Zaha Hadid Design creates sculptural Nexxa door handle for Izé

Dezeen Showroom: Zaha Hadid Design has translated its characteristically sinuous building and design style into a door handle called Nexxa.

Created by the Zaha Hadid Architects' design branch, Zaha Hadid Design, the Nexxa collection has been manufactured by London-based company Izé, which describes the product as a sculpture rather than a door handle.

Zaha Hadid Architects and Izé have created the Nexxa door handle

"Our initial concept for the lever handle was focused on how we could make it more innovative and at how we could design a handle as if to suggest a single continuous line which isn't broken even if the handle is being turned," said Woody Yao, co-director of Zaha Hadid Design.

"We made it into two pieces coming together with an elbow joint but they had to merge. We did a lot of research in how to make use of the break between the two elements – the socket and lever – as part of the story," he added.

The door handle emulates the architecture and design work of Zaha Hadid

Izé began the process of designing the handle with the late Zaha Hadid, who led the studio until her death in 2016, in 2006. Since then, more advanced architectural design software was developed that aided in the creation process.

"3D printers allowed us to experiment with form and made it easier and quicker for us to refine the design and to make it more ergonomic, though we were still working with Izé's sculptor and model maker and the back and forth between them was incredibly productive," said Maha Kutay, co-director of Zaha Hadid Design.

Izé began designing the handle with the late Zaha Hadid in 2006

The Nexxa door handle comprises two subtly twisted bars of metal with rounded edges that join on an axis.

These undulating forms are typical to the architecture and design firm, bearing resemblance to both its buildings, such as its recent plan for a 36-storey skyscraper in Hong Kong, and its product design, which includes a series of amorphous stainless steel candle holders.

The handle comes in a range of finishes including solid rose gold – a first for a commercially available handle – satin and polished black titanium.

The Nexxa door handle is also available in a white finish

Zaha Hadid Design has previously created two 3D-printed chairs for Spanish brand Nagami Design, which is made from polylactic acid plastic. The two chairs, called Bow and Rise take cues from the natural growth processes that occur in marine biology, in particular underwater ecosystems and coral formations.

The design studio has also made candle holders with amorphous shapes and an activewear collection for women.

Product: Nexxa door handle
Designer: Zaha Hadid Design
Brand: Izé

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Dezeen Awards 2020 trophies by Atelier NL are crafted from wood salvaged from London trees

Dutch design studio Atelier NL has used wood from London street trees to create this year's Dezeen Awards trophies, which will be awarded in a series of video shows next week.

The d-shaped trophies are crafted from hardwood salvaged from diseased or unsafe trees that would otherwise be chipped or burned.

The design is based on the brick trophies that Atelier NL's Nadine Sterk and Lonny van Ryswyck designed for the first Dezeen Awards ceremony in 2018.

This year, the Dutch duo had to come up with a new design since the brick factory that produced the original trophies was forced to close down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Lately we have been working a lot with city wood, so we went to search for local wood in London," said Sterk. "We found this beautiful workshop called Saunders Seasonings, which uses the wood from old city trees."

The timber comes from planks cut from London street trees

Saunders Seasonings was founded two years ago by Bruce Saunders, a London resident who was surprised to discover that the majority of old trees felled in the city are incinerated.

The workshop takes unwanted lumber from felled plane, oak, ash and elm trees and saws it into planks that it sells from its workshop in Walthamstow, east London.

Saunders worked in collaboration with Studio azmyanything to produce 45 trophies for Dezeen Awards 2020, following blueprints supplied by Atelier NL.

The Dezeen Awards logo is cut with a CNC mill

The designers wanted the new trophies to showcase the natural beauty of the wood in the same way that the previous brick design celebrated the rough, hand-formed yellow London clay.

The wooden trophies are hand-sawn and finished, with the Dezeen Awards logo milled using a CNC machine and the details of the winner engraved by laser.

"We used different types of wood-working techniques, and wanted to keep the different characters of the wood visible," says Sterk.

"When you have this piece of wood in your hands you can really feel the emotion of the life of this tree," adds Van Ryswyck.

