Interior Design October 2025

OCTOBER 2025

big impressions

Barcelona Barcelona Wall Scape, Wall Scape, Photograph Photograph

by Kendall

by Kendall McCaugherty McCaugherty

Designed those who Designed forfor those who against the grain gogo against the grain If creativity is in your nature, our new family of Wood Textures If creativity is in your nature, our new family of Wood Textures is your acoustic solution.

Maximize stylestyle and minimize echoecho is your acoustic solution.

Maximize and minimize with with an exquisite suitesuite of colors and textures. an exquisite of colors and textures.

turf.design turf.design

Artifacts™ freestanding bath in Fresh Green

Come home to the colors of nature.

Nature has been a source of inspiration at Kohler for more than 100 years. Our nature-inspired colors and finishes bring in a world of energy and calm, connection and escape. When you come home, come home to the colors of nature.

Photographed on location at ©2025 KOHLER CO.

CST# 2052644-40

Unpack once, and let the world come to you. viking.com

Aquavit Terrace

Explorers’ Lounge

Stateroom Suite

Wintergarden

River

Ocean

Expedition

In-store interior design & 3D modeling services.(1) Quick Ship program available.(2)

Speed Up. Dining table, top in Carrara marble, designed by Sacha Lakic.

Isea. Chairs, designed by Sacha Lakic.

Abysse. Rug, designed by Antoine Fritsch & Vivien Durisotti.

Photos by Flavien Carlod and Baptiste Le Quiniou, for advertising purposes only. Textile softwall by molo. Architects Aires Mateus. (1)Conditions apply, contact store for details. (2)Quick Ship Program available on select products in stock, subject to availability. Images are for reference only and models, sizes, colors, and finishes may vary. Please contact your local store for more information.

French Ar t de Vivre

editor in chief chief content officer

Cindy Allen, hon. IIDA MANAGING DIRECTOR

DESIGN DIRECTOR

Helene E. Oberman

Karla Lima

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

CREATIVE SERVICES

Annie Block

Marino Zullich

SENIOR EDITOR

PRINT OPERATIONS MANAGER

Georgina McWhirter MARKET DIRECTOR

Rebecca Thienes ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Wilson Barlow ASSISTANT EDITOR

Lisa Di Venuta ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR IN CHIEF

Nicole Vega

Olivia Padilla SENIOR PREPRESS AND IMAGING SPECIALIST

Igor Tsiperson

digital DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER

Carlene Olsen WEB PRODUCER

Michelle Yee

EDITOR AT LARGE

Elena Kornbluth CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Stanley Abercrombie Raul Barreneche Mairi Beautyman Edie Cohen Rebecca Dalzell Jesse Dorris Laura Fisher Kaiser Craig Kellogg Jane Margolies Murray Moss Jen Renzi Peter Webster Larry Weinberg

interiordesign.net @interiordesignmag @intdesmag @Interior Design Magazine

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Benny Chan/Fotoworks Jimmy Cohrssen Art Gray Eric Laignel Michelle Litvin Garrett Rowland

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Erica Holborn CHIEF MARKETING & REVENUE OFFICER

Bobby Bonett CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Michael Shavalier SANDOW was founded by visionary entrepreneur Adam I. Sandow in 2003, with the goal of reinventing the traditional publishing model. Today, SANDOW powers the design, materials, and luxury industries through innovative content, tools, and integrated solutions. Its diverse portfolio of assets includes Luxe Interiors + Design, Interior Design, Metropolis, and DesignTV by SANDOW; ThinkLab, a research and strategy firm; and content services brands, including The Agency by SANDOW, a full-scale digital marketing agency; The Studio by SANDOW, a video production studio; and SURROUND, a podcast network and production studio.

SANDOW is a key supporter and strategic partner to NYCxDESIGN, a not-for-profit organization committed to empowering and promoting the city’s diverse creative community. In 2019, Adam Sandow launched Material Bank, the world’s largest marketplace for searching, sampling, and specifying architecture, design, and construction materials.

CHIEF DESIGN OFFICER

Cindy Allen DESIGN FUTURIST AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

AJ Paron VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL

Caroline Davis VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Laura Steele SENIOR DIRECTOR, VIDEO

Steven Wilsey

The art of connection.

Crux combines the natural warmth of wood with the stability of steel, featuring stackable arm and armless café chairs, smooth-rolling casters, bar- and counter-height stools, and matching tables in all three heights.

DIVISION12.COM

©B+N Industries, Inc.

Patterns informed by great architecture, and from the original designer herself: Shown here, Tree Rings from the Hypernature Collection in new White Oak. Designed in California. Made in the USA.

Mother Nature. Iconic Panels from B+N.

LIVE, BUILD, WORK, SHOP, STAY, THRIVE, AND BANK WITH US.

www.BNind.com 800.350.4127

DESIGN YOU CAN BINGE WATCH. chief marketing & revenue officer Bobby Bonett

From bold ideas to breakthrough spaces, see what’s shaping design.

marketing + events

advertising

DIRECTOR, EVENTS

NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR

Tiffany Brieve

Rachel Pettit 908-655-6268

DIRECTOR, CLIENT STRATEGY

Kasey Campbell SENIOR DIRECTOR, MARKETING OPERATIONS

NORTHEAST SALES DIRECTOR

Greg Kammerer 646-824-4609

Rachel Senatore

NEW YORK SALES DIRECTORS

DIRECTOR, CREATIVE SERVICES

Julie Arkin 646-824-4787

Carly Colonnese MANAGING GRAPHIC DESIGNER

David Timoteo SENIOR DESIGNER

Zeynep Kiris DESIGNER

Paige Miller

sdg business development MANAGER

Laury Kissane 773-791-1976

Tamara Stout 917-449-2845 FLORIDA + CANADA

Colin Villone 917-216-3690 MIDWEST + WEST COAST

Meredith Barberich 415-342-8830 Julie McCarthy 847-567-7545 SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER

Drew Mount SALES SUPPORT SPECIALIST

Kennedy Dean GENERAL

STREAM NOW

idsales@interiordesign.net

CHAIRMAN

Adam I. Sandow CONTROLLER

Emily Kaitz VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES

Lisa Silver Faber VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE

Jake Galvin DIRECTOR, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Joshua Grunstra

subscription information CONTINENTAL U.S. 800-900-0804 ALL OTHERS 847-559-7336 interiordesign@omeda.com 3651 FAU Boulevard Boca Raton, FL 33431

interiordesign.net

A MORE SUSTAINABLE INTERIOR DESIGN As part of the SANDOW carbon impact initiative, all publications, including INTERIOR DESIGN and METROPOLIS, are printed using soy-based inks, which are biobased and derived from renewable sources. This continues Sandow Design Group’s ongoing efforts to address the environmental impact of its operations and media plat­forms. We have a partnership with Keilhauer to offset all estimated carbon emissions for the printing and distribution of every print copy of INTERIOR DESIGN in 2025 with verified carbon credits, including the one you hold in your hands.

This magazine is recyclable. Please recycle when you’re done with it. We’re all in this together.

Discover the Allsteel D.C. Design Lab. More than a showroom—it’s a Living Lab for Design Exploration.

1050 17th St NW Floor 2 Washington, D.C. 20006

allsteeloffice.com @allsteel

Design Without Boundaries Creativity takes shape in our latest porcelain and ceramic tile collections. Rich in color. Bold in texture. Limitless in application. Designed to transform every surface—inside and out.

E X P LO R E O U R L AT E ST P O RC E L A I N + C E R A M I C C O L L ECT I O N S O N S H AWC O N T R ACT.C O M

CONTENTS OCTOBER 2025

VOLUME 96 NUMBER 9

ON THE COVER One of the 11 galleries in “Louis Vuitton: Visionary Journeys,”

by OMA New York at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan, was “Collaborations,” where interlocking domes covered with thousands of mirrored facets refracted items created in partnerships with Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse, and Supreme as well as visitors to the 19,400-squarefoot exhibition, which celebrated the luxury goods and apparel company’s 170th anniversary. Photography: Jérémie Souteyrat.

features 122 GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE

by Lila Allen

Taking cues from a neighboring auction house in Paris, the curio-filled Madame Drouot Hôtel & Spa by Stéphanie Coutas invites repeated visits from both locals and travelers.

130 WAVE OF THE FUTURE

by Rebecca Dalzell

For Max Zone Technology Park Ningbo, a sales center and a show office in China, Ippolito Fleitz Group channels water and the flow of knowledge.

138 TRUNK SHOW

by Dan Howarth

OMA New York created a series of transporting environments in “Louis Vuitton: Visionary Journeys,” an exhibition at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan.

146 GRAND ILLUSIONS

by Peter Webster

From Beijing to the Bahamas, these hotels and resorts draw deeply on the cultural and natural richness of their locations.

158 HOMETOWN HERO

by Dan Howarth

The San Diego office of a global tech company by SmithGroup celebrates the city’s natural beauty, architectural heritage, and secret corners.

166 IN GOOD TASTE

by Petra Loho

NC Design & Architecture fuses materials and pastels, mood and menu into an exquisite journey at KI Club, a private Hong Kong showroom for cooking and connecting.

JÉRÉMIE SOUTEYRAT

10.25 138

antony chair limited edition, designed by jean prouvé, 1954 made in germany by vitra

vitra

carl hansen & son

herman miller

knoll muuto

kartell

fritz hansen

flos

foscarini

and more!

visit hivemodern.com or call 1 866 663 4483 please inquire about our a&d trade program

10.25

CONTENTS OCTOBER 2025

VOLUME 96 NUMBER 9

walk-through 61 IMMERSED IN NATURE

by Dan Howarth 69 TASTE MAKERS

by Georgina McWhirter

New restaurants, cafés, and bars around the world showcase inspiring form, function, and globetrotting flavor.

85 BUON APPETITO

by Annie Block

From a listening bar to a hotel bistro, Greek to Japanese, culinary destinations throughout Milan—all designed by local talent—provide literal and aesthetic nourishment.

departments 31 HEADLINERS 35 DESIGNWIRE

by Annie Block 42 BOOKS

by Wilson Barlow 44 SHOPTALK edited by Georgina McWhirter 46 PINUPS edited by Rebecca Thienes text by Jen Renzi 53 CREATIVE VOICES Thread Count

by Peter Webster

In several museum shows and a reissued collection for Knoll Textiles, nonagenarian artist Sheila Hicks continues to wield fiber with radical imagination.

97 MARKET edited by Rebecca Thienes text by Lisa Di Venuta, Georgina McWhirter, and Stephen Treffinger 117 CENTERFOLD

For a swishy new resort in the Philippines, Nikolas Weinstein Studios has formed borosilicate tubes into a major, must-see installation—the largest of its kind.

174 CONTACTS 183 INTERVENTION

by Edie Cohen 69

RUNGKIT CHAROENWAT

Looking Glass

by Athena Waligore

The professional surface solution for every hospitality space. From guest rooms to bar tops, check-in counters to wall accents, Formica® Products bring lasting performance and elevated style. Choose from hundreds of designs that enhance the guest experience while withstanding the demands of high-traffic environments.

Beautiful. Durable. Dependable.

Start Exploring

Pictured: InDepth Surfacing™ 8258 Bleached Luster Walnut Formica® and the Formica® Anvil logo are registered trademarks of The Diller Corporation. InDepth Surfacing™ is a trademark of The Diller Corporation. ©2025 Formica Corporation Cincinnati, Ohio

301 park ave

(shhh…we’re back!) e d i t o r ’s welcome

Oh, the best-laid plans. So, I’m trying my damnedest to deliver an unpolluted, super-polished, all-you-can-humanly-intake hospitality issue that checks all the pro toolboxes (and then some), and then, lo and behold, two other fantastic projects—with zero shelf life to remain media virgins—come knocking at our doors. Lose them?

Upon my stiff, lifeless carriage, sayz moi! With that editorial clarification out of the way (phew!), and without needing to properly school you on how to solve today’s workplace and installation commissions, please dive right into the lavishly illustrated pages of our October hospitality affair. As we are justly famed for, it is a worldwide tour covering the most progressive corners of our trade.

There’s a stunning hotel in Paris with an eclectic, perfectly curated mix of antique and vintage treasures (tres chic!); a pretty-in-rosépink (and calming blue) private kitchen/showroom/event space in Hong Kong; a yummy selection of Milanese restaurants by local talent (not all serving Italian fare, but deliziosa nonetheless); and an extraordinary global roundup of hotels and resorts that each bring their culture, craft, spirit, and modern flair (wanna meet me there?)!

One last, important thingy. Not exactly a feature you’ll find inside, but a PSA—and the most important hospitality project in our neck of the woods (and my life) for the next couple of months: Interior Design, and the Hall of Fame, are coming back home to the Waldorf Astoria!

Woo-hoo! Yep: After nine long years wandering in the semidesert landscapes of Manhattan, we will all meet again and celebrate at the Waldorf—our year-end tradition. We’ll cheer, hoot, and gasp once again at the inductees and the video programs in that hallowed ground of design, and we’ll also have the scrumptious chance to see, firsthand, what a rumored $2 billion reno looks like (yes, that’s a 2 followed by a big, fat B).

