SEPTEMBER 2025
at work, at play
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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2025
VOLUME 96 NUMBER 8
ON THE COVER At the Lego Group Boston Hub by BDG Architecture + Design, above a pantry’s custom sofa, Bond side table by Aust & Amelung for COR, and Zandur cork-rubber flooring, custom ceiling fixtures emulate, in large scale, the tubes on the bottom of Lego bricks that click into the round studs on the top of them. Photography: Eric Laignel.
features 114 ANCIENT AND MODERN by Peter Webster
Leeton Pointon Architects and Allison Pye Interiors give a contemporary country house an archaic aura on the Mornington Peninsula in Australia. 122 BRICK BY BRICK by Rebecca Dalzell
At the Lego Group Boston Hub, BDG Architecture + Design built spaces that allow for work and play— as well as collaboration, innovation, and ROI. 132 PLOT TWIST by Elizabeth Fazzare
A heritage Italian clothing brand expands into the Far East with Casa Curiel Chongqing, a fashionable ode to all things Milanese by Liang Architecture Studio.
140 CHIMNEY SUITE by Michael Snyder
At Loop Homes Burjassot, a student residence hall in Spain by Martín Lejarraga Architecture Office, towering smokestack forms nod to the site’s industrial roots. 150 ARTISTRY’S ALL AROUND by Annie Block and Helene Oberman
From FiDi to Flushing, Westchester County to Princeton, New Jersey, the annual NYCxDesign Awards showcase the best projects in the Greater New York area. 166 EXQUISITE INSIDE AND OUT by Jane Margolies
HANMO (HANGZHOU) PHOTOGRAPHY CO.
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ACOS and Studio Widoki add tasteful office headquarters to the Omni Kaiser Patisserie production plant in northern Poland.
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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2025
VOLUME 96 NUMBER 8
special power players section 80 MATTERS OF DESIGN C-Suite Confidential by Jen Renzi
Designers and execs share an insider’s view of how people-first workplaces are driving RTO. 90 SHOPTALK edited by Georgina McWhirter 95 CROSSLINES New Keys by Peter Webster
When partnering with outside firms, Brad Wilson of Ace Group International and Atelier Ace looks for architects and designers with no hotel experience. 103 CREATIVE VOICES Stronger Together by Ian Phillips
Using minimal materials but maximum innovation, Patrick Jouin and Dassault Systèmes forge a 3Dprinted chair unlike any other.
walk-through 47 ARCHITECTURAL CONFECTION by Petra Loho
departments 25 HEADLINERS 31 DESIGNWIRE by Annie Block 36 SNAPS 38 PINUPS by Rebecca Thienes 42 BOOKS by Wilson Barlow 53 MARKET edited by Rebecca Thienes text by Lisa Di Venuta, Georgina McWhirter, and Rebecca Thienes 109 CENTERFOLD
Brazil and France, scent and sound, drums and bark—all were in harmony in a monumental netting sculpture by Ernesto Neto at the Grand Palais in Paris. 174 CONTACTS 183 INTERVENTION by Wilson Barlow 47
MARCO CAPPELLETTI
A Crochet of Influences by Athena Waligore
INTRODUCING “CLARITY” PART OF THE SEA CHANGE COLLECTION A NEW PERFORMANCE WOVEN UPHOLSTERY DESIGNED BY PATTY MADDEN. VIEW CLARITY & ORDER SAMPLES AT CFSTINSON.COM 800.841.6279 AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM CF STINSON Furniture in photo is not sold by or affiliated with Patty Madden or CF Stinson. Clarity is not designed for outdoor use.
