hints at his sweeping cultural influence and 360-degee creative purview. Yes, the interplay of warp and weft was Larsen’s operating system, his framework for making sense of the world. He held an MFA in fiber arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art, his designs sprang from the loom, and he birthed the American modernist textile movement, developing innovative, high-performance constructions that celebrated age-old techniques. “Jack always said textiles were the perfect blending of architecture, poetry, and painting,” says Lori Weitzner, his design director from 1993 to 1998. “He was a craftsman, an engineer who started with structure and built up from there to create something beautiful.” But over the course of his seven-decade career, Larsen’s professional contributions encompassed myriad Jack Lenor Larsen, 1927–2020.
PAUL GODWIN/COURTESY OF LONGHOUSE RESERVE
a complex tapestry At once progressive and timeless, textile legend Jack Lenor Larsen’s design vision is enduring
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including a 1981 retrospective at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and is represented in the permanent collections of the MoMA in New York and the V&A in London, among others.) “In Jack we had a true Renaissance man, a master of weaving, design, gardening,” choreographer Bill T. Jones, a close friend, says. Larsen liked to describe himself as a slow learner, but he certainly
synthetics, whereas Larsen favored handspun natural yarns, variegation, and utterly original structures. “To have anything special for their interiors, architects had to hire a weaver,” he told me in a 2007 interview. “Designers liked what I was doing and said, ‘If you make it, we’ll buy it.’ So I started making, which you could do without much capital; the client would give you an advance for the yarns. I
the lobby of SOM’s 1952 Lever House. Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen, and Marcel Breuer soon came calling; Larsen’s creations from that era can still be viewed at Fallingwater, Taliesen, and the J. Irwin Miller House. Success also opened the doors to international travel. In the mid’50’s, Larsen served as a conduit between the West and the East, dispatched by the U.S. State
producing collections in some 30 countries and operating European satellites. “That he found ways to employ and sustain these artisans and to produce and preserve their designs for all the world to enjoy was a miracle,” Weitzner says. It is fitting, though, that the global citizen’s last days were spent at LongHouse Reserve, the East Hampton, New York, property that was both his private sanctum and
Craft Council in the ’80’s, was the VP and later chair of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, established the arts center LongHouse Reserve, and organized numerous museum shows. (He was the subject of many himself,
proved a quick study in the entrepreneurial arena. The 1999 Interior Design Hall of Fame inductee launched his own label just a few months after a post-grad relocation to New York City. The market then was for industrially produced
thought I’d just do that until someone hired me!” But solo success proved immediate, and more conducive to creativity: His breakthrough project was a commission to design curtains— a lacey weave of linen cord and gold metal—for
Department to help Vietnam and Taiwan achieve exports and jobs for local handweavers. In his lifetime, Larsen visited more than 90 nations—from Haiti and Morocco to India—to study regional textile methods and collaborate with artisans,
an open-to-the-public museum and sculpture garden. The house itself, modeled on a seventhcentury Shinto shrine, was built in 1992 by architect Charles Forberg, a longtime collaborator who designed many Larsen showrooms.
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TOP: COURTESY OF LONGHOUSE RESERVE; BOTTOM LEFT: ERIC LAIGNEL; BOTTOM CENTER: COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN
pursuits, among them interior and fashion design, gardening, collecting, curating, writing (10 books!), lecturing, teaching (future client Louis Kahn was a student), philanthropy, and even boatbuilding (a side hustle during his Seattle childhood). Along with helming his eponymous brand, founded in 1952 and merged with Cowtan & Tout in ’97, the multitasker also served as president of the American
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: ERIC LAIGNEL (2); PATRICIA PARINEJAD; COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN
Clockwise from left top: Chinese Contemporary Warriors, a 2005 work by Yue Minjun, in the sculpture garden at LongHouse Reserve, Larsen’s residence/museum in East Hampton, New York. Completed in 1992, the house was Larsen’s 30th collaboration with architect Charles Forberg; in the stairwell hangs Dawn MacNutt’s Kindred Spirits, in sea grass and copper wire. The exterior is modeled on the seventh-century Grand Shrine at Ise, Japan. A close-up for Interior Design’s 75th-anniversary issue in 2007. Happiness, a 1967 screen-printed rayoncotton-mohair blend. Swan Song, a 1994 handwoven silk-linen. Onward, circa 2000, in Thai silk handwoven on a linen warp. Larsen Performance Collection in Sunbrella, 2019.
“Designing until the end, Larsen had an uncanny ability to stay relevant”
“He exuded an awareness of high modernism and yet insisted on living squarely in this era” d e s i g n insider FEB.21
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textile designs; his approach to this everchanging tapestry was inspirational to those who worked beside him there. “During the course
of over 24 years of working with Jack, I learned the importance of dream ing, planning, and being open to all possibilities,” LongHouse Reserve executive director Matko Tomicic discloses. Designing until the end—his most recent collection was a 2019 Sunbrella series—Larsen had an uncanny ability to stay relevant. “He was one of those curious personalities who exuded an
awareness of high modernism and yet insisted on living squarely in this era,” Jones says. He was omnivorous, a lifelong learner and scholar
propelled by insatiable curiosity. “Jack was always educating himself,” Interior Design editor in chief Cindy Allen recalls. “He was a true heavyweight of knowledge.” In a culture that too often prizes the new and youthful at the expense of experience, longevity, and perspective, Larsen’s greatest gift, perhaps, was showing us how to view history as a living, continuous thing, and a connection to the human spirit. He embodied that vision himself.
Clockwise from top left: A Marc Leuthold ceramic sculpture and Olga de Amaral woven horsehair wall hanging, Tierra y Oro #5, in the living room. Larsen on his bed, by a Cedric Hartman lamp. A nylon-mohair curtain, woven in Swaziland, for the Wolf Trap Theater, 1972. A Wharton Esherick painted-pine bench and Gregory Roberts’s carved ceramic KalaPani (Blackwater) near the dining area’s Japanese paper-covered screen. Borealis, a 1987 worsted. Fly’s Eye Dome by R. Buckminster Fuller on LongHouse Reserve’s 16-acre grounds.
—Jen Renzi
“Working with Jack, I learned the importance of dreaming, planning, and being open to all possibilities” 100
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ERIC LAIGNEL (2); COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN; ERIC LAIGNEL; COURTESY OF COWTAN & TOUT; ERIC LAIGNEL
Visitors to the not-forprofit institution can view ethnographic textiles, embroideries, and crewelwork that Larsen collected alongside works by Anni Albers, Dame Lucie Rie, Wharton Esherick, Dale Chihuly, Willem de Kooning, Sol LeWitt, Yoko Ono, Toshiko Takaezu, and R. Buckminster Fuller. The 16-acre landscape was entirely of Larsen’s imagining and fueled his
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BEAUTIFULLY DISTRACTING.
forest of light Aurelien Chen’s shimmering tree-inspired pavilion draws visitors to the Dragon Mountain Natural Site on the China coast
c enter fold
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“The installation is basically a narration of the natural scenic site”
1. A pen sketch by French architect and photographer Aurelien Chen reveals his concept for Dragon Mountain Land mark Pavilion, an installation at the northern entrance to Dragon Mountain Natural Site, an 850-acre park in Rizhao, China. 2. A SketchUp rendering outlines the placement of the pavilion’s four curving canopies and grove of hollow, perfor ated poles, an abstracted version of the bamboo trees found in the southeastern Chinese landscape. 3. Chen’s team conducts a lighting test for the park’s logo, which can be seen from the road. 4. The canopies consist of seven or 15 triangular modules, prefabricated off-site of mirror-polished stainless steel. 5. Another early lighting test surveys a perforated pole which, when illuminated from within by LEDs, evokes starlight. 6. A bird’s-eye schematic diagram plots natureinspired elements, including a riverlike pathway.
