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Applying Exposed Cork in Interior Architecture

How can we transport ourselves to natural environments when we are in completely urban situations? The materiality of our surroundings is an important factor that determines the atmosphere we inhabit. In many cases, the use of natural materials in interior architecture can help evoke nature in our daily spaces. In this article, we will specifically analyze the effect that cork has as a special resource in the design of interior spaces. Cork is the bark of a tree species called cork oak. When extracted from the tree, it is transformed into a useful raw product and can be applied to a variety of different uses.

Approaching Personal Hygiene the Holistic Way: GROHE Sensia Arena

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Shower toilets are fast becoming the new standard when it comes to personal hygiene. GROHE Sensia Arena showcases the benefits of this all-encompassing approach with award-winning design, innovative technology and an undeniable feel-good factor.

3 New Projects in Dubai that Highlight the Possibilities of Fiber Cement Cladding

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Made of cement reinforced with cellulose fibers, fiber cement cladding is a building material used to cover the exterior of a wide range of buildings, including hotels, schools, office buildings, retail centers, hospitals, corporate centers, and residential buildings. Fibre cement panels are aesthetically pleasing, long-lasting, and highly resistant to fire and weathering.

Architect Diana Najib Hamad provides interesting case studies for the use of fiber cement in three recent Dubai-based commissions.

The Design Process and Off-Site Construction of Alchemy’s Squam Lake Residence

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Internationally recognized for their weeHouse® concept, Alchemy has been proving since 1992 that even the smallest of dwellings can have a huge impact. weeHouse®, a term that Alchemy trademarked in 2002, was conceived as a modular-friendly design system that emphasizes quality before quantity, and has been recognized by an ethos of “less is more.” The Minnesota-based firm, led by Geoffrey Warner FAIA, designs the structures to be modern and sleek with particular attention to using expressive local materials with environmental sensitivity.

The Squam Lake House in New Hampshire, although not technically a weeHouse, was required to strictly respect the floor area and volume of a dilapidated cabin 15’ from the shore. Fabricated mostly offsite by Bensonwood using 18” thick, pre-glazed wall panels and white oak timber framing, the panels were erected in only 4 days.

Eric Winter, AIA and architect at Alchemy, shared some valuable insights about the project’s design process. 

Nature-Inspired Zinc Clad Architectures

Nature is always to be found in things and architecture - and it is exciting, aesthetic, and astonishing. This is especially apparent in the exhibition of Gerhard Schönnenbeck's photographs of landscape shots, juxtaposed with architecturally impressive objects that were perfectly staged with zinc cladding panels developed by RHEINZINK.

In their series “Inspired by nature,” RHEINZINK presents these reflections that Gerhard Schönnenbeck captured so well with his camera.

Top 20 A' Design Award Winners: Well-being and Material Innovation

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As the world's leading annual international juried design competition, the A' Design Awards were established to promote and recognize the best design work in all countries and in all creative disciplines. The Award has 100 main categories, including some of the most popular categories such as Architecture, Building and Structure Design, Interior Space and Exhibition Design, and Furniture Design, in addition to others related to the world of Lighting, Landscape, Building Materials, and many others. This year's edition is now open for entries; designers can register their submissions here.

Elevating Spaces from Ordinary to Sublime with Chain Curtains

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Turning an interior space from a standard room into an artistic product is no easy feat. Careful consideration must be paid to the textures, colors, and all other elements of design when striving to create a balance of visual intrigue and pleasurability. 

Past, Present and Future: Brick Architecture in Texas, Kansas, and Illinois

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Today, architects and builders have a multiplicity of options when it comes to specifying their cladding materials, having to balance their design vision with the user's requirements. In addition to the aesthetics and character of the chosen product, it is always important to verify its durability, low maintenance and long-term sustainability. The brick, widely used throughout the world, is not only recyclable and highly resistant to threats such as fire, wind and moisture, but also presents great ease of use, low cost, and high versatility in terms of sizes, shapes, colors and textures.

Showcasing the flexibility of the material, Heartland Brick has selected six notable and award-winning brick projects located in Texas, Kansas, and Illinois, ranging from its most classical use in arches and columns to its most modern and minimalist application, including an impressive mural of sculpted bricks. A lasting legacy for its designers and citizens, and an ongoing inspiration for the contractors and architects of the future.