So, get your name in that “raffle” pronto, you feel me? I can’t wait! xoxo,

Follow me on

Instagram

thecindygram

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

27

collection EMBLÈME pattern UNDER THE SYCAMORE TREE

DESIGNED FOR MODERN LIFE DWR.COM

SC Édition by Stéphanie Coutas “Going Once, Going Twice,” page 122 principal: Stéphanie Coutas. firm site: Paris. firm size: Six designers. current projects: A yacht and residences in Southern France; houses in North Africa. contracts: Coutas studied law before pivoting to design. swatches: She launched SC in 2006 and the Galerie Stéphanie Coutas showroom in 2020. stephaniecoutas.com

“We create modern, neoclassical spaces with enduring elegance”

headliners

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

31

NC Design & Architecture “In Good Taste,” page 166 founder, design director: Nelson Chow. firm size: 10 architects and designers. firm site: Hong Kong. current projects: A residence in Hong Kong; Mandarin Oriental Hangzhou hotel in China; Dubai Square Mall in the UAE. honors: Interior Design Best of Year Award; Architecture MasterPrize. studies: Chow earned both a master’s in architecture from the University of Waterloo and a menswear tailoring certificate from the Fashion Institute of Technology. profession: He worked at AvroKO before establishing NCDA in 2011. ncda.squarespace.com

h e a d l i n e rs

Ippolito Fleitz Group “Wave of the Future,” page 130 studio director: Patrick Wu. firm hq: Stuttgart, Germany. firm size: 130 architects and designers. current projects: Tencent headquarters and Oppo Mall in Shenzhen China. honors: Interior Design Best of Year Awards; iF Design Awards; A&D Gold Award. locations: IFG has studios in Berlin and Shanghai. drive: Wu, who has a master’s in architectural design from Cardiff University, became the Shanghai studio director last June. ifgroup.org

OMA New York “Trunk Show,” page 138 partner in charge: Shohei Shigematsu. firm site: New York. firm size: 53 architects and designers. current projects: New Museum expansion in New York; Casa Wabi Mushroom Pavilion in Puerto Escondido, Mexico; Harajuku Quest mixed-use development in Tokyo. honors: Interior Design Best of Year Awards; Mainichi Design Award; American Architecture Award; Good Design Award.

h e a d l i n e rs

student: Shigematsu earned his architecture degree from Kyushu University, in his hometown of Fukuoka, Japan, then continued studies at the Berlage Institute in Amsterdam. teacher: He has served as a guest professor at Cornell, Harvard GSD, and Columbia GSAPP, and holds a professorship at his alma mater. oma.com

“Hometown Hero,” page 158 corporate, commercial & civic studio leader: Megan Skaalen. senior interior designer: Alex Leadon. office site: San Diego. firm size: 756 architects and designers nationwide. current projects: Office renovations for Mintz law firm and a global tech company

in San Diego; the Captain mixed-use multifamily development in Encinitas, California.

honors: Interior Design Best of Year Award; IIDA Healthcare Design Award;

AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Award.

boys: Skaalen finds great joy in family activities with her husband and two sons. bands: Leadon, an avid rock concertgoer, recently saw the Pixies for the second time. smithgroup.com

32

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

FAR RIGHT: SARAH MORGAN; BOTTOM: JULIAN CASSADY

SmithGroup

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

FLOW™ CONFERENCE

design wıre

HERBERT MIGDOLL © JOFFREY BALLET/JEROME ROBBINS DANCE DIVISION, THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

From top: In celebration of its 70th anniversary is “The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S.” exhibition at Wrightwood 659 gallery in Chicago through December 20, which includes a photograph of Deuce Coupe, the 1973 ballet choreographed

by Twyla Tharp and set to songs by the Beach Boys, and a poster of 1967’s Astarte, company cofounder Robert Joffrey’s vision that fused rock music, film, and audience participation.

edited by Annie Block

on point As a cultural trailblazer, the Joffrey Ballet stands high en pointe. Cofounded in 1956 by Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan, aka Robert Joffrey, and Gerald Arpino, it was the first classical dance company to perform at the White House (during the Kennedy Administration), feature a ballet set to rock music (Astarte), and embrace multimedia. These feats and more are celebrated in “The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S.” this fall at Wrightwood 659, a gallery in Chicago, where the company relocated from New York in 1995. The exhibition is in honor of the company’s 70th anniversary, which kicked off last year at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and draws from the expansive Joffrey archive acquired by the Jerome Robbins Dance Division in 2017. Wrightwood’s presentation differentiates from the NYPL’s with the addition of original photography and mixmedia works by Herbert Migdoll, who was the company photographer since the ’60’s and, later, its design director; they accompany some 200 additional items, including costumes, paintings, and an immersive video room. Four ballets are scheduled for the Joffrey’s 2025-2026 season.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

35

d e s i g n w ire

A garage and fine dining. Swiss chalets and Japanese ryokans. City and mountain.

Thanks to Schaum Architects, these seemingly disparate elements tastefully collaborate to yield Camaraderie, chef Shawn Gawle’s new Houston eatery, its name and ethos inspired by the friendship bonds between members of strong restaurant teams.

“Shawn sought informality and refinement, warmth and connection but also sophistication, so an ‘urban cabin’ logic drove our concept,” explains principal Troy Schaum, whose studio explored a similar tension for the restoration of Donald Judd’s Architecture Office, which opened last month in Marfa.

For Camaraderie, an early 1990’s structure formerly used as a metal workshop provided the ideal setting, its exterior presenting as modest but its skylit vaulted ceiling inside dramatic. Reusing nearly all the existing wood framing and metal wall paneling, Schaum modernized the 2,200-square-foot interior by installing an envelope of birch paneling on the walls and ducts concealing HVAC and uplighting systems, rebuilding the skylights, and retaining, polishing, and sealing the concrete floor slab. Dining room seating and tables are clean-lined and unpretentious, but the cosmopolitan factor ups in the bar and lounge, where white modular suspension lamps by Jaume Ramírez pop against a swath of cobalt from Camaraderie’s branding that’s akin to Yves Klein Blue. The color’s first introduced on the facade, flanking the wide and welcoming entrance.

join the gang 36

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

LEONID FURMANSKY

From bottom: A white-oak door and a canopy and signage in powder-coated aluminum are all custom

by Schaum Architects, which converted an early 1990’s garage building into the 75-seat Camaraderie, a fine-casual restaurant in Houston. The Japandiinspired dining room fitted with birch paneling and West Elm furniture. Camaraderie’s branding color defining the bar, with custom LED-lit shelving.

MINOTTI.COM

COUPÉ DESIGN GIAMPIERO TAGLIAFERRI

FLAGSHIP STORES: MINOTTI BOSTON BY DDC GROUP, 210 STUART STREET - T. 857 990 9008 MINOTTI CHICAGO BY ORANGE SKIN, 419 W. SUPERIOR STREET - T. 312 573 2788 MINOTTI DALLAS BY SMINK, 1003 DRAGON STREET - T. 214 350 0542 MINOTTI LOS ANGELES BY ECRÙ, 8936 BEVERLY BLVD - T. 310 278 6851 MINOTTI MIAMI BY DDC GROUP, 3801 NE 2ND AVENUE - MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT - T. 305 306 9300 MINOTTI NEW YORK BY DDC GROUP, 134 MADISON AVE @ 31 STREET - T. 212 685 0095 ALSO AVAILABLE THROUGH MINOTTI’S AUTHORIZED DEALERS

Clockwise from top left: Nurture by Nature, designer Kate Swanson’s 350-squarefoot, Burlington, Vermont, gallery bowed last month with “Unknown Friends,” an exhibition of furnishings and objets by 15 Northeast-based makers that runs through mid-November, appointment only. Madeline Isakson’s white oak–framed Tchotchke mirror, and Anna Gukov’s Tassel II, Brimming Chalice of Delight, and Stage Left, all in ceramic and glaze, among the 34 pieces on display.

38

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

among friends Vermont has been quietly home to aestheticsrelated endeavors for awhile. Hubbardton Forge and its metal- and woodworkers established there in 1974; Simon Pearce and its glassblowers set up shop in Quechee in 1981. But similar to the New York City to Hudson Valley exodus during COVID, more designers and artists are heeding the call of the Green Mountain State’s bucolic serenity and collaborative spirit. Our pal François Chambard of UM Project recently moved his object-design workshop from Brooklyn to near Middlebury.

And Kate Swanson has just launched Nurture by Nature, a tidy Burlington gallery named after her 5-year-old residential-interiors studio.

“Craft, rarity, and integrity are what make an item truly special. The gallery celebrates that,” says Swanson, a fourthgeneration Vermonter who’s returned after a dozen years in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, cutting her teeth at architecture and design firms there. The dozens of furniture, lighting, and decorative pieces in “Unknown Friends,” the debut exhibit, showcase that integrity she mentions, each one hand-produced by makers based outside Vermont— Ford Bostwick and Natalie Shook among them—with the hope of “sparking exchange between locals and the broader design community,” Swanson adds, “of weaving new voices into the existing creative fabric.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: CHARLOTTE DWORSHAK; CHARLIE SCHUCK (3)

d e s i g n w ire

Photography by Lauren Steffan

Lily Barfield designed her bespoke inn, The Marlene, using Lee Jofa and Brunschwig & Fils textiles crafted with durability tailored for contract performance.

Sorrento Collection

walterswicker.com

Introducing

FourHands.com/Hospitality

b o o k s edited by Wilson Barlow

Drawing Architecture

By Helen Thomas New York and London: Phaidon, $60 320 pages, 300+ color illustrations Even in today’s digitized world, designers still draw.

For many it’s still the foundational step in the process.

By gathering drawings and paintings by masters cross a range of eras and disciplines—Leonardo da Vinci to Robert Venturi—Drawing Architecture celebrates that simple act of putting pen, pencil, or brush to paper.

Included from the latter, an Interior Design Hall of Fame member, is his sketch of a nondescript building, or "decorated shed," that proclaims itself a monument and appeared in Learning from Las Vegas, his 1972 book cowritten with his architect wife, Denise Scott Brown.

Like that shed, many of the images featured are un­ realized or just conceptual, like architect Robert Bray’s Playboy Pad for a 1970 issue of the magazine; it’s shown alongside a doodle by Ettorre Sottsass of a stylish but structurally impossible edifice. Others are early versions of familiar, actual buildings—but not necessarily done in analog fashion. For example, for a conception-phase plan of the Guggenheim Bilbao museum, Frank Gehry used CATIA, the software developed by the French aerospace industry that can produce multiaxial, curved forms.

Naturally, the cover of the book, which includes a chronological index dating to ancient Mesopotamia and the earliest recognizable architectural plan, nods to the craft: It’s Buckminster Fuller’s study for one of his geo­ desic spheres, the lines slightly impressed into the surface as if it had been drawn there by hand.

42

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

What does experiential design mean to your practice?

“Experiential design means sensational. No matter the space, indoors or out, the solid and void forms interact and influence how we feel. Sometimes, they directly reflect our emotions in the moment or even act as a catalyst for them. Understanding the function of the space and then introducing design through a thoughtful process creates a unique experience— one that involves the end users, surroundings, culture, climate, and more. Every project I design has a piece of music associated with it; I hope the audience hears it, too.”

—Emma Chang, Gensler

“For us, it’s crafting interiors that spark emotional connection and shape how people interact and feel within a space. It’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about creating environments that engage the senses and influence state of mind. Currently, we’re developing a surrealist pop-up salon where distortion, color, light, and pattern blur the line between reality and dream. Temporary projects let us explore how physical interactions can trigger visceral, positive responses. This work extends beyond hospitality into the realm of well-being, imagination, and psychological resonance.”

—Allen Chan, DesignAgency

s h o p talk

“It’s about awakening imagination and creating spaces that connect with people on a sensory level, drawing from both collective and individual memory. Kindling, a dining experience in Chicago’s Willis Tower, reimag­ ines the simple joy of a summer barbecue in the park.

Art installations bring the vision to life: dandelions blown into light fixtures and a rope jungle gym that morphs into a staircase and bar. Branding recalls child­hood chalk drawings; wayfinding feels intuitive and familiar. The sensory cues extend beyond design to open-fire cooking and whimsical bubble cocktails.”

—Gina Deary, KTGY “Experiential design is most resonant when storytelling and multisensory immersion converge. It’s the art of choreographing a guest’s emotional journey, considering what they feel, hear, touch, and smell, not just see. A flagship retail destination we did for a global toy brand illus­ trates this philosophy. It’s lay­ered with Easter eggs for superfans, photo-ops for curious newcomers, and a rooftop restaurant for everyone in between.

By weaving narrative into every detail, the project became more than a store— it became a place of shared experiences for fans of all ages.”

—Lyndsey Archer, Studio Archer

“It’s about shaping moments rather than just spaces—going beyond aesthetics by weaving in emotion, storytelling, and human connection. In my practice, this means creating environments that resonate deeply, spark memories, and leave lasting impressions.

A recent example is Emeril’s Brasserie at the newly rebranded Caesars New Orleans. We collaborated closely with chef Emeril Lagasse to translate his culinary journey into the restaurant’s DNA. Every detail was intentional, from mapping his memories through photographs on a gallery wall to showcasing his handwritten recipe for a signature dish— all conceived to evoke the feeling of sharing a meal with Chef Emeril himself.

The project embodies how thoughtful experiential design can transform a restaurant into more than a place to dine—it becomes a living narrative.”

—JoyceLynn Lagula, JCJ Architecture

“Back in the 1990’s at Wilson Associates, under the visionary Trisha Wilson, we began talking about how hospitality principles could shape other project types.

That’s when design shifted from being merely decorative to being contextual, experiential, and deeply tied to storytelling.

Guests started to revel in spaces that made them think and want to return—and those ideas eventually carried over into offices, multifamily, education, and beyond.”

—Theresa Zavala, Merriman Anderson Architects

44

INTERIOR DESIGN OCT.25

MODERN HERITAGE

CH290 Series

Rooted in heritage yet adapting to the present, generous forms and honest materials define the CH290 Series by Hans J. Wegner, embodying meticulous craftsmanship and relaxed elegance. The collection features 2- and 3-seater sofas, low and high-backed lounge chairs, and a footstool — each bringing lasting warmth, quiet sophistication, and a timeless expression to refined interiors.

Find an authorized dealer near you at CARLHANSEN.COM

Flagship Store, Soho 150 Wooster St New York

Flagship Store, Midtown East 145 East 57th Street New York

Flagship Store, San Francisco 111 Rhode Island St #3 San Francisco

Hans J. Wegner

1962

p i n ups text by Jen Renzi edited by Rebecca Thienes

around and around Curves, cones, and rondelles give handcrafted forms a jolt of frisson

MATTHEW GORDON

Blue Green Works creative director Peter B. Staples continues his explorations of colored glass and the interplay of structure and silhouette in Crown, a circular flush-mount fixture that, when viewed from the side, turns out to be conical in shape. Available in six hues including Steel Blue and Light Amber, both shown with a polished-steel central support. bluegreenworks.com

46

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Making space to belong

studiotk.com

p i n ups circular logic

© ERIK OTSEA; PHOTO BY PAUL SALVESON; COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MEGAN MULROONEY GALLERY

Recently exhibited at the year-old Megan Mulrooney gallery in Los Angeles, Erik Otsea’s hand-built stoneware sculptures—evoking architectural fragments, industrial artifacts, or quirky household objects—are accented with orbs of color the California artist likens to nautical signs. meganmulrooney.com, @erikotsea

48

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Meet ScribeLine System A H O S P I TA L I T Y D E S I G N E R ’S B E ST F R I E N D Your new creative canvas to transform walls into artwork. Craft signature architectural moments with precision-engineered intersections in custom angles. ScribeLine offers a complete system to create a chic entry or elevate the entire project.

• WOOD OR AN ODIZ ED ALUMINUM ACCENT BARS • CU STOM, FAC TORYFABRIC AT ED I NT ERSEC TIONS • COMPATIBLE WITH D RY WALL AND WALLCOV ERIN G

The Craft of Precision

fryreglet.com

M AY B E THE SOLUTION YOU’VE BEEN SEEKING HAS BEEN

HERE ALL ALONG.

Idyllwild Collection Where Work Wanders Into Dream

MomentumTextilesandWalls.com

c r e at i v e voices

thread count In several museum shows and a reissued collection for Knoll Textiles, nonagenarian artist Sheila Hicks continues to wield fiber with radical imagination

In Norse mythology, the Norns—three ancient sisters— spin the thread of fate and weave it into a fabric, the world’s unfolding story. At 91, there’s something Nornlike about Sheila Hicks, who has spent a lifetime turning fiber into an astonishing array of artworks, textiles, and compositions that resists categorization—just as the world’s plenitude constantly escapes neat classification. There’s a poetic sense of return in one of Hicks’s most recent endeavors: the reissue of Inca, a textile collection she created for Knoll in the mid-1960’s, now reborn with a new name, Altiplano, and nine fresh colors—neither of which was she, as a young designer working on her first commercial assignment, able to determine at the time.

