Local studio Prok Pikryl Architekti has converted a historic brick mill building in the Czech Republic into an arts centre, inserting galleries into its cavernous concrete grain silos.The studio renovated the silo building, which forms part of a wider complex in the city of Pardubice called Automatic Mills, a national cultural monument designed by Czech architect Josef Gor in the early 20th century.Prok Pikryl Architekti trandformed a former mill building into an arts centreSince 2016, the buildings on the site have been undergoing redevelopment into a cultural district by a team of architects, untied by a public, brick-paved plaza.Prok Pikryl Architekti reconfigured the former mill and grain silo to accommodate a multi-purpose events hall, galleries, rooftop bar and public toilets.The Automatic Mills complex was designed by Josef Gor in the early 20th century"The challenge was to find the ideal level of intervention in the National Cultural Monument," the studio told Dezeen."However, we did not want to work only with the architectural layer of facades, but also with the industrial layer of the whole building. We tend to raw expression, materials in its pure form and a straightforwardness," it added.The large hoppers at the base of the grain bins have been revealedThe majority of the building is occupied by vast, four-storey-high grain bins with rough concrete interiors. Previously inaccessible, these spaces have now been repurposed as temporary exhibition spaces connected by steel walkways.The large hoppers at the base of these grain bins have been revealed through a cut-out in the rusticated base of Automatic Mills, creating a sheltered extension of the surrounding square and access to the public toilets in the basement.Read: KWK Promes transforms slaughterhouse into art gallery with rotating wallsAtop the grain bins, the former machine room on the fifth floor contains a multi-purpose hall designed to host lectures, concerts and social events, benefitting from natural light from small windows in the facade.Glass-brick sections in the floors of both the upper and lower levels of the building provide glimpses into the siloes, as well as allowing daylight to travel through the whole interior.The concrete silos are now accessibleThe openings on the ground and fifth floor are the only alterations made to the exterior brickwork, which is finished with pilasters and gridded decoration in a distinctive Czech style known as Rondocubism.A rooftop terrace surrounded by a crenelated brick parapet crowns the building, where a small concrete volume contains a bar for visitors.Access throughout the building is provided by a stair and lift core at the rear of the building, which has been upgraded to be fully wheelchair accessible.A crenelated brick parapet surrounds the rooftop terrace"Today, as in the past, a single communication core connects the whole building," the studio told Dezeen."The main change is the hall inserted into the former machine room on the 5th floor, granting the space a privileged position above the entire area. Together with the hall, the roof of the building has been made wheelchair accessible," it added.Elsewhere in the Czech Republic, Polish studio KWK Promes recently transformed the industrial brick structure of a former slaughterhouse in Ostrava into a contemporary art gallery.The photography is by Petr Polak.The post Prok Pikryl Architekti transforms historic mill in Czech Republic into arts centre appeared first on Dezeen.

Interior designers are finding interesting ways to pair red and green a combination more typically associated with Christmas to create quirky colour-block interiors. This lookbook brings together recent examples of how it can be done.Set on opposite sides of the colour wheel, red and green are inherently compatible, each helping to offset the other.Combining two such bright colours in a residential interior can sound daunting, even without their festive affiliation. But a slew of recent projects show that they can have a place in modern interiors.Below, we've collated eight home interiors that prove this colour combination isn't just for Santa, combining subdued green tones with warmer hues ranging from pink to crimson.This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring clerestory windows, exposed ceiling beams and kitchen skylights.Photo by Yannis DrakoulidisTrikoupi Apartment, Greece, by Point Supreme ArchitectsColourful built-in furniture pieces define different areas inside this Athens apartment in the wake of a renovation by local studio Point Supreme Architects, which saw many of the home's partition walls removed to make the interior feel more sunny and spacious.Among them is a stained plywood storage wall that runs along one side of the apartment, providing a dramatic contrast with the oxblood-coloured kitchen cabinets and the glossy Ferrari-red island.Find out more about Trikoupi Apartment Photo by Jos HeviaCasa Milc, Spain, by Lucas y Hernandez GilSpanish studio Lucas y Hernandez Gil aimed to bring personality back to this 19th-century Madrid apartment, which had been renovated one too many times, with the addition of playful shapes and "warm and friendly" colours.Painted a pale sage green from floor to ceiling, the kitchen features a crimson dining table from the studio's own furniture brand Kresta Design that was brought in to mirror the gently curved walls."The kitchen is designed as a play of opposites between materials and shapes," co-founder Cristina Domnguez Lucas told Dezeen.Find out more about Casa Milc Photo by Joe FletcherRedwood House, USA, by Studio TerpelukUnexpected colour combinations help balance out the timber-heavy interiors of this Albert Lanier-designed house in San Francisco's Noe Valley, renovated by local firm Studio Terpeluk.A baby pink