Le Petit Maison is a tiny guesthouse in France made out of wood

Architecture studio 2m26 has completed this small, wooden guesthouse in southwestern France with matching furniture.

Le Petit Maison is a holiday home in Guitinières, France designed to accommodate up to two guests. The 36-square-metre house is located away from the main residence on the sprawling property, which is surrounded by fields, woods and an orchard.

The architecture and furniture studio designed the house and most of the furnishings from douglas fir wood, which was locally sourced.

Assembled on site, Le Petit Maison comprises a simple construction that uses screws to attach the wood slabs and panels. This method makes it possible for the structure to be easily disassembled and the materials recycled.

Several stout concrete pillars lift the volume slightly above the ground. Sliding glass doors and large shutters on the exterior offer privacy and shade.

"In a minimum space, offer many possibilities to open the house to the surroundings, sun and air," said architecture studio 2m26.

Inside there are four rooms partitioned by an additional set of movable doors and screens. When these are fully opened, they allow natural light to flood into the wood interiors.

"By playing with the two layers of sliding doors and shutters, both intimacy, protection and complete openness can be enjoyed in only 36 square meters," the studio added.

One of the four main spaces is a patio with no roof cover overhead leaving it open to the environment.

In the adjoining living room are a series of wood furniture pieces 2m26 constructed as part of the project. These include a three-legged round table, matching stools that double as side tables and a pair of low-lying chairs with high backs.

An L-shaped wood volume comprises a small kitchen workspace that connects to a wall of built-in shelves and storage located in the bedroom.

The custom-built bed frame has a base and headboard made of wood planks and several sets of pointy legs attached to its underside. Adjacent to the bedroom is a small bathroom outfitted with a sink, toilet and shower.

Founded in 2015, 2m26 is run by architects Mélanie Heresbach and Sébastien Renauld. It has offices in Nancy, France and Kyoto, Japan.

Other wood residences in France include a prefabricated house by Atelier Ordinaire and a timber-clad holiday house built into a gently sloped terrain by Atelier MIMA.

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Eight egg-shaped buildings from around the world

Just in time for Easter, here are eight buildings shaped like eggs, including a golden sauna in Sweden, beach huts in South Korea and a micro home in Slovakia.

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Albang, South Korea, by Yoon Space Design

Made of blocks of polystyrene cut into the shape of eggs, these beach huts are light enough to be moved from beach to beach.

Each hut designed by Yoon Space Design rests on a small podium. They each have a hatch door that leads into the cabin, which hare finished with linoleum floors and domed glass windows.

See more Albang ›

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Tij Bird Observatory, the Netherlands, by RAU Architects

In keeping with its purpose, the Tij Bird Observatory sits on the Scheelhoek Nature Reserve in the Netherlands.

It is shaped like a tern's egg, one of the birds that lives there, and is thatched with reeds from the marsh that surrounds it.

See more Tij Bird Obsaervatory ›

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Ecocapsule, Slovakia, by Nice Architects

Ecocapsule is a micro home shaped like an ovoid that can be transported by helicopter and dropped anywhere. Big enough for two people, it has solar panels and a wind turbine to facilitate off-grid living.

See more Ecocapsule ›

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Daedalum, UK, by Architects of Air

Daedalum is an inflatable maze created out of 19 interconnected egg-shaped domes. Entered via an airlock, the maze is full of light and colour and sound, creating an immersive sensory experience as visitors explore the installation.

See more Daedalum ›

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BingDing Wood Kiln Factory, China, AZL Architects

The arching shape of the BingDing Wood Kiln Factory in Qiancheng village, China, is designed to echo the monumental egg-shaped kiln at its centre.

AZL Architects used concrete to cocoon the kiln, which is used to continue the traditional art of wood-fired porcelain.

See more BingDing Wood Kiln Factory ›

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Seeds, UK, by Karl Lenton

Seeds is a moveable therapy pod for use in prisons. Designer Karl Lenton created the pods out of glass-reinforced plastic to be quiet, private places in the middle of loud prisons.

The pods are made out of eight modules that can slot together in 30 minutes without needing screws, meaning it can be taken apart and moved to different prisons to provide mental health treatment for inmates.

See more Seeds ›

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Solar Egg, Sweden, Bigert & Bergström

Bigert & Bergström built a sauna inside a giant golden egg to help the residents of Kiruna feel better about having to relocate their entire town due to subsidence caused by mining.

Called Solar Egg, the sauna has room for eight occupants to gather inside, and doubles as an eye-catching monument.

