10 new experimental Danish designs merging technology and tradition

We round up the 10 innovative new designs by Danish studios featured in our Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project 2021 collaboration, including shimmering glass architectural models, unusually textured 3D-printed recycled plastic sculptures, and a purposely excessive 300-kilogram aluminium birdbath.

Presented by the Copenhagen Design Agency, The Mindcraft Project highlights work from contemporary designers combining traditional crafts processes and materials with new technologies.

It aims to showcase the explorative and experimental design happening at the junction of art, craft, architecture and technology.

After appearing as an annual exhibition at Milan design week from 2008 to 2018, CDA relaunched the project as a digital exhibition last year and went online-only again for the 2021 edition.

Dezeen has showcased one of its projects daily since 17 March as part of the Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project 2021 collaboration, and all 10 of this year's works are gathered together below.

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Chair 02 by Archival Studies

Chair 02 shows young studio Archival Studies taking an architectural approach to furniture design. Archival Studies approached the design of Chair 02 as a project to structurally organise a space — in this case, the human body — and the studio hopes to eventually use the same system on an architectural scale.

Find out more about Chair 02 ›

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Bench 01 and Bedside Tables by Bahraini—Danish

A cultural exchange between two regions underlies the work of design studio Bahraini-Danish, including Bench 01 and Bedside Tables. Another distinguishing element of the furniture pieces is the way they reference architecture, with the Bench 01 recalling an arched bridge.

Find out more about Bench 01 and Bedside Tables ›

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Textile Veneer by Else-Rikke Bruun

Designer Else-Rikke Bruun blurs the line between fabric and wood with her Textile Veneer screen, which is made of thin birch plywood veneer that is woven like yarn. It is the latest in a series of experimental screens by Bruun, who as both an architect and a designer, is drawn to pieces of furniture that can be used to create spaces.

Find out more about Textile Veneer ›

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300kg Beauty Bath by Frederik Nystrup-Larsen and Oliver Sundqvist

A 300-kilogram aluminium sculpture contains one centimetre of water for a birdbath in artists Frederik Nystrup-Larsen and Oliver Sundqvist's work. The duo did not set out with any conceptual foundation or end goal for the piece; instead, they let the process — which involved working with polystyrene, tape and aluminium — dictate the end result.

Find out more about 300kg Beauty Bath ›

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Suspense by Kasper Kjeldgaard

A desire to create poetic compositions led to designer Kasper Kjeldgaard's delicate-looking Suspense light, which consists of an LED light, a fine brass rod and an even finer length of stainless steel fibre. By forming it into one continuous line from ceiling to ground, Kjeldgaard finds a sculptural opportunity in the lamp's cable.

Find out more about Suspense ›

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Ombre Light by Mette Schelde

Ombre Light combines traditional materials with a newer technology to try to achieve a "sensual" effect. With a light source placed behind coloured glass, designer Mette Schelde captures the effect of sunlight glowing through clouds.

Find out more about Ombre Light ›

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Ctenophora Vase, Echinoidea Bowl and Morning Dip Side Table by Ninetyoneninetytwo

Undersea creatures influenced the diversely textured forms of design studio Ninetyoneninetytwo's object series, all made of recycled plastics. The studio specialises in 3D printing, and this series is meant to explore how sustainable that process can be while challenging people's understanding of what a 3D-printed object looks like.

Find out more about Ctenophora Vase, Echinoidea Bowl and Morning Dip Side Table ›

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Ebano cabinet by Rasmus Fenhann

Designer and cabinetmaker Rasmus Fenhann assembled small timber offcuts like a puzzle to produce the monolithic-looking Ebano drawers. Bearing the marks of axes and chainsaws, the texture is meant to invite touch — which might be the only way to spot the seven drawers built into the object.

Find out more about Ebano ›

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Architectural Glass Fantasies by Stine Bidstrup

Kaleidoscopic expressionist architecture has taken over from the efficiency of modernism in the glass objects of artist Stine Bidstrup. The works are both abstract and hyper-detailed, made by blowing glass into a plaster-silica mould.