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1. As Chen had already designed a mammoth stone-and-wood gate for Dragon Mountainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s southern entrance, the northern pavilionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brief called for something inexpensive, contemporary, and easy to build. 2. Echoing the surrounding landscape, the pavilion takes inspiration from traditional shan shui-style paintings, ethereal brush-and-ink compositions of mountains, rivers, and waterfalls. 3. All the poles, which range from 3½ to 5 inches in diameter, exhibit the same finishes: mirror polished on the lower half and painted white at the top.
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View the entire collection at www.formica.com
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Where creativity and order intersect
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text: rebecca dalzell photography: hiroyuki oki
learning is all around For a kindergarten school in central Vietnam, Laboratory for Visionary Architecture integrated organic nature-inspired forms
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Previous spread: Steel-framed porthole windows animate the concrete facade of Eco Kindi, a kindergarten complex in Vinh, Vietnam, by Laboratory for Visionary Architecture. Top: One of several playgrounds is near the main entrance. Bottom: Beneath LED light wells in reception stands a custom CNC-cut plywood table; photography: Nguyen Thai Thach. Opposite top: Windows throughout are placed at different heights so children of all ages are able to look out. Opposite bottom: In a classroom, the plywood ribs spanning the ceiling are meant to resemble waves.
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Some may think of bubbles when they think of projects by Chris Bosse. One such received international attention, the Beijing National Aquatics Center, which Bosse designed with a facade of puffy-looking ETFE pillows for the 2008 Summer Olympics while he was on staff at PTW Architects. He has since gone on to create urban master plans and corporate headquarters around the world as well as co-found Laboratory for Visionary Architecture with Alexander Rieck and Tobias Wallisser. Yet the Sydney-based architect finds something particularly satisfying about building a school. “They are relatable and feel purposeful,” Bosse says. “You have a direct relationship with the future users and can really make an impact.” So his interest was piqued when a colleague in Vietnam, where LAVA has an office (in addition to ones in Australia, Germany, and China), told him about a new kindergarten planned for Vinh, a midsize city south of Hanoi. A local family was developing a string of schools around the country that emphasized activity-based learning, with kitchens, music and art rooms, and gardens. The idea resonated with Bosse, partly because the kindergarten he attended as a child in Germany had similar interactive features such as a treehouse and a fire pit. “My father was an architect and my mother was a teacher,” he says. “Growing up, I was very engaged with spaces and exploring nature, technology, and the world.” The Vinh project, called Eco Kindi, offered him the chance to encourage such curiosity in the children of today through a playful modernism. LAVA’s exploratory approach to architecture and interiors made it a good fit for the school. The developers sought a nonlinear, nontraditional building that matched their approach to education. LAVA favors organic shapes inspired by nature, with few 90-degree angles; the firm’s concepts employ geometries found in the likes of snowflakes, corals, and spider webs (and bubbles), and applies the same concepts whether the end users are adults or kids. Its headquarters for Philips Lighting in the Netherlands, for instance, centers on an abstract version of an illuminated tree, while the floor plan of a youth writing center in Australia alludes to splashes of water. Curved forms promote happiness and well-being, Bosse believes. “When you walk through a city like
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Top: Concrete surrounds the indoor pool. Bottom: Engineered stone tops the plywood islands in the student kitchen. Opposite: Trees informed the ribbing around columns, which encourages kids to interact with them and the space.
Berlin, where the buildings are all boxes 80 feet high, you feel small and insignificant,” he observes. “Walking through a forest, you feel the opposite. People in our kindergarten should feel like they’re in a natural environment.” He and his team drew on rivers, canyons, and the ripples that a pebble makes when tossed in the water—a logical reference given Eco Kindi’s location along Goong Lake. The brief called for a 750student school composed of three buildings, to be constructed in only a year. LAVA conceived of U-shape, threestory structures, scaled to the surrounding neighborhood, that open onto the lake. Two buildings house classrooms for children 1 to 6 years old; the southernmost unit contains a gymnasium, swimming pool, student kitchen, and cafeteria. Covered open-air footbridges connect the buildings, and courtyards and playgrounds fill the spaces in between. “It’s conceived so the wings talk to each other, creating an indoor-outdoor relationship,” Bosse explains. He oriented the 65,660-squarefoot kindergarten to maximize daylight and views of the lake, and to capture the breezes off the water, allowing for natural ventilation most of the year. A green roof with a vegetable garden is in the works. Another tenet of LAVA is to combine nature’s structural principles with the latest digital fabrication technologies to build more architecture with less material, energy, time, and cost.
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The school's free-flowing floor plan and open circulation invite exploration. “Because of the curvature, you never see the end of the buildings—it draws you through,” Bosse continues. Students might wander and discover cavelike hiding places, spouting outdoor fountains, or plants growing along the footbridges. In the reading room, they can crawl under a seating island or curl up with a book in nooks built into plywood shelves. Hanoi firm VietDecor interpreted LAVA’s concepts for custom furniture throughout, including rounded plywood sofas and bloblike art tables, most of which was made by Vietnamese craftspeople using local materials. The buildings themselves were also constructed largely by hand, brick by brick. “It was relatively low-tech construction but with a high-tech design,” Bosse states. Colorful steel-framed porthole windows of varying sizes dot the concrete-and-brick facade. “Our goal was a kindergarten that suits small people and big people without being childish,” he adds. “Some windows are on the ground and some are higher up. It breaks down the building scale so kids can interact with it.” They can engage with even mundane structural elements like columns, which LAVA covered in ribs of plywood to resemble trees. Undulating slats on the ceiling recall waves; below, curling lines of terrazzo wind across concrete flooring. The children intuitively understand the language. “When you unleash them onto the building, they know it’s special,” Bosse says. “They run around, wondering and exploring.” And perhaps nurturing a lifelong love of smart, friendly, and environmentally responsible design. PROJECT TEAM TOBIAS WALLISSER; ALEXANDER RIECK; DONG VIET NGOC BAO; DO THI DUONG THI; VU NGOC ANH; NGUYEN TRUONG NGAN; CAO TRUNG NGUYEN; TRINH TIEN VINH; BUI QUANG KHANH; NGUYEN THI NGOC HANH; TRAN MINH TRIET; NGUYEN LE YEN OANH; PHAM DUY BAO LONG; NGUYEN PHUC ANH THU: LABORATORY FOR VISIONARY ARCHITECTURE. MODULE K: ARCHITECT OF RECORD. VIETDECOR: CUSTOM FURNITURE. JAGER: FURNITURE WORKSHOP. GREAT CONCEPT VIETNAM: EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT. MINH SANG VIET JOINT STOCK COMPANY: GENERAL CONTRACTOR. PRODUCT SOURCES THROUGHOUT VINH TUONG: CUSTOM WINDOWS. BAMBOO ALI: LAMINATE FLOORING. ECOWOOD: POOL DECKING. DULUX: PAINT.