Kitchen Sink Design Meets the Godfather of Punk

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How did the Godfather of Punk end up on a sink-inspired throne in a Bavarian forest? Read on...

3D Printing With Thermoplastics Creates a Folding System That Controls Light Temperature

The roof of Euston Station in London is the large-scale architectural setting for the virtual application of the comprehensive Metaplas system, created by students from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. As part of an investigation carried out in Research Cluster 8 (RC8) of the Master's program in Architectural Design, students developed a 3D printed multimaterial system from biodegradable and recyclable thermoplastics. Transforming a series of flat panels into complex three-dimensional forms, students created a structural system with geometric folds that allows for passive control of the lighting of interior spaces.

Multifunctional Mobility Beyond the Kitchen with next125’s ‘Trolley'

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Premium kitchen brand next125’s award-winning ‘Trolley’ brings multifunctional mobility beyond the kitchen and into other increasingly connected home spaces.

Expressive Polycarbonate: Creating Colored Translucent Facades

Polycarbonate has become an alluring alternative to glass in facades, as it has different levels of translucency and can provide optimal transmission and diffusion of light. Moreover, it is light, flexible, recyclable, durable, resistant to impact, and includes UV protection, in addition to resisting temperatures between -40°C and 115°C. But beyond its functional properties, this thermoplastic also provides wide-ranging aesthetic opportunities, allowing architects to create unusually dynamic and expressive facades.

Sustainable Brick Architecture: Order the New Wienerberger Lookbook for Free

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The new lookbook for architects by WIENERBERGER impressively presents the architectural quality of contemporary brick architecture: an award-winning and forward-looking source of material inspiration.

"Being Simple Does Not Mean Being Commonplace": An Interview With Antonio Citterio

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"When I think about design in general, a story of families always comes to mind, especially in furniture design. Stories of people and families". Flexform has spoken with Antonio Citterio, Italian architect and designer, to delve into the design concepts that shape their 2020 Collection. Learn more here.

How to Expand Spaces with Revolving Corner Windows

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The window is the architectural element that satisfies our innate need to relate to the outside space, providing us with ventilation and light. The more extensive and clean the window is, the greater the sensation of "being outside". Consequently, opening up spaces to the outside has become a common requirement for people who want and need to inhabit flexible, adaptable spaces, in contact with the air and nature. There are many ways to do this, but not all of them allow an airtight enclosure to become fully open and continuous, clearing the boundaries between both spaces.

A Free Tool to Create Textures for Architectural Images

All too often, architects and designers spend hours searching for textures and materials to represent their visions. This struggle takes many forms: from scrolling through Google, Pinterest, and databases in search of the perfect texture, to manually creating one over the course of several hours, or even days. In either case, the result is frequently painful, and rarely perfect. A database organized, reliable, free and easy to use is not always a simple thing to find.

Architextures began in 2014 as a library of high-quality image files, with textures submitted by users or created by the platform itself. Over time, the platform’s creator Ryan Canning noticed that, in his professional work as an architect, the array of static image files available online did not meet the specific textures he was looking for in his design projects. Frustrated with the endless process of searching, editing and overlaying textures in Photoshop, Ryan reinvented Architextures in 2019 as an interactive tool where designers like himself could create specified, high-quality textures in seconds. And importantly, being free to use for personal and educational use, with professional accounts available for a small fee to support the tool’s development.

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Together we are Strong: Interstuhl SPLACES

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Within the scope of the innovative SPLACES concept, INTERSTUHL offers planners and architects the opportunity to collaborate directly with experts on the design of creative and future-oriented new work scenarios.

Red-Carpet Treatment: OBJECT CARPET x Ippolito Fleitz Group

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OBJECT CARPET’s recent collaboration with multidisciplinary architecture and design studio Ippolito Fleitz Group has led to expansive, unconventional and, more importantly, sustainable results.

Clear Perspective: Sky-Frame and Stephan Hürlemann

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Sky-Frame – Swiss specialists in frameless sliding window and door systems – continue their ‘My Point of View’ series of video portraits with architect and designer Stephan Hürlemann, who shares his perspective on design and its role in a sustainable future.

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