Before Ennead’s glass extension and steps-cum-seating were added to Brooklyn Museum’s neoclassical facade, a central staircase ushered patrons into the McKim, Mead & White–designed edifice. The renovation effectively turned the front of the museum into a plaza ripe for public recreation.
More recently, a project by Office of Tangible Space inserted a new cafe into the museum’s glass pavilion, further activating its main entrance. For Brooklyn Museum’s new cafe, Office of Tangible Space was guided by seven principles: it had to be welcoming to all, as well as playful, simple, memorable, and other qualities.
“The space embodies the playfulness, creativity, craft, and expression that make Brooklyn and Brooklynites so unique,” the firm shared in a project description.
The cafe is located within the Brooklyn Museum’s glass pavilion, designed by Ennead as part of a 2005 renovation project. (Matthew Gordon)
The angled windows and exposed roof structure of Ennead’s glass pavilion from 2005 flood natural light into the interiors, which remain airy. Now, this space has been simply furnished.
Bespoke Solutions
The dining venue’s layout was meant to evoke “islands and streams,” designers said. Toward that end, an array of seating options were strewn throughout the space, and an arrangement of tables were positioned into undulating shapes that recall streams. On the floor organic-shaped “islands” form a ground of sorts for sets of circular tables.
Lining the perimeter of the cafe are rounded ottomans from Knoll. Office of Tangible Space designed a number of the furniture pieces for the cafe, including metal tables and wood elements.
Groupings of slightly curved blue tables recall streams. (Matthew Gordon)Markings on the floor loosely refer to the designer’s “island” concept. (Matthew Gordon)
An art- and community-centered contribution to the cafe are ten stools decorated by artists with connections to Brooklyn. The pieces were commissioned by the Brooklyn Museum and Office of Tangible Space.
Each stool features a unique design, some are simply painted, while others don fabrics, textured additions, carved elements, and mosaic tiles. The contributing artists include Cody Hoyt, Vincent Jackson, Minjae Kim, Emma Kohlmann, Gracelee Lawrence, Kim Mupangilaï, Sarah Nsikak, Ellen Pong, Allan Wexler, Chen Chen, and Kai Williams.
Ten artists were commissioned to decorate wooden stools for the cafe. (Matthew Gordon)
“These handcrafted pieces not only complement the cafe’s design but also echo the philosophy that food, like art, is an immersive experience—engaging the senses, sparking conversation, and creating a connection between the creator and the audience,” the firm shared.
The food display counter is faced with textured upholstery. (Matthew Gordon)
Culture and Community
To design the cafe’s kitchen and food display case, Office of Tangible Space opted for an industrial look that meshes well with the existing architecture. The counter was wrapped in a textured upholstery and topped with glass screens that separate hungry museum patrons from the containers of a simple fare of pastries, baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads from restaurateur André Hueston Mack and Brooklyn-based Parlor Coffee.
Office of Tangible Space describes its ethos as being “rooted in maintaining a connection to culture and community.” With the Brooklyn Museum cafe, that firm has done exactly that by centering the work of local artists and delivering a dining space that offers comfort and enjoyment for all.
The cafe coincides with the Brooklyn Museum’s 200th-anniversary and the unveiling of a new graphic identity. (Matthew Gordon)
A girl’s room is her sanctuary, so brainstorming girls’ bedroom ideas is bigger than just picking out tiny pink furniture and more about crafting a tranquil, inspiring place where she can cuddle up with a good book, hang with friends, do homework, or retreat from the chaos of school into crafts or other hobbies. Whatever her interests are, girls’s preferences for different styles and aesthetics evolve and change as they grow. Hence, designing a daughter’s or granddaughter’s room can mean changing it up to suit the latest craze or leaning into timeless patterns and colors that will age gracefully. While some girls want to hang onto their childhood toys and games as long as possible, others will want grown-up decor befitting a girl in high school or college.