kitchen and minty green storage unit shine against the Douglas fir flooring and red cedar walls, alongside classic furniture pieces including a red-lacquered version of Carl Hansen's Wishbone Chair."Color was a recurring theme in the exquisite and eclectic art collection of the owners," studio founder Brett Terpeluk said. "This went perfectly hand in hand with my interest in mid-century Italian design and its bold use of color."Find out more about Redwood House Photo by Jos HeviaRelmpago House, Spain, by H3OZigzagging partitions nod to the history of this lightning-struck home, renovated by Spanish studio H3O and painted in pastel primary colours inspired by the "radical, fun and optimistic spirit" of 1970s pop art.Even the floors are finished in a pale green resin, providing a counterpoint to the coral pink and butter yellow of the walls.Find out more about Relmpago House Berlin apartment, Germany, by Gisbert PpplerBerlin studio Gisbert Pppler has renovated an apartment that occupies a glass pavilion on the roof of a 1930s residential building in the city's Mitte neighbourhood.Custom furnishings and fixtures including mint-coloured cabinetry and cherry red-lacquered wood panelling were added to help the home fit its owner like a "tailor-made suit".Find out more about this Berlin apartment Photo by Flix Dol MaillotUnivers Uchronia, France, by UchroniaFrench studio Uchronia, crowned emerging interior designer of the year at the 2023 Dezeen Awards, is known for its fearless use of colour. And the home of founder Julien Sebban is no exception.TheParisian apartment was designed as a homage to the 1970s, with reddish-brown walnut burl surfaces, wavy wainscoting and patterned green tiles that match the poured resin floor.Find out more about Univers Uchronia Photo by French + TyeGraphic House, UK, by Office S&MThis Edwardian terrace home belongs to a couple of graphic designers, whose love for art deco forms and adventurous colours informed the interior scheme by architecture studioOffice S&M."In this project, colours and shapes have been used to help define key moments throughout the house and tell a story about the building's function and history," Office S&M co-founder Catrina Stewart told Dezeen.Find out more about Graphic House Photo by Taran WilkhuForest Gate House, UK, by PL StudioThis London townhouse belonging to a couple and their chihuahua puppy brims with shades of green and blue, while details in various pinkish hues bring a sense of overall "warmth and joy" to the palette."We wanted to create a home that reflected our clients' personalities and joyful spirit, a home filled with positive energy," design firm PL Studio told Dezeen."They were not afraid of mixing different shades and colour combinations, so we went for bright, bold and fearless."Find out more about Forest Gate House This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring clerestory windows, exposed ceiling beams and kitchen skylights.The post Eight offbeat red-and-green home interiors that prove opposites attract appeared first on Dezeen.

This week on Dezeen, we revealed the 15 stadiums that will host games at the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, including one that will be built on The Line at Neom.Named Neom Stadium, the 46,000-capacity venue was revealed this week as part of Saudi Arabia's official World Cup bid. According to the bid document the stadium, which is set to be built 350 metres above the ground, will be "the most unique stadium in the world".It is one of 15 stadiums that will host games at the tournament, which is due to take place in 10 years time.The Stirling Prize shortlist was announcedIn other architecture news, this week saw the announcement of theStirling Prize shortlist, which was made up of six "purposeful yet unassuming" buildings.All shortlisted projects are in England, with just two of the six located outside of London.Mathieu Lehanneur's "flying cauldron" was lit to mark the start of the OlympicsTo mark the start of the Olympics, French designer Mathieu Lehanneur's "flying cauldron" was lit in Paris. Designed to be "a beacon in the night and a sun within reach", the 30-metre-high cauldron has a seven-diameter ring of fire at its base.Also in Paris, Louis Vuitton creative director Pharrell Williams called for architecture competitions to return to the Olympics at LA 2028.We interviewed Carbon Market Watch as part of our Olympic Impact seriesContinuing our Olympic Impact series, we spoke to Carbon Market Watch's Benja Faecks who said that the Paris 2024 Olympics sustainability efforts were "not enough". Meanwhile, architect Franois Chatillon reflected on the architectural legacy of the Paris Olympics.We also looked back at 15 Olympic architecture icons from the last 100 years.Adidas unveiled the F50+In more sports-related news, Adidas unveiled its "first football super shoe". Named the F50+, the football boot was designed tointegrate advances in running shoe technology.Adidas footwear development director Harry Miles likened the boot to a super shoe a name given toa generation of record-beating running trainers created over the past five years.A shipping container house was one of this week's most popular storiesPopular projects on Dezeen this week included a ruin turned into a house with the addition of a shipping container, a museum in Seoul designed by Kengo Kuma and a cluster of silvered cedar buildings on a remote archipelago in Ontario.Our latest lookbooks featured living rooms with board-marked concrete and living rooms illuminated by paper lamps.This week on DezeenThis week on Dezeenis our regular roundup of the week's top news stories.Subscribe to our newslettersto be sure you don't miss anything.The post This week we revealed the Neom stadium for the 2034 World Cup appeared first on Dezeen.