Back then, the Nebraska-born Hicks was living in Mexico—she would move permanently to France in 1964— experimenting with ancient Andean weaving techniques.

Her interest in the subject was nurtured at Yale University, where she studied painting with Josef Albers, who instilled in her the disciplines of color, structure, and material inquiry that still underpin her practice. But it was her art history professor, George Kubler, the eminent pre-Columbian scholar who validated her turn toward textiles, providing the intellectual frameworks to think about them seriously and encouraging her to pursue a Fulbright Fellowship in South America, where she encountered Peruvian weavers still employing the pre-Inca techniques she had studied.

From those beginnings, Hicks has developed an oeuvre of fiber-based works of extraordinary scope, ranging from her intimate Minimes—small woven studies she has produced steadily since the ’50’s—to monumental sitespecific commissions for institutions such as the Ford Foundation in New York and Banque Rothschild in Paris.

She has collaborated with architects, created radiant, disklike sculptures she calls Comets, and fashioned elongated, stafflike Bâtons, each tightly wrapped in vivid threads. Her practice is both scholarly and nomadic, drawing on textile traditions observed around the globe while continually reinventing the medium in contemporary terms.

Alongside her artworks, she has also produced distinguished commercial textile design—not least the Knoll collection.

We spoke to Hicks about that reissue, as well as her current and upcoming museum exhibitions.

FROM TOP: DON ROSS; NICK BALLÓN

From top: A selection of recent natural and synthetic fiber works, known collectively as Comets, part of “New Work: Sheila Hicks,” her first solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, running through August 9, 2026.

The American artist in the court­ yard of her 17th-century studio and home in Paris, the city she moved to in 1964.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

53

c r e at i v e voices

The Altiplano collection for Knoll Textiles derives from a pre-Columbian geometric pattern that’s still made

by Andean weavers today.

When did you first en­counter it?

Sheila Hicks: The first time I saw it being produced was in South America in the late ’50’s. But the first time I laid eyes on the pattern was in a book in the Yale library—The Textiles of Ancient Peru and Their Techniques, by Raoul d’Harcourt, published in 1934, the year I was born—recommended by my art history professor, George Kubler. It has schematic drawings that show how to set up the warp to produce the pattern, which is not a complex structure—in fact, it’s so utterly simple and subtle, it’s hardly believable.

Before the Jacquard loom existed, Andeans were putting threads together to make some very complicated pliable fabrics. This one is the kingdom of simplicity—I dare anyone to do better.

What was your rela­tion­ ship with Florence Knoll like?

SH: It was productive and positive, with some humor.

She knew her own mind and when she gave orders, everybody jumped! She called Robert Cornell, the president of the company, into her office and said, “Don’t let this young lady out the door until she

agrees to work with us.” He did what she said—so it was pretty simple!

Apart from offering a different palette, you’ve also changed the name of the collection to Altiplano.

Why’s that?

SH: Inca was a good name, because everybody remembers it. But before the Incas took over in their systematic way—getting all the tribes to follow the same rules, line up and do things the ‘correct’ way—individual Andean weavers were producing interesting, experimental kinds of textiles. The new name gives credit to those earlier, independent artisans spread throughout the Altiplano—in the mountains of Peru and elsewhere. I like how, alphabetically, the name goes right to the head of the parade, too!

A solo show, “New Work: Sheila Hicks,” opened at SFMOMA in September.

Tell us about it.

SH: It runs for a year in the new work gallery and the sculpture garden on the roof.

There are six or so major

FROM TOP: ROBERT GLOWACKI; DON ROSS

How did you adapt it for modern textile production?

SH: It never occurred to me to

reproduce the pattern commercially. I got samples while in Chile and had a suit made, which I wore in New York, knocking on doors to show my work—small weavings I was making in Mexico, not meant for functional textiles. A curator at MoMA gave me the address of someone she said I should meet, and sent me off saying, “Go dressed as you are.” I did, and that’s how I met Florence Knoll. When I took my work out of my backpack to show her, it was just like opening a sample book.

From that basis we began making the first textile for production, which was a new experience for me—I mean, I didn’t know how to design for production, but they did.

54

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ROBERT GLOWACKI; LOUIS BOUDART; COURTESY OF KNOLL TEXTILES; COURTESY OF SHEILA HICKS; KATJA ILLNER

Clockwise from top left: Designed in 1967 for the Ford Foundation headquarters in New York, Medallions, in linen, silk, and anodized aluminum. From 1970, Rothschild Cords, incorporating linen, silk, and cotton. Hicks and her granddaughter, Louise Zañartu, in a handwoven Andean–fabric suit the artist wore to her first meeting with Florence Knoll in 1964. Based on the same pre-Columbian geometric pattern, the new Altiplano collection for Knoll Textiles, a refresh of Inca, first intro­ duced in 1966. An experimental reweaving of the pattern: Inca Chinchero, 2017. The monumental pigmented-fiber installation Saffron Sentinel, 2017, recently included in “Are We Still Up to It?–Art & Democracy,” the summer group show at Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne. Toward Unknown Horizons, 2023, a column of pigmented acrylic fiber, centering the SFMOMA show.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

55

One work, Rampart, is like a large pile of soft boulders.

An even larger pile—Saffron Sentinel—was a knockout at the Pinakothek der Moderne’s summer exhibition in Munich.

SH: It was held in the Herrenchiemsee Palace, which is the Versailles of Germany.

Saffron Sentinel is a massive mountain made of pure pigmented fiber. Pigment from Turkey is transferred into the fiber in Germany and then sent to North Carolina for weaving by Sunbrella. We get it in the intermediary state.

Another exhibit, “The Traveling Thread,” just opened at the Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, Paris’s museum of non-European arts and cultures. Running through March 8, 2026, it’s cocur­ ated by you and your life­ long friend, art historian and textile scholar Monique Lévi-Strauss.

SH: Yes, she wrote the catalog. This is a minor miracle— on her next birthday she’ll be 100, and she’s still very much alive! —Peter Webster

From top: Intended for outdoor display, the Horizons column in­ stalled on the Parvis de l’Institut de France, Paris, 2023. Only 10 by 14¼ inches, A Certain Distance, woven cotton and silk, 2007, one of Hicks’s Minimes at SFMOMA. Also in the exhibit, Rampart, 2016, boulderlike, pigmented acrylic– fiber forms. Two works in wool from the ’60’s—Peluca verde, left, and Quipu blanco—as shown in “Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction,” recently at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

56

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

c r e at i v e voices

FROM TOP: COURTESY OF SHEILA HICKS, GALERIE FRANK ELBAZ, MEYER-RIEGGER, AND GALLERIA MASSIMO MININI; COURTESY OF SHEILA HICKS; OLIVER ROURA; JONATHAN DORADO

pieces including Toward Unknown Horizons, which is like a phare or lighthouse, at the center of the space. Then there’s a wall with about 12 Minimes—small woven works— and another with 10 Comets, which are disks wrapped or bundled in threads.

Expormim —— (212) 204-8572 usa@expormim.com www.expormim.com

Obi Armchair. Ludovica + Roberto Palomba — Photographer: Meritxell Arjalaguer ©

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DAVIS FURNITURE

Davis Furniture & Archirivolto Debut Sculptural Seating Collection Unio marks the inaugural collaboration between Davis Furniture and the Italian design studio Archirivolto.

The collection introduces a series of lightweight, stackable chairs refined by a sculptural silhouette.

Each piece distills frame, seat, and back into a clear composition, anchored by a die-cast aluminum base and balanced with proportion and practicality.

Archirivolto, led by Claudio Dondoli and Marco Pocci, has built its reputation in contemporary Italian design, bringing fresh expression to familiar materials through imaginative, approachable forms. The studio’s philosophy finds common ground with Davis Furniture, shaping a seating collection that reflects both design perspectives with clarity and care.

Unio is available in polypropylene shells in White, Black, Clay, and Cacao; Oak and Walnut veneers; or fully upholstered models with foam-over-plywood construction. Base finishes include polished aluminum and more than 35 powder coat colors, with shades designed to coordinate across the range.

Practical details such as stacking protectors and a transport trolley reinforce ease of use. Balancing both design and utility, Unio offers an ideal solution tailored to contract, hospitality, and educational settings.

Unio Chair by archirivolto design RT25 Table by jehs+laub

FOR MOMENTS THAT LINGER. T I M E S L O W S H E R E . T H E B R E E Z E M O V E S , T H E L I G H T S H I F T S , A N D Y O U ’ R E E X A C T LY W H E R E Y O U ’ R E M E A N T T O B E .

T H O U G H T F U L LY C R A F T E D T O I N V I T E S T I L L N E S S , O U R D E S I G N S T U R N E V E R Y D AY PA U S E S I N T O L A S T I N G M O M E N T S .

OCE AN MA S TER MA X BOLERO PAR A SOL SOLA SINGLE SUN LOUNGE

TUUCI.COM

walk through immersed in nature firm: wutopia lab site: zunhua, china

LIU GUOWEI/DAILY ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Natural illumination from a 280-squarefoot skylight casts shadows on the smoothed stucco wall of the swimming pool hall at the three-story spa building that’s part of the Rock–Cloud Center hotel.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

61

Clockwise from top left: Cylindrical copper tubes are a focal feature in the tile-floored lobby. An external circulation route that punctures the building shell ascends to the roof. Openings and niches across the pool hall walls were CNC-cut. Aluminum panels clad the exterior to give the structure its distinctive pebble shape. Stone veneers the counter and dropped ceiling in the pantry.

Traditional Chinese landscape concepts have informed many of the country’s most recognizable contemporary buildings: from office towers to opera houses.

Tied to philosophical and spiritual ideas of harmonious relationships in nature, known collectively as shan shui, these recurring motifs each symbolize various characteristics. In Zunhua, Hebei province, Shanghaibased architecture firm Wutopia Lab has interpreted the concept of the “flying rock” for the spa building found at the Rock–Cloud Center, a mountainside hotel with views of the Great Wall of China. Wutopia cofounder Ting Yu and his team conceived the site to embody the qualities of transcendence, detachment, and individuality, and appear to

62

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

defy gravity by cantilevering it from the sloped site.

The pebblelike form is positioned 65 feet above the hotel’s entrance and villa accommodations, and contains a swimming pool, gym, and facilities for enjoying the adjacent outdoor hot springs. While the concrete portion of the nearly 14,000-square-foot building that contains mechanical services is partially buried into the hillside, the steelframed upper section is clad in aluminum panels to create the visually lighter, rounded roof. “We spent a long time adjusting the form of the rock into a relatively regular pebble,” Yu recalls.

At the structure’s center, a 30-foot ceiling soars over the swimming pool and forms a cavernous hall—in every sense. Smoothed

LIU GUOWEI/DAILY ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

w a l k through

LIU GUOWEI/DAILY ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

63

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

w a l k through

openings and niches in the continuous off-white stucco surfaces evoke rock eroded by the elements, while “light from the skylight spills onto the water’s surface,” Yu adds. “It’s like swimming in a refined cave.” Amorphous north-facing apertures around the glass curtain wall are oriented toward the city below and the ancient

pantry, copper in the lobby, and green marble in the pool and gym further connect the project to the landscape. All the qualities that the “flying rock” represents manifest in a serene and unique amenity space that sets the hotel apart from those “that often lack character,” Yu observes.

“This seeks to break that monotony.” And with it,

wall beyond. Guests can also traverse a spiraling ramp that penetrates and emerges from the boulderlike shell as it leads up to the roof.

Natural materials such as dark stone veneer in the

China gains another contemporary architectural gem that’s rooted in tradition yet a stone’s throw into the future. —Dan Howarth

64

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

THROUGHOUT CHLOE ZHANG; WEI SHIYU: LIGHTING CONSULTANTS. ECOLAND: LANDSCAPE DESIGN. CHINA STATE CONSTRUCTION URBAN DEVELOPMENT CO.: GENERAL CONTRACTOR.

LIU GUOWEI/DAILY ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Clockwise from top: Apertures in the exterior shell are oriented toward the Great Wall of China.

The 14,000-square-foot building sits above the hotel’s villa accommodations. A glass curtain wall offers swimmers scenic views.

Marble-clad walls meet rubber sports flooring in the gym.

©2025 Ethan Allen Global, Inc.

FROM HIGH-QUALITY CUSTOM FURNITURE TO CUSTOM TEXTILES LIKE DRAPERY, BEDDING, TABLE LINENS, AND DECORATIVE PILLOWS, ETHAN ALLEN TRADE EMPOWERS YOU TO HELP EVERY CLIENT CREATE THEIR OWN SIGNATURE LOOK.

trade

THE ETHAN ALLEN TRADE PROGRAM

MASTER DISTRIBUTOR FOR

Travertino Classico

The beauty of travertine without the porosity of natural stone.

DESIGN WITHOUT LIMITS.

ACHIEVE SEAMLESS, COORDINATED DESIGNS ACROSS MULTIPLE SURFACES WITH XL PREMIUM PORCELAIN SLABS WWW.HANOVERPAVERS.COM

HAND CAST BRONZE HARDWARE | 12 FINISH OPTIONS ROCKYMOUNTAINHARDWARE.COM 208.788.2013

New restaurants, cafés, and bars around the world showcase inspiring form, function, and globetrotting flavor

wa l k through taste makers

YASH R JAIN

See page 70 for Seoul, a Korean restaurant in New Delhi by Urban Mistrii.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

69

Urban Mistrii project Seoul, New Delhi. square feet 1,850.

w a l k through 70

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

YASH R JAIN

standout South Korean food is vibrant and sometimes messy, with grilling at the table, so durability became a driver at this restaurant where every design gesture is purpose-driven and rooted in culture: Stone tabletops are nonporous and copper-painted steel chimneys spe­ cifically conceived for hot-pot dining extract smoke and oil from the air—both elements bringing authenticity to the space. Walls of polished mango wood and textured paint backdrop artworks referencing traditional Korean paintings in which multiple stories unfold within a single frame. urbanmistrii.com

YASH R JAIN

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

71

w a l k through

bbworkspace project The Facets, Chiang Mai, Thailand. standout For the renovation of a café located on the grounds of a jewelry store, crystalline glass blocks replace existing solid walls, and furniture such as tables of tinted acrylic and hammered metal laminate draw inspiration from raw gems.

The highlight, however, is in the garden: Acrylic panels coated with dichroic film dangle from a steel-framed seating pavilion, shimmering with iridescence and subtly shifting hues in relation to the angle of the sun, evoking the color and fire of diamonds, amethysts, garnets, emeralds, and sapphires. bbworkspace.co 72

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

RUNGKIT CHAROENWAT

square feet 2,150.

RUNGKIT CHAROENWAT

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

73

Gulla Jónsdóttir Architecture & Design project Javier’s, Los Angeles. square footage 16,000. standout For a lively restaurant inspired by the architectural soul of historic Mexican churches— their textures, proportions, and quiet grandeur—a tall, white-stucco entry arch creates an immediate sense of reverence and is a motif that continues in the walnut portals surrounding bottle shelving behind the bar. Nearby, a hand-troweled plaster tunnel to the restrooms stretches long and narrow, dramatically up-lit by linear floor lights and terminating in Los Angeles metal artist Scot Brown’s bronze candle-holding sculpture inspired by cathedral organ pipes.

w a l k through 74

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

ART GRAY

gullajonsdottir.com

WHERE MOMENTS UNFOLD T H E B R E E Z E D R I F T S T H R O U G H , L I G H T DA N C E S AC R O S S T H E TA B L E , A N D C O N V E R S AT I O N H U M S I N T H E B AC KG R O U N D .

