Space Copenhagen unveils interiors for Apothéose
Image Credit: Joachim Wichmann
Danish design studio Space Copenhagen has completed Apothéose, a new 40-seat resturant in the bustling Toranomon Hills Tower in Tokyo.
The culinary haven is the brainchild of the celebrated Michelin chef Keita Kitamura, who returned to Japan after a successful 15-year tenure in Paris. Blending the rich tapestry of Japanese culinary traditions with the sophisticated influences of French culture, the restaurant’s interior weaves together elements designed by Space Copenhagen to craft an environment that is both inviting and the perfect backdrop for patrons to indulge in Kitamura’s extraordinary cuisine.
Space Copenhagen founders Peter Bundaard Rützou and Signe Bindslev Henriksen commented: ‘We wanted Apothéose to be a refined space of crafted elegance with its own distinctiveness. We hope guests enjoy spending time in its considered and intimate dining and culinary experience.’
Toranomon Hills encapsulates the concept of transformation. What was once primarily known as a business district is now evolving into a multifaceted place that combines work and life with cultural discovery and hospitality. www.spacecph.dk
New exhibition at Dundee Design Festival 2024 celebrates bookends as design objects
Dundee Design Festival 2024 will introduce 20 new, commissioned bookends inspired by the travels and reporting of pioneering female foreign correspondents Bessie Maxwell and Marie Imandt, who embarked on an epic tour of the globe from Dundee in 1894 for The Courier and The Weekly News. The ‘Two Intrepid Ladies’, as they were dubbed, became a sensation on their return to Scotland having reported on the lives of women they met in over a year of travel covering 26,000 miles and visiting ten different countries.
Now 20 Scotland-based designers, including Nick Ross, Juli Bolaños-Durman, James Rigler, Chalk Plaster and Soorin Shin, have reimagined the humble bookend, taking inspiration from the foreign correspondents’ collected writings. www.dundeedesignfestival.com
THDP to redesign Terme di Saturnia, Tuscany
THDP is redesigning and renovating 1919 Restaurant, a winter garden, and an overflow relaxation area on the spring pool at Terme di Saturnia Natural Destination. Located in the heart of the Tuscan Maremma, wellness has revolved around its powerful thermal water for more than 3,000 years. In 2020, THDP designed the hotel public areas and bedrooms. www.thdpdesign.com
Nissen Richards Studio designs an Olympian trip back in time for The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Paris 1924: Sport, Art and the Body is the new show at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, featuring an exhibition and graphic design by architects and exhibition designers Nissen Richards Studio. The show, which opened on 19 July and runs until November, revisits the Paris Olympics of 1924, a seminal moment in terms of changes to the way sport was represented, and was launched to coincide with the city hosting the summer event 100 years later, with the recent Games. www.nissenrichardsstudio.com
UAL to create artwork for Reed Smith
UAL MA Textile Design students have been invited to create original work for exhibition in Reed Smith’s new London off ices. The students have been invited to respond to a brief reflecting the history of the off ice’s new Blossom Yard location, focusing on the theme ‘how we grow’. www.arts.ac.uk
A-nrd embraces soft minimalism in the design for Cocotte Richmond
A-nrd has completed the design of Cocotte Richmond, the latest outpost from the free-range healthy rotisserie restaurant chain.
Located in the popular London riverside town of Richmond, the interior concept for the new 62-seat restaurant blends a rich palette of organic materials in warm, natural tones to create an inviting and homely atmosphere for the new neighbourhood eatery.
Upon entering the restaurant guests are transported by the studio’s signature use of colour, texture and bespoke design. Creating a cocooning foundation for the scheme, walls feature a limewash finish with a grey-hued lower half and a warmer, blush tone on the upper half and ceiling.
The studio has created a gentle and relaxed environment for the south-west London restaurant, which features its own custom-designed tables, oak timber panelling, terracota tiles, and wall-lined booth seating that curves around the interior architecture.
By subtly referencing materials and shapes employed by the studio in the design of previous Cocotte restaurants, the new opening feels familiar yet fresh with an elevated soft, minimal interior style. www.a-nrd.com
LiGHT 24: Where lighting and design unite
Held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, 20-21 November, LiGHT 24 is the UK’s only trade show dedicated to high-end lighting specification. Held annually, it attracts architects, interior designers, lighting designers, engineers, and specifiers from all areas of the industry looking to be inspired and educated, and to grow their professional network. Head to LiGHT to see the latest product innovations and launches from hundreds of exhibiting architectural and decorative lighting brands. www.lightexpo.london
Iconic pavilions for LFA
Image Credit: PA Media
Brookfield Properties showcased two pavilions during the LFA, one designed by Foster & Partners and the other by Neon.