Staggered volumes organised around a rounded courtyard form the net-zero Westmark Lower School, which was designed by architecture studio NBBJ to "reduce anxiety and stress" for students with learning differences.Located in the southern California town of Encino, the facility is part of the larger Westmark School, which serves children with learning challenges such as dyslexia and dysgraphia.NBBJ has designed the nature-infused, net-zero Westmark Lower School for students with learning differencesThere is a significant need for educational facilities that accommodate neurodiverse students, said NBBJ, a design studio headquartered in Seattle."One in five children have learning differences, yet most schools are not designed with neurodiversity in mind," said NBBJ.Read: Danielle Brustman designs Harbour Early Learning facility to "inspire delight and joy"Infused with inclusive and natural elements, the Westmark Lower School is meant to serve as "a prototype for how design can best support students with distinct learning styles".Encompassing 15,500 square feet (1,440 square metres), the building accommodates a total of 120 children in grades one through five.U-shaped in plan, the facility which has two levels and a basement is organised around a courtyard with circular areas for gardens and seating.A California sycamore tree lies at the heart of the courtyard.The U-shaped facility is oriented around nature, including courtyard Sycamore trees and ample outdoor space for teachingStaggered volumes help minimise sound transfer between classrooms, and deep roof overhangs provide shade while "creating a soft natural light that is comfortable for children with visual impairments".Exterior walls are wrapped in fibre-cement panels, aluminium-composite panels and wooden slats. The basement level has walls made of board-formed concrete.Cross-laminated timber made of pine was used for soffits and ceilings, adding visual warmth to the facility.Natural materials add visual warmth to the facility, from wooden slats to cross-laminated timber soffits and ceilingsA series of terraces on the upper level serve as outdoor classrooms. Providing ample outdoor space was a top priority for the design team."The school is oriented around nature to reduce anxiety and stress, which may be enhanced in students with learning differences," the team said."Every space is no more than 50 feet from the outdoors, so nature becomes a key part of a sensory learning experience, social exercise and creative play."A series of terraces on the upper level of the school serve as outdoor classrooms for studentsWithin the building, one finds "right-sized classrooms" filled with natural light. There also is a black-box theatre and an occupational therapy space.Throughout the school, the team sought to reduce unnecessary stimuli. Muted colours, dimmable lights and natural materials help encourage focused learning."The project applies the latest in neurodiversity insights to provide comfortable, choice-driven learning environments while increasing student well-being," the team said.Classroom interiors are filled with natural light and muted in colour to help encourage focused learningThe school has a number of sustainable features, including rooftop solar panels and water-efficient landscaping and plumbing fixtures.An interactive display tracks the building's energy and water savings and serves as an educational tool for kids.The project incorporates zero-carbon measures advocated by the International Living Future Institute, and the project is on track to receive LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.Other educational projects in the US include a colour-filled school in Detroit by PLY+ and MPR Arquitectos that is meant to spark "experimentation and exploration" and a California boarding school with jagged rooflines that allude to the surrounding mountains.The photography is by Ty Cole.Project credits:Architect: NBBJContractor: Suffolk ConstructionCivil engineer: KPFFStructural engineer: Fast + EppMEP engineer: tk1scLandscape: SWA (Los Angeles studio)Environmental graphics and lighting: NBBJSustainability/energy analysis: Atelier TenAcoustics: Antonio AcousticsThe post NBBJ completes nature-infused California school for neurodiverse students appeared first on Dezeen.