E V E R Y D E TA I L I S T H O U G H T F U L LY C R A F T E D T O M A K E E A C H M O M E N T F E E L U N H U R R I E D A N D B E A U T I F U L LY C O M P L E T E .

CANYON CRUE DINING CHAIR M E R I TAG E D I N I N G TA B L E

TUUCI.COM

w a l k through

Crosby Studios project Café Nuances, Paris. square feet 270.

JENIA FILATOVA

standout Inspired by 20thcentury French artist César Baldaccini, known for his sculptures made from compacted automobiles and discarded metal, Harry Nuriev’s New York– and Paris-based studio crushed Inox stainless-steel coffee cups before adhering them to stools and the bar face of the jewelbox coffee shop located on the ground floor of a limestone-clad 1950’s residential building, the brand’s fifth location. Warming the steel’s industrial quality is the rear wall, aglow in gradient orange, Nuances’s signature color. crosbystudios.com

76

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

RESIDENTIAL ST YLE .

C O M M E R C I A L C A PA B I L I T I E S . roomandboard.com/business 800.952.9155

w a l k through

Preen project Florentin, Los Angeles. standout Accessed through an unmarked alley door, then an elevator ride to the eighth floor, this Mediterranean rooftop bar serves as a respite from DTLA’s glinting skyscrapers, with walls finished in dusty-coral plaster and a snaking custom banquette, half of it upholstered in graphic black and white, the other in a botanical pattern. Further nodding to the destination’s name, which is Latin for in flower, verdant green defines the grand glazed-tile bar and its matte-painted arched alcove—something owner Brandon Robinson knew he wanted from the outset. preeninc.com

78

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

ROB STARK

square feet 3,500.

Scan to explore the collection

COMMON FACTOR 2 One seamless beautiful flooring design regardless of tile install order. Milliken’s latest addition to the Continuous Random portfolio.

SIX PATTERNS | EIGHT COLORS

w a l k through

dsgnrs.studio project Marcus DC, Washington. square feet 3,000. standout Rockwell Group alumna Kamille Glenn, founder of maker collective dsgnrs. wrkshp and now her own design studio, honors cultural narratives on every surface at chef Marcus Samuelsson’s new eatery: “It was important to share sentiments of home, heritage, and connection from the Black gaze,” she says. The bar-back mural is by Derrick Adams while on walls, Studio Jeannot patterns were customized to evoke the rhythm and vibrancy of textiles from Ethiopia, Samuelsson’s country of birth. Below, a relief map pays homage to almanac author and surveyor Benjamin Banneker, who helped draw the boundaries of the nation’s capital in 1791. dsgnrs-studio.squarespace.com

SCOTT SCHUMANN

—Georgina McWhirter

80

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Meaningful Design to Inspire People’s Lives

LE CHIC BOHÈME COLLECTION KITC H EN - JARDIN KITCHEN JAR D IN EM E R A L D

LOW S I L I CA M I N E R RA A L HY B RI R I Q S UR URFACES FACES Find inspiration at cosentino.com ™ @cosentinousa

PERFECTING OUTDOOR LIVING F O R O V E R A C E N T U RY

THE SIERRA COLLECTION AT L A N TA | N A P L E S | D E N V E R | S C O T T S D A L E | C H I C A G O

w o o d a r d - f u r n i ture.com

LACAVA .com

CREATING BEAUTIFUL BATHROOMS MADE IN THE USA CUSTOM PROJECTS WELCOME

VANITY

NAV I i n n a tu ra l w a l n u t & m a tte b l a c k

MIRROR

L I NE A w i th m a tte b l a c k f ra m e

FAUCET + TUB FILLER

C I G NO i n b ru s he d g ol d

SHOWER VALVES

E L E G ANZ A i n b ru s h e d g ol d

TUB

E L E G ANZ A i n m a tte b l a c k

Let’s Spill The Tea

Armstrong Flooring® TimberTones™ LM22B-283W Light Natural

Did you hear? Armstrong Flooring® TimberTones™ is made with a revolutionary process using heat and pressure, not acrylic fillers, to create an ultra-dense 100% natural, highly sustainable, hardwood floor. Not only does it stand up to a range of daily demands within commercial spaces, it’s even waterproof*. That’s worth gossiping about. *See warranty for additional details.

®

©2025 AHF, LLC. All trademarks are owned by AHF, LLC, or its subsidiaries or affiliates.

Scan to visit ArmstrongFlooring.com and learn more about TimberTones

buon appetito From a listening bar to a hotel bistro, Greek to Japanese, culinary destinations throughout Milan—all designed by local talent—provide literal and aesthetic nourishment

wa l k through

MONICA SPEZIA/LIVING INSIDE; PRODUCTION: FEDERICA SALA

See page 86 for Mogo, a dining and drinking establishment tailored to enjoying high-fidelity music amid a unique setting by Giorgia Longoni Studio that harmonizes custom furniture and commissioned artwork with such existing elements as concrete walls.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

85

MONICA SPEZIA/LIVING INSIDE; PRODUCTION: FEDERICA SALA

w a l k through

“Transitioning from bright to amber tones, the custom luminous ceiling allows the venue to shift ambiance throughout the day” MONICA SPEZIA/LIVING INSIDE; PRODUCTION: FEDERICA SALA

Giorgia Longoni Studio project Mogo. district Isola. standout In the South African language Sotho, mogo means union, and this 3,700-square-foot establishment, dubbed a hi-fi bar and restaurant, unites music, culinary, craft-cocktail, and design aficionados in a cinematic environment inspired by Japanese jazz kissa cafes. Milan native Longoni has interwoven exposed concrete and ductwork with rose-toned oak millwork, aquamarine resin flooring, custom chairs—some patterned with Brochier upholstery fabric—lighting, and Alpi burl tables, and site-specific tapestries by Andrea Marco Corvino, resulting in a hushed, intimate environment that’s a medley of the softly industrial and warmly mid-century. giorgialongonistudio.com

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

87

Joy Herro project Vasiliki Kantina & Gastronomia. district Porta Romana. standout Under a ceiling hand-painted with an interpretation of the myth of Persephone and Demetra is a contemporary 430-square-foot space that tells the story—and serves the food and wine— of Greece subtly, authentically, and with refinement.

Herro, who has both an interiors studio and an art/ design consultancy, tapped such Greek talents as Terps (aka Terpsichore Tερψιχόρη) for the ceiling, goddess-adorned linen curtain, and ceramic door handle, and Tino Seubert for the raffiatopped stools lining the Kavalas Greek marble counter, and arranged them amid crisp, Santoriniwhite plaster archways. joyherro.com

“I wasn’t looking for a specific ‘style,’ rather an atmosphere that could naturally bring out the authentic elements of Greek culture”

88

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

MONICA SPEZIA/LIVING INSIDE; PRODUCTION: FEDERICA SALA

w a l k through

MONICA SPEZIA/LIVING INSIDE; PRODUCTION: FEDERICA SALA

89

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

“Meticulous restoration mixes with touches of old-world opulence and current-day modernity”

project Caruso Nuovo Bistrot. district Centro Storico. standout Inside the venerable Grand Hotel, this duomo to Milanese and Neapolitan cooking celebrated its 20th anniversary with an interior refresh by Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci. With their signature restrained maximalism, the designers have tastefully blended notes of Northern Italian aristocracy with bohemian glamour, evident in walls and benches upholstered in a Prelle jacquard, seven custom chandeliers of silk jersey the color of Brunello, Murano glass sconces, and, for the outdoor veranda, custom wallpaper and Mathieu Matégot–inspired furnishings, including Antica rattan chairs by Mario Bonacina and Renzo Mongiardino for Bonacina 1889. dimorestudio.eu

w a l k through 90

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

MONICA SPEZIA/LIVING INSIDE; PRODUCTION: FEDERICA SALA

Dimorestudio

MultiSensory A collection of plush carpet tile, broadloom, and hand-woven area rugs designed to reconnect us through the power of our senses.

Dimensional Fade | 646 Woodland Hush CAR PE T TIL E | B ROAD LOOM | WOVEN | AREA RUGS | LV T | H V T | RE S I LI E N T S H E E T | RE V W O O D | E N G I N E E RE D W O O D

w a l k through

Studio Urquiola project Odachi.

“It’s personal, my ideas of Japan. It’s all about creating a sensation” 92

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: MONICA SPEZIA/LIVING INSIDE; PRODUCTION: FEDERICA SALA; ERIC LAIGNEL (3)

district Brera. standout Among the myriad highlights of Interior Design Hall of Famer Patricia Urquiola’s conversion of a 1950’s former office building into the luxury, 116-room Casa Brera, a Marriott hotel, is this lobby-adjacent, 48-seat restaurant serving Japanese-inspired dishes. But her concept is far from cliché Asian: Custom opaline-glass pendant fixtures illuminate the sophisticated mustard colorway of Dedar’s Perfect Flower banquette upholstery, framed cast-stone architectural fragments by fellow Spanish architect Marià Castelló, and Urquiola’s own production pieces, including her abstracted-floral Rooms collection wallpaper for Jannelli&Volpi and her Oru chairs for Andreu World. patriciaurquiola.com —Annie Block

Lounge be a Lady Tonight

CORA MIA HERMOSA

AUTUMN 2025

Winners announced December 11 | NYC

learn more

Two Riversª quiet elegance...

LBI BOYD

Design Resource

A Colour & Design Inc. Company

denovowall.com | 501.372.3550

CR AFTED WITH AUTHENTICIT Y Being genuine is as important today as it ever was. From the quality of our materials, to the authenticity of our design, to the sincerity of our people, we are true to who we are and the creations that bear our name.

Pallas Textiles... Made True. | P A L L A S T E X T I L E S . C O M

market edited by Rebecca Thienes text by Lisa Di Venuta, Georgina McWhirter, and Stephen Treffinger

fireclay tile Drumroll, please! The West Coast tile expert launches a new category this November: Fireclay Bath. The customizable American-made fittings, produced in partnership with a domestic foundry, range from sculpted metal faucets and showers to ceramic knobs molded from a wheel-thrown form. The line offers four distinct series, nine spout designs, 10 handle styles, 16 metal finishes, and 16 knobs. Naturally for a company steeped in tile-glazing know-how, the colors are rich and layered. See the shapely Ceramic Pebble handles, shown here in Thistle, Kalamata, Chaparral, Sweet Pea, Garnet, and Tiger’s Eye. fireclaytile.com

97

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

m a r k e t s c a p e bath/spa

2

Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu for Salvatori

1

2

4

3

Antonia Astori and Nicola de Ponti for Tubes

1

2

product Nagi. standout Named after the Japanese word for "serenity," the Interior Design Hall of Famers’ textured tile, offered in seven limestone and marble variations, has variegated ripples suggestive of movement and flow. salvatoriofficial.com 98

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

product Milano/totalcolour. standout Elevating the humble radiator to an objet d’art, Astori De Ponti Associati reimagines its painted-steel design for the familyrun Italian business in a monochrome colorway, available in 140+ RAL hues. tubesradiatori.com

Yves Béhar for Laufen

Francesco Meda and Alberto Meda for Zucchetti Design

3

4

product Volta. standout The intrepid Hall of Famer used the world’s first CO₂free electric kiln to give his lithe, dual-level sink—in proprietary Saphirkeramik—a vortexlike interior that spirals water hypnotically to the drain. laufen.com

product Ellissea. standout Precision-molded from AISI 316L stainless steel, the Milanese father-son duo’s rain-jet-effect showerhead (available 3 or 10 inches across) has a subtly tapered shape based on rotating ellipsoids. zucchettidesign.it

PRODUCT 4: CARLOTTA MANAIGO

3

8

Hideo Shimizu of Hideo

5

product Infinity-Bio. standout The Tokyo-born, Milanbased designer’s body-con soaking tub is generously proportioned for two, with ergonomically shaped back- and armrests and a silky-matte shell of sustainable, antimicrobial Cristalplant. hideo.design

Cinzia Cumini and Vicente García for Cesar

6

product Ondula. standout Expanding beyond the kitchen, the Italian brand tapped García Cumini to design its debut bath offering: a sleek vanity in matte-white Betacryl Flex solid surfacing whose undulations lend a chiaroscuro effect. cesar.it

7

5

6

8

7

Shea McGee for Ann Sacks

Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty for Vipp

7

product Ashton Meadows. standout Grout lines are the focal point in Studio McGee’s fifth series for the stone manufacturer: Drypressed glazed-ceramic tiles finished with a petaled, contoured edge come in a quintet of mix-ormatch colorways. annsacks.kohler.com

8

product Vipp15. standout For 3daysofdesign, Studio KO reinterpreted the iconic trash can (now 86 years old!) in a limitededition copper-plated finish—a meaningful material for Vipp owner Jette Egelund, whose grandfather was a coppersmith. vipp.com OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

99

m a r k e t material

clé

The company that revolutionized artisanal tiles in the U.S. recently gave a refresh to one of its own classics: the Architect’s Palette of thin, elongated bricks. While the first iteration was manufactured in matte, neutral tones, the new version features a silkier matte glaze and an expanded palette. (What stayed the same? The subtle rustic texture and the 2¼-by-12-inch format.) In response to high demand from customers, Clé has taken production in-house, creating glazes that range from earthy terra-cotta, dark green, and rust to cool shades of dark gray and off-black—all with architect-sanctioned names like Blueprint, Stylus, Blotter, and Sketchpad. To maintain the purity of the look, Clé recommends installing the ⅝-inch-thick modules without trim pieces. cletile.com

ARCHITECT’S PALETTE

“Our rich new glazes come in an expanded range of colors taken straight from the drafting board”

100

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

CHECK IN. LOOK UP. Hospitality lighting that turns ceilings into constellations.

Y E L LO W G OAT D E S I G N . C O M / I D

m a r k e t bath/spa

"These spring-bloom hues reflect a palette that blends elegance and whimsy” SMOKED LILAC

DARK CEDAR

BUTTERCUP

Powder-coats inspired by summer landscapes? Color us intrigued. The Brooklyn, New York, manu­facturer of bath­ room fixtures, accessories, and hardware debuts fresh new finishes inspired by that evergreen wellspring of inspo: the natural world. Featured colors include Dark Cedar, a deep forest green; dusty light-purple Smoked Lilac; and creamy, pale-yellow Buttercup, all shown here on the Loft collection’s deck-mount, three-hole gooseneck bath set. Divine, but if these shades aren’t a fit for your project, Watermark Designs also offers hundreds of additional ones in a range of matte, metallic, and satin finishes. watermark-designs.com

watermark designs 102

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

LONDON

MONACO

LOS ANGELES

MONTEREY

PALM BEACH

summitfurniture.com

m a r k e t lighting

white dirt Dana Harel embraces spontaneity.