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Opposite top: Built-in plywood benches and shelves furnish the reading room. Opposite bottom: Additional playground areas activate the spaces between buildings. Top: Y-shape concrete-and-steel footbridges connect the three buildings. Bottom: Laminate planks form flooring in the cafeteria.
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fair exchange A landmarked telephone company building in Japan is transformed into part of the Ace Hotel Kyoto by Kengo Kuma & Associates and Commune Design
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When the Ace Hotel Group was looking for a location for the brand’s foray into Asia, the historic Japanese city of Kyoto was firmly on its radar. “Kyoto has been a muse for everyone from musician David Bowie to film director Akira Kurosawa, as well as an inspiration to Ace from our very beginnings,” Brad Wilson, the international chainlet’s president, notes. “Its centuries of celebrated artists and artisans have had a major impact on the way we look at craft and functional design.”
Potential sites came and went, until a unique property with a rich backstory—something of an Ace specialty— became available. Known simply as Shinpukan, the handsome brick building was designed in 1926 by pioneering modernist architect Tetsuro Yoshida, who was strongly influenced by European and Scandinavian design. Formerly home to the Kyoto Central Telephone Company, the landmarked structure—the first registered Cultural Property in the city—was poised for redevelopment, awaiting occupants who would appreciate its rare East-meets-West aesthetic. “We were excited by its fascinating union of worlds and saw a unique opportunity to add a special layer to that cultural dialogue,” Wilson says. The resulting 213-room hotel, set around a leafy courtyard, is a collaboration between Japanese architect and Interior Design Hall of Fame member Kengo Kuma and longtime Ace partner Commune Design. The Kengo Kuma & Associates principal, whose projects include the new National Stadium in Tokyo and the Portland Japanese Garden in Oregon, was tasked with overhauling the heritage three-story brick structure and adding a larger, seven-story-plus-basement annex to create a harmonious whole. “The old building is not only Yoshida’s personal masterpiece but also a precious 118
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Previous spread: Under a hand-painted wall hanging by Shuya Takahashi, table lamps by Akiko Nukaga flank a David Gaynor sofa in a seating area outside the ballroom at the Ace Hotel Kyoto, a collaboration between Kengo Kuma & Associates and Commune Design. Photography: Yoshihiro Makino. Top left: The hotel comprises a new, seven-story building and a renovated three-story brick building from 1926. Photography: Kobayasi Kenji Photograph Office. Top right: A copper-tube lighting system hangs above the hammered-copper reception desk, all custom, in the lobby. Photography: Yoshihiro Makino. Bottom, from left: The facade’s slatted aluminum awnings reference the city’s traditional machiya town houses; photography: Kobayasi Kenji Photograph Office. Beyond the lobby lounge, where chairs by George Nakashima and Furniture Marolles/Carneros Studios line custom communal tables, Samiro Yunoki’s sign marks the entry to the Stumptown coffee shop; photography: Yoshihiro Makino. Cedar posts and beams front retail space in the new building; photography: Kobayasi Kenji Photograph Office.
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cultural asset,” Kuma says. “It was absolutely necessary to preserve it.” The 1926 building houses two floors of guest rooms above ground-floor retail. While more retail space occupies most of the addition’s basement and street levels, the latter also accommodates the spacious hotel lobby, lounge, and coffee shop; along with guest rooms, the six floors above include a ballroom, conference spaces, bars, a gallery, and two restaurants (with a third to come). The new building’s striking gridded facade—a bold mix of Kyoto cedar columns and beams, precast panels of concrete mixed with iron oxide to make it inky black, and slatted aluminum awnings with a rustlike finish—references the city’s famous machiya town houses with their wooden lattices, folding shutters, and tile roofs. Cedar appears inside, too, where such elements as the lobby’s interlocked kigumi ceiling are a testament to Japanese joinery skills. Commune was asked to create an interior that resonates with the location. “It was our job to tie the project together,” says firm co-founder and principal Roman Alonso, who has been visiting Japan since the 1990’s. “In terms of furnishings and finishes, we immediately thought to root it in arts and crafts—and in the idea of the East and West meeting together through them.” Alonso was guided by Shinichiro Nakahara of the Tokyo design firm Landscape Products, who introduced him to an impressive lineup of Japanese artists and craftspeople. The result is a textured interior, rich in detail throughout: There are large ceramic pots by fishermanceramicist Kazunori Hamana; earthy Shigaraki stoneware tiles lining walls; a lobby textile installation from Shobu Gakuen, an artist community in Kagoshima; and presiding magisterially over them all, works by the legendary mingei folk-craft artist Samiro Yunoki, a master of katazome, the stencil dyeing of paper and textiles. Yunoki, whom Alonso describes as “the godfather” of the project, is still hard at work at age 99 and more in demand than ever. He created noren curtains for the lobby, artworks for each guest room, and even the hotel’s logo and custom font. Kyoto makers are well represented, too: Traditional wire workshop Kanaami Tsuji made woven-copper light fixtures for the mezzanine bar, while 200-year-old Top: In the lobby, a staircase to the mezzanine is joined by a Shobu Gakuen textile installation on the left and a wall of custom Shigaraki stoneware tiles at the back. Bottom: In Mr. Maurice’s Italian, the hotel’s third-floor restaurant, custom screen-printed canvas partitions and penny-tile flooring and bar front are by Kori Girard. Photography: Yoshihiro Makino. Opposite top: Along with artwork by Yunoki, the Tatami suite has a raised, tatami-covered dining platform. Photography: Yoshihiro Makino. Opposite bottom: A custom copper DJ station faces wood and rattan chairs by Michael Boyd and Isamu Kenmochi, respectively, in Piopiko, the mezzanine lounge and taco restaurant. Photography: Yoshihiro Makino.
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“Contemporary design is mixed with vintage, while Japanese works sit next to custom pieces from Scandinavia and the U.S.” lantern-maker Kobishiya Chube created four 8-foottall paper and bamboo lights for the voluminous—and as yet unnamed—main restaurant. Inspired by Kabuki theaters and Japanese tea houses, the dining room’s wall covering comprises layers of handmade karakami paper by the local atelier Kamisoe. Commune also brought in American designers whose work adds to the rich tapestry. Los Angeles artist Kori Girard, grandson of Alexander Girard, created strikingly graphic penny-tile flooring and screenprinted canvas partitions for Mr. Maurice’s Italian, the third-floor restaurant; Ido Yoshimoto, a Californiabased artist, used a chainsaw to carve a deco-inspired redwood bar front for Piopiko, the mezzanine lounge and taco eatery. Contemporary design is mixed with vintage, while Japanese works sit next to custom pieces from Scandinavia and the U.S.—there are rugs by George Nakashima and echoes throughout of Frank Lloyd Wright and Antonin Raymond, both architects with strong connections to Japan. Above: Piopiko’s bar front is redwood carved with a chainsaw by sculptor Ido Yoshimoto. Photography: Yoshihiro Makino. Opposite top, from left: Glaze-sample Shigaraki stoneware tiles form a backsplash in the coffee shop. The old and new buildings enclose a leafy courtyard. Photography: Jimmy Cohrssen. Opposite bottom, from left: In the historic wing, a standard guest room includes custom upholstery fabrics by Akira Minagawa and an Akari light sculpture by Isamu Noguchi; photography: Stephen Kent Johnson. Traditional interlocked kigumi joinery is featured throughout the hotel; photography: Kobayasi Kenji Photograph Office.