American furniture design group MillerKnoll has showcased its material and testing processes through a pair of installations at its showroom in Chicago.Designed in collaboration with New York consultancy Standard Issue, the exhibition during Fulton Market Designs aimed to highlight the materials, techniques and processes that the brand has launched or refined in the past several years.According to MillerKnoll vice president of sustainability Gabe Wing, the exhibitions reflect an increase in consumer demands to use more environmentally friendly materials and processes.The first of the exhibitions, called Second Nature, emphasised materials in products through a series of conceptual installations, with furniture products dissected and accompanied by graphics.MillerKnoll showcased classic products being used with recyclable and environmentally friendly products in ChicagoIt showcased ethical materials used in already designed products, such as certified wood and the elimination of PFAS in products, a synthetic plastic material that is difficult to break down."Our customers are asking for more and our suppliers are at a point where they're ready to deliver," Wing told Dezeen."I think we've finally reached a tipping point where it feels like we're going to be able to make big progress."The Pippin lounge chair has replaceable componentsChanging consumer sentiment also informed of the brand's decision to move away from plastic packaging, which it said is saving up to 28 tonnes of plastic waste per year.MillerKnoll claims that it has reduced its usage of single-use plastic by 51 per cent since 2020, and the Chicago installation demonstrated the use of durable cardboard for packaging and shipping to meet this end.MillerKnoll said it is moving towards recyclable packagingThe exhibition then moved to MillerKnoll's focus on recycling, both in utilising outside waste streams and internal sources, as well as the creation of products with replaceable elements, such as the cover on the NaughtOne Pippin lounge chair, which features a replaceable upholstered cover.MillerKnoll senior vice president of innovation Sean McDowell said the brand has been using recycled nylons from carpet factories and that more and more waste streams are starting to become available though, according to a report by The Textile Exchange, recycled fibres make up "less than one per cent of the global fiber market"."I feel like we're in that part of the hockey stick where things keep getting bigger and better," said McDowell. "Finding recycling streams is way easier than it was 24 months ago."The company has instituted a recycling program for powder coaintHe pointed to the company's use of offcut nylon from carpet factories and its recycling of powder coating materials as the primary examples.Also shown was a powder-coated chair that showcased the company's projection to recycle 509,000 pounds (23,000 kilograms) of its own powder to be put back into production this year.Read: Vitra and Panter & Tourron avoid foam and glue in future-minded Anagram sofaAlso featured were biomaterials such as eelgrass, which the company is beginning to use as a replacement for fibreglass.Wing said that the material is far less carbon-intensive and renewable and that it has been used in architecture and design for thousands of years."I think the idea of looking backwards and grabbing a material that's been used for centuries, and then innovating and finding how to use it in a new application just really resonates with people," said Wing.A second installation showcased the brand's testing programsMillerKnoll is already using the plant material for the acoustic wall panelling under its Spinneybeck brand.The second exhibition was a recreation of the testing labs at the MillerKnoll headquarters in Michigan and had a podium area with industrial touches such as a long yellow plastic divider.MillerKnoll said that durability was a key aspect of sustainabilityWithin the exhibition, furniture products were arranged around the podium and subjected to the testing machines used by the company, such as a chair rotation that stimulates a chair being rotated 48 times a day for 10 years.Wing and McDowell said that ensuring the products can withstand wear and tear means that people buy new products less often, and create less waste."Part of the sustainability story is you have to build things to last a long time," said McDowell.Rotating and suspension were among the tests performedOther exhibitions that showcased sustainable product design include one in Copenhagen called Reset Materials, which featured architectural fragments with low-carbon material.The photography is courtesy of MillerKnoll.Fulton Market Design Days took place from 10 to 12 June in Chicago. For more exhibitions, talks and gatherings in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.The post MillerKnoll installation shows sustainable production getting "bigger and better" appeared first on Dezeen.