To help you decorate (or redecorate) your girl’s room, we’ve gathered ideas from designers who have fashioned outstanding girls rooms. These girls’ bedroom ideas range from classically pink spaces with canopy beds to rooms decked out in less traditionally gendered hues and patterns. Read on for the best girls room decor ideas for young girls to teens, according to designers.
What colors besides pink are good for a girl’s room?
Color palettes should be driven by the individuals who will be using the room—so any favorite color, and not just pastels, can suit a girl’s bedroom. “Involve your children in the process and make sure to reflect their interests in the design,” says AD PRO Directory member Benjamin Johnston, partner and creative director at Benjamin Johnston Design. “If your child has outgrown a pink palette, it’s a simple process to tone it down. Regardless of the base, layering in neutral bedding and pillows elevates the room’s maturity and beautifully blends with other elements.”
How to create storage space outside the closet?
Closets aren’t the only things you can fill with toys and clothes. According to Susana Simonpietri, AD PRO Directory member and creative director of Chango & Co, intentionally adding multiple other storage spaces can encourage kids to organize their own rooms. “Storage they can easily interact with, like cute baskets and fun bins, are helpful so they can be a part of the process of keeping their space tidy.” Plus, these items don’t cost an arm and a leg, yet they can still add a powerful design impact.
What are some ways to create visual interest without cluttering a small space?
In terms of bedroom decor ideas, an easy way to achieve visual interest is through built-ins or other organizational devices that allow kids to create a focal point on their own. “Colorful wall hooks and hanging storage that is positioned where a child can reach goes a long way,” says Simonpietri. “In theory, everything in the room should have a ‘home,’ although I know from experience that’s not always possible.” She suggests having kids select special toys which reflect their personality. These beloved items can serve as the display focal points on key surfaces, like built-ins or floating shelves in the bedroom.
Interior designer Faith Blakeney doesn’t believe in always doing things by the book. What she does believe in is kismet, and the notion that one’s stars, during any turning of the tide, align only briefly. Which explains why, on a trip some years ago to Todos Santos (a town on the Pacific coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula), she had zero qualms about flagging down a semitruck full of handmade furniture in 100-degree weather, mere moments after her client, a Belgian-born, LA-based, Oscar-winning producer, had signed a deed for a home there. “It was written in the stars,” Blakeney explains of the serendipitous experience, “because right there on the side of the road, for about $50, we purchased our first furniture for the home—two wonderfully rustic chairs that ultimately found new life in the built-in breakfast nook.”
It was an auspicious start. “My client fell in love with the town’s breezy spirit and its proximity to Los Angeles and decided he needed an oasis there,” says the designer and founder of her namesake LA-based design studio regarding how the project came about. The producer entrusted Blakeney with the interior design even before he knew which home he would buy, although, as Blakeney recalls, “this time was meant to be nothing more than a light renovation.” But fate had other plans. As it turned out, the home—previously used as a surf shack—needed much more attention than Blakeney or her client had originally anticipated, and several meetings with the architect and general contractor made it clear that most things needed replacing.
Blakeney took it as a sign to reincarnate the dwelling. And so she did, but not before removing the ceilings, floors, doorways, and a handful of walls. In her eyes, more space meant more possibilities, including an elevated ceiling and beautiful arched windows in every room, which she put in place right away. Even so, she was careful about keeping one foot in the past. “We were very intentional about trying to maintain a local sensitivity while infusing the home with the wishes and dreams of the client. We worked with a lovely female architect, an engineer, a general contractor, and a design assistant, all from Mexico, to forward that cause,” she avers.