Radial (above), by Foster & Partners, is a circular pavilion at Principal Place Plaza. It features a radial pattern of flags made from 100% recycled waste, in coloured tones that reflect the earth’s rising temperature over the past 100 years.
The other pavilion, Squiggle (right), by Neon, is made from bright green and yellow ducting, selected to add a bold and eye-catching infusion of colour to Citypoint Plaza. www.brookfieldproperties.com
Youth engagement project unveiled in Colchester
Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group, has unveiled the Rubble Garden – a new public space in Colchester, designed in collaboration with local schoolchildren.
Located between the Rafael Viñoly-designed Firstsite visual arts centre and Colchester High Street, the Rubble Garden transforms a formerly derelict plot, once a bus depot, into a vibrant community space. This rejuvenated area features garden furniture co-created by local 11 to 14-year-olds, interspersed with planting by local, world-renowned horticulturalists Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens in partnership with Darryl Moore Design.
Image Credit: Matt+Fiona
The designs are the outcome of an intensive three-day summer design studio with Year 7 to 9 pupils, led by Matt+Fiona, a London-based social enterprise driving change in the built environment by giving a voice to young people. www.mattandfiona.org
Fare Inc. designs new London restaurant Kolamba East
London-based interior design studio, led by Annie Harrison, Fare Inc., has designed Kolamba East, a vibrant new culinary destination on Blossom Street in Spitalfields, east London. The space merges contemporary elegance with the rich heritage of Sri Lanka, striking a balance between the industrial character of the original warehouse and the warmth of tropical materials, inspired by the modernist principles of Geoffrey Bawa. www.fare-inc.com
Concreta delivers new interiors for Adaastra Boutique Hotel
Concreta has completed the rooms, suites and common areas of the Adaastra Boutique Hotel in the picturesque Swiss municipality of Naters. Concreta has created environments that combine comfort, elegance and functionality, with the cosy charm taken from its alpine-located settings. The design philosophy is inspired by the magnificent surrounding landscape, integrating elements of animal and plant life into the structure. www.concretasrl.com
Room2 York to open in 2026
Estate investor and developer Lamington Group has released details of its next project under the eco Hometel brand, Room2, with a York property set to open in early 2026. Located inside the city’s castle walls, Room2 York, will offer 116 guest rooms, a meeting space, laundry room, gym, and new Winnie’s cafe and bar concept specialising in home-cooked and locally grown food. This will be the brand’s first in the north of England and continues the group’s commitment to take action on climate change by building and operating net-zero carbon properties. www.lamingtongroup.com
a+r Architekten expands the Pfahlbaumuseum on Lake Constance
a+r Architekten has completed an extension for Germany’s oldest archaeological open-air museum: the Pfahlbaumuseum. Opened in June, the near 1,300m2 timber building features an open roof truss with an expressive suspended frame construction made of laminated timber. Sited on a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the new building houses a contemporary visitor centre and a new exhibition on the pile dwellings. www.aplusr.de
Rockwell Group unveils interiors for PosadaTerra Santa
Image Credit: Manolo Yllera
Rockwell Group has reimagined the interiors for Posada Terra Santa in Mallorca, Spain, marking a new era for the small boutique hotel. To breathe new life into the historic building, Rockwell Group’s design concept draws inspiration from four pillars: heritage, post-luxury, slow design, and layers.
Located in the heart of Palma de Mallorca, the Posada, which translates to ‘inn’ in English, was founded in 2014 by Ignacio Jiménez and Carmen Cordón, the co-founders of Hidden Away Hotels.
Designing fresh new spaces across various areas in the hotel, Rockwell Group subtly nods to the building’s traditional coat of arms, which features a majestic deer and can still be spotted by guests on the facade of the main elevation.
Rockwell Group took a delicate approach with the studio primarily focused on enhancing the furniture offering, fixtures and equipment and sparingly implemented new architectural finishes to avoid detracting from the inherent beauty and heritage of the original features in the space.
The design studio took inspiration from local craftsmanship and art inherent to the Balearic Islands. It translated these elements into the final finishes and furnishings for its reimagination of Posada Terra Santa. www.rockwellgroup.com
Your call to the party of the year!
While entries to this year’s FX Awards Design Awards are now closed, now is still time to secure your place at the party of the year! Join us at Grosvenor House Hotel, London, on Wednesday 27 November 2024, with comedian Marcus Brigstocke announcing the winners of the 2024 awards, with dinner and dancing into the small hours.
Join us as we announce the category winners across retail, leisure, office, public sector and hotels, to name but a few. Don’t miss out on joining us on the night for the party of the year!
Book now to avoid disappointment, and we look forward to celebrating with you this autumn!
Visit the FX Awards website to join us and for more information on the awards. Good luck, and we look forward to seeing you there! www.fxdesignawards.co.uk