Find out more about Architectural Glass Fantasies ›

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In-tangibles by Stine Mikkelsen

Designer Stine Mikkelsen explores her mixed feelings about minimalism with In-tangibles, a series of sculptures inspired by family heirlooms. The abstract, earthy forms are shaped after a candy bowl, a brooch and a sleigh bell passed down from her grandparents.

Find out more about In-tangibles ›

Photography is by Anders Sune Berg.

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Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project

The Mindcraft Project is an annual exhibition presented by the Copenhagen Design Agency to bring the best in explorative and experimental Danish design to the world.

The Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project 2021 collaboration showcases the work of 10 innovative designers and studios from the 2021 digital edition of the exhibition via a series of videos. Watch all the videos as we publish them at: www.dezeen.com/the-mindcraft-project-2021.

Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project 2021 is a partnership between Dezeen and Copenhagen Design Agency. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Office S&M uses "trending colours" for characterful extension to colour consultant's home

Office S&M has completed a colourful extension to Overcast House in north London, which features on-trend hues such as Millennium Pink and Mint Green.

Local studio Office S&M, which is headed by architects Catrina Stewart and Hugh McEwen, added a ground-floor kitchen extension to the Victorian terraced house in Haringey.

Above: Overcast House is covered in pink-coloured concrete blocks. Top image: it contains a spacious ground-floor kitchen

As one of the clients works as a colour consultant the well-lit space was designed to double up as an area to meet with clients.

This replaced her south-facing studio at the front of the house that had variable sunlight conditions that made it hard to maintain colour consistency while working or holding meetings.

Part of the brief for the Overcast House, therefore, became about creating a space with even light that could be used as both a kitchen for entertaining and an artist's studio.

It is designed to be light but shielded from direct sunlight

"Creating a well-lit space that is shielded from direct sunlight was an unusual challenge," Office S&M pointed out.

"Our response makes use of north light in the new extension, through carefully shaped roof lights which shield the windows from direct sun."

The kitchen doubles as an entertaining space and an artist's studio

A saw-tooth roof of the kind typically found in industrial buildings or art galleries incorporates north-facing roof lights that let in even light throughout the day.

The timber-framed extension spans the full width of the house and looks out onto the garden through large glazed doors. A flat roof light set deeper in the plan provides an additional source of daylight in the new space.

Green paint covers the structural beams

The exterior of the new addition is clad in brightly pigmented concrete blocks that were custom made by London firm Mortise Concrete. The blocks have a U-shaped profile that creates shadows and adds visual interest to the facade.

"Starting from the profile of an extruded clay drainage channel, the new blocks create modelling on the rear facade even though there is no direct sun, and continue the investigation of indirect lighting which is being tested inside the extension," the architects explained.

Unsurprisingly, given the client's profession, the colours and materials used in the new interior are carefully considered to ensure they perform both functionally and aesthetically.

Gold-leaf tiles used for the kitchen splashback create a warm and even light that is complemented by shades of green applied to the countertops and painted surfaces including the supporting structural beams.

Gold-leaf tiles line one wall

"Discussions about colour were key to the development of the project, and elements of the house are picked out in trending colours," said Office S&M, adding that it used hues recently named as colours of the year by American colour company Pantone.

"The steel is Neo-Mint, the colour of 2020, and the colour of 2018, Millennial Pink, is used in the bathroom," the studio pointed out.

"The green is used to soften the beams within the domestic space, while the small bathroom uses colour blocking and vertical patterns in pink tiles to visually enlarge the space."

It has a saw-tooth roof

In addition to the open-plan kitchen, which can accommodate a table seating ten people for consultations, the project also involved the creation of a shower room to help future proof the house.

Office S&M is based in Hackney in north London and splits its time evenly between projects for public and private clients. It often experiments with colours and materials to create spaces that elevate the everyday experiences of its clients.