Promotion: Danish lighting brand Frandsen launched its latest collection during the Copenhagen festival 3 Days of Design with a series of four installations.Titled Reflections of Light, the exhibition featured what the brand said are "fundamental elements of illumination": light, shadow, reflection, and form.The Nova light is informed by the Golden Ratio"The founder, Benny Frandsen, was a pioneer in the lighting industry," said the brand. "He was known for his innovative designs and commitment to quality craftsmanship."."Today, Frandsen continuously honour his legacy while collaborating with new and emerging designers who bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the collections," it added.Located at Copenhagen's historic Lindencrone Palais, the series of installations used a black and white colour palette to accentuate light and dark elements.Reflections of Light spotlighted the Ball pendantThis concept informed the creation of the Nova lamp, which saw its designer Esben Bala Skouboe "play with light and shadow to a degree that I have not experienced before," Bala Skouboe said."It is round in its basic shape, but is drawn with inspiration from nature's complex mathematical formulas and is built around the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci sequence. By using this mathematical formula, it affects the viewer's perception of form."The Nova was displayed at the exhibitionusing mirrors to create infinity-style viewings of the pieces.The Ball design was originally created by the brand's founder Benny Frandsen in 1968 and has since been updated with various new tones and material options, including glass and oak.Ball Glass has been produced in five new colourways including amber, cappuccino, grey sand, opal rose and white. It is an update to the original design featuring a perforated top referencing the original Ball designRotate emphasises the use of light and shadowFrandsen also launched its Rotate light, also emphasising the use of light and shadow. Designed by Thomas Albertsen, Rotate allows a variety of lighting effects and patterns depending on how it has been rotated."I want design to be easy to understand and pleasing to the eye, but also to have an extra dimension," said Albertsen. "Something that catches the eye and makes you wonder and associate," he added.Installations used a black and white colour palette to accentuate light and darkThe exhibition concluded in the garden, which was lit by Frandsen's new Grasp portable all weather light. Designed with an emphasis on durability and portability, the new lamp incorporates the rechargeable Frandsen One LED bulb."By focusing on a modular design solution, we've developed a solution that ensures a long-lasting portable lamp," Frandsen's head of design, Nanna Gram said.Grasp is a portable outdoor lamp"Together with Thomas Albertsen, we created Frandsen One, merging all technical components into one portable magnetic bulb," the brand added."This makes it easy for us to update One with the latest technology, ensuring that these lamps will continue to shine for years to come, offering the option to purchase an updated light source."The company stressed the flexibility of the portable lamps in not needing to be moved when they need to be charged, allowing it to switch between two light sources and remaining always lit.3 Days of Design took place at venues across Copenhagen from 12 to 14 June. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.For more information on Frandsen, visit its website here.Photos courtesy of Frandsen.Partnership contentThis article was written by Dezeen for Frandsen as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.The post Frandsen presents monochromatic installations at 3 Days of Design appeared first on Dezeen.

Spanish architecture practice Funcionable has renovated a century-old home in a heritage-protected area of Toledo, making "few but radical" alterations to its historic masonry fabric.Named Reminiscent Home, the dwelling was in fact the place in which Funcionable founder, Julio Cesar Moreno, had been born, which informed the studio's approach of reconnecting with the building's past.Funcionable aimed to preserve unique existing features at Reminiscent Home"Many of the transformation operations have resulted in involuntary restitutions of very ancient previous states, prior even to the author's brief period of residence in his early childhood," explained the studio."It was decided to preserve its most significant and unique features intact some of which were discovered within the course of the works while transforming the rest of the building more freely."The home's original facade was revealed"To this end, few but radical operations were proposed, which at the same time transformed and preserved the building in-depth," it added.The refurbishment was driven by a concept of opening up and stripping back both its interior and exterior, revealing the original facade and creating space for a large patio and porch between the home and the neighbouring building.A patio and porch were added to the houseInside, the internal walls on the ground floor were removed to create a single living, kitchen and dining space that opens onto the rear patio.Material finishes subtly differentiate the spaces in this open-plan ground floor, with a section of tiled floor and exposed brickwork used in the kitchen.Read: Doriza Design transforms stone building into "imperfect" holiday home in CreteWhite-painted masonry along the party wall faces newly-plastered walls opposite, and the whole is unified by an exposed wooden beam ceiling that was previously hidden.Stripping away later finishes also revealed a series of blocked-up openings and niches in a party wall on the home's southern edge, which have been re-purposed as wardrobes and shelving.Wooden-beam ceilings were exposed"The open-plan nave that the ground floor has become is spatially qualified not only by the new double height, but also by the dialogue between the two fireplaces of the house, which previously did not share the same space," explained the studio."Due to meticulous and artisan work in detail, this peculiar intervention has been possible, which has protected and revealed the ancient and hidden