The San Francisco–based Israeli designer began her career as an architect, later delving into ceramics, line art, and now luminaires. The first lighting collection from her studio, White Dirt, encompasses three tented table lamps (Ora I, II, and III) and a suspended, trapezelike floor lamp (Ora IV), their handcarved sculptural swagger spawned from Harel’s existing vases and vessels. Crafted of gypsum cement, muslin, and brass, the lamps evoke draped wedding gowns, moments of

ORA IV DANA HAREL

cloistered intimacy, and the tension between revealing and hiding. But the most surprising reference comes from a scene in HBO’s Succession where Tom Wambsgans and Cousin Greg devour rare if repellant delicacies (deep-fried whole songbird) with napkins tented on their heads (“Some say it is to mask the shame; others to heighten the pleasure,” Wambsgans opines darkly). For Harel, “Working with fabric—folding, pleating, draping—was new and refreshing. It was nice to put aside my chisel and hammer and play with light, soft materials.” whitedirtstudio.com

104

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

“The Ora series is about light as a sculptural medium, transforming simple materials into something poetic”

ORA II ORA III

Your Design.

Our Craft.

At Kimball Hospitality, we transform spaces with timeless design and custom craftsmanship. Our work at The Marcus Whitman Hotel blends classic elegance with modern comfort—elevating the guest experience while honoring its rich heritage.

Discover how our custom capabilities can elevate your next project.

kimballhospitality.com | 800.634.9510

SCOPE Guestroom Casegoods + Seating

DESIGN FIRM HERE Architecture + Interiors

PURCHASER Columbia Hospitality

m a r k e t furniture

Duncan Campbell and Charlotte Rey of London studio Campbell-Rey join a roster of notables (including John Derian and Rita Konig) collaborating FELIX with The Lacquer Company. Nodding to early 20th–century masters Jean Dunand and Eileen Gray, the art deco– inflected Jacques tray and Felix tables and console are two-toned, all featuring contrasting inset tops: Think sienna yellow paired with choc­ olate brown, bottle green with loden, and cabernet with cinnabar. (There’s also a lovely hand-painted tortoiseshell colorway.) Available through KRB NYC, interior designer Kate Rheinstein Brodsky’s New York home store, the 10-piece collection utilizes the traditional Vietnamese so’n mài lacquer technique. After a protective gluelike substance hardens and protects the wood, successive coats of lacquer (combining resin sap with pigments, fine-ground mountain alluvium soil, and cashew shell oil) are applied wet-sanded to achieve a flawlessly smooth and glossy finish. thelacquercompany.com, krbnyc.com

the lacquer company DUNCAN CAMPBELL, CHARLOTTE REY

“Refined graphic profiles are imagined in twotoned colorways” FELIX

106

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

TOP LEFT, BOTTOM RIGHT: OLLIE TOMLINSON (2)

JACQUES

m a r k e t material

mycoworks

ATELIER AXO SCONCE

MARIA BRUUN ROOM DIVIDER OEO STUDIO LAMPS

CECILIE MANZ BAG

FREDERIK GUSTAV SUSPENSION LIGHT

A presentation during Copenhagen’s 3DaysofDesign showcased the versatility of a patented myceliumderived “leather” developed by biotech company MycoWorks—and celebrated the symbiosis between groundbreaking materials and Danish design tradi­ tions. Curated by architect and creative director Marie-Louise Høstbo, the exhibition featured objects made from mycelium—the rootlike filaments of fungus—engineered at the cellular level to grow interwoven. The process creates an exceptionally durable material, trademarked Reishi, that can be used in a variety of formats. An intricate room divider by Maria Bruun combines wood with punctured Reishi sheets; a bag by Cecilie Manz highlights the product’s tactility and texture; lamps

by OEO Studio stack the material; a luminous sconce

by Atelier Axo can be flat-packed and easily folded; and Frederik Gustav’s elegant suspension light is inspired by the shape of kites. mycoworks.com

“Danish designers presented unique ways to highlight innovative mycelium leather” 108

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

DISCOVER AIR SYSTEM, THE WALL PARTITION SYSTEM AND DOOR PANEL. DESIGN GIUSEPPE BAVUSO

Rimadesio Showroom New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago info.usa@rimadesio.us

m a r k e t furniture

“The brand’s first-ever hospitality collection is specially tested and warrantied to suit a variety of commercial needs”

OTERO

LIAM FAE

BIBIANNA

four hands Founded in the 1990’s as a small furniture-importing business— the name reflecting the founders’ hands-on approach— this Texan company has grown to become the behemoth manufacturer behind many high-end American furniture brands.

Now its own in-house label steps further into the spotlight with the newly launched Four Hands Hospitality, a range of pieces rigorously tested for the high traffic and tough regulations of hotels, restaurants, and com­ mercial spaces. There are more than 1,000 styles, most in-stock (with real-time availability) and ready to ship direct from Austin.

Highlights include Liam, a curvy olive-velvet sectional that riffs on sleek Italian design; the Bibianna dining table, its conical rubberwood base supporting a round top on a sphere of honed white marble; and Carrie, a neo-deco dining chair with a thin black-iron frame and chenille upholstery adorned in a Tibetan painting–inspired landscape motif. But it’s not just tables and chairs: FHH has a full lifestyle assortment, from art to bath and outdoor. fourhands.com/hospitality

CARRIE

110

INTERIOR DESIGN

BUXTON

OCT.25

LYLA

VIOLA

This wallcovering changes everything.

areaenvironments.com Assertions by Wendy Westlake

m a r k e t flooring

BLUE LAKE

layered It takes up to 10 days for two to three artisans to make a Heather Chontos– designed rug. That’s hardly surprising considering the New York–born, Europebased artist’s abstract paintings, literally drawn on everything from antique fabrics to stitched-together pieces of jute and found wood planks, are engrossingly alive with color and shape—and thus no small feat to replicate in hand-tufted New Zealand wool. Instinctively rendered lines and chroma fields define the three area rugs Collage, Kaleidoscope, and Blue Lake, with space, solid, and abrash dyeing capturing the depth of Chontos’s work. (“I don’t choose the colors, they sort of come to me,” she says, musing about her process.) Layered’s weavers switch between 10 and 15 yarn shades to follow the patterns before hand-cutting the rug to finish. us.layeredinterior.com KALEIDOSCOPE

“I gravitate toward abstraction because it feels like a secret language that I am fluent in and can translate through color and form”

COLLAGE

112

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

HEATHER CHONTOS

BOWER

m a r k e t flooring

maharam

COMPOSE

Dutch industrial designer Edith van Berkel, a Design Academy Eindhoven grad known for embracing craft and collaboration, teamed with Maharam to create three new rugs. Van Berkel fostered a textile practice for Jongeriuslab, where she’s a partner, bringing artisanal techniques to industrial production. For this collection, she aimed to filter the weaving practices of Kathmandu, Nepal, through a contemporary lens, experimenting with renewable materials and undyed yarn to reduce environmental impact. Bower, for instance, is made from locally harvested wild nettle, grown naturally by monsoon

season rains rather than via irrigation. The other patterns, Compose and Linger, combine wool from argali sheep with pops of silk and cotton. Color blocking in tones of mauve/umber or moss/ash gives Compose a jolt of contrast, while Linger utilizes an elemental dip-dye to create its two-tone gradient. maharam.com

114

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

NICK BALLÓN/COURTESY OF MAHARAM

EDITH VAN BERKEL

NICK BALLÓN/COURTESY OF MAHARAM

LINGER

“Edith approaches design with immense knowledge and profound humility” OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

115

Uline You deserve a supplier who’s true to their colors.

Since 1980, our mission is unchanged: provide you with the best selection, quality and service every time you order.

No fine print, no excuses.

Please call 1-800-295-5510 or visit uline.com

Montrose Credenza

Tuohy Furniture Corporation 42 Saint Albans Place, Chatfield MN 55923 www.tuohyfurniture.com ©2025 TUOHY All Rights Reserved

“We pioneered a new approach at an architectural scale, developing a continuous and flexible glass matrix that operates like a textile” 1

2

looking glass

c e nt e r fold

For a swishy new resort in the Philippines, Nikolas Weinstein Studios has formed borosilicate tubes into a major, must-see installation—the largest of its kind

3

4

5

1. For Mangrove, a glass-tube sculpture that spans the entire eight-story atrium of Solaire Resort North in Quezon City, Philippines, and can withstand seismic activity, American artist Nikolas Weinstein collaborated with Arup, which performed structural calculations and modeling using Dyna Oasys software. 2. Weinstein considered different vantage points for viewing the sculpture—its twisting, tapered form and title inspired by the roots of local mangrove trees—including when riding the resort’s escalator from the first floor. 3. At Nikolas Weinstein Studios in Long Island City, New York, the team used a custom-built kiln to fabricate thousands of internally fluted, borosilicate-glass tubes, before wiring them together into modules, each one a unique size and shape with different twists, widths, and curves, all digitally tracked and labeled. 4. A custom tool locked injection molded–acrylic plugs that act like knuckles managing friction and controlling each tube’s orientation into their ends. 5. After all components were shipped to Manila, an on-site crew of 40 installers worked for six months to assemble Mangrove using hoists and cherry pickers. 6. Scaffolding reaching 65 feet tall was also erected to complete the artwork, which is larger than a Boeing 747 airliner.

DOZENS OF engineers, designers, and installers led by Nikolas Weinstein

14 TONS

16,385

COURTESY OF NIKOLAS WEINSTEIN

custom borosilicate-glass tubes

4+ YEARS OF WORK

6

5,400 linear feet of cables OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

117

1 2

c e n t e r fold 1. Interiors of Solaire Resort North are by Habitus Design Group, its founder Samantha Drummond bringing on Weinstein to create a centerpiece that would speak to the devel­ opment’s “urban oasis” theme. 2. The glass-tube modules were stitched together on-site with aircraft cables to curved stainless-steel spines that rise out of plinths integrating plants, seating, and water features. 3. “I build sculptures that ‘talk’ to buildings,” says Weinstein, whose interest in organic forms was sparked by internships at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Ocean­ ography; Mangrove was recently recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest glass-tube installation. —Athena Waligore

3

c e n t e r fold

CHARLES EMERSON

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

119

chilled sparkling

Water at its best. www.us.zipwater.com

sparkling

boiling

oct 25

Reflections on hospitality

HELENIO BARBETTA

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

121

122

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Taking cues from a neighboring auction house in Paris, the curio-filled Madame Drouot Hôtel & Spa by Stéphanie Coutas invites repeated visits from both locals and travelers

going once, going twice text: lila allen photography: jp vaillancourt

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

123

124

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

On a given day, one can find any number of rarities on the auction block at Hôtel Drouot in Paris.

Gestural floral paintings by Renoir? Mais oui.

Roman-era bronze busts? Bien sûr. Or, if your ap­ petite is whetted more by modern design, why not feast your eyes upon its trio of Mosquito chairs by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen?

It’s this spirit—collected, curious, eclectic—that has inspired the interiors of Madame Drouot Hôtel & Spa, a 33-room property located less than a block away from the auction house. Both Drouots fall within the city’s 9th arrondissement, a culturally savvy Right Bank enclave that’s home to the Opéra Garnier and the Passage Jouffroy arcade. As a gallerist, designer, and principal of SC Édition, Stéphanie Coutas was uniquely qualified to devise the interior scheme of Madame Drouot, which opened in April (and, despite its name, is not actually affiliated with the auction house). Her own showroom sits in the city’s posh Golden Triangle, brimming over with luxurious trappings of her own design, and she plans to open another location in Dubai later this year.

Coutas’s concept for the hotel—which spans 15,000 square feet across five floors that, in addition to the basement spa, include the 30-seat Café Monsieur—originated from an open-ended brief from the client, a family-owned hospitality group.

The existing building needed an injection of new life, not a restoration: something “fresh, distinctive, and with a strong DNA,” as Coutas puts it.

What that looks like in practice: interiors chockablock with surprising antiques, vintage finds, and custom creations—a textural, compelling mash-up that mirrors the auction house’s amalgam of personalities, periods, and styles. All of this, Coutas notes,

is in service to the desires of today’s travelers, who chase an experience that isn’t just comfortable but also creative and communal. “They seek personality, narrative, and a sense of belonging,” she says. “This project reflects that shift by offering a layered, artfilled environment that invites discovery.”

Certain elements, like a revived original stair that processes to the guest rooms, or the extra-tall ceilings of the Haussmannian architecture, make it no secret that guests are in the city of light. And yet,

Previous spread: At Madame Drouot Hôtel & Spa, a boutique property in Paris, SC Édition by Stéphanie Coutas outfitted the lobby with custom pendant fixtures and her own furniture designs, such as the Cambium mini table.

Opposite top: Coutas sourced the armchairs from Marché aux Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen, the city’s famous flea market.

Opposite bottom, from left: The main staircase presents a grand moment of entrance, defined through its tension of opposites. At Café Monsieur, the 30-table bistro on the hotel’s ground floor, cane-backed custom chairs face a scalloped banquette.

Top: Above the lobby’s custom fluted-oak fireplace is a selenite mirror by Coutas that’s available at her Paris showroom. Bottom: The 33-room, 15,000-square-foot Madame Drouot is in the 9th arrondissement, steps from the storied Hôtel Drouot auction house.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

125

126

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Opposite top, from left: In a guest room, Gino vinyl wallcovering backs the modular bed, which can be united or separated depending on preference. A spiral stair leads to the basement spa. Opposite bottom: Textured fabric up­ holsters oak banquettes in another dining area at Café Monsieur.

Right: Above wooden floor planks, the bistro’s pendant shades are custom.

discovery indeed awaits. Coutas conceived each area to have its own distinct ambience—a move in line with her ethos as a designer. “I aim for spaces that are both cozy and sophisticated, places where guests can feel relaxed but also stimulated by their surroundings,” she says. “It’s about crafting a mood as much as it is about designing rooms.” Geometric coverings enliven the walls and occasional ceilings of guest quarters—some in subdued aquatic shades, others in high-contrast black and white or terra-cotta—the colors in each re­ verberating in the throw pillows on beds. In keeping with the Drouot muse, Coutas also wove in one-off finds from flea markets and auctions, and cheerful, character-rich ceramics in niches and on landings. The hotel’s four types of guest rooms range from standard queens to more spacious suites, which overlook the neighborhood’s polite Haussmannian facades.

In public areas, Coutas’s singular, collected vocabulary gets another chance to shine. The lobby, for instance, is equally home to custom oak woodwork, rhythmic wallpaper, a selenite mirror by Coutas (also available at her gallery), and vintage seating sourced from the Marché aux Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen flea market.

(Auction finds have their space there, too—an 18th-century marble won at the block lords over comings and goings.) Custom lighting and furnishings appear regularly, highlighting Coutas’s deep appreciation for craftsmanship: A freestanding oak Puzzle counter in the lobby, for example, draws on the patchwork marquetry language seen in a line at her showroom.