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The exhilarating mélange continues in the guest rooms, which have custom furniture influenced by Charlotte Perriand’s 1940’s sojourn in Japan. Upholstery fabrics by Tokyo fashion designer Akira Minagawa, Pendleton wool blankets, tatami-lined tables, and wood-paneled bathrooms all blend to create a comfortable ambience. Each room has a wooden bench at the entrance where shoes are removed, Japanese-style. Record turntables with a selection of vinyl albums add to the at-home vibe.
Guests will love the central location, a short stroll from Nishiki Market and the Museum of Kyoto. The adjacent small streets house some classic Kyoto businesses such as Kamesuehiro, a 200-year-old confectionery shop, and Shoyeido, a 12th-generation family-run incense maker. There is even an art-house cinema in the basement, just the place to rediscover the incomparably beautiful movies of Kenji Mizoguchi, who as a young director worked in—and was inspired by—Kyoto.
PROJECT TEAM YUKI IKEGUCHI; KENJI MIYAHARA; HIROAKI AKIYAMA, TAKUMI NAKAHARA; RYUYA YAMAWAKI; YOHEI MOCHIZUKI: KENGO KUMA & ASSOCIATES. DANIELLE GHARST; CHAU TRUONG; ROXANNE FAUSTINO; ASHLEY TAKACS; HISAKO ICHIKI: COMMUNE DESIGN. PLACEMEDIA: LANDSCAPING CONSULTANT. NTT FACILITIES: STRUCTURAL ENGINEER. PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT CHRISTOPHER FARR: CUSTOM RUG (BALLROOM SITTING AREA). DAVID GAYNOR DESIGN: SOFA. PHLOEM STUDIO: SPINDLE CHAIR. LUTECA: UPHOLSTERED CHAIR (BALLROOM SITTING AREA), CLUB CHAIRS (LOBBY), BARSTOOLS (PIOPIKO). EDWARD FIELDS: RUGS (LOBBY, MEZ ZANINE). PLANE FURNITURE CO.: COFFEE TABLE (LOBBY), WOOD CHAIRS (MEZZANINE). FURNITURE MAROLLES: COMMUNAL-TABLE CHAIRS (LOBBY). NEW LIGHT POTTERY: CEILING FIXTURES (MR. MAURICE’S ITALIAN), LIGHT TOTEMS (PIOPIKO). QUSAMURA: POTTED-PLANT INSTALLATION (PIOPIKO). THROUGHOUT MINA PERHONEN: UPHOLSTERY FABRIC.
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Top left: A suite bathroom has ash paneling and slate flooring. Photography: Jimmy Cohrssen. Top right: A suite in the historic wing, with a custom sofa and Charles and Ray Eames chairs, has indigo-dyed shoji doors inspired by ones in the Katsura Imperial Villa. Photography: Yoshihiro Makino. Bottom, from left: New cedar posts and beams were installed in a corridor in the old building; photography: Jimmy Cohrssen. Formerly a telephone exchange, the landmarked 1926 structure was designed by Tetsuro Yoshida; photography: Yoshihiro Makino. The ballroom, here set up for a conference, was inspired by the interiors of the Hotel Okura Tokyo; photography: Yoshihiro Makino.
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books, boats, and philosophy Wutopia Lab redefines the contemporary library with nautical and Taoist twists at the Guangzhou, China, headquarters of e-commerce company Vipshop text: rebecca lo photography: creatar images 126
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Previous spread: At the staff library in the Guangzhou, China, headquarters of Vipshop by Wutopia Lab, rounded and arched apertures in the children’s area are nautically inspired to reference the city’s seafaring merchant history. This page: The reading lounge and adjoining magazine section feature a rosette window similar to ones popular in 18th-century Guangzhou architecture, along with ottomans upholstered in padded velvet. Opposite top: The coffee bar is satin-finished stainless steel. Opposite center: GMP designed the 31-story Vipshop headquarters, where the two-story atrium turned library is on the 18th floor. Opposite bottom: The 24,000-square-foot amenity space includes a theater with wide steps that double as seating during screenings or lectures.
China’s technology boom of the past two decades incubated a number of e-commerce giants. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in the historic trade port of Guangzhou, vip.com’s pioneering of flash sales coupled with its wide product range have propelled it to the forefront of online Chinese retailers. Parent company Vipshop’s new 31-story headquarters by German architect GMP is on Pazhou, an island in Guangzhou that overlooks the Pearl River. The 18th floor includes a double-height wraparound atrium, which is where Vipshop executives wanted to locate a staff library and events space. To stock the shelves with some 42,000 books, magazines, and other periodicals, the company collaborated with Zhongshu Bookstore, which has a much-published all-white branch in Xi’an designed by Wutopia Lab. Vipshop executives liked the look of that project so much, they hired Wutopia founder and chief architect Ting Yu to envision the company’s 24,000square-foot library. 128
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Dubbed Satori Harbor in a nod to the clipper ships that plied wares between the city formerly known as Canton and the west, the library affords open, panoramic views of Guangzhou. Yu and his team began by deciding to differentiate the library from the rest of Vipshop’s more traditional office floors. They sought inspiration from the origins of the Chinese library as well as Guangzhou’s merchant past. “Nowadays, most people go to libraries to study for exams or consult materials,” Yu notes. “But, in ancient China, the library was a sacred place. The Buddhist concept of satori, or sudden enlightenment, originates with Zhuangzi, the 4th-century BC philosophy master who wrote the foundation texts of Taoism. It represents the owner’s pursuit of a realm above daily life, but not so high as to be unattainable.” Entry to the library leads people through a tunnel off the elevator lobby. Dimly lit corridors and grottolike spaces with oculi became motifs for the rabbit-warren alleys of Guangzhou’s
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inner city. They contrast with the double-height spaces flooded with natural light. The lower floor contains the more public areas such as the theater, magazine section, reading rooms, lounge areas, coffee bar, and an event space known as the harbor. More intimate spaces such as the rare-book room, conference room, and an orange-carpeted children’s area, for when staffers bring their kids to work, are grouped on the upper floor in a U shape. Long expanses of reading benches are adjacent to the edge of the atrium and overlook the level below. The event space is dominated by tall stacks of books that resemble the city’s ancient fortifications. In front of them, a stylized white clipper ship features a prow outfitted with steps that can double as seating. A floor-to-ceiling translucent red divider can be drawn to separate the space into two rooms and was designed to resemble the traditional red sails of ships along the Pearl River. “Vipshop’s leadership kept emphasizing that the company originated in Guangzhou’s 13 original hongs, or factories, that made up the foreign commercial district,” Yu explains. “At the time,
Canton was the only port open to the outside world. Vipshop feels that it inherited the spirit of those hongs, as it brings goods from abroad into China.” As Chinese cities and ports have historically been well delineated, Yu created a number of curves and arcs to resemble the 130
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Opposite left, from top: The polyester sail in the event space pays homage to noble clipper ships and their association with Guangzhou’s trading past. A bookshelf-lined corridor leads to the theater’s arched opening. Flooring is patterned with wood parquet. Opposite right, from top: An oculus allows a glimpse to floor-to-ceiling stacks beyond. A stuccoed grotto serves as a private reading room. This page: The custom wooden table in a lounge area is decorated with acrylic light boxes to represent the cityscape beyond the glazing.