e d i t o r ’s welcome
Summer’s still going strong around our patch, so I’m trying to do what everyone else is busy doing right now: Squeeze every single sunshine drop out of it! Yet, and probably just like any other victim of the “lifestyle,” I can’t help wondering about—and inexorably obsessing over—the upcoming work. Nothing special, I’m talking about the obvious punch lists items: gaming the biz, identifying opportunities, scoping problems, divining market malarkey. All the usual suspects. But hey: This is our back-to-the-gilded-and-glittering-salt-mines issue, and one of our fundamental jobs is to get you hip on what the trade has in store, so I have to put in my dues. Particularly now, because September—and pretty much the balance of the year—promises some real hoopla and high-wire acts. So, enjoy your super-groovy outdoor furniture for as long as you can (approval stamps all around), because fall is upon us. Do
back to work we go! dive into this issue ASAP, though, because we made it more than worth its lavish paper stock…and your valuable time. In these pages, you’ll find everything needed to be off the blocks to a smashing autumn start. We worked on a brand-new thingy, our first-ever exclusive C-suite report: extensive coverage studded with examples of synergistic designer-and-client testimonials—a bear to do, but an astonishingly helpful bit of trade journalism just for you. We also pulled out all the stops in the features, starting with an unusual chance to go back to the beginning of time— to the genesis of our creativity—at the color-drenched Lego Group Boston Hub, where work and play go hand in hand. I mean, who can forget building with your own little set of Lego bricks?! Speaking of young’uns, an industrial-inspired, 221-room student residence hall in Spain includes a wowza double-height lobby/hangout zone, cool mezzanine commons, a basement gym, and a rooftop pool (it's like an urban beach!) that might make you want to go back to school again (not!). And a roundup of winners from our annual NYCxDesign Awards is just so fabulous—and enviable—it’ll motivate you to head back to work and make your own city a better place (and maybe win a design award, too)! So, what are you waiting for? Take the last dip in the pool and get to doing what you do best: design! xoxo
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SEPT.25
INTERIOR DESIGN
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h e a d l i n e rs
Liang Architecture Studio “Plot Twist,” page 132
BDG Architecture + Design “Brick by Brick,” page 122 creative director: Mitch James. director, esg practice lead: Lydia Randall. firm sites: London; New York. firm size: 20 architects and designers. current projects: LEGO Group London Hub; a tech office in Bordeaux, France; WPP in São Paulo. honors: British Council for Offices Award; Mix Interior Design Award. green thumb: James has a passion for plants. green thinking: Randall recently completed a postgraduate degree in sustainability at the University of Cambridge. bdg-a-d.com
founder, design director: Liang Xu. firm site: Hangzhou, China. firm size: 20 architects and
designers.
current projects: Curiel boutique
in Qingdao, China; Tomacado restaurant in Singapore; Flower Chef café in Hong Kong. honors: Singapore Interior Design Award; LOOP Design Award citation.
grounded: Xu founded his firm in 2013. up in the air: A travel lover, he just returned from London and is about to jet off to New York. liangarch.com
Allison Pye Interiors “Ancient and Modern,” page 114 principal: Allison Pye. firm site: Melbourne, Australia. firm size: Three designers. current projects: Residences in Byron Bay, Merricks, and Armadale, all in Australia. honors: Australian Interior Design Residential Decoration Award shortlist; Design Institute of Australia Awards commendation. founder: Pye launched her firm in 2001. collaborator: Micheal Leeton’s sister introduced Pye to her architect brother, and they’ve since worked on numerous projects together over the past 15 years. @allisonpyeinteriors
Martín Lejarraga Architecture Office “Chimney Suite,” page 140 principal, founding partner:
Martín Lejarraga.
Studio Widoki “Exquisite Inside and Out,” page 166 founder, lead designer:
Mateusz Domaszk. firm site: Gdan ́sk, Poland. firm size: Three architects and designers. current projects: A health clinic, a brewery, and a gallery, all in Słupsk, Poland. starting out: Early in his career in Poland, Domaszk helped design the Łódz railway tunnel stops and the Tczew Bridge reconstruction. established: The portfolio of his Studio Widoki, Polish for views or possibilities and founded in 2021, spans residential, commer cial, and hospitality projects. widokistudio.com
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INTERIOR DESIGN
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Leeton Pointon Architects “Ancient and Modern,” page 114 principal: Michael Leeton. firm site: Melbourne, Australia. firm size: Three architects and designers. current projects: Urban residences and coastal beach houses in Australia. honors: Victorian Architecture Awards, Residential Commendation; IDEA Interior Design Excellence Award, all shortlisted. other half: The Pointon in the firm’s name is Leeton’s wife, architect Kate Pointon. single state: He likes projects on which the distinction between architecture and design dissolves. leetonpointon.com
and designers.
current projects: Phase three of the Loop Inn Hostel in Santiago
and Loop Homes developments in Cádiz and Murcia, all in Spain. honors: Alfonso X Award; Architecture Awards of the Region of Murcia.
draughtsman: Lejarraga, a graduate of Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, founded his firm in 1991. showman: A keen collector, he is also curator of La Naval Art Gallery, a tiny display facility with an outsize cultural impact in Cartagena. lejarraga.com
TOP, FROM LEFT: PHIL HUTCHINSON (2); TOP RIGHT, BOTTOM CENTER: LISA COHEN/LIVING INSIDE (2) ;
firm site: Cartagena, Spain. firm size: Eight architects
f ur n it u re
lig h t in g
o utdo o r
134 Ma d is o n Av e Ne w Yo r k d d cny c . c o m
a c c e sso r ie s
systems
kitchens