Softly interweaving spaces characterise this home in Vietnam

Designed by 23°5 Studio, an architectural studio based in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, BQ17 house is a wonderfully refreshing look into the design and build of a project from scratch. Located within a peaceful and uncrowded neighbourhood of Binh Chanh, BQ17 is the dream home of a couple who spent ten years working and saving hard, in order to be able to realise their dream.

With urban planning laws requiring houses to have a certain unoccupied area around them, the architects were faced with the challenge of needing to provide enough comfortably livable space for a large family, including four separate bedrooms, on what was quite a tight block of land.

The solution that 23°5 Studio came up with was to treat the design as interlocking and interweaving spaces, all built around one central vertical space. This solution created tall voids and interesting, multi-level connections between the rooms, in turn creating unique visual snapshots from different vantage points within the house.

From the outside, the house serves viewers with distinct sharp and simple lines, and creates curiosity through its jutting cubes and misaligned facade features. Furthermore, in the evening, it offers the neighbourhood a beautiful lantern-like sculpture, along with subtle views of the sleek and minimalist interior.

Source - contemporist

Images - 23°5 Studio

Related Nest of Pearls post - The fun of function, Stacked House by Naturehumaine

Spectacular Styling in Seville's D-Espacio Estudio

Ok, so this post has taken me days to put together! And the reason being, is that I came across this spectacular space on a Spanish design site, which of course I understood very little to none of. My French did not come in handy at all here. I then searched for links and clues within that original article, which finally led me to the D-Espacio Estudio website.

Founded by Jesús Regueira, D-Espacio Estudio offers the creative community in Seville two large studios, one 'white' one 'black'. The studios are perfect for filming, styling and photo shoots, running events, and holding presentations. The two interiors are styled to perfection, down to the subtle fold in the rug, the scratch in the parquet, and, I dare say, the creak in the stair. The interior is comprised of very carefully selected classics of the twentieth century, and offers a wide variety of vintage props. The photos in this post come from the D-Espacio Estudio website, and are styled by D-Espacio Estudio's dedicated team, comprising of a creative director and talented designers.

Of the two studios, the one I'm sharing with you here is the Espacio Blanco (white space). The 'black' space will have to wait for another day's blog post. There are just so many amazing photos of both spaces available on the D-Espacio Estudio website, that culling back and choosing was beyond the capabilities of my self-control.

So, here we are, in Espacio Blanco. What a space! What richness, what a depth of colour, texture, ruggedness and candid character. Every corner, surface and nook is so lovingly designed, and the detail in styling is just breathtaking. I think not much more needs to be said, because the photos themselves will transport you to another world.

Sources - despacioestudio.com, asesoramientosunicos.com

Images - despacioestudio.com

Related Nest of Pearls post - The Establishment Studios - Where Dreams Come True

CUT Architectures designs third PNY burger joint in Paris

A new, colourful and super dooper contemporary PNY burger joint has opened in Paris in the 3rd arrondissement Les Marias, designed by CUT Architectures. I'm guessing this is only due to the success of the existing two restaurants, PNY Oberkampf and PNY FBG St-Denis, both also in Paris, and both also designed by CUT Architectures.

A little bit about the PNY burger establishments... They're actually part of what is becoming a flourishing concept in Paris, that of digging into burgers. While devouring burgers has always been more of an American thing, the French, who are generally more choosy about the quality of their food, seem to slowly be coming across this concept.

And the success of the PNY concept probably lies largely in their philosophy around the quality of their food. They carefully choose only the very best meat and ingredients, all while serving up a culture that is a blend of NYC and Paris, but minus the typically, corny clichés.

Whereby the first two PNY joints, in Oberkampf and St-Denis, were less colourful and certainly darker, the Les Marais PNY is completely animated with colour and eccentricity. There are a couple of things that stand out for me in the photos here; I love the juxtaposition of the bright, metallic, shiny colours against the rugged, textured wall, and I also get completely lost in the rectilinear, geometric visual cues that pop up as one moves through the space.

So with my flying to Paris in exactly one week from now, this is a definite must do on the list. It ticks all the boxes; I love burgers, love NYC, love Paris, love the colourful interior... however, the waistline may suffer...

Source - contemporist.com

Images - contemporist.com

Photography - david foessel

Whimsical & quirky Re-Edit hair salon in Japan, by Sides Core

Both austere and whimsical at the same time, the interior of the RE-EDIT hair salon in Osaka, Japan, is re-imagined by husband and wife design team Sides Core. The team, Sohei & Sumiko, have given this space nothing short of an atmosphere that bathes in a decidedly frugal aesthetic. This simplicity has one key objective, to reduce the space to its essentials.

And while simple, open, and devoid of partitions and breaks, the space has its own willful presence and sophistication. This easeful confidence comes through the careful choice of softly-spoken materials which work quietly as an ensemble to string together the space as a whole. The bright space is kept simple through the use of thin curtains, whitewashed walls and a lightly textured concrete floor, elements which help the interior maintain a calm and monotone palette.

While simplicity is key, there has clearly been a lot of thought put into maximising the use of the modular arrangements. Brightly coloured hooks are assembled on the ceiling in a grid, allowing the owner to freely 're-edit' the space as needed. The mirrors and shelves are secured with little more than ropes bound to the hooks, making it easy to move and shake the interior as one pleases. It is, without a doubt, a hair salon like few I've seen before, making for quite a unique experience, I would imagine...

Source - hypebeast.com

Images - Sides Core

Spellbinding artistic exploration, by Toshitaka Aoyagi

My happiest years in terms of education were by far the four years I spent studying Interior Architecture at UNSW in Sydney. One of the many reasons for that happiness was that we were encouraged to explore space, composition, depth, movement, and the art of what architecture could be, through the making of models. Be it of paper, plastic or metal, these explorations of space were incredibly rewarding for the aesthetic soul, because whereby you tested how your architectural ideas would come to fruition in the physical sense, you were at the same time creating art. I still have a number of my models at home, and I keep them with the greatest of pride.

Which brings me to the spellbinding work of artist Toshitaka Aoyagi. His work, albeit of course a million times more refined than what we would have done at uni, presents us with a series of collections where Toshitaka uses models or 3D artworks to create the most sublime studies of space.

In this post I have included three of Toshitaka's collections. From top to bottom they are Open (a collection of 8), Bend (a collection of 10), and Area (a collection of 10 also). More of Toshitaka's captivating work can be found on his Behance page. And a short interview with the artist can also be viewed at Coeval Magazine.com.

What I find fascinating about Toshitaka's art is that it is based on minimal shapes and what appears to be simplicity in execution. However such perfection in visual balance could only be the result of a much more complex process of refining and elaborating the key elements that comprise each artwork, and then putting them together in the perfect composition.

What is also very alluring in viewing Toshikata's art is that it takes you on a journey. His work is presented in collections within which each piece has its own charisma, it's own story, and it's own special role to play within the full series. And yet while different, the pieces within a collection have a true harmony with one another, as they unfurl from one to the next...

But perhaps the three aspects that give me the greatest viewing pleasure in the featured works in this post, are the balance of order versus chaos, the study of negative space versus positive, and the use of simple asymmetrical geometry. I think that I can stare at these pieces for eternity...

Source - toshitaka aoyagi & coeval-magazine.com

Images - toshitaka aoyagi