Pink tiles are used in the bathroom

The studio's previous projects include the creation of a pink and green house on an infill site in north London, and the renovation of another London property that features scale-like shingles and brightly coloured window frames.

Photography is by Megan Taylor.

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Ten architect-designed kitchens with terrazzo details

The terrazzo trend shows no sign of slowing down, with the decorative speckled material cropping up in residential projects as well as in restaurants and workspaces. For this lookbook, we've rounded up ten playful and practical terrazzo kitchens.

Terrazzo is a composite material made by mixing marble, granite, quartz or glass chips with a binder such as cement or resin. The rough mixture is applied to walls and floors before being polished.

The protruding stone pieces create an irregularly flecked surface that adds a fun, organic feel to interiors. Alternatively, terrazzo can be pre-cast into tiles, surfaces or objects such as vases and basins.

Terrazzo has an irregularly flecked surface, seen here in the kitchen of White Rabbit House

The material originated in Italy, where it was developed as a way of using up stone offcuts. Its popularity has grown over the past few years and today it comes in many different colours and designs.

The material is hardwearing and easy to wipe down, making it suitable for heavily-used areas like kitchens and bathrooms.

These ten terrazzo kitchens from the Dezeen archive all feature clever takes on how to best use the eye-catching material.

This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous articles in the series feature stylish home offices, children's bedrooms, inspiring outdoor living spaces, and living rooms with beautiful statement shelving.

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White Rabbit House, UK, by Gundry & Ducker

When architecture studio Gundry & Drucker gave this 1970s house in London an overhaul, it used terrazzo both for the exterior and the interior, decorating the house's facade as well as its floors with the material.

In the kitchen, a white terrazzo slab lines the floor and is matched with a green kitchen island with a black-and-white terrazzo top. The whole kitchen has been painted a vibrant green, creating a colourful contrast to the more subdued terrazzo.

Find out more about White Rabbit House ›

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Glyn House, UK, by Yellow Cloud Studio

In Glyn House (above and top), designers Yellow Cloud Studio used a playful, oversized terrazzo for the kitchen island, which is inlaid with colourful chunks of aggregate.

The furniture piece adds a graphic, almost Memphis-style touch to the otherwise traditional kitchen.

Find out more about Glyn House ›

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Galla House, Spain, by Cavaa

A pale-blue terrazzo floor with darker chips marks the kitchen area in this compact apartment in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain. The flooring continues into the hallway to cleverly connect the two rooms and create a surface where the owners and guests can store shoes without creating a mess.

The speckled pattern adds interest to the otherwise pared-down flat, especially in combination with the turquoise wooden detailing used throughout the space.

Find out more about Galla House ›

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Mài apartment, Vietnam, by Whale Design Lab

Whale Design Lab's design for Mài apartment was informed by modernist architecture, and especially the work of Louis Kahn. The studio used terrazzo to create this striking kitchen area as it was a big trend in southern Vietnam in the 1960s.

"Modernist architecture was introduced into the south of Vietnam in the mid-20th century," explained the studio.

"The popular construction materials of modern buildings in the United States such as exposed-aggregate surface, terrazzo and cement became trendy in Saigon."

Find out more about Mài apartment ›

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Melbourne apartment, Australia, by Murray Barker and Esther Stewart

Another project to pay homage to the 1960s is this Melbourne apartment that was renovated using the same colours and materials as its original mid-century interior.

Here, the architects used terrazzo floor tiles that were salvaged excess stock from a larger project to complement the original terrazzo flooring that still remains in the bathroom. The tiles feature unusually large stone chips in a brownish hue against a flecked black-and-white background.

Find out more about Melbourne apartment ›

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Liberty House, UK, by SODA

It's not just in residential projects that terrazzo has become popular, but also in workspaces and restaurants. In London office building Liberty House, designers SODA chose terrazzo from London-based producer Altrock to create the oversized patterns used for the practical kitchen splashback.

The studio also collaborated with Altrock to create custom-made surfaces with colours that match the rest of the design.