material, spatial and constructive integrity of the building," it added.Funcionable founder Julio Cesar Moreno was born in the houseA former attic space has been united with the rest of the home to create a new first floor, accessed via a black steel and timber staircase within a double-height stairwell illuminated by a large north-facing window.Three bedrooms, a bathroom and a work area occupy this first floor, which is finished externally in pale plaster that contrasts the rough masonry of the ground floor.Elsewhere, Greek studio Doriza Design recently converted a 19th-century stone building in Crete into a holiday home and Studio Guma converted a stone farmhouse into a "family sanctuary" in Normandy.The photography is by Imagen Subliminal.The post Funcionable restores and updates historic home in Spain appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture studio Kallos Turin paired the cubic facade of this poured concrete Athens house with a sloping internal staircase to avoid creating a "rigid" home.Named Art House, the four-storey dwelling is located on a leafy hillside in Filothei an Athenian suburb developed in the 1920s as a greener antidote to the densely built-up city centre.Art House is a concrete house on an Athens hillsideLondon- and San Francisco-based studio Kallos Turin sought to create a large volume to house its residents' vast art collection while adhering to the natural landscape."Local restrictions designed to preserve greenery in the property's neighbourhood resulted in limitations to the overall footprint and the floor plan," said studio co-founders Stephania Kallos and Abigail Turin.Visitors enter at the street level. Photo by Ricardo Labougle"We happily rose to the challenge, doubling down on the idea of a dense volume that emerged from a garden designed to be as concentrated and powerful as the built volume itself," they told Dezeen.The garage and the floor directly above it were built underground but carved with large lightwells, as the property was permitted to have subterranean levels as long as they did not extend beyond the boundaries of the exterior walls.The home was nestled in a gardenVisitors approach the cube-like house at the street level and enter via a curved concrete wall. A stepped path winds through the site's planted landscape and up the hill to a bronze and brass perforated front door."An aspect of the project that feels emblematic of its style is the way that the house and garden wrestle for power on the site," said Kallos and Turin.Art House features a perforated front doorInside, the home is defined by a meandering cantilevered staircase that spans all four storeys, designed to be a direct contrast to the largely cubic facade."We did not want the experience of the home to feel rigid," explained the architects.Inside, the dwelling is defined by a meandering cantilevered staircase"We loved the idea that the way you move through the volume could be a sinuous line of travel and that this line would then impact the shape of the concrete," they added.The top floor holds the main living area and a kitchen finished in stainless steel, with floor-to-ceiling glazing that opens onto the garden patio, complete with a dining table and a built-in barbeque.A vast kitchen was finished in stainless steelAccessed via the sloping central staircase, the second floor down is a gallery-style space dedicated to the majority of the owners' art collection, including colourful paintings that hang from the concrete walls.The floor below this level contains the main suite, a guest room and a home gym, and provides another display area for more artwork.The top floor holds the main living areaIn addition to the home's four storeys, there is also a rooftop swimming pool.Accessed via an external concrete staircase, the rooftop features sweeping views of Athens and a partial green roof.A rectilinear swimming pool characterises the rooftopWhen constructing Art House, Kallos Turin took various measures to respond to the harsh local climate.The home benefits from the "natural sunshade" of its hillside location, while it was also positioned so that its southwest-facing spaces are exposed to maximum sunlight during the cooler winter months.The pool is reached via a curvy concrete staircase. Photo by Ricardo LabougleRoof overhangs and blinds were fitted to the north-facing facades to reduce heat gain, while large windows and sliding doors optimise cross ventilation throughout the home."The property's architecture serves as a natural way to limit energy consumption by reducing the need for heating and cooling systems," explained the architects.Read: Raw concrete penthouse and event space created inside former Athens warehouse"Additionally, the green roof reduces the Urban Heat Island effect. These cooling effects have eliminated the need for air-conditioning altogether, despite temperatures of over 30 degrees for several months a year," they added.The studio chose a mixture of dark blues, camel and black metal for the overall interior palette to allow the colours and materials of the furniture to "hold their own without screaming for attention," explained Kallos and Turin.Blocks of veiny marble were used to create a light-filled bathroom. Photo by Ricardo LabouglePieces range from Gaetano Pesce chairs to an Eros table by the late architect Angelo Mangiarotti, while the bathroom was finished in large blocks of veiny light-green marble."When creating the interiors, we viewed the house's concrete shell as a 'neutral' base the equivalent of white walls in an art gallery," concluded the architects.Elsewhere in Greece, Block722 studio arranged an earthy-toned holiday home down another mountainside in Crete.In Santorini, local studio Kapsimalis Architects created a holiday home informed by a large piece of volcanic rock.The photography is by Giorgos Sfakaianakis unless stated otherwise and the video is courtesy of Kallos Turin.Project credits:Design architect and interiors: Kallos TurinLocal architect of record: Moustroufis ArchitectsLighting designer: George Sexton AssociatesLandscape designer: Doxiadis+Project manager and contractor: Diolkos GroupThe post Kallos Turin nestles monolithic Athens residence in oasis-like garden appeared first on Dezeen.