For a designer and client that share a Bohemian bent and feverish flair for color, a shell as nondescript as this was the perfect canvas. “The family is eclectic, artistic, playful, and worldly—a perfect match for Mexico’s fun and vibrancy. I wanted this place to be a tribute to the country’s beautiful, bold use of color,” notes Blakeney, who scored a lucky jackpot of characterful vintage finds, handmade Mexican treasures, and such grassroots novelties as artisanal tile and native wood furniture without even stepping off the Mexican peninsula. What she couldn’t find nearby, she sourced from farther afield. The locally made wooden desk in the living room and the hammered-copper sconces in the daughters’ room were commissioned from mainland Mexico, and the electric wall mural in the bedroom is a labor of love by her sister (the artist, designer, and Jungalow founder, Justina Blakeney). She also commissioned Todos Santos–based Argentine artist Saskia Onvlee for another mural in the daughters’ bedroom.
When it felt like her family had outgrown their weekend home in upstate New York, Sarah O’Hagan didn’t want to sell—she wanted to renovate.
During the early days of the pandemic, O’Hagan and her husband Peter, who are based in New York City, retreated upstate with their three adult daughters. Situated in the Beaverkill Valley, the section of the Catskills along the Beaverkill River, the refuge is set in a bucolic hamlet—but filled with adults working from home, the shortcomings of the space became clear. For one, privacy was hard to find, as noise from video calls would bleed into nearby rooms.
“The insufficiencies of our weekend house quickly became apparent, along with all the old tea sets and toys that we hadn’t really gotten rid of,” O’Hagan explains.
The growing pains made sense—a space that was previously designed for quick getaways now needed to function as a home base for weeks and months on end. And even now, long after lockdowns have lifted, the flexibility of remote working allows them to spend more time at the house than ever.
The family, who have owned the home for 24 years, decided they weren’t going anywhere after their tight-knit bonds in the community got stronger during the pandemic. “We started talking about a couple of small things we might do to make the house better for all of us and for future habitation by next generations,” O’Hagan says.
O’Hagan was looking for a sensitive remodel that would add square footage and functionality to the home while honoring the existing architecture and the spirit of the Beaverkill Valley. She enlisted AD100 architect and AD PRO Directory member Elizabeth Graziolo, the founder of Yellow House Architects, to take the lead on architecture, and designer and AD PRO Directory member Robin Henry to devise the interiors, after collaborating with both talents on other projects. Graziolo was the project architect for her family’s New York apartment while working under architect Peter Pennoyer, and O’Hagan connected with Henry when she worked under designer Katie Ridder.
“They love the property,” Graziolo says. “Our task was to renovate the house to allow for more private spaces while adding a new large family kitchen, a proper dining room, a family room, an extra guest bedroom, and more space in the primary suite.”
Graziolo designed the new kitchen, which features cabinetry and hardware by Plain English, to serve as a multifunctional living space. A banquette can become a spot for someone to read or work on their laptop outside of meal time. Retractable folding doors open up onto a wrap-around deck. And pocket doors throughout the home, plus sound insulation, add subtle divisions between rooms. “It was kind of like figuring out how to make the kitchen feel more like a flex room,” Graziolo explains.
The architect knew she wanted to utilize folding glass doors in the kitchen to open up the room and capture the views of the surrounding landscape, no matter the season. “The view from the south region of the home features lush rolling hills,” she says. “I wanted to take advantage of that lovely pastoral scenery by framing as many views as possible from within the house.”
The dining room was also in need of an update. Mirroring the shape of the existing bay window on the opposite side of the room, Graziolo designed a unique, octagonal dining space with paneled walls that could cleverly conceal built-in shelving. And Henry enlisted Kingston, New York–based artist Kevin Paulsen to paint some of his legendary landscapes for the panels covering the room. “The tone of his work is very fitting for the location of the house,” Henry says.
Throughout the residence, Henry sourced as much as she could locally to give the home a personal feel that didn’t feel too precious. “We wanted fun things that we could give a new life to,” she explains. She also repurposed pieces from the clients’ existing collection, many of which she herself had commissioned years ago.