Overnight guests aren’t the only ones who will get to enjoy Madame Drouot’s fine regalia. Café Monsieur, a jubilant daytime bistro (dinner service arrives this fall), serves locally roasted coffee and golden pastries to travelers and locals alike, setting them among bold wall graphics and custom oak banquettes Coutas has upholstered in luxe fabrics. Overhead, more testament to Coutas’s penchant for craft: She credits her longtime collaborator Atelier Van IF, a specialist in OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

127

128

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

lampshades and embroidery, with “bringing to life all the ideas I have in mind,” and here, as well as in the lobby, the designer and maker have realized custom fabric pendants that bring a textural, steady drumbeat to the lighting scheme.

Madame Drouot has its moments for stillness, too, particularly as guests wind down a spiral staircase to the hotel’s lower level. There, they’ll encounter a vaulted-ceilinged hammam spa and sauna, where Coutas strove to preserve the stone from the original structure. “These stones are not just a construction material—they bring a tangible sense of place, history, and authenticity to the interior,” the designer says.

“They balance the more refined and contemporary design gestures, grounding the environment in something real and timeless.”

Whether they spend an afternoon wandering the halls of the neighboring Drouot treasure trove or soaking up the steam at the hotel’s spa, one thing is certain: Guests are sure to have their style reserves met.

PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT ARTE: WALLPAPER (LOBBY). ATELIER VAN IF: CUSTOM PENDANT SHADES (LOBBY, BISTRO). CASAMANCE: VINYL WALLCOVERING (GUEST ROOM, CLASSIC SUITE). LORO PIANA: ORANGE UPHOLSTERY (BISTRO). ÉLITIS: RAFFIA WALLCOVERING (GUEST ROOMS). FLORIM: VANITY STONE (BATHROOM). GESSI: SINK FITTINGS. SAINT-LOUIS: SCONCES (GUEST ROOM).

Opposite top: Coutas retained the building’s original staircase, letting it set the tone for the hotel through its historicist detailing and attention to materiality. Opposite bottom, from left: Alexander wallcovering in the Classic suite. Merida raffia wallcovering in a guest room. Ceramic and bronze in a bathroom.

Top: The Deluxe suite has a high Haussmannian ceiling and a stucco archway. Bottom: More Merida wallcovering defines an alcove in another guest room, with Noé DuchaufourLawrance’s Folia sconces over the bed.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

129

wave of the future

130

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

text: rebecca dalzell photography: zhu di/shadøo play

For Max Zone Technology Park Ningbo, a sales center and a show office in China, Ippolito Fleitz Group channels water and the flow of knowledge

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

131

132

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Previous spread: At the Max Zone Technology Park in Ningbo, China, amid a palette that nods to that of the city’s waterways, Ippolito Fleitz Group designed a five-level show office with a working production line for an imagined 3D-printing company on the second floor, as well as a 5,100-square-foot sales center next door.

Opposite top: In the show office lobby, a spiral steel staircase behind the mirrored reception desk leads to a mezzanine meeting pod. Opposite bottom: Gradient-glass walls frame the materials lab on the carpeted R&D floor.

Top: A custom stainless-steel table anchors the meeting pod.

Bottom: Stainless also defines the water bar off the lobby.

Ningbo, a city in eastern China, has a long and layered history. On Hangzhou Bay, it has been a major commercial port since the 6th century and was on the Maritime Silk Road. Today, it’s one of the busiest container ports in the world. Ningbo is also home to the country’s oldest private library and famous for traditional crafts like inlay and ceramics. In recent decades, the city has invested heavily in its industrial sector and become a hub for materials innovation and cutting-edge equipment, sprouting modern architecture to match.

Ippolito Fleitz Group wove these varied strands together in its concept for a show office and sales center for the Max Zone Technology Park, a multibuilding campus for high-tech companies.

It is the firm’s fourth such project for the client, Shanghai Gold Concord Group Co., since 2021, but each is distinct, reflecting the local context and likely tenants. “The client is trying to demonstrate what Chinese workspaces could look like in the future,” says project lead and IFG Shanghai studio director Patrick Wu, “and is not concerned with efficiency or functionality, but with creating spaces that promote innovation.”

In Ningbo, Shanghai Gold Concord targeted the city’s booming 3D-printing sector and asked IFG to consider what those companies would need from their offices.

The word ningbo means calm waves, and the city’s nickname, Yong, translates to gushing water and symbolizes the flow of wisdom. IFG played off these ideas to express the fluid transition from tradition to innovation. The design of the elegant 5,100-square-foot sales center is rooted in the former, drawing on ver­ nacular architecture, while the five-story, 10,000-square-foot show office offers a preview of the future.

Prospective tenants begin their visit in the sales center, which IFG modeled on ancient Chinese courtyards. “Traditional Chinese architecture is always symmetrical, with a sequence of spaces and a courtyard in the middle,” Wu explains. “It’s transparent, but there are layers and filters that block the view. We expressed a modern interpretation of this typology.” At the entrance, panels of textured acrylic blocks partially screen the central space, a double-height model exhibition area; leather-clad partitions enclose smaller rooms like lounges around it. “You can feel the space, but you can’t see through it, so there’s a sense of exploration and dis­ covery,” Wu adds. But it can also transform into a large hall: The partitions have integrated pivot doors that can retract completely for events.

Curved details alluding to waves and Chinese roof tiles unify the various rooms. Made of U-shape panels in stainless steel and wood, the partitions seem to ripple throughout. Thin arched lights embedded in the dark terrazzo floor

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

133

glint underfoot like whitecaps, and curved ceramic tiles strung on steel wire hang in front of windows. “The wave components start in the floor inlay and gradually fly off the wall,” Wu observes.

These subtle gestures bring depth and texture that elevate the visitor experience. “There’s a warm, welcoming atmosphere and a sense of hospitality,” Wu notes, evident in a custom water bar and a sculptural restroom, its walls paneled in undulating copper-finished stainless steel. It’s especially notable in the intimate tearoom, where a custom oval table has two tops: one in marble for eating and drinking, and a higher leather-wrapped surface for signing contracts.

In contrast, the show office next door feels cooly high-tech. It’s a theoretical workplace for an imaginary 3D-printing company that, like a model apartment, is functional but will never be used. Freed from utilization metrics, IFG could get creative. “We believe that future businesses will only find success through innovation—and that comes from unexpected moments,” Wu says.

The firm focused on formulating a memorable, exploratory journey that fosters serendipitous collisions.

The 28-foot-high lobby makes a splash with a spiral flying staircase leading to a stainless-steel meeting pod suspended from the ceiling. “The mezzanine is entirely column-free: It hangs from the floor above to create a striking sense of levitation. It becomes Below: Magnetic tubes hang frames for product displays on the open office floor, where tables are anodized aluminum.

Opposite top: The project’s water connection derives from the word ningbo meaning calm waves and the city’s nickname, Yong, translating to gushing water. Opposite bottom, from left: Magenta was introduced to stimulate dialogue and creativity. Painted stainless-steel planters brighten the open office area.

“There’s a warm, welcoming atmosphere and a sense of hospitality”

134

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

135

136

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Opposite top: In the separate sales center, a custom window treatment is composed of arched ceramic tiles strung on steel wires. Opposite bottom, from left: A wooden totem sculpture marks the entrance to the restroom, where the undulating walls are copper-finished stainless steel. Marble tops the custom table in the sales center’s tearoom, with sisal carpeting.

Top: Leather-clad partitions line the model exhibition area, where inlaid arched lights glint in the terrazzo floor and textured acrylic blocks screening the entry have a rippledwater effect. Bottom: A trio of 7-foot-long pendant fixtures inspired by Chinese lanterns illuminates another marbletopped table lined with chairs, all custom.

a sculptural, futuristic object,” Wu continues. Light strips on the ceiling fan out from the pod like sun rays; below, a frosted stainless-steel grille frames the mirrored reception desk. There’s no mistaking that this is a company of tomorrow.

Upstairs, IFG installed a working 3D-printing production line that can manufacture a robotic arm, its circular shape representing continuous progression, while a sleek open office is all anodizedaluminum tables and reflective magnetic panels. The research and development floor centers on a materials lab, an elevated cube with gradient-glass walls resembling a fizzing test tube that provides visibility to teams working around it.

Sea-green terrazzo flooring subtly references Ningbo’s waters.

For Wu, it’s not just the ultramodern vibe that makes the office an avatar of those to come, but the flexibility of the spaces. When people can collaborate anywhere, there are more chances to innovate. Ideas, he adds, are like droplets on the ocean, creating ripples that become waves. Offices of the future should let them flow.

PROJECT TEAM PETER IPPOLITO; SENEM CENNETOGLU; SAMMA SUN; XINKANG FAN; JILL YANG; GUANLIN LI; LEO LUO; DONG CHEN; JING ZHANG; MAVIS LI: IPPOLITO FLEITZ GROUP. DA HUANG FENG STAINLESS STEEL: METALWORK. PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT YUN YI METAL: PLANTERS (OFFICE AREA). GUAN MEI LE SHENZHEN: ACRYLIC BLOCKS (MODEL AREA). THROUGHOUT GUIYI: TERRAZZO FLOORING. VOXFLOR: CARPET. BENJAMIN MOORE & CO.; DULUX: PAINT.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

137

138

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

OMA New York created a series of transporting environments in “Louis Vuitton: Visionary Journeys,” an exhibition at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan

trunk show text: dan howarth photography: jérémie souteyrat

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

139

Fashion exhibitions have proven to be blockbuster hits for museums the world over. This is largely thanks to the annual summer show held by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York—and the media frenzy surrounding the gala that precedes it. The yearly event has ignited widespread public interest in blue-chip designer clothing and lifestyle products, which, until relatively recently, were viewed as elitist and unattainable for many.

Naturally, luxury brands have taken note of this newfound sense of accessibility and created their own exhibitions to spellbind global consumers even more.

Much of what captivates audiences at these shows comes down to dazzling scenography—an art mastered by Shohei Shigematsu, partner at OMA and director of OMA New York, who designed the Met’s “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” in 2016.

Since then, the Japanese architect has collaborated with several houses on elaborate environments that present apparel and accessories, trace institutional histories, and build narrative identities.

“Fashion always has a kind of familiarity, but also a certain distance from the normal world,” Shigematsu observes. “By using the space, the garments, and the content of the exhibition itself, we can create an immersive experience and tell the story of the brand.”

The architect’s latest exhibition, “Louis Vuitton: Visionary Journeys,” at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan, last July through September, marked the 170th anniversary of the luxury goods and apparel company’s founding while continuing a partnership with the house that began in 2023 and includes a previous exhibition in Bangkok. Initially, Shigematsu used the dimensions of Vuitton’s signature trunk to create a bricklike module that can be stacked, tessellated, or assembled into sculptural forms. “The brand’s identity, innovation, and history are all crystallized in this single object,” he explains. Rendered in monogrammed washi 140

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Previous spread: Handwoven bamboo walls encased “Origins,” one of 12 named environments comprising “Louis Vuitton: Visionary Journeys,” a summer exhibition at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan, by OMA New York that observed the luxury goods and apparel company’s 170th anniversary.

Opposite top: Inspired by the mansard roof of Vuitton’s Paris flagship, “Atelier Rarex” displayed couture garments in windowlike niches. Opposite bottom: A self-supporting geodesic dome made from 138 trunks marked the exhibition entry.

Top, from left: Towering lanterns made of LV-monogrammed washi paper hung in the museum’s five-story atrium. Stainless steel lined the niches. Bottom: Artisans gave live demonstrations at solid-beech benches in “Workshop,” which recreated elements of the handcraft atelier in Asnières, France.

“Each room had an atmosphere that presented the intangible part of architecture, where people could feel the theme or story almost instantly”

paper over a wood frame and lit from within, the modules formed eight dramatically elongated lanterns suspended in the five-story atrium of Katsuhiko Endo’s building, welcoming museum­ goers. Real trunks, however, appeared at the entrance to the exhibition galleries, where 138 of them formed a geodesic dome—a nod to the hemispheres long used at world fairs as symbols of the future, and a gesture echoed by OMA in the French pavilion at the concurrent Expo 2025 Osaka.

After passing beneath the dome, guests embarked on the titular journey: a winding sequence of 11 galleries— architecturally unique spaces named for themes and places central to Vuitton’s legacy—offering a surprise at every turn.

“A lot of people appreciate the nonmuseumlike experience,” Shigematsu says of the environments, most of which were fabricated and tested near Tokyo before being shipped to the museum for reassembly. The result, he hopes, appealed to both mind and senses: “There was a lot of written text for each object,” he acknowledges, “but each room had an atmosphere that presented the intangible part of architecture, where people could feel the theme or story almost instantly.”

The first gallery, a spacious, mintgreen antechamber dubbed “Asnières,” featured a faithful replica of an art nouveau stained-glass window from the Vuitton family home, now a museum in the eponymous town, where the artisanal workshop still operates today.

The following room, “Origins,” was wrapped in a flowing, basketlike ar­ mature of handwoven bamboo, its

LV collections by Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse, and Supreme were celebrated in “Collaborations,” a kaleidoscope of four interlocking domes covered with 1,467 mirrored facets.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

143

undulating form defining six deep bays, each brimming with photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia from an era in the company’s history. This represented only a fraction of the 1,000-plus objects that fashion historian Florence Müller curated for the 19,400-square-foot exhibition.

About 200 of them related specifically to Japan—a theme subtly suggested by the bamboo latticework but fully explored in a subsequent gallery, “Louis Vuitton and Japan,” where the interplay between the European house and Japanese culture took center stage. A selection of historic and contemporary garments, artworks, and objects was displayed on floating modular platforms that evoked tatami mats, as did the grid of light boxes suspended overhead.

No surprise, then, that two native talents, Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami, were prominent among the design partnerships celebrated in “Collaborations”—a kaleidoscopic space of interlocking domes lined with mirrored facets that reflected both the garmentbedecked mannequins and the visitors who, Shigematsu suggests, “became part of the exhibition,” bringing the journey to a dazzling conclusion.

Not that France had been forgotten along the way: “Workshop” reproduced elements from the Asnières atelier where Vuitton trunks are made—green-painted steelwork, a sawtooth roofline, wall-mounted tools—along with hefty solid-beech workbenches where artisans gave live demonstrations of their craft. And “Atelier Rarex” reinterpreted the mansard roof of Maison Vendôme, the company’s Paris flagship, transforming its two tiers of windows into 20 stainless-steel display niches, each containing an haute-couture creation. Mirror-clad end walls expanded the installation, turning it into an infinite Haussmannian roofscape.

By offering immersive (and photogenic) spaces such as these for the public to enjoy, the fashion exhibition shows no sign of waning. Wherever “Visionary Journeys” travels next, it will continue to transport visitors into new worlds of thematic exploration, each tailored to its context.

144

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

PROJECT TEAM JESSE CATALANO; NICCOLO BALDI; XAVIER FOX; BLAKE KEM; FRANCESCA PARMIG­G IANI: OMA NEW YORK. NPU CORPORATION: EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION. FLORENCE MÜLLER: ART CONSULTANT. SPECIAL OFFER: GRAPHICS CONSULTANT. TOKYO HEART-S: LIGHTING CONSULTANT. TSUMURA KOGEI: GENERAL CONTRACTOR.