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This page: Integrated light strips illuminate the custom metal stacks along one side of the event space. Opposite top: A conference room looks down on the lounge area. Opposite center: Wool carpet runs through the children’s area. Opposite bottom: Screens printed with historic facades from Guangzhou harbor stand beside a stylized stucco clipper ship, its prow outfitted with steps for seating.
dunes and riverbanks that separate the open views of the harbor from the enclosed city elements. Portholes and other circular openings facilitate views from confined rooms to expansive spaces beyond, and vice versa from spacious areas into private rooms. This show-and-tell aspect of the library becomes the trail of breadcrumbs guiding through its maze of corridors, with surprises around every bend. “When you open a square hole, it’s difficult to achieve visual consistency,” Yu notes, as he elaborates on the transformation of corridors into tunnels. “Finally the idea came to distill the shape of the tunnel into a way to open the hole.” But, as to be expected, with COVID-19, the project’s execution was challenging. “We couldn’t conduct regular site visits due to the pandemic,” Yu admits. “Much was done remotely and some of the detailing suffered, like the curved openings not being smooth enough.” But Vipshop employees, who are back to work 132
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in the office after the spring shutdown, and visitors to the library would never know it. Drawing on a palette of predominantly white stucco and terrazzo, Yu plays with contrasting volumes and shapes to give the library its Taoist identity. “Zhuangzi’s books explain that Taoism doesn’t require a special place to practice,” he says. “You can realize it in any place, at any time, from nature. I don’t want everyone to understand Taoist philosophy—but some may feel it and that’s good. Some may not feel it. It doesn’t matter. That, in itself, is a kind of Taoist philosophy.” PROJECT TEAM YUCHEN GUO; SIQI YANG; BEIDI ZHAN; SHENGRUI PU: WUTOPIA LAB. PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT VITRA: SCULPTURES (CHILDREN’S AREA).
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master class An architecture and design connoisseur turns to veterans Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and the Wiseman Group for a second home in Truckee, California text: edie cohen photography: matthew millman
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Located on 2,100 High Sierra acres in Truckee, California, a few miles from Lake Tahoe, Martis Camp is a private community of vacation homes for the super accomplished, such as Massy Mehdipour. An Iranian emigre, she earned an electrical engineering degree from McGill University, went to work for the Bechtel Corporation’s microelectronics unit, and then became a serial entrepreneur, founding companies providing construction management software. The Palo Alto–based Mehdipour flies her own jet and is passionate about architecture and design, commissioning work from the masters: Frank Gehry for her principal residence, under construction, in Atherton; Legorreta + Legorreta for a planned house in Pebble
Beach; and, most recently, Interior Design Hall of Fame member Peter Q. Bohlin, founding principal of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, for her Martis Camp retreat. Although this was Mehdipour’s first project with the architect—a self-described modernist by training but a humanist in practice—it turned out they are kindred spirits. “My life fascination is with the nature of people, whether it’s Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or my mother,” Bohlin says, referencing three of his most important clients. “You’d better be listening and observing carefully to discover how things work emotionally.” If that is the first voice he heeds, “Number two is the natural world.” On this, Mehdipour completely concurs: “I wanted the house to bring the environment in, not close it out,” she explains,
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Previous spread: Overlapping cedar screens form the facade of a weekend retreat in Truckee, California, a collaboration between Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and the Wiseman Group Interior Design. Opposite top: Douglas-fir panels line the ceiling and walls in the main bedroom, pine boards form the floor, and copper-clad soffits frame the single-pane window wall. Opposite bottom, from left: A double-sided slatted screen separates the stairwell from the central hallway and great room. The same screen flanks the front door and glass-enclosed entry pavilion. This page: Metal and lava stone nesting tables, a sectional sofa, and a cowhide rug, all custom, join Patrick Norguet chairs in front of the great roomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fireplace of tinted board-formed concrete.
“Grand mansion or diminutive apartment, people inevitably head to the kitchen first”
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“to make it feel as if you were walking on the open mountainside and the house just happened to appear right there.” In actuality, the 12,200-square-foot, three-level residence is carefully sited on the lip of a west-facing crescent bowl lined with evergreens, a position that
Opposite: A copper-clad dropped ceiling (actually a corner of the main bedroom) and single steel column define the kitchen area, where Mark Albrecht stools pull up to the solid-surfacing countertop. Top, from left: The lanai opens off the hall leading to the son’s family quarters. The west-facing facade is almost all glass to take advantage of views of the Pacific Crest Trail. Bottom: The slatscreen wall, open treads, and overhead skylight keep the three-story stairwell airy and bright.
affords it spectacular views of the Pacific Crest Trail, which Bohlin took pains not to obstruct. What he did have to block out, however, were neighboring properties along the access road to the east, which the house turns its back on, presenting a public facade of long, overlapping cedar screens. These elements—some solid, some slatted—are stained gray, black, or red to correlate with the internal layout, which follows a multigenerational program: separate quarters for Mehdipour and each of her two grown children’s families, with a central living area in which they can all congregate. The son’s section, in the southernmost volume, is sheathed with gray-stained boards, while ebony-stained siding defines the daughter’s wing and adjacent garage at the north end. The middle section, comprising an entry pavilion, stairs, and sprawling common areas with Mehdipour’s suite perched on top, is fronted by a dramatic steel-frame screen of crimson-stained cedar slats. This double-sided structure extends into the house where it not only becomes a feature wall in the 22-foot-high center hall but also forms one side of the three-story stairwell. “It’s the coolest wall ever,” enthuses James Hunter, design director of the Wiseman Group Interior Design, which collaborated on the interiors. Unlike Bohlin, this was not the firm’s first Mehdipour residence. “We’ve been working with Massy for almost 30 years,” founder and president Paul Vincent Wiseman discloses. The designers were also familiar with the location: “We’ve done six projects at Martis Camp,” Hunter reports. FEB.21
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Grand mansion or diminutive apartment, people inevitably head to the kitchen first. Bohlin has made the passage easy by setting it at one end of the vast great room, right next to the main entry. The sink and major appliances are housed in a wall of custom Douglas-fir cabinetry; the stove top is mounted on the adjacent island’s countertop that seats up to 12 people; and a dropped ceiling, clad in patinatedcopper panels and apparently supported by a single navy-blue steel column, defines the space. More formal meals can be taken at an oval table and chairs by Oscar Tusquets Blanca in the adjoining dining area. While cooking and eating are very much family affairs, so is just chilling. Who wouldn’t want to hang out in the great room with its endless panorama through floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a sitting area that’s both chic and cozy whether for one person or 20? To wit: Elegant Patrick Norguet lounge chairs in red chenille and a cushy sectional sofa are gathered around the towering fireplace, its board-formed concrete tinted a warm shade of buff. The tawny color is echoed both underfoot in what Wiseman dubs “the herd rug” since it’s made from the hides of 16 cows, and overhead in the Douglas-fir paneled ceiling, “unique in its angularity,” the designer notes, “like unfolded origami.”Additional common areas include a generous lanai and, on the semisubterranean level, wine, game, and golf-simulator rooms. Upstairs is Mehdipour’s private aerie. Her glassenclosed bathroom opens to a spacious roof deck with a hot tub and a fire pit. Douglas fir along the ceiling and walls and pine-board flooring make the bedroom another super-warm space, while verdigris copper panels line the deep soffits surrounding the enormous single-pane window wall opposite the bed. It’s Mehdipour’s favorite design element. “At night I can see the stars,” she says, which is just the kind of visceral connection to the natural world she asked for.