Mixing antique and contemporary elements was key to maintaining a spirit of fun in the home. In the bathrooms, especially, Henry took creative liberties—a wall covering painted with fish, a terrazzo countertop, and checkerboard tile all make appearances. “It’s kind of a modern way to play with an older space,” says Henry. “It’s a playful house.”
Architecture and Design Festival Concéntrico celebrates its 10th anniversary from 25 April to 1 May 2024 with an edition that aims to reflect on the impact of the annual festival upon the city of Logroño, Spain, as well as to consider how the city continues to evolve. Through installations, exhibitions, lectures, performances, workshops, and activities, Concéntrico proposes a reflection of the urban environment, welcoming architects and designers to intervene and challenge it while opening conversations about pressing matters.
While the official theme of the festival focused on the future of cities, the invited architects and designers took this suggestion further. Several overarching themes and subjects emerged during this year’s event, from the incorporation of concepts of time, an unusual element to be tacked through temporary installations, to the desire to engage more honestly with a wider public, to listen to their needs and create platforms where diverse perspectives can take center stage.
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This edition also showcases how the festival itself changes and adapts over time, taking in feedback, learning from previous endeavors, and testing new formats. Since 2015, spanning the previous nine editions, the festival has realized over 120 urban installations, each hoping to help citizens reconnect with their city
In the case of many architecture festivals, the ultimate desire is usually to engage with a wider public, to open up the practice of design, and to create something useful and attractive for everybody. This year, Concéntrico architects leaned into this. While many of the installations stem from complex questions related to the public realm, their final displays are simple, intuitive, and easy to interact with.
Perhaps if you want people to slow down and reflect upon their surroundings, a small water fountain with movable mirrors is all you need. A trampoline atop dazzlingly colored stairs can provide a change of perspective, especially if placed in front of an imposing cathedral, while twirling pieces of red fabric inspire people to explore an otherwise overlooked passage.
To encourage these playful interactions, the installations reward the curiosity of passers-by without requiring further explanations. However, if contemplated, hidden meanings and messages can emerge, adding depth to the otherwise straightforward intervention. One such example is Willem de Haan’s “Public Monument.” It transforms the pedestal of an imposing statue into a recognizable image: a modest house, complete with a porch, air-conditioning, and doorbell, all underneath the heroic stance of General Espartero. A small deck invites people to cross the water, pet the stone lions, and recreate domestic scenes in what was previously an authoritarian and inaccessible space. The layers of interpretation are multiple, from a commentary of private versus public ownership, the housing crisis, a challenge of the honorary status of statues in public spaces, or just a playful and campy intervention to raise eyebrows and invite further exploration.
Through interactions, some of the installations changed their appearance throughout the festival. ESD Madrid furnished the courtyard of the Biblioteca de La Rioja with a kit of parts, all cut out of plywood. The different pieces could be taken out of their boards and assembled into chairs, tables, or any other structure imagined by the users. The intuitive construction system captured the interest of both children and adults, all mingling to explore the formal possibilities of the parts. A similar approach was adopted by RaivioBumann, whose colorful pieces of urban furniture were moved and rearranged to create new visual and functional patterns in the square.
In addition to creating engagement through the final installations, some of the architects also invited participation during the design and build phases. Outpost Office brought a GPS-controlled painting robot to the courtyards of schools across Logroño as part of their Public Utilities initiative. They invited students to learn about the robot’s capabilities and contribute to the process of drawing new patterns onto the pavement, which can then serve as large-scale boards for games and competitions. Similarly, ji arquitectos + Blas Antón reached out to schools in the region, asking children to draw how they see the natural surroundings of the La Rioja region. The drawings were then transformed into wooden installations and scattered across the vineyard, overlapping the imagined and the real landscapes.