Opposite top: Modular platforms and overhead light boxes recalling traditional tatami mats provided a cross-cultural environment for “Louis Vuitton and Japan,” which explored the interplay between the brand and the nation. Opposite bottom: Rugged travel artifacts got an igloolike setting in “Expeditions,” an inflatable dome inspired by hot-air balloons.

Top, from left: A zinc trunk and historic client records populated one of the dome’s 14 display modules. In “Monogram Canvas,” a cylindrical vitrine housed the original 1897 patented swatch for the brand’s signature fabric. Bottom: Arrayed on a snaking platform, 40 artifacts formed a timeline that traced the evolution of the famous pattern through many iterations.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

145

grand allusions

text: peter webster

setting the scene Around the world, institutional projects from theaters and museums to offices and libraries are creating compelling drama See page 154 for Sleeping Lab·Tang, a strikingly sculptural B&B in Beijing by Atelier d’More. Photography: courtesy of Atelier d’More.

text: edie cohen

From South Africa to Spain, these hotels and resorts draw deeply on the cultural and natural richness of their locations

See page 186 for the Jirásek Theatre, a 14th-century building in Ceská Lípa, Czech Republic, artfully renovated by Adam Rujbr Architects. Photography: BoysPlayNice.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

147

148

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

el equipo creativo project Kimpton Los Monteros, Marbella, Spain. standout Born in nearby Málaga, Pablo Picasso is a presiding spirit in the renovation of all the public spaces at this venerable, 195-room celebrity haunt.

Defining seating alcoves, the lobby’s abstract blue-and-white murals could have come from the artist’s hand, while the reception desk’s painted front evokes his way with color and form. The hotel’s Andalusian location is referenced in the extensive use of its signature tilework on floors, columns, and bar surrounds, while the region’s distinctive natural palette—ochres, greens, and aquas—is backdropped by its famed whitewashed plaster walls. Drawing inspiration from the property’s ’70’s architecture, the colors, textures, and patterns of the upholstered seating suggest the era with fresh, updated flair. photography Veerle Evans.

“Topography sparked the reimagining of the pool, where a warm white backdrop enhances the refreshing natural turquoise tones of the water”

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

149

150

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

“A custom artwork program full of texture and local character adds dimension and richness to the rooms”

bar architects & interiors; gluckman tang architects project The Cove, Eleuthera, Bahamas. standout The revamp of this 40-acre, 22-room resort, including new bungalow suites and villas by Gluckman Tang, finds BAR’s interiors drawing inspiration from its extraordinary setting: two private white-sand coves framed by stone cliffs and lapped by azure waters. Extensive teak millwork echoes the island’s ubiquitous driftwood, white-painted shiplap walls and ceilings conjure its pow­ dery beaches, and limestone floors evoke its rocky outcrops. Windy Chien’s knot sculptures, crafted from Sunbrella cordage, enhance guest rooms and public spaces—including the lounge, which leads to the restaurant: an airy, 9,000-square-foot space anchored by a marble sushi bar and overhung with circular fixtures trailing lush vines. photography Eric Laignel.

152

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

“The property has undergone a meticulous restyling that restores its original spirit while reinterpreting it through a contemporary lens”

de.tales; discreet architecture project Villa Radici, Forte dei Marmi, Italy. standout Comprising three main buildings and several standalone garden villas in a parklike setting, Augustus Hotel & Resort adds seven more suites with the acquisition and renovation of Villa Radici, a two-story, 1930’s house once owned by the founder’s sister. Discreet Architecture enhanced structural features like wide arches and generous volumes, while De.Tales populated the interiors with furnishings and artworks—some original to the villa, others of more recent vintage—that harmonize with the historic home’s Liberty-style aesthetic. For instance, the organic form and mocha acrylic shade of Gae Aulenti’s ’70’s Quadrifoglio floor lamp complement the common living room’s palette of ochre, green, and pink—tones that not only echo the project’s natural surroundings but also its signature colors. photography Helenio Barbetta.

154

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

“The flowing lines and the endless white tones imbue the building with a sense of poetry and surprise”

atelier d’more project Sleeping Lab·Tang, Beijing. standout An abandoned attempt to transform this single-story street-corner building into a B&B left the premises in a state of disrepair. Brought in to revive the project, Atelier d’More radically reimagined the property—inside and out—while preserving much of the original framework and its 2,150-square-foot layout. The addition of smoothly curved facade elements gives the white stucco exterior a Cycladic look.

The interior is an oasis of calm, with reception, lounge, and dining areas occupying a central space flanked by two existing courtyards, around which the six guest rooms—two featuring attic lofts—are arranged. Simple plywood built-ins and custom furniture, all crafted on-site, complete the minimalist aesthetic, which emphasizes harmony and comfort. photography courtesy of Atelier d’More.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

155

156

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

“In Greek, the word mylos means mill— a reference to the old one, now in ruins, that sits directly above the eponymous hotel”

chzon; orma architettura project Mylos Hotel, Cargèse, France. standout Orma has literally incorporated Corsica’s earthy colors and textures into the fabric of the property’s three buildings by mixing soil and rubble excavated from the hillside site into the concrete that forms them. Chzon’s interiors for the 35-room hotel also reflect its location, with particular allusions to the town’s Greek heritage. Subtle references to that past appear in a marble reception desk with rounded ends suggesting the volutes of an Ionic column and in wavelike friezes etched into plaster bathroom walls. Other nods to regional culture include cutout headboards recalling the shape of hats worn by Corsican shepherds and, in the restaurant Teos, biomorphic booths and alcoves—an homage to French architect Jacques Couëlle's white-cave interiors, which epitomized mid-century Tyrrhenian-resort chic. photography Julie Ansiau.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

157

text: dan howarth photography: eric laignel

hometown hero 158

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

The San Diego office of a global tech company by SmithGroup celebrates the city’s natural beauty, architectural heritage, and secret corners

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

159

San Diego is synonymous with sandy beaches, year-round great weather, and stellar Mexican food. But for the regional studio of the nationwide multidisciplinary firm SmithGroup, its beloved locale offers much more. When developing ideas for the downtown offices of a global tech company, the project team drew on the fabric of the city to create two dual concepts that celebrate its lesser-known assets. The first is based on the surrounding natural landscape; the second, on its grittier urban energy. “It’s really easy to make the cliché references,” says corporate, commercial, and civic studio leader Megan Skaalen, who helmed the project, “but there’s also the secret side of San Diego.”

The client loved both concepts equally and requested they be integrated across the workspace, a single 50,000-square-foot floor plate spanning two buildings and connected by an internal bridge. While the obvious approach might have been to assign one idea to each half of the space, SmithGroup took a bolder route. The more vibrant, zanier scheme—dubbed Feel the Pulse—was applied to the central communal zones that link both buildings. Meanwhile, the softer, more contemplative direction—At Home in Nature— was woven into meeting rooms and workspaces deeper within the plan. This strategy not only enhances wayfinding, Skaalen acknowledges, but also establishes a clear visual distinction between areas for connection and those for focus.

The dynamic energy of the urban-influenced scheme hits immediately upon entry. The main elevator core is wrapped in matte-black steel panels, while matching forced-perspective diagonals slice across the ceiling and floor, making the lobby appear “like it’s ripped,” explains senior interior designer Alex Leadon. An adjacent wall is entirely clad in a relief collage of abstract shapes, vivid colors, and outdoorsy motifs—all nods to San Diego. “The client really puts an emphasis on the local identity of its offices,” Leadon reports,

“Tech companies have grown up, and their spaces have as well”

160

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Previous spread: In the lobby of a global tech company’s 50,000-square-foot San Diego office by SmithGroup, a custom wall relief celebrates the city’s vibrant colors, culture, and history.

Opposite: Motifs from the relief are repeated on the painted-concrete floor.

Top, from left: Blackened-steel cladding walls, ceiling, and floor around the elevators. A vintage postcard in a relief peephole. The coffee-bar area’s Longboard backsplash tile in post-consumer recycled glass composite. Bottom: Nearby, an Elisa Passino mural backdrops PearsonLloyd’s Kin chairs and Martin Brattrud Studio’s Las Ondas banquette.

so this arrival moment delivers a bold “SD” signature right from the start.

Throughout the space, arches appear again and again—turning a long corridor into an arcade, for instance, or spanning a deep, banquette-lined wall booth in the coffee-bar area—gestures that reference the Spanish Revival architecture found across the city, particularly the museums, pavilions, and historic structures populating nearby Balboa Park.

The color palette in the common zones similarly borrows from the surrounding context of ocean, beach, desert, and mountains. Seafoam green, terra-cotta, and coral are applied strategically “to get the creative juices flowing,” Leadon suggests.

Texture is also introduced via materials such as artworks that incorporate sand, natural-wool acoustic panels in the open work areas, and metal mesh layered over glowing light boxes in a prefunction space.

Skaalen lists comfort and hominess as the workplace qualities most desired by today’s employees. Those admirable attributes are conjured here through soft furnishings and soothing colors, certainly, but primarily through art. Wherever you look, a wide array of custom artworks created by SPMDesign bursts from surfaces, envelops thresholds, and even drips off canvases onto the walls. They are joined by a curated selection of pieces by local artists, enlivening communal areas and meeting rooms.

With the art and other decorative elements, the hat tips to San Diego continue—sometimes overt, sometimes subtle, and occasionally hidden.

Around a conference room themed after the SS Monte Carlo—a Prohibition-era gambling vessel now a wreck visible at low tide on the beach at Coronado—five coins are discreetly tucked away for staff and visitors to discover. And for those

Top: Mario Ruiz’s Clique benches and a pair of credenzas on casters line the walls of a breakout area. Center: Handpainted murals enliven corridors and circulation spaces.

Bottom: Arches in a pre-function area—as throughout— are a nod to the city’s Spanish Revival architecture.

Opposite: One of them, embedded in the wall and screened with metal mesh, acts as a giant light box, in front of which Hallgeir Homstvedt and Runa Klock’s Lily noise-dampening pendant fixtures overhang Rainlight’s Sunny lounge chairs and Simone Bonanni’s Obon ceramic coffee table.

162

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

Top, from left: Reclining massage chairs in an office area–adjacent corridor. Softer hues reflecting the region’s natural palette. The same theme informing a mural inspired by an iconic fig tree in nearby Balboa Park. Bottom: An arcaded corridor leads to an open office area, where sit-or-stand desks cater to personal preferences.

Opposite: Dubbed Spruce Street, this conference room evokes the pedestrian suspension bridge of the same name, a hidden city landmark tucked in a leafy Bankers Hill canyon.

164

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

who look closely enough, a discreet peephole in the lobby-wall relief offers a glimpse of a vintage postcard.

“There’s a sense of play,” Skaalen observes, “but it doesn’t feel elementary.”

The open office areas and smaller meeting rooms are quieter in tone, so that users can “focus where focus is due,” says Leadon. A variety of breakout spaces, private booths, and even reclining massage chairs are included to accommodate different ways of working and the requirements of neurodiverse individuals. “No matter what personality, learning style, or work employees need to do, there is a place for them to do that,” Leadon explains. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all.” The multitude of settings in which people can meet, converse, ideate, and relax together is critical—particularly today when, as Skaalen points out, many are motivated to come into the office to socialize: “Human connection is needed, even within a global technology company.”

The overall impression created by the interiors is of a much more mature version of the “fun house” tech offices that dominated the 2010’s. Welcoming, adaptable spaces with artful touches of whimsy—rather than glorified amusement arcades or playgrounds—signal a new era for an industry that has outgrown its awkward adolescence. “Tech companies have grown up, and their spaces have as well,” Skaalen concludes.

By creating a condensed, abstracted snapshot of San Diego within these walls, SmithGroup has provided an identity tailored for those who, like them, are proud to live and work in the city.

PROJECT TEAM ROB MOYLAN; LESLEY SCOTT; GABRIEL CERVANTES; DAVE WANG; PATRICK M AC BRIDE; SHAWN NGUYEN; HAL SPIERS; NEHAL DESAI; ANDREA REYNOLDS; MIKE KATAN; JOSE ALICEA; CHRISTINA MOSS: SMITHGROUP. SPMDESIGN: ART CONSULTANT. CREATIVE METAL INDUSTRIES: METALWORK. WB POWELL: MILLWORK. SKYLINE CONSTRUCTION: GENERAL CONTRACTOR. PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT EHMCKE SHEET METAL: STEEL PANELING (LOBBY). LED LINEAR: STRIP LIGHTING. TERRA NOVA DESIGNS: BENCHES. AXIS: PEN­DANT FIXTURES (LOBBY, CONFERENCE ROOM). LIVDEN: WALL TILE (COFFEE BAR). ASTEK: MURAL. MARTIN BRATTRUD: BANQUETTE. FLOS: SCONCES. ALLERMUIR: SIDE CHAIRS (COFFEE BAR, BREAKOUT AREA). HEARTWORK: CREDENZAS (BREAKOUT AREA). STUDIO TK: BENCHES. UNIKA VAEV: PENDANT FIXTURES (PRE-FUNCTION AREA). MOOOI: COFFEE TABLE. WEST ELM WORK: SOFA. ARCADIA: GLASS DOORS. ENCORE SEATING: LOUNGE CHAIRS (PRE-FUNCTION AREA), CHAIRS (CONFERENCE ROOM). INFINITY: MASSAGE CHAIRS (CORRIDOR). STYLEX: PRIVACY SCREENS. STEELCASE: DESKS, TASK CHAIRS (OFFICE AREA).

166

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

text: petra loho photography: haroldde-puymorin/hdp photography services

in good taste NC Design & Architecture fuses materials and pastels, mood and menu into an exquisite journey at KI Club, a private Hong Kong showroom for cooking and connecting

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

167

Ever wondered what became of Barbara Handler— aka Barbie—after the 2023 film? Perhaps she traded Malibu for Hong Kong, her true birthplace, where Barbie and Ken first tumbled off the production line.

With Ruth Handler’s advice to chart her own path still echoing, she steps into a city that, like her, thrives on reinvention. KI Club, an invitation-only kitchen showroom and event space on the top two floors of Hong Kong’s Cubus complex, feels like the kind of setting she’d choose to explore a new indulgence.

That’s because half of the 2,600-square-foot penthouse club is bathed in pink, a beloved color of Sandra Wong, founder of Kitchen Infinity, which has distributed such luxury European kitchen brands as Gaggenau, Molteni&C, and Poggenpohl throughout Hong Kong and Macau for the last 30 years. She’s also the vision behind KI Club, for which she sought more than a traditional display space, one that emitted femininity and social buzz but also neutrality and a feeling of home.

“A standard showroom is simply boring,” says Nelson Chow, founder and design director of NC Design & Architecture, which brought Wong’s vision 168

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

to fruition. Instead, his studio created a stagelike milieu where chefs, friends, and collaborators cook and comingle. Inspired by Tuscan wineries, KI Club modernizes classic vaulted architecture while honoring its heritage. A layered layout guides guests through distinct yet connected environments across its two levels, which each have a singular color scheme—Wong’s beloved rosé or calming blue.