Atelier NL's original Dezeen Awards trophies were crafted in a brick factory

The winners of the trophies will be announced in a series of three Dezeen Awards 202 Shows that will be broadcast from 23 to 25 November.

Hosted by BBC Radio London presenter and poet LionHeart, the shows will start at 4:00pm each day. The architecture categories will be announced on Monday 23 November, the interior categories on Tuesday 24 November, and the design categories on Wednesday 25 November.

Trophies will be shipped out to all winners following the Dezeen Awards 2020 Shows.

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Barcelona to convert a third of central streets into car-free green spaces

Barcelona's city council has announced its plans to transform one in three streets in its central Eixample district into green, car-free public spaces to tackle air pollution.

Under the scheme, 21 streets and 21 road junctions will be converted into small parks and public squares – creating 33.4 hectares of land "where the pedestrian and the clean air are protagonists" according to Barcelona City Council.

The transformation, which is expected to take 10 years, is an attempt to curb excessive pollution in the Catalan capital and make it a healthier, safer and more sustainable place to live.

Plans focus on central Eixample district

Barcelona City Council's masterplan focuses on the streets of Eixample, the densely populated and bustling district at the heart of Barcelona.

Eixample is best known for its innovative grid-like layout developed by urban planner Ildefons Cerdà in the 19th century, which has since become busy with cars.

Top image: aerial view of the Eixample distict. Above: a street in Poblenou superilla. Photo is by Paola de Grenet, courtesy of Barcelona City Council

According to the council, this area is being prioritised for the transformation as it "has a very high potential impact on the rest of the city due to population density and high levels of traffic and pollution".

"The Cerdà plan … was designed to modernise Barcelona at the end of the 19th century and achieve better public health conditions," Barcelona City Council explained.

"In the current context, this large area of ​​the city is once again an excellent opportunity to recover this spirit of urban transformation and update the Cerdà plan in the 21st century."

Scheme part of wider Superillas masterplan

The scheme is an extension of the city council's existing Superillas masterplan that was established in 2016.

Superillas, or Superblocks, are designated areas in Barcelona designed to reduce traffic and maximise public space – tackling the city's chronic pollution problem.

So far there are six Superillas, which the council claims have resulted in as much as a 33 per cent reduction in harmful nitrogen dioxide levels – a gas that forms from emissions from cars.

In 2019, Barcelona recorded that nitrogen dioxide levels exceeded both the EU and World Health Organisation's limits throughout the city. The same report stated that Eixample had the highest pollutions levels of all districts and was responsible for 23 per cent of deaths in the area.

One in three streets will be transformed

The goal for Eixample is to convert one in three of its streets into small parks. Alongside the 21 new plazas that will be made at road junctions, this will provide all locals with safe outdoor space within 200 metres of their homes.

To compensate for the reduction in road access, the council has said access to public transport "will be guaranteed" throughout the area.

A park in Sant Antoni superilla. Photo is by Edu Bayer, courtesy of Barcelona City Council

Work on the scheme is expected to start in 2022, beginning with the transformation of eight sites.

The site's landscape design will be decided through an open competition. The council's criteria invite entries that cater to pedestrians, offer shaded spaces in summer and facilitate spontaneous children's play.

Proposals should also offer space for bar and restaurant terraces, alongside flexible space to accommodate various public events like fairs and concerts.

Growing number of cities creating low-traffic spaces

Barcelona City Council's plan is the latest in a string of initiatives in cities around the world to tackle car hegemony and maximise green space. Many of these are new pedestrian-friendly streets developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic to support social distancing.

In 2019, Paris revealed plans for an "urban forest" planting scheme, which will see trees and gardens introduced beside four historic sites. The goal is to improve air quality in the French capital and address climate change.

More recently, the local council in Hackney, London, introduced initiatives to reduce car usage in an attempt to become net-zero emissions by 2040 – though the scheme has proven controversial.

Local councillor Jon Burke told Dezeen that planters and bollards that have been installed to support the scheme by alleviating rat-running – cut-through driving to avoid traffic – in residential streets have been subject to protests, graffiti and vandalism.