By yielding the drawing phase of the project to elementary school pupils, ji arquitectos + Blas Antón showcases a second emerging theme of this year’s edition: a willingness to welcome and accommodate different perspectives. The Open Segments installation demonstrates this potential of urban spaces to shift their identity and hint at other cultures. As the first Saudi architects to contribute to Concéntrico, Syn Architects offered the residents of Logroño a soft introduction to the spatial culture of the Najd region of Saudi Arabia. This is obtained by configuring the modular pavilion to recreate the fragmentation and intimacy that defines their native spatial configuration and social structure.
The pavilion also welcomes the Spanish influence. After the closing of the festival in Logroño, the modules will be disassembled and moved to Saudi Arabia, only this time to be reconfigured in a manner that showcases the Spanish culture of space, featuring more open areas for collective gatherings.
In a similar approach, Belgian architects Quentin Gérard, Guillaume Deman, Elisabeth Terrisse de Botton, and Matthieu Brasebin, considered the different conditions of Belgian and Spanish climates. Their installation, titled “Make It Rain,” leans from the Belgian experience of using water to control urban heat, but adapts it to the dry context of the Spanish region. They paved the patio of the La Rioja Museum with porous bricks and a pond with water taken from the local Ebro River. Should the temperatures rise in the sun-inundated patio, users can take a watering can and stray the water onto the bricks, its quick evaporation lowering the ambient temperature, thus creating a more comfortable and usable space.
One unexpected element for this edition was the contemplation of the element of time. KOSMOS’s Off-Season Pavilion highlights this concern by proposing an alternative to the temporary nature of festival interventions. Instead of building something from new materials, they reuse a locally and seasonally available material: large metal cages used for wine storage during the wine-production season, but left unused in the off-season. The temporary structure reimagines a basilica-like composition using these elements but allows for a complete disassembly and reutilization of the crates, thus demonstrating principles of circular design while also presenting an otherwise hidden element of local culture.
For this anniversary edition, Concéntrico launched a new provocation in the shape of a competition to answer the question: “How could a street evolve with a ten-year strategy?” Once again yielding control of the process of design, winner Daryan Knoblauch proposes an iterative approach, one which can adapt to the reactions it receives. The intervention aims to introduce an alien element into an urban park, challenging the passers-by to rethink their interactions with the space. This challenge is further emphasized through the various events organized in the space, including live performance shows that push the boundaries of typical behaviors in the public space. Through collaborations with sociologists and performance artists, the public reaction is documented, allowing it to inform future interventions and guide the 10-year-long process.
Instead of a complete top-down 10-year program, this winning proposal outlines a methodology for listening to local communities and searching for ways to amplify their message. The name of the project, Scenius 26003, demonstrates the same commitment. The word Scenius was coined by musician and producer Brian Eno to combine the concept of the lone ‘genius’ with that of their ‘scene’, or the collective intelligence of a group of people.
German high-end bike maker Propain has added a “short-travel ripper for home trails and trail parks” to its eMTB range. The Sresh CF sports a Shimano mid-drive motor offering 600 watts of peak power, a lightweight blended carbon/fabric frame and a SRAM 12-speed drivetrain.
Happy days are here again as the Northern Hemisphere slowly moves into a few (hopefully) warmer and drier months, with adventurous riders dusting off their gear before and hitting the dirt. Propain is looking to tempt those looking to start trail-blazing with a fresh new eMTB by launching a short-travel model called the Sresh CF.
Though the company’s Enduro-focused Ekano 2 CF model comes packing SRAM’s relatively new Eagle autoshifting powertrain, the AL flavor rolled with a Shimano STEPS EP801 Max/Lite mid-mount motor. And it’s the latter configuration that provides 85 Nm (62.6 lb.ft) of torque and 600 watts of power for the new trail bike – though Europeans can also opt for a heavier EP600 motor that boasts the same torque, but shaves 100 watts off peak power.
The Sresh CF features a 600-watt (peak) Shimano EP801 mid-drive motor and SRAM 12-speed drivetrain
Propain
Three pedal-assist modes can be power-adjusted via a companion mobile app, which offers 15 levels of custom fine-tuning. The 626-Wh downtube battery is made up of 21700 Li-ion cells, and can be quickly removed using a hex key for charging away from the bike. Per-charge range figures haven’t been shared.