Defined by striking dualities—female and male hues, solid and void, festive and serene—the concept invites memorable experiences that balance hospitality with the comforts of home.

Guests arrive on the 28th floor, greeted by a lounge, bar, and dining area that are an ode to Barbie and Wong’s preferred shade, but done with depth and restraint. Paneling of Italian Begonia Rosa marble, veined like a summer sky at dusk, anchors the room.

Large eye-shape ceiling fixtures by Tino Kwan are fitted with soft pink LEDs. Chow’s heart-shape sofas and chairs further the theme, upholstered in dustyrose bouclé. “Playing with pink is deceptively tricky,” continues Chow, who studied fashion after earning his master’s in architecture. “You have to master

Previous spread: For the upper-level dining area at KI Club, a private kitchen showroom and event space in Hong Kong, NC Design & Architecture installed a nearly 20-foot-long custom marble table, lined it with custom chairs, and backed it with CNC-cut screens for an environment that’s intimate and upscale.

Left: Custom LED ceiling fixtures by Tino Kwan cap the vaulted plaster ceiling in the lower-level dining area.

Top: Doors on the lower level, where walls are decoratively painted by artist Elsa Jeandedieu, open to a balcony.

Center: A door and handle in Brazilian marble lead to a restroom. Bottom: The lower-level dining area is part of the cooking studio.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

169

the form, the layers—textures, marble, fabrics, carpets—it’s like orchestrating a landscape. The key is it never gets too cute.” Helping with that, on the walls not clad in marble, Hong Kong–based French artist Elsa Jeandedieu applied her signature oscillation technique, shaping lime-mineral surfaces into leaf-inspired patterns. Brass panels frame the fireplace, yielding a gentle glow. Guests seated at the 20-foot-long, marble-topped dining table with their

170

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

backs to the fireplace face pale-blush screens CNC-cut with mesmerizing rows of uniform circles.

“They were inspired by the vibrant streets of Milan, drawing on the communal aspect of eating at long outdoor tables on the street, in front of beautifully crafted doors from different eras,” Chow says about the club’s screens and doors, which are also decorated with metal studs. It all adds up to a refined celebratory vibe.

One flight down, the mood shifts. Brazilian Cielo Blu marble surrounds the 27th-floor dining area and cooking studio, surrounding them in oceanic calm. If the lounge was Barbie at the party, this is Barbie at home—barefoot, in the dream kitchen, the convertible parked for the night. The tranquil palette invites focus: on a soufflé rising, on flavors arranged with architectural precision. It’s a culinary atelier where knives are sharpened, skills honed, and ideas

“The concept invites memorable experiences that balance hospitality with the comforts of home”

Sharing space with the upper-level dining area is the lounge and bar, where all the furniture is custom.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

171

exchanged. Part performance, part workshop, the show kitchen, boasting all Gaggenau appliances, hosts residencies, tastings, talks, and the Culinary Artisan Series, where 14 of Hong Kong’s Michelinstarred chefs lead intimate cooking sessions, transforming herbs and blooms harvested from a secret rooftop garden into farm-to-table experiences.

KI Club’s material narrative is equally precise.

Another 20-foot-long marble dining table appears in the blue dining area; both are divided into three sections, with every joint treated as an opportunity for creativity. Wavelike seams link the slabs with a soft gesture, turning a technical necessity into a design detail. Plus, the tables’ apparent solidity is an illusion: A recessed lacquer band between each top and base delivers monolithic presence with material economy.

Chow extends the motif to the club’s restrooms, from their door hardware to their sinks, all in marble.

Through a water-jet technique that allowed intricate cuts without compromising the stone’s integrity, the handles and sinks are flowing, undulating forms, 172

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

representing a significant challenge achieved.

And texture extends beyond stone. The bouclé seating fabrics, from Italy and France, invite touch. High-gloss lacquer sharpens furniture with a tailored snap.

A subtle spiritual reference threads through the project, as well. On weekends, Wong, who dressed in head-to-toe pink for KI Club’s opening last March, hosts Sunday gatherings and bible studies at the showroom. A quiet cross motif emerged from this gesture: A constellation of metal studs appears on the screens, handles, and the door to the balcony, delicate enough to carry meaning without a strong religious tone.

Chow is responsible for another thoughtful and discreet flourish. “I’m quietly thrilled by the lounge’s sliding brass-and-marble panel that hides the TV. It’s practical yet sculptural,” he says of the screen used for culinary demonstrations. It subtly disappears, and the room resets to let conversation and community take center stage.

Left: Italian marble and brass surround the lounge’s fireplace.

Top: Custom stools serve the bar.

Bottom, from left: The same marble appears in that floor’s restroom, along with brass Venti sink fittings and a custom mirror. Custom studs double as door handles, blending form and function.

PROJECT TEAM ALLY SO; MATTHEW LUNG; TESSIE TSE; EDDIE WONG; GARY LIANG: NC DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE. TINO KWAN LIGHTING CONSULTANTS: LIGHTING CONSULTANT. DECCA HK: CUSTOM FURNITURE WORKSHOP. STONEWEALTH: STONEWORK. ALPHA CONTRACTING: GENERAL CONTRACTOR. PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT GESSI: SINK FITTINGS (REST­ ROOM). THROUGHOUT GAGGENAU: APPLIANCES.

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

173

c o n ta c t s DESIGNERS IN SPECIAL FEATURE Atelier d’More (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), d-more.cn.

BAR Architects & Interiors (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), bararch.com.

De.Tales (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), detales.it.

Discreet Architecture (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), filipposcarpi.tumblr.com.

El Equipo Creativo (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), elequipocreativo.com.

GAPP Architects & Urban Designers (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), gapp.net.

Gluckman Tang Architects (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), gluckmantang.com.

Gregory Mellor Design (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), gregorymellor.com.

Orma Architettura (“Grand Allusions,” page 146), orma-architettura.com.

PHOTOGRAPHERS IN FEATURES Zhu Di (“Wave of the Future,” page 130), Shadøo Play, @shadooplay.

Eric Laignel Photography (“Hometown Hero,” page 158), ericlaignel.com.

Harold-de-Puymorin (“In Good Taste,” page 166), HDP Photography Services, hdp-photographyservices.com.

Jérémie Souteyrat (“Trunk Show,” page 138), jeremie-souteyrat.com.

JP Vaillancourt (“Going Once, Going Twice,” page 122), jpvimages.com.

DESIGNER IN CREATIVE VOICES Sheila Hicks (“Thread Count,” page 53), sheilahicks.com.

DESIGNER IN WALK-THROUGH Wutopia Lab (“Immersed in Nature,” page 61), wutopialab.com.

PHOTOGRAPHER IN WALK-THROUGH Liu Guowei (“Immersed in Nature,” page 61), Daily Architectural Photography, dailyphoto.cn.

ARTIST IN CENTERFOLD

Interior Design (ISSN 0020-5508), October 2025, Vol. 96, No. 9, is published monthly with seasonal issues for Spring and Fall by the SANDOW Design Group, LLC, 3651 FAU Boulevard, Boca Raton, FL 33431. Periodicals postage paid at Boca Raton, FL, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS; NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Interior Design, PO Box 808, Lincolnshire, IL 60069-0808. Subscription department: (800) 900-0804 or email: interiordesign@omeda.com. Subscriptions: 1 year: $69.95 USA, $99.99 in Canada and Mexico, $199.99 in all other countries. Copyright © 2025 by SANDOW Design Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Interior Design is not responsible for the return of any unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

174

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

TOM EPPERSON

Nikolas Weinstein Studios (“Looking Glass,” page 117), nikolas.net.

LOOKING FOR AN INTERIOR DESIGNER? Hiring the right interior designer and sourcing the best products for your project can be a difficult task. Let Design Finder by ASID simplify your search with listings of: + Interior Designers

Manufacturers + Manufacturers

+ Design Firms

+ Suppliers

Use this platform to search through project image portfolios, product examples, and resources to make your space come to life!

At American Society of Interior Designers, we believe that Design Impacts Lives and finding the right partners is a key piece of the design process. Design Finder by ASID is your go-to resource for connecting with the interior design partners who will help bring your vision to life.

DESIGNERS AND SUPPLIERS, DON’T MISS OUT ON YOUR FREE LISTING!

Find your next partner

designfinder.asid.org IMAGE COURTESY OF 2025 ASID FOCUS AWARD WINNERS

2025 EVENTS, AWARDS & PROGRAMS Feb 19 Austin, Mar 6 Los Angeles, Mar 19 Atlanta, Apr 9 Minneapolis, Apr 23 Dallas*, May 14 D.C., Jun 25 Boston, Jul 16 Denver, Aug 6 Seattle, Sep 3 New York*, Oct 1 San Francisco, Oct 22 Miami. * Residential

February 9 - 11 The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage September 14 - 16 The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe

March 2 - 4 AutoCamp, Joshua Tree, CA

May 19 PENN 1, New York, NY

June 9 - 11 THE MART, Chicago, IL

November 2 - 3 THE MART, Chicago, IL

AWARDS

June 8 THE MART, Chicago, IL

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO GET CONNECTED: @interiordesignmag @Interior Design Magazine @InteriorDesignMagazine December 10 New York, NY

December 11 New York, NY

idevents@interiordesign.net

t h e spec

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

177

design annex THE spec

Puffed-up shapes breathe new life into contemporary designs

2

8

7

7: ODEON

8

1

178

INTERIOR DESIGN

OCT.25

editors' picks

editors' picks

4

3

6

5

3: JOE KRAMM; 5: CLAUDIA ZALLA

1. Cube Stack stoneware floor lamp in three-tone plaster finish by Winkle Ceramic Design. winkle.design 2. Elisa Ossino’s Acamante modular sofa of upholstered flame-retardant polyurethane modules by laCividina. lacividina.com 3. Leidyl Large, Leidyl Small, and Aurelia handblown taupe glass pendants on brass chains by Avram Rusu Studio. avramrusu.com 4. Clover pouf upholstered in cotton velvet by H. Bigeleisen. hbigeleisen.com 5. Formafantasma’s Ola silk jacquard (on wall) and James jacquard chenille (on chair) by Rubelli. rubelli.com 6. Baba bouclé-upholstered chairs with solid-oak legs by Emmanuelle Simon. emmanuellesimon.com 7. Alessandro Stabile’s Brezza Relax outdoor lounge chair (also on cover)

by S-CAB. s-cab.it 8. Scarf sofa with oak frame and memory foam cushioning upholstered in a Pierre Frey stretch chenille by Franck Genser. franckgenser.com

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

179

THE spec

180

INTERIOR DESIGN OCT.25

1

2

4

3

partners

1. COR SITZMÖBEL “Dschalies” is a

magical word from the Orient that stands for hospitality and relaxed communication. The Jalis club chair, the youngest member of the large Jalis family, has everything it takes to make you feel comfortable in convivial company—while also cutting a fine figure. The perfect prerequisite for a cozy yet stylish appearance. cor.de, UScontract@cor.de

5

3. KEILHAUER Designed by EOOS for Keilhauer, Agyl bridges the comfort of home with the productivity of the office. The upright seat and optional tablet support focused work, while the relaxed upholstery invites users to settle in. keilhauer.com/agyl

6

5. FABRICUT CONTRACT Fabricut

Contract’s Trademark Velvet is a highly durable yet incredibly drapable, recycled polyester velvet with an elegant sheen. Available in 53 classic jewel tones, vibrant saturated hues and traditional neutrals, Trademark Velvet is a versatile, luxury velvet that passes both upholstery and drapery fireretardant specifications, is PFASFree, STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified, and manufactured in an ISO 14001 facility. fabricutcontract.com

2. NATURALIST Naturalist’s Preserved Plant Walls bring the vitality of nature indoors—without the maintenance. Crafted by hand with real botanicals that are sustainably harvested and preserved, these walls retain their vibrant color and texture for years.

Ideal for hospitality, workplace, and commercial interiors, they offer a custom, biophilic feature that enhances design with lasting natural beauty. naturalist.us

4. NATIONAL TERRAZZO AND MOSAIC ASSOCIATION Versatile, elegant,

and timeless: Today’s terrazzo is an environmentally friendly material that combines extraordinary design potential, optimum durability, and low maintenance. The National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association is the authority for terrazzo and has been offering support and technical advice to the design community since 1923. ntma.com

6. INFINITY DRAIN Infinity Drain introduces its newest tile insert linear drain, Disco-rectangle.

Featuring soft, rounded corners and inspired by mid-century modern design, this style seamlessly blends form and function. Discorectangle emphasizes a fluid, organic aesthetic with smooth, curved contours. This design moves away from sharp angles while maintaining the structural integrity and performance of the product. infinitydrain.com

OCT.25 INTERIOR DESIGN 181

Celebrating 75 Years of Craftsmanship.

We design with purpose to honor our legacy and explore what’s next. kimballinternational.com

i n t e r vention

steeped in history

Perhaps nothing is more intrinsic to Chinese culture than the tea ceremony. The ancient ritual symbolizing hospitality, respect, and harmony is believed to have begun during the seventh century.

Today, Beijing-based Plat Asia has infused that tradition with a contemporary twist at the Cloud Tea Room, an amenity within the Huzhou Nature Valley Resort, a 33-acre destination surrounded by bamboo forests, tea fields, and mountains; about an hour west of Shanghai, Huzhou is said to be the origin of tea culture.

Compact at 100 square feet, the pavilionlike structure has an ethereal profile. Glass wraps the perimeter, tatami mats top the self-leveling concrete flooring, and white-painted steel panels form the roof. The latter is supported by a series of steel poles that begin in the tearoom supporting the roof, then meander out to the fields suggesting pathways for visitors to follow.

Of the 170 total poles, 100 of them are capped by a spray mechanism that produces a fog phenomenon that’s activated during tea ceremonies. “The archi­ tecture gradually disappears as the fog rolls in,” Plat Asia cofounder Jung Donghyun says, “severing all visual connection between our project and the outside world, creating a realm where only people and tea exist”—taking visitors on a temporary voyage to a simpler, centuries-ago experience. —Edie Cohen

ARCH-EXIST PHOTOGRAPHY

OCT.25

INTERIOR DESIGN

183

WE’RE WE’RE BACK!BACK! WALDORF WALDORF ASTORIA ASTORIA TH TH 2025 , 2025 DECEMBER DECEMBER 10 , 10

Design’s Design’s most most prestigious prestigious nightnight returns returns to thetoiconic the iconic Waldorf Waldorf Astoria Astoria in NYC. in NYC. 20252025 INDUCTEES INDUCTEES Héctor Héctor Esrawe Esrawe Esrawe Esrawe StudioStudio Pierre-Yves Pierre-Yves Rochon Rochon Pierre-Yves Pierre-Yves Rochon Rochon Marion Marion Weiss Weiss & Michael & Michael Manfredi Manfredi WEISS/MANFREDI WEISS/MANFREDI SPECIAL SPECIAL TRIBUTE TRIBUTE

Waldorf Waldorf Astoria Astoria New New York York

RESERVE RESERVE YOUR SPOT YOUR SPOT

Breck Seating

Work from Anywhere with Openest