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PROJECT TEAM GREGORY R. MOTTOLA; DENIS SCHOFIELD; PRIYA MARA; ADAM GALLETLY; BRIAN PADGETT; ALEXANDER ELLENBOGEN; ARCHER FIROUZI: BOHLIN CYWINSKI JACKSON. SADIE DARSIE: THE WISEMAN GROUP INTERIOR DESIGN. GABBERT AND WOODS: STRUCTURAL ENGINEER. ECKERSLEY O’CALLAGHAN: GLASS FACADE ENGINEER. BENDER ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION: MEP. TIESLAU CIVIL ENGINEERING: CIVIL ENGINEER. WESTGATE HARDWOODS: WOODWORK. LOVERDE BUILDERS: GENERAL CONTRACTOR. PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT HIGH SIERRA CUSTOM DOORS: FRONT DOOR (EXTERIOR). KEN SALING MASONRY: FLAGSTONE PAVING. CASSINA: CHAIRS (GREAT ROOM). JEFFERSON MACK METAL: CUSTOM NESTING TABLES. HILDE-BRAND FURNITURE: CUSTOM SOFA, CUSTOM RUG (GREAT ROOM), CUSTOM BED, LUMBER PILLOW (MAIN BEDROOM). MARK ALBRECHT STUDIO: STOOLS (KITCHEN). BD BARCELONA DESIGN: TABLE, CHAIRS. FRANKE: SINK. DORNBRACHT: SINK FITTINGS. SUB-ZERO GROUP: REFRIGERATOR, FREEZER, OVEN, STOVE TOP. NEOLITH COUNTERTOPS: COUNTERTOPS (KITCHEN), BACKSPLASH (KITCHEN, LANAI). THERMORY: DECKING (LANAI). STUDIO ROEPER: CUSTOM TABLE. FRETTE: BEDDING (BUNKROOM, MAIN BEDROOM). SUE FISHER KING: BLANKETS (BUNKROOM). DELANY & LONG: HEADBOARD LEATHER (MAIN BEDROOM). ROGERS & GOFFIGON: BED FABRIC. HOLLAND & SHERRY: LUMBER PILLOW FABRIC. ANTHEM: BLANKET. ANTONIO’S ANTIQUES: CUSTOM NIGHTSTAND. CHRISTIANE PERROCHON: LAMP. BOFFI: TUB (BATHROOM). VOLA: TUB FILLER, SHOWER. THROUGHOUT BROMBAL: CURTAIN WALL, SKYLIGHTS. REYNAERS: WINDOWS, SLIDING DOORS. CLASS A ROOFING: COPPER PANELS. NORTHERN NEVADA HARDWOOD FLOORS: WOOD FLOORING. VERMONT STRUCTURAL SLATE COMPANY: SLATE FLOORING. SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY: PAINT.
Opposite top: The son’s children sleep in custom built-in bunk beds. Opposite bottom, from left: In the main bedroom, the custom bed is upholstered with leather and chenille in the client’s favorite shades. Her suite occupies the top floor, common living areas and family accommodations are on the second level, and recreation rooms are semisubterranean. This page: A Naoto Fukasawa tub sits in the glass-walled main bathroom, which has a private terrace and, like much of the house, slate flooring.
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moments of clarity Wellness centers embodying tranquil environments, cleansing waters, and natural materials encourage inner harmony and serenity text: annie block See page 148 for Terme di Saturnia, a hotel, golf, and thermal-spring resort in Italy renovated by THDP. Photography: Giorgio Baroni.
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Roar project Sensasia Stories Spa, Dubai, UAE. standout To take guests on a journey of total body wellness via Asian sensibilities, the architecture of Thailand, Bali, and Vietnam inspired such details as a courtyard rock garden with a custom arched canopy, a moody basalt-lined plunge bath, and a restrained yet warm palette of granite, rose goldâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; finished stainless steel, and wooden tones. photography The Oculis Project. 144
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“We’ve purposefully not overpowered the senses, instead providing a place of quiet, respite, and reflection that allows one to just be”
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4a Architekten project Mineralbad Berg, Stuttgart, Germany. standout The four-year-long expansion of the city’s oldest mineral spa, some elements dating to 1856, encompasses a 22,000-square-foot addition, the renovation of the main bathing hall with an acoustics-enhancing silver-fir ceiling and a tiled feature wall by Matthias Kohlmann, and the display of one of the site’s original copper bathtubs, newly gilded by Bernd Höger. photography Uwe Ditz.
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THDP project Terme di Saturnia, Italy. standout On the eve of this renowned resort complex’s 101st anniversary, the restoration centered on colors and materials derived from the dramatic natural surroundings, from reception’s waterfall-like ethereal hues to the 132 guest rooms, their saturated tones evoking the thermal spring’s muds and waters. photography Giorgio Baroni.