Propain says that the combination of a lightweight frame, positioning of the rear shock and the motor “makes the Sresh CF handle on the trail like our non-motorized bikes.” A relatively quiet ride is on the cards too, and the eMTB’s SRAM 12-speed drivetrain varies according to selected configuration – running from GX Eagle through X0 Eagle Transmission to XX Eagle Transmission flavors.
The lightweight frame is fashioned from a hybrid blend of carbon fiber and fabric, and is available in four sizes – with a medium configuration tipping the scales at just 20.8 lb (45.9 lb). Propain says that this hybrid material approach allows for flexibility in some areas, impact resistance in others and stiffness elsewhere.
Stopping power can be optioned with Magura, SRAM or Formula hydraulic disc brakes
Propain
Comfort and terrain absorption come courtesy of a dropper seatpost that can whip the saddle out of the way during technical aspects of the ride, and full squish. Depending on the config, the Sresh CF benefits from a RockShox or Fox suspension fork offering up to 160 mm of travel plus a rear shock that’s positioned vertically via the company’s Pro10 linkage system for 150 mm of frame travel that translates to “lots of traction coupled with a playful poppy feel.”
The eMTB rides on 29-inch rims wearing Scwalbe Magic Mary/Big Betty knobby tires (though can be optionally selected with a 27.5-inch wheel at the back for improved maneuverability), while stopping power shapes up with either Magura, SRAM or Formula hydraulic brakes. The company also claims that a 200-mm post mount in the rear triangle provides improved transfer of braking forces into the frame.
The base model Sresh CF starts at US$6,299, with configurations rising to $9,789. The video below has more.
THE ALL NEW SRESH CF = FRESH AF I PROPAIN Bicycles
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Copenhagen is not just a city; it’s a playground of architectural wonders. With its colorful buildings and creative urban spaces, the Danish capital has become one of the world’s most vibrant cities, bringing joy to residents and visitors with its playful architecture. Every corner holds unique features, offering countless memorable moments that are waiting to be uncovered. As you wander through the city, you might encounter the trampolines along the Havnegade Harbour Promenade, which is meant to transform the industrial harbor area into a vibrant public space, adding an element of fun to the urban landscape. Additionally, commuting by bike might add a playful twist to your daily routine, and joining the crowd of cyclists on their way to work becomes a shared experience.
If you ever find yourself in Copenhagen, the urban features highlighted in this article are definitely worth exploring. These landmarks are exceptional showcases of playful architecture, urban planning, and landscape design, embodying Copenhagen’s dedication to creativity and diversity and tapping into the universal spirit of play that lives within us all.
Tietgen Dormitory
By Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects, Copenhagen
Tietgen Dormitory by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark
The circular design of this Danish student dormitory features playful balconies that zigzag around the building, creating a dynamic and inviting façade. Beyond its eye-catching exterior, the Tietgen Dormitory incorporates nature into its design through a spacious central courtyard. Strategically staggered windows and balconies overlooking the courtyard provide residents with views of the central area and each other, encouraging social engagement as students stroll, jog, and gather, thereby reinforcing a strong sense of community and belonging.
Superkilen Park
By Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Topotek 1 and Superflex, Copenhagen
With its expansive red-toned square, Superkilen park stands out for its diverse and vibrant urban design. This urban square is full of interactive installations sourced from various countries around the world. It serves as a dynamic public space where people of different backgrounds come together to socialize, play and experience a unique blend of cultures. With its colorful bike lanes and vibrant playground equipment, each element encourages interaction, creating a dynamic space where people of all ages can engage and play.