The Olympic Games should be reformed to enable more democratic input from the communities they affect the most, argues Parisian journalist Jade Lindgaard in this Olympic Impact interview."With the games, there's never enough time," said Lindgaard, author of Paris 2024: A City in the Face of Olympic Violence."Every four years, a giant event is organised in a different city, with conditions largely set by an external institution the International Olympic Committee," explained the journalist and ecology editor at the French investigative news website Mediapart."In order for the host country to meet this unmoveable deadline, a lot of the usual checks and controls are waived," she told Dezeen."The result is top-down decision making and an erosion of the democratic process."In her book, Lindgaard sets out to document some of the negative effects of the Paris 2024 Olympics, from the destruction of parkland and allotments to the 1,500 people, many of them poor and vulnerable, displaced from their homes in the interest of games-related development projects.Projects "imposed on residents from on high"She is the first to admit that huge progress has been made in comparison to previous Olympiads the 70,000 people displaced for the 2016 Rio games, for example, or the 60,000 ancient trees chopped down for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.But she argues that no-one should have to suffer negative effects from the Olympic Games, and that the model could be adapted to prevent it from happening at all.Her investigation calls into question the oft-touted claim that the 2024 Olympics required no mega-building projects, detailing how the Paris games are inextricably entwined with one of the biggest redevelopment programmes the city has ever known.Named Le Grand Paris, which roughly translates as Greater Paris, the operation in question dates back to the early 2010s, when president Nicolas Sarkozy tabled legislation for the building of a huge orbital metro network that would transform the suburbs around the historic core."The idea was to link business and research clusters to each other and to Paris's two main airports, in a context of increasing competition between global cities," explained Lindgaard."Sixty-eight new stations are planned, each of which will generate redevelopment in its immediate vicinity."The Olympic Village was enabled by an extension of Paris' public-transit network. Photo courtesy of Elise Robaglia/Potion Mdiathique/Dominique Perrault Architecte/ADAGPEurope's biggest civil-engineering effort, currently estimated at 36 billion, this colossal transport-infrastructure project was barely off the starting blocks when the Olympic bid was made.Yet the plans for the games relied heavily on it, since the extension of Line 14, which was inaugurated in June this year, now links Orly Airport in the south to the Olympic Village in the north, served by the new Saint-Denis Pleyel metro station."In this sense, the games played the role of a powerful motor, vastly accelerating work since the line had to be completed by 2024," said Lindgaard.The same can be said of the 2 billion Olympic Village a huge redevelopment that was only possible thanks to the new metro,whose builders like to boast that they achieved in six years what would normally take 20.For a long-term project like Le Grand Paris, which is hugely vulnerable to the evolving priorities of changing governments, the Olympic boost has been invaluable.That boost has had both positive and negative consequences, depending on one's perspective.Read: Paris 2024 aftermath "most dangerous time" for Olympic Village says Dominique PerraultOn the one hand, the drive to decarbonise construction at the Olympic Village has accelerated the French building industry's move towards more sustainable architecture.On the other, the village's host suburb the dpartement of Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the most underprivileged and underfunded in France finds itself with a vast influx of new real estate that almost none of its current inhabitants can afford.For Lindgaard, this is a missed opportunity."There's a huge shortfall between what the Olympic bid seemed to promise that the games would be an opportunity to redress the investment deficit in Seine-Saint-Denis and what the inhabitants actually got," she said."At no point were they consulted on how the Olympics might help them. Instead, turnkey projects were imposed on them from on high. Residents aren't anti-games, but they say, 'they're not for us.'"In a region where voter abstention is already significant, Lindgaard finds this deficit of democratic involvement "very worrying for the future of citizens' political engagement".River cleaning "hijacked by trivial media stories"The ambiguities of the Olympic boost also apply to the Seine, into which the authorities have poured 1.4 billion in an effort to reduce pollution.Yet another issue that predates the bid, cleaning up the river became tied to the games after the organising committee suggested holding the triathlon and free-water swimming contests in its waters.All those involved agree that the Olympic deadline has greatly accelerated the work as well as raising its public profile.But Lindgaard sees two big problems. "Yes, the Seine is less polluted than it was, but it's still not clean! Moreover, the imperative of the Olympic deadline has led the authorities to be rather economical with the truth about current pollution levels."She feels that, as with many aspects of the games, communication around the whole process has been murky at best."It's a missed opportunity to get inhabitants involved in a real debate about the river's future," she lamented. "Why is it so polluted? How might we as citizens change our habits to improve the situation?"Lindgaard believes that the project to clean the Seine could have been more inclusive. Photo by Alexandre Rosa via Shutterstock"More broadly, it's the whole question of the water supply: how can we use and respect it better?" she asked, citing the example of Berlin, where, she says, debates about cleaning up the