Elsewhere in Barcelona, ON-A recently imagined enveloping Nou Camp football stadium with a 26-hectare park to demonstrate how large areas of parkland could be introduced into cities.

Main photo is by Logan Armstrong via Unsplash.

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Issey Miyake store in Osaka is splashed with water-themed details

Seating that resembles bars of soap and pipe-like clothing rails appear inside this Issey Miyake store in Osaka's Minamisemba neighbourhood, which was designed by Shingo Noma.

The store, monikered Issey Miyake Semba, is shortlisted in the large retail interior category of the 2020 Dezeen Awards.

Japanese designer Shingo Noma created the interiors to reference Osaka's long history of maritime trade – the city's port has been in operation since before the year 300 AD.

The store's exterior features a sculpture that looks like a tap

"Linking the city of water, Osaka, with the continuous circulation of interesting ideas that bubble up from making things at Issey Miyake to the image of the store, I arrived at the design concept of a 'fount of creativity'," explained Noma, who is also art director of the gallery inside Issey Miyake's Kyoto branch.

"If you turn on the faucet, there will always be a gushing flow of interesting ideas."

Water-inspired decor details have therefore been introduced at every point in the store. A four-pronged silver sculpture that looks like the handle of a traditional tap has been mounted on the facade, just above the brand's logo.

Concrete covers most of the store's interior

Inside, on the store's ground floor, garments are hung from bending metal rails that have been shaped to mimic water pipes.

The same pipe-like tubing supports the display tables, which all feature white, glossy countertops – almost reminiscent of the inner lining of bathtubs or sinks.

Guests can relax on the white, blue and grey seating poufs that have been dotted across the room. Each one has a wide, rounded form and a raised lip running around its outer edge, emulating the shape of a bar of soap.

The clothes rails and legs of the display tables are meant to look like water pipes

The same fixtures can be seen down in the store's basement, which also includes an exhibition space. At the time of opening, it showed a series of works by Japanese illustrator Seitaro Kuroda, including his various depictions of boats and ships.

Surfaces throughout the store, including the floors, have been washed over with concrete. The ceiling and its network of exposed service ducts have been rendered in white.

An exhibition area can be found in the store's basement

Issey Miyake Semba will go head-to-head against five other retail spaces in this year's Dezeen Awards. Amongst them is high-end fashion store The Webster, which occupies a rotund, pink-concrete building in Los Angeles designed by architect David Adjaye.

Also on the shortlist is the streetwear brand Supreme's San Francisco store, where studio Brinkworth has installed a huge skateboarding bowl.

Photography is by Masaya Yoshimura and Copist.

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Ghisolfa sofa and chair by Raffaella Mangiarotti for IOC Project Partners

Dezeen Showroom: Milan-based designer Raffaella Mangiarotti has created the Ghisolfa sofa and chair collection for Italian office furniture brand IOC Project Partners.

The dramatic high back and sides of the Ghisolfa pieces provide an acoustic cocoon that envelopes the sitter, protecting them from noise and keeping their own conversations private.

The high backs of the chairs form a "protective hug" around the sitter

"I am fascinated by the possibility of creating a piece of furniture with physical and mental comfort. An intimate place to concentrate and relax," said  Mangiarotti.

"I liked the idea of a nest, soft like a big pillow and cosy like a protective hug," she added. "A place that looks and is welcoming. It should have a generous space where the user can always find a comfortable and personal sitting position."

Lower versions are available too

Thick quilted material makes for a comfortable seat that doubles as an acoustic baffle. The high back and sides create another layer of privacy and comfort.

"The acoustic textile structure protects the user from external noise and contributes to relaxation," said  Mangiarotti. "But even the tone of the seated voice drops. This acoustic quality changes our perception and sensations for the better, making us feel calmer."

Ghisolfa pieces are also available with lower backs and sides to aide communication during meetings or in breakout areas.

Product: Ghisolfa
Designer: Raffaella Mangiarotti
Brand: IOC Project Partners
Contact: n.mismara@ioc.it

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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