Panda House
By Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Copenhagen
Panda House by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Copenhagen, Denmark
The Panda House in Copenhagen Zoo is designed to mirror the panda’s natural habitat. It provides a tranquil living space for these rare mammals while addressing crucial breeding challenges, all within the historic confines of one of Europe’s oldest zoos. The building’s soft and playful organic shapes mimic the rolling landscape, creating a dynamic and engaging environment for both visitors and the resident pandas. Inside, the various levels and viewpoints provide opportunities for discovery and interaction with the animals. The facilities are designed to blend with the landscape while offering direct views into the pandas’ habitat, enabling visitors to observe zoo operations while exploring the undulating perimeter paths.
Cirkelbroen (Circle Bridge)
By Studio Olafur Eliasson, Copenhagen
Cirkelbroen (Circle Bridge) by Studio Olafur Eliasson, Copenhagen, Denmark
Cirkelbroen is more than just a bridge; it’s a work of art. Its playful design features interconnected circular platforms that gently rise and fall with the tides, creating a mesmerizing and unique experience for pedestrians and bikers. The playful curves and rhythmic movements of the bridge invite exploration and interaction, encouraging people to pause, linger and appreciate the surrounding waterfront landscape from unique vantage points.
Copenhill (Amager Bakke)
By Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Copenhagen
Copenhill (Amager Bakke) by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Copenhagen, Denmark
This groundbreaking project combines a waste-to-energy plant with a recreational facility, featuring a ski slope, hiking trails, climbing wall and rooftop park. Its playful features include an artificial ski slope that mimics the feel of a real one, offering visitors the opportunity to ski, snowboard and toboggan year-round, providing a unique recreational experience within an urban setting. Copenhill’s playful architecture not only promotes physical activity and social interaction but also challenges traditional notions of waste management and urban design, demonstrating the potential for sustainability and creativity in shaping the built environment.
Islands Brygge Harbour Bath
By PLOT Architects (now JDS Architects), Extension by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Copenhagen
Islands Brygge Harbour Bath is a playful reinterpretation of the traditional swimming pool that consists of a series of floating islands and platforms that provide the city with various swimming and sunbathing areas. Its interconnected pools, ramps and platforms provide endless opportunities for swimming, sunbathing and socializing, contributing to the revitalization of the waterfront area. The bath’s integration with the surrounding waterfront landscape, allow people to enjoy the natural beauty of the harbor while engaging in water-based activities.
Children’s Culture House Ama’r
By Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter
Children’s Culture House Ama’r by Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Children’s Culture House, designed as an extension of the neighboring buildings, serves as an enriching environment for children to learn, play and grow. Its roof and façade mirror each other, creating a harmonious architectural expression. Geometric shapes and irregular angles resemble a mountain village, a giant playground captivating young visitors’ attention and curiosity instantly. The interior is characterized by open, flexible layouts, allowing for spontaneous play, exploration and discovery. The space was created through collaborative workshops involving both adults and children, resulting in dynamic environments aimed at sparking children’s imagination and creativity.
Karen Blixens Plads
By Cobe
Karen Blixens Plads by Cobe, Copenhagen, Denmark
An outstanding example of playful architectural design is manifested in the layout of this public square. This “carpet-like” plaza features undulating topography that invites visitors to climb, sit, run, and engage with the landscape, while the playful arrangement of benches and seating areas encourages social interaction. The gently rolling landscape, facilitates fluid movement, featuring small hills that delineate specific areas for various activities. This includes three bicycle hills, functioning as both a lively gathering spot and welcoming public area, alongside providing ample space for bicycle parking.
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Commissioned to renovate a residence in Montreal, Canada, Indee Design decided on a lighthearted approach. The result, named Atelier Chabot, is described as a playhouse for kids and adults, and boasts a slide, climbing wall, and netted area.
The idea for Atelier Chabot came about when the owners decided they wanted to change the lives of their family and were trying to decide whether to take a trip around the world by sea or to purchase a home. In the end, the house won out.
The property was originally arranged as a duplex, so was relatively confined and lacking in natural light. Indee Design therefore focused first on opening up the interior by arranging it around a large open light-filled living area.