River Spree are far more bottom-up and inclusive.There's also the question of what happens after the games. Without their impetus, will efforts to carry on depolluting the Seine flag in the future?"I feel the whole issue has been hijacked by trivial media stories about whether mayor Hidalgo would keep her promise to swim in the river," continued Lindgaard."There's been no space for a truly democratic appropriation of this fundamental urban and ecological challenge."Nor, she fears, will any of these lessons have been learned in time for France's next Olympiad, which looks set to take place in just six years.Before the 2024 contests had even begun, the country was already gearing up to host the 2030 Winter Games across two regions, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Cte-d'Azur.Read: Eight ways Paris aims to host the most sustainable Olympics in historyIn a context of Alpine climate change where snow is scarcer every year, "they're planning a real industrialisation of the mountains. There'll be new roads, improved ski resorts, even a new ice rink in Nice," said Lindgaard."I feel we've reached a crossroads: either we reduce tourism and try to find a way to preserve the mountain ecosystem so that it can support its inhabitants, or we continue as France has always done by building large state-supported infrastructure projects that generate short-term economic growth."As with the Seine, she would like to see a true democratisation of the decision-making process, though that seems improbable given the bulldozer effect of the Olympics."The games are an unstoppable branding exercise there's a huge event that must be organised in a very short time, people come from all over the world, the tourism and sports industries get a giant boost, as do a whole host of collateral developments," concluded Lindgaard.Despite all the well-documented issues with the Olympic model and the current paucity of host candidates, some politicians will continue to court the games with a view to just such goals.This interview was conducted in French and has been translated into English by the author.The portrait of Lindgaard is by Mathieu Genon.Illustration by Capucine MattiussiOlympic ImpactThis article is part of Dezeen's Olympic Impact series examining the sustainability measures taken by the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and exploring whether major sporting events compatible with the climate challenge are possible.The post Seine cleanup a "missed opportunity" says author of book on the negative impacts of Paris Olympics appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture studio Khan Bonshek's founders have remodelled their own terraced house in east London around a central brick wall, carrying out the majority of the work themselves.Named Two Up, Two Down, the house was renovated and extended by Sabba Khan and Mark Bonshek, who founded Khan Bonshek in 2021.With the studio acting as client, architect and contractor, the couple aimed to rearrange the home's interior and add small additions to make the most of the space.Khan Bonshek designed their own home in London"The house represents our guiding philosophy; how to make the most with very little," the couple said."Most expensive new builds are about packing in rooms and low ceilings," continued Bonshek."We've taken a volumetric approach. We sought to create expanse, have views beyond rooms and create something humble through spatial arrangement."The house is arranged around a central brick wallThe studio removed all the existing internal walls in the terrace, which the couple acquired in 2018, before adding a central grey brick "spine wall" through the centre of the building.This wall supports the stairs, which are visible in the front room, and runs the full height of the home adding a natural, textural element.A rear extension was replacedTo improve flow and openness in the house, two small extensions were added. On the ground floor, the existing extension was replaced with a full-width brick addition, which now contains the light-filled kitchen.At the top of the house, the existing loft conversion was extended with the addition of a timber-framed dormer.Read: Will Gamble Architects modernises London Victorian house with "soft minimalism" interiorsTo further improve the sense of space, the walls enclosing the bathroom and study on the first floor were replaced with curtains.In the bathroom, a section of the ceiling was removed to create a double-height space.A timber framed dormer increased the loft spaceDuring the demolition, Khan Bonshek salvaged materials, which were reused in the reconstruction.These materials were supplemented with accessible materials such as plywood and yoghurt pots along with salvaged teak, black marble and brass.A double-height space was created in the bathroomAccording to the couple, the focus of the renovation was to create a home that would be an enjoyable place to live in, rather than adding value to the property."We were very clear from the outset that we were creating a comfortable healthy home, rather than an asset," said Khan."We need to get to a place where we change policy and attitudes around housing as assets and instead to places which offer a reprieve and comfort."The stairs are connected to the spine wallKhan believes the home can be an example of how existing terraced houses in the UK can be upgraded and argued that the government should amend tax laws to encourage renovationsRefurbishments in the UK currently incur 20 per cent VAT, levies that are not applied on new build developments."We have a duty to provide housing from the existing stock," Khan added. "Think about all the embodied energy and why that's such a better option than demolishing and putting up lots of new buildings."The home is located in east LondonOther London home extensions recently featured on Dezeen includea minimalist extension to a Victorian homeanda Grade II-listed villa with a wood-filled extension.The photography is by James Retief.The post Khan Bonshek arranges east London home around brick "spine wall" appeared first on Dezeen.