Find out more about Liberty House ›

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Frame House, UK, by Bureau de Change

Terrazzo is everywhere in Bureau de Change's design for Frame House. A terrazzo floor in different shades unites the ground floor and upper stories of the split-level house, going from a pale taupe in the kitchen to darker hues.

The white kitchen island was given a red, white and black terrazzo with an almost marbled effect that adds a luxurious touch of colour and pattern to the space.

Find out more about Frame House ›

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Coffeebar, US, by Walker Warner Architects

This American coffeebar in the San Francisco Bay Area has a back wall and service area entirely clad in classic black-and-white flecked terrazzo.

Simple wooden shelving and cups and jugs in monochrome ceramics complement the practical terrazzo to create a simple yet stylish design.

Find out more about Coffeebar ›

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Alfondac guesthouse, Spain, by Aixopluc

When Catalan architect Aixopluc created an experimental apartment above its office in Reus, it chose brown-and-white-speckled terrazzo surfaces for the kitchen and bathroom areas.

The slabs are made by tile brand Huguet from recycled glass and marble aggregate mixed with "green label" cement, which is meant to emit 35 per cent less carbon than standard cement.

Find out more about Alfondac guesthouse ›

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House P, China, by MDDM Studio

Colourful terrazzo fixtures decorate this Beijing apartment, with both the kitchen, bathroom and playroom clad in an off-white terrazzo with large chips.

"We wanted to use a material that could bring together the cement finishing of the floor and ceiling with the yellow walls," designer Momo Andrea Destro told Dezeen.

"The colourful terrazzo is produced in the south of China by a specialized manufacturer who assisted us on a careful selection of the stones."

The kitchen cupboards were painted turquoise to pick up the colour from the terrazzo slabs.

Find out more about House P ›

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This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen's image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing stylish home offices, children's bedrooms, inspiring outdoor living spaces, and living rooms with beautiful statement shelving.

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This week a virtual house sold for over $500,000

This week on Dezeen, the "first NFT digital house in the world" sold for over $500,000 as global interest in virtual design continued.

Named Mars House, the colourful virtual home designed by Krista Kim was sold on NFT marketplace SuperRare for 288 Ether ($512,000), a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin.

However, following the sale, a dispute broke out between the artist and visualiser over the ownership of the artwork with 3D-modeller Mateo Sanz Pedemonte claiming the project was "a fraud".

Kelly Wearstler imagines virtual garage for LeBron James' electric Hummer

As interest in virtual design continued, American interior designer Kelly Wearstler revealed a virtual garage in the desert that she imagines housing basketball player LeBron James' electric Hummer.

Meanwhile, designer Marc Thorpe visualised a virtual house with vaulted concrete arches for a riverbank in Georgia.

Dezeen announces plans for first Dezeen Club event at a virtual rooftop bar

Dezeen announced that we will be hosting a social evening in a virtual rooftop bar to discuss the rise of the metaverse with Space Popular, Andrés Reisinger, Amber Jae Slooten and Charlotte Taylor.

The virtual discussion will be the first Dezeen Club event.

Architecture highlights in Western Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Sahel

This week saw the launch of Dom Publishers' Sub-Saharan Africa Architectural Guide, which covers the history and significant buildings of 49 countries in Africa.

As part of a collaboration with Dezeen, the guide's editors picked their architectural highlights from Cabo Verde, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mali, The Gambia, Senegal and Niger.

Don't Move, Improve! 2021 shortlist spotlights London's best house renovations

In London, the shortlist for this year's Don't Move, Improve! contest – an annual competition to find the best home renovations in the capital – was revealed.

The 22-project strong shortlist included a minimalist charred-wood extension, a garden studio wrapped in green terrazzo and an origami-inspired annexe.

Clayton Korte embeds hidden wine cave into Texas hillside

Popular projects this week included a wine cellar embedded in a hillside in Texas, a Jewellery Box extension to a London home and the refurbishment of a weathered log cabin in Connecticut.

This week's lookbook focused on stylish home-working spaces.

This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week's top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don't miss anything.

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