See more Solar Egg ›

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Second Home Hollywood, USA, by Selgas Cano

A canopy of yellow egg-shaped yellow roofs top pods filled with offices, a restaurant and a bookshop at Second Home Hollywood.

Built on an old parking lot, the tree-filled site provides co-working spaces for up to 250 companies.

See more Second Home Hollywood ›

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Italian design brands warn of "economic catastrophe" unless factories reopen next week

Nine leading Italian design brands have signed a manifesto urging the government to allow them to restart production after Easter amid concerns "it could take 20-30 years" for the sector to recover from the impact of coronavirus.

A manifesto signed by the brands calls for lockdown restrictions to be lifted on 14 April to avert an "industrial and economic catastrophe that would destroy thousands of businesses, meaning hundreds of thousands of jobs lost."

"Today the main objective of the group, and of the entire sector, is to ensure that production will recommence as foreseen on the 14th April," says the manifesto, which is titled "Design Doesn't Give Up".

Manifesto calls for 50 per cent rent reduction

The document has been signed by luxury furniture brands B&B Italia, Cappellini, Cassina, Flexform, Giorgetti, Molteni Group and Poltrona Frau, plus mosaic company Bisazza, and kitchen and bathroom maker Boffi.

"It is a very important, almost decisive choice that will have a profound impact on the industrial, economic and social future of our country."

The manifesto also reveals that the brands have called for landlords of showrooms and offices around the world to slash rent in half to help companies' cash flows.

"The group's first tangible result was a document drawn up two weeks ago to request a rent moratorium for all commercial properties that are currently closed," the manifesto says.

"The companies proposed to reach an agreement that would reduce the cost of rent by 50 per cent from April to December 2020. The request was immediately sent to all landlords of rented properties throughout the world and today constitutes an important tool and an effective basis for discussion."

Hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk

The manifesto makes bleak predictions about the impact that coronavirus, and the lockdown imposed across Italy last month, could have on the furniture sector.

"We continue to support the manufacturing sector as central to Italy, but it is important to remember that in 2017 in the European ranking we lost the long-maintained second position, following Germany, to France," the manifesto states.

"It is therefore fundamental that together we address the issue of returning to work and recognise the importance that this decision will have in preventing a great human and social tragedy transforming into a consequent industrial and economic catastrophe that would destroy thousands of businesses, meaning hundreds of thousands of jobs lost.

The manifesto highlights the importance of the sector to the Italian economy.

"The furniture and design sector constitutes one of the three strategic sectors of Italian production," it states. "With the strength of its 20,000 active companies and 130,000 employees, the sector generates 23 billion in turnover with an export level that exceeds 60 per cent.

The wider timber and furniture industry in Italy consists of 75,000 companies employing 315,000 people, according to the manifesto, and has an annual turnover of €43 billion.

Strict lockdown could reduce competitiveness of Italian companies

Last week, Italian brands were cautiously optimistic that they would be allowed to reopen their factories after Easter, following their enforced closure on 21 March.

We hope to open soon," furniture brand Molteni&C told Dezeen while a spokesperson for Zanotta told Dezeen they were "anxiously" awaiting the all-clear from the Italian government.

The manifesto warns that the strict lockdown imposed in Italy could damage competitiveness against countries that have introduced less stringent measures.

"If the closure continues further then the endurance of the industrial system will be severely tested," it states. "Many of our competitors, for example in Germany and Scandinavia, continue to operate regularly in these weeks."

"For many companies in the sector, this would mean that they would no longer be able to open again. We could lose 20-30 per cent of our industrial heritage and witness serious damage to the industry. All of this would inevitably result in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. It could take 20-30 years to recover what we would lose in a few weeks."

The manifesto is signed by B&B Italia CEO Gilberto Negrini; Bisazza communications director Rossella Bisazza, Boffi CEO Roberto Gavazzi; Cappellini CEO Kurt Wallner; Cassina managing director Luca Fuso; Flexform CEO Matteo Galimberti; Giorgetti CEO Giovanni del Vecchio; Molteni Group general manager Marco Piscitelli; and Plotrona Frau general manager Nicola Coropulis.

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Circular holes connect playgrounds on two levels of a Lisbon school

Portuguese studio Site Specific Arquitectura has renovated a 1950s school in Lisbon and added a dual-level extension with round openings connecting its outdoor spaces.

The primary school was originally built in 1956, on the border between the Caselas neighbourhood and the Monsanto Forest Park, to service the newly constructed low-density housing scheme.

Site Specific Arquitectura was tasked with renovating the existing building and introducing facilities including a kindergarten and multipurpose learning spaces.

The school occupies a hillside site that links the forest along its upper edge with a district of three-storey apartment buildings further down.