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“While our work is visible, we strove to retain elements of Lorenzo Bellini’s original vision, employing such terms as reflection, erosion, and layering to convey the design language”
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special effects Gensler draws on classic silver-screen glamour—and modern movie technology—for the makeover of the Motion Picture Association headquarters in Washington text: laura fisher kaiser photography: garrett rowland
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Movies and interior design have long shared many of the same tools to conjure their alchemies of light, form, movement, and sound, though one deals with ephemeral illusion and the other with concrete reality. These days, they even use similar creative software programs, so it was a natural move for Gensler to have Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin strap on a pair of virtual reality goggles for a walk-through of their proposed redesign of the 99-year-old trade organization’s headquarters in Washington. Gensler wanted its scheme to jump off the drawing page and become an exciting experience. Architect Jordan Goldstein, principal and global director of design, narrates: “We brought Charles to our K Street office, set up the actual red carpet and seating we had chosen, and modeled the whole thing in VR. He was able to put his feet on the carpet and, with the goggles on, walk around the lobby and the theater. He loved it. The whole thing took 5 minutes. Without that technology it would have been a twoor three-hour meeting.” The MPA has occupied this coveted piece of real estate—a block from the White House—since the 1940’s, when it was known as the Motion Picture Association of America and their digs were a Gilded Age mansion. In 1969, MPA president Jack Valenti razed the house and commissioned a Brutalist waffle-grid office building by Vlastimil Koubeck. More recently, a Class A upgrade by developer Trammell Crow Company offered an opportunity to infuse the Hollywood-on-the-Potomac flagship—which spans 28,000 square feet on the building’s first, second, and eighth floors—with some red-carpet razzmatazz and high-tech movie magic. Rivkin’s virtual tour started outside the building, where the Gensler team cleaned up the nondescript, below-grade entry, replacing several sections of solid concrete wall with floor-to-ceiling glazing. Now daylight floods the spacious, airy lobby and passersby get to glimpse the lasercut MPA logo that floats on the undulating rear wall. Inspired by old-time movie reels (remember those?), the curvy 125-foot-long structure is made
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up of laminate panels with an overlayer of 600 Champagne-colored anodized-aluminum fins. Individually angled, they form architectural “drapery” that evokes gently billowing theater curtains. The terrazzo-floored lobby holds 225 people for a reception or 100 for a sit-down dinner. Strip lighting, integrated in the stretched-fabric acoustical ceiling, converges on a pair of fin-clad doors leading to the main event: a state-of-the-art movie theater. Rivkin asked that the facility be “the best screening room on the East Coast,” Goldstein says. It boasts a 4K digital cinema projector with Blu-ray and multimedia capabilities, and an immersive Dolby Atmos 3D sound system comprising 41 speakers and six subwoofers that the manufacturer bills as “the most significant development in cinema audio since surround-sound.” Gensler repeats the vertical fin motif on the black matte walls, but in wood to help with acoustics. On the upper section, the fins have a
Previous spread: In the lobby of the Motion Picture Association headquarters in Washington, Gensler evokes Hollywood glamour with curved walls, “drapery” of anodized-aluminum fins, and terrazzo flooring. Opposite top: Linear lighting in the stretch-fabric ceiling converges on the marquee entry to the movie theater. Opposite bottom: Movie props and memorabilia are displayed in museumquality glass cases in the reception area of the eighth-floor workplace. Top: Flanked by velvet ropes, the workplace elevator doors feature custom graphics depicting a hoard of paparazzi. Bottom, from left: The entry to the movie theater combines moody cove lighting with an evocation of the celebrity runway with nylon broadloom. Around the lobby’s velvetupholstered swivel chairs and custom table, the fins evoke billowing theater curtains.
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“We carefully studied the raking so there are no bad seats in the house”
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natural sapele veneer finish; on the lower section, they are painted to match the ones in the lobby. Inspired by classic theater sconces, a strip of recessed LEDs flows in a wavelike curve down each side of the theater, as if focusing on the 23-foot-wide screen and stage. “We carefully studied the raking so that we could increase the number of seats to 118 from 75 in the old theater and to make sure the technology was perfectly integrated,” Gensler principal and design director John McKinney says. “There are no bad seats.” Undoubtably, however, one of the most coveted tickets in town will be for a perch in the three-row VIP section up front, where the amber upholstery is plush velvet. Regular folk get to feel like celebrities, too, since entry to the theater is via a black corridor with cove lighting overhead and blazing red carpet underfoot. The latter, of course, is the signature landing strip on which Hollywood royalty alights at the Oscars, where its precise hue, Academy Red, is a trade secret. Goldstein and McKinney installed a Venetian red broadloom that provides the desired wow factor. Red goes full tilt on the second floor in the Jack Valenti Screening Room, where the carpet, seating, and curtains form a crimson backdrop to three larger-than-life glossy portraits of the legendary MPA president. The space also serves as a VIP lounge before shows—a red greenroom— and as a live broadcast booth with broadband integration. The project’s biggest plot twist might be the workplace on the eighth floor. To reach this upper sanctum from the main level involves running a gauntlet of paparazzi—which instantly parts when the private elevator doors on which their image is printed slide open. Office reception features flexible furniture so that it can be turned into a break-out space, but the real draw is a rotating display of props, costumes, and memorabilia in museum-quality glass cases. Provided by the association’s member studios, the trove includes such artifacts as an Elton John jacket from Rocketman, the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and the “Hero Calculator” from Hidden Figures—not to mention enough star power to dazzle even the most buttoned-up DC dignitary.
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PROJECT TEAM SUMITA ARORA; TIM WRIGHT; CAROL SCHNEIDER; PAUL MYERS; FOSTER KUTNER; YUKIKO TAKAHASHI: GENSLER. APPLIED IMAGE: CUSTOM GRAPHICS. SBLD STUDIO: LIGHTING CONSULTANT. CMS AUDIO VISUAL: AUDIOVISUAL CONSULTANT. GPI: MEP. GAITHERSBURG ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK: WOODWORK. HITT CONTRACTING: GENERAL CONTRACTOR. PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT TERROXY RESIN: FLOORING (LOBBY). BENSEN: SWIVEL CHAIRS (LOBBY, RECEPTION). POLTRONA FRAU: SECTIONAL, COFFEE TABLE (RECEPTION), CHAIRS, BLACK UPHOLSTERY (THEATER). HAWORTH: SIDE TABLE, CONFERENCE TABLES (RECEPTION). HERMAN MILLER: CONFERENCE CHAIRS. MASLAND: CARPET (RECEPTION, THEATER ENTRY). BEACHLEY: CUSTOM ROUND TABLE (LOBBY). BARTCO: SCONCES (THEATER). TARGETTI: STEP LIGHTS. QSC: SPEAKERS. TOP AKUSTIC: ACOUSTIC PANELS. HBF TEXTILES: AMBER CHAIR FABRIC. ROSE BRAND: DRAPERY (THEATER, GREENROOM). RH: TABLES (GREEN ROOM). COALESSE: CHAIRS. HYDE CONCRETE: CUSTOM SINKS (RESTROOM). VOLA: SINK FITTINGS. PORCELANOSA: TILE. THROUGHOUT EVENTSCAPE: CUSTOM FINS, CUSTOM SIGNAGE. TANDUS CENTIVA: CARPET. SUTHERLAND FELT COMPANY: WALL COVERING. CREATIVE MATERIALS CORPORATION: TILE FLOORING. AXIS LIGHTING; CORONET; VISUAL COMFORT & CO.; ETC; IGUZZINI; KREON; LIGHTING SERVICES; Q-TRAN: LIGHTING. CLIPSO: STRETCHED CEILINGS. NANOLUMENS; NEC; SAMSUNG: AV SCREENS. BENJAMIN MOORE & CO.; SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY: PAINT.
Previous spread: Lella and Massimo Vignelli’s Pitagora armchairs furnish the 118-seat theater, the first three rows upholstered in acrylicpolyester velvet, the rest in mohair. Opposite top: With flexible furniture including a Lievore Altherr Molina sectional sofa, the reception area doubles as a break-out space. Opposite bottom: In the Jack Valenti Screening Room, the greenroom that’s dedicated to the memory of the longtime MPA president, velvetcovered Millbrae chairs back up to velour curtains that block an alley view. Top: For acoustical reasons, wall fins in the theater are wood rather than aluminum. Bottom, from left: In a restroom, custom cast-concrete sinks in a wood-grain design continue the project’s curve motif. The MPA’s new logo, in 3-D laser-cut lacquered wood, floats behind the lobby fins.