The studio removed unnecessary walls and added skylights and open space between the two floors, which was then filled with a netted floor hangout area. Additionally, a long slide is integrated into the kitchen counter, offering a more fun way of coming down for dinner. Some swings were installed in the open living area too.
Atelier Chabot’s upper floor includes a netted floor area for hanging out
Caroline Thibault
“The duplex was transformed into a house where space is experienced differently than in a standard house,” explained the firm. “Communication between each room varies due to the original, playful, and unexpected elements placed strategically throughout the house, addressing the adults as much as the children. A rock-climbing wall decorates the children’s bedroom, and a slide connects the catamaran net to the kitchen as an alternative to the stairs. Indee Design selected noble local materials such as maple wood, and the curtains add a theatrical touch, while emphasizing the playful spirit of the space.”
Other notable additions to the home include a master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and a cozy living room area complete with wood-burning stove.
Of course, Atelier Chabot is not the only playful interior we’ve seen over the years. The Union House, SkyHouse and La Maison du Bonheur are all excellent examples.
For as long they can remember, art world veterans Tobias Meyer and Mark Fletcher have felt California’s psychic gravitational pull. Meyer, who was born and raised in Germany, vividly recalls his father returning from a voyage to the West Coast in the 1960s, bearing record albums and tales of life in the Golden State. Fletcher was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a hospital situated on Route 66, the fabled conveyor of American dream seekers, which terminates at the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica. “It seems it was our destiny to get to California,” Fletcher muses.
Before they acquired their current Los Angeles residence—a quintessential midcentury-modern home designed by architect Donald Polsky—Meyer and Fletcher plumbed the possibilities of creating their own California Shangri-la within two diminutive yet architecturally significant properties. The first was Buff & Hensman’s Domus Solaris, the home of architect Donald Hensman, which fully embodied the romantic ideal concealed within modernism: unlocking human potential via total immersion in freedom and privacy. Their next rental was a trim redwood pavilion in Stone Canyon that put a woodsy California spin on Miesian architectural rigor. After much searching, the couple finally alighted on Polsky’s 1960 Hillman residence in Beverly Hills, a house that epitomizes the modernist principles the architect absorbed during his three-year tenure in the office of Richard Neutra.
View from the living room to the pool garden. The red chairs are by Jan Bočan. The sculpture is a Boki Secret Society figure.
Armed with a keen understanding of the philosophical imperatives of midcentury modernism, Meyer and Fletcher approached the rehabilitation of the house as both a spiritual and architectural restoration. Never intended to be static, a house is, to borrow Neutra’s phrase, a “serial structure” in space and time, adapting and readapting to the lives of its inhabitants, a living laboratory exploring opportunities to ennoble quotidian domestic rituals. In that spirit, the couple’s renovation aspired to much more than a respectful restoration with a few accommodations for modern mores. Instead of fashioning a predictable, depilated white box chockablock with Eames chairs and George Nelson Bubble lamps, the duo has conjured a midcentury-modern maison de plaisance, or, as the Germans call it, a Lustschloss—a retreat that serves the private pleasure of its owners, in this case a gay couple with dauntless taste and an unapologetic propensity for interiors that thrum with sex appeal.
To counter the architectural drift of age and ill-conceived renovations, Meyer and Fletcher enlisted the aid of Brad Dunning, a designer with extensive experience restoring homes by Neutra and other mandarins of midcentury modernism. “At some point in the 1970s, this house was entombed in bad travertine. All the modernity was covered over in suffocating decorative surfaces, but at least the floor plan remained largely intact,” the designer explains. Although the house was completely gutted and rebuilt with modern technologies and systems, Dunning’s efforts—including the design of a new kitchen and bathrooms—are largely invisible. “If someone tours this place and thinks perhaps it always looked like this, that would be the greatest compliment,” he offers.