The main additions are accommodated below the original building and help connect it with the neighbourhood.

"Building most of the new spaces at the lower level of the plot helps to keep the school's volume framed in the surroundings, without disregarding the existing building," Site Specific Arquitectura explained.

"At the same time, it creates an accessible roof in the extension of the porch, restoring the yard of the original typology."

On the upper level, two new buildings are introduced on either side of the older structure. A library and administrative spaces are located to the west of the main entrance, with the multipurpose room and support areas to the east.

Both of the new additions are entirely separate from the original building, but their roofs extend to lightly rest against its single-storey porch, providing continuous covered circulation.

Site Specific Arquitectura's interventions are drawn using basic geometric forms that are distinctly contemporary in their expression, but also complement the older building's more traditional design.

Primary school pupils using the improved spaces in the existing building also have direct access to a larger playground, as well as green spaces created on top of the kindergarten.

Staircases inside the new structures descend to a lower level where the activity rooms are connected to outdoor courtyards. These spaces, and the canteen that is also accommodated on this floor, have direct access to the playground.

"The distribution through the two floors and the existence of the patios on the lower floor creates the illusion of an extension confined to one floor," the architects added, "which follows the topography of the surroundings and allows the creation of generous and autonomous outdoor spaces with different characteristics."

Large holes cut into the roofs above the courtyards create a visual connection between the two levels, and ensure that plenty of natural light enters the interior through the windows below them.

Site Specific Arquitectura has previously converted a Portuguese warehouse into a monastery chapel.

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John Whelan adorns Paris' Nolinski restaurant with art-deco details

Gold-leaf "sunbursts" and mirrored panelling feature in this art deco-style Parisian restaurant, which British designer John Whelan has stirred with 1970s-inspired details.

The restaurant is set within the five-star Nolinski hotel in Paris' first arrondissement, just a short stroll from the Musée du Louvre, and Jardin des Tuileries.

It had previously featured a mixture of blue and grey surfaces, as well as a dropped ceiling, resulting in what John Whelan described as an overall "cold" interior.

"There was also what I thought was a problem of 'contre-jour' where there are two competing natural light sources," the London-based designer told Dezeen.

Keen to bring a sense of warmth back to the restaurant, Whelan decided to base his design scheme on the rich material palette of the art deco movement.

"I was inspired particularly by the restrained Parisian art deco of the 1930s – think Jean-Michel Frank, Pierre Legrain or Sue et Mare," said Whelan. "They tended to use a minimal colour palette but accented their work with beautiful metals and woods."

"The building that houses the restaurant was also built in the 30s and has some art deco moments. I always try to respect the heritage where possible," he continued.

The focal point of the restaurant is now a central column that has been clad with strips of shiny mirror.

The upper part of the column is made from gold-leafed plaster, which splays towards the ceiling to form a "sunburst" shape – a popular motif of art deco design.

Mirrored panels have been set into the walls of the main dining space, which are otherwise washed with a gold-hued paint to create a slightly weathered patina.

Yellow-tone Siena marble has then been used to craft the dining tables, which are paired with cane chairs. Tasselled brass pendant lamps hang from overhead.

One side of the restaurant boasts a curved pine-wood drinks bar, while the other side has a private dining snug that's screened off by caramel-coloured velvet curtains.

From the centre of its tented ceiling dangles an ornate, three-tier chandelier from Spanish brand Fortuny.

A Japanese-style fresco has also been created on the wall here, depicting wispy clouds floating around mountain peaks.

"The fresco creates a feeling of indoor-outdoor, working with the light above. It's almost like a 'jardin d'hiver' which were very voguish during the art deco period," Whelan explained.

The restaurant's tonal colour palette and some of its furnishings, such as the corduroy seating banquettes, are meant to wink at the 1970s – a time period that Whelan thinks is a "match made in heaven" with the art deco aesthetic.

"I'm convinced that the designers of the 70s were heavily inspired by the art deco period, as the sweeping forms and glamorous finishes reflect those in thrall to modernism and new forms of travel in the 30s," he added.

The designer also wanted the ambience of the restaurant to match the "moody seductiveness" of films by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai.

"I feel that hospitality is a form of escapism, the opportunity to live a more glamorous or 'filmic' life," Whelan said.

This is the first standalone project from John Whelan, who up until now has largely worked on the restoration of notable Parisian brasseries, as part of the creative collective The Guild of Saint Luke.

"Many of my previous projects had incredible bones to start with, so I felt more like I was fine-tuning masterpieces rather than creating my own," said Whelan.

"This was the most challenging and rewarding project of mine to date."

Photography is by Victor Stonem.

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