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Snowbound: Dwelling in Winter by William Morgan New York: Princeton Architectural Press, $50 224 pages, 131 photographs (127 color)
If you thumbed through this book without noticing its title, you might think it’s just a handsome survey of handsome houses. But actually all the sites have something else in common: snowy, freezing conditions, with their average low temperature listed. Sur prisingly, although over a dozen locations are visited, including Russia and Scandinavia, the coldest are in the U.S.: 8 degrees in Thornton, New Hampshire, and 9 in Grand Marais, Minnesota. All the houses are recent, the oldest completed in 2010, the latest in 2019, and all share a clean, fresh, modernist spirit that Morgan calls “aspirational design.” None is a grim fortress; many are playful, enjoying their remoteness from urbanity and their closeness to nature, whatever the temperature. They provide sustainability and protection “with both age-old and revolutionary new” techniques and materials. Among the old are steep roofs and mortiseand-tenon wood frames; among the new are thermal mass concrete floors and densely packed cellulose-fiber insulation. Even some of the names of the structures display their bravado enthusiasm: Cabin on a Rock, Rabbit Snare Gorge, and Four-Cornered Villa, the latter having a cross-shape plan with 12 corners. As our earthly climate becomes increasingly bizarre, here’s proof that newly necessary scientific measures need not detract from architectural clarity and spirit.
b o o k s edited by Stanley Abercrombie Ryan Matthews Founder of Ryan Matthew Interiors
Utzon Uncovered: Revisiting Jørn Utzon’s Masterwork on Mallorca by Lise Juel New York: Rizzoli International Publications, $45 144 pages, 90 illustrations (17 color)
It would be easy to think of architect Jørn Utzon (19182008) as a one-trick pony, his one trick being the Sydney Opera House, of course. But he also designed housing, schools, banks, and churches in his native Denmark and the National Assembly Building in Kuwait. Perhaps his finest, and certainly his most personal, project of all is the subject of this book: Can Lis, a house for him and his family on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Built almost completely of rough-hewn honey-colored local sandstone, it consists of four separate cliff-top pavilions, each with its own orienta tion and view of the Mediterranean Sea. In and among these pavilions are copious courtyards, each, we imagine, with its own perfect time of day. Furniture, also by Utzon, is madera norte wood. The house was finished in 1974 and, in 2009, it was sold to the Utzon Foundation. It now serves as a private retreat for artists, architects, and writers chosen by the Danish Arts Foundation. The book’s author is herself a Danish architect and, after having worked with Utzon on his last project, the Utzon Center in Aalborg, supervised an extensive restoration of Can Lis. The crisp book design is by MGMT. The strong photography (each image given a full page or two) is by Hélène Binet, who last year was given the Ada Louise Huxtable Award for her contribution to the field of architecture.
What They’re Reading... Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers
“This book was given to me by my stepfather. With my passion for helping people create spaces and homes that feed their soul, he knew its essence would capture my heart. It did, because the philosophy of wabi-sabi is a practice that has interested me for a long time. Its understanding of impermanence, change, and acceptance is profound. There's beauty in imperfection, in simplicity, in naturalness. While we all try to navigate new and uncertain times, it’s good to be reminded of the beauty that lies within that. When I work, I love to find that interesting polarization between imperfection and cleanliness, to break a clean line with an object of wear and tear. With the current circumstances of our world, Koren’s book is ever more compelling.”
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BOTTOM RIGHT: MCCARTHY GROUP
by Leonard Koren Point Reyes, California: Imperfect Publishing, $16 96 pages, 26 black-and-white illustrations
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c o n ta c t s 4a Architekten (“Moments of Clarity,” page 142), 4a-architekten.de. Roar (“Moments of Clarity,” page 142), designbyroar.com. THDP (“Moments of Clarity,” page 142), thdpdesign.com.
PHOTOGRAPHERS IN FEATURES
Hiroyuki Oki (“Learning Is All Around,” page 108), deconphotostudio@gmail.com. Garrett Rowland (“Special Effects,” page 150), garrettrowland.com. Nguyen Thai Thach (“Learning Is All Around,” page 108), thienthach.smugmug.com.
DESIGNER IN WALK-THROUGH
Jimmy Cohrssen (“Fair Exchange,” page 116), jimmycohrssen.com.
Ministry of Design (“Sky High,” page 45), modonline.com.
CreatAR Images (“Books, Boats, and Philosophy,” page 126), creatarimages.com.
PHOTOGRAPHER IN WALK-THROUGH
Stephen Kent Johnson (“Fair Exchange,” page 116), stephenkentjohnson.com.
David Yeow Photography (“Sky High,” page 45), davidyeow.com.
Yoshihiro Makino (“Fair Exchange,” page 116), yoshimakino.us.
DESIGNER IN CENTERFOLD
Matthew Millman (“Master Class,” page 134), matthewmillman.com.
Aurelien Chen (“Forest of Light,” page 103), aurelien-chen.com.
Interior Design (USPS#520-210, ISSN 0020-5508) is published 16 times a year, monthly except semimonthly in April, May, August, and October by the SANDOW Design Group. SANDOW Design Group, 101 Park Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10178, is a division of SANDOW, 3651 NW 8th Avenue, Boca Raton, FL 33431. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: U.S., 1 Year: $69.95; Canada and Mexico, 1 year: $99.99; all other countries: $199.99 U.S. funds. Single copies (prepaid in U.S. funds): $8.95 shipped within U.S. ADDRESS ALL SUBSCRIPTION RE QUESTS AND CORRESPONDENCE TO: Interior Design, P.O. Box 16479, North Hollywood, CA 91615-6479. TELEPHONE TOLL-FREE: 800-900-0804 (continental U.S. only), 818-487-2014 (all others), or email: subscriptions@interiordesign.net. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to INTERIOR DESIGN, P.O. Box 16479, North Hollywood, CA 91615-6479. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40624074.
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CREATAR IMAGES
DESIGNERS IN SPECIAL FEATURE
design
annex
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When Mecanismo founders Pedro Rica and Marta Urtasun won second prize for their geometric ecosystem in Concéntrico 2019, the architects earned a prime spot for an installation in the 2020 edition of the Logroño, Spain, architecture and design festival. Enter Banquin, the firm’s enormous, interactive take on the city bench. “We decided to analyze an existing urban element with untapped potential,” Urtasun says of how the simple piece of public furniture became her and Rica’s focus. Five segments of metal framework covered in plywood were built off-site, then assembled in downtown Logroño. Because of its gentle curve, Banquin (its name derives from combining the Spanish words for bench and rocker) is dynamic, not static: sitting on one end elevates the other, like a giant seesaw. The bench’s movement gathered people of all ages to rest, stand, and play on it. Some even used the structure as a skateboard ramp. At 65 feet long, Banquin is about 10 times longer than the average bench. “We expanded a conventional urban piece to urban scale,” Rica explains. But thanks to the modular construction, it’s easy to break down, move, and reassemble elsewhere, such as Madrid’s historic Plaza de Colón, where Banquin is set to reside post-pandemic. —Wilson Barlow
i n t er vention
rock and roll FROM TOP: JOSEMA CUTILLAS; ASIER RUA
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Scandinavian Spaces BOB
Discover. Curate. Save. Share. SCAN TO LAUNCH
Work from Anywhere with Maari
