Citizens Design Bureau adds "delicately perforated" Corten extension to Manchester Jewish Museum

UK studio Citizens Design Bureau has renovated and extended a heritage-listed synagogue to create a museum that "tells the stories of Jewish Mancunians".

Set between a builder's merchant and a self-storage company in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester, the studio aimed to create a building that would complement the industrial surroundings, but also be intriguing.

Manchester Jewish Museum has a Corten extension

"We wanted the building to make people curious, to ask questions and most of all to make connections," said Citizens Design Bureau founder Katy Marks.

"It's essentially an industrial shed clad in corten steel, but delicately perforated so that it acts as an intriguing moment in a cluttered streetscape, sparking conversations in one of Manchester’s most culturally diverse communities," she told Dezeen.

The extension's perforations were informed by the synagogue's architecture

Citizens Design Bureau renovated the synagogue, which was built in 1874 by Edward Solomons and is the oldest in the city, and added a weathering steel extension alongside it.

The colour of the Corten steel and a series of geometric perforations were designed to complement the synagogue and were directly informed by its Moorish architectural motifs.

The museum has a new entrance

"Our approach to the new building, therefore, takes a palette of rich, earthen colours and Moorish geometry in abstracted form," explained Marks.

"Rather than take one pattern and copy it across the facade, we wanted to express a process of enquiry, research and understanding, so the pattern is an exploration of eight-point geometry, with each node slightly different," she continued.

"We felt that now more than ever, we could express in architectural form the idea that 'we have more in common than that which divides us'."

The extension is built around a skylight-topped atrium

Built around a skylight-lit atrium, the extension doubles the size of the museum and contains space for exhibiting and storing the museum's collection of 31,000 objects that tell the story of Jewish Manchester.

An archive is located on the ground floor, while a gallery space occupies the entire upper storey.

"Inside, the museum has a brilliant social history collection that was previously displayed within the synagogue itself," said Marks.

"We wanted to give the collection its own space to tell the stories of Jewish Mancunians and allow the synagogue to become a living artefact in its own right."

The upper floor contains exhibition galleries

With the aim of attracting a wide range of visitors to the museum, the architecture studio created a large new entrance to the museum.

"We got a lot of feedback that many people found the appearance of the synagogue to be very explicitly religious, which gave the impression that the museum was specifically about the Jewish faith," said Marks.

"Creating a new and accessible entrance was key to making sure that everyone would feel genuinely welcome."

Exhibition spaces display some of the museum collection's 30,00o items

A cafe and shop were positioned alongside the entrance at the front of the extension to draw in visitors.

At the rear of the site, the museum is completed with a learning and community space that also contains a kitchen.

A cafe was positioned at the front of the museum

"As a small museum in an unusual out of town location, we were very aware that we would need to think holistically about this project and so the brief evolved to ensure that every single space became an integrated part of the museum experience," explained Marks.

"Through our test baking workshops, it became clear that not only is food a brilliant unifying force, it’s also a brilliant medium for storytelling," she continued.

"Visitors to the museum will be able to bake and eat together and learn about Jewish history through the medium of food."

The museum also contains a community space

Citizens Design Bureau is a London-based architecture studio that was established by Marks in 2013.

Also in Manchester, architecture studio Carmody Groarke recently added a lower-level entrance and gallery space to the city's science museum.

Photography is by Philip Vile.

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Álvaro Siza and Carlos Castanheira Architects place concrete art pavilion atop hill in South Korea

Álvaro Siza and Carlos Castanheira Architects have built a monolithic concrete art pavilion that will be used to display sculptures by Siza in an art park in South Korea.

The pavilion was informed by another Siza building, a gallery that was designed to display two Pablo Piccasso pieces, Guernica and Pregnant Woman, for the 1992 Madrid European Capital of Culture but was never built.

Above: the building is part-sunken into the ground. Top image: the pavilion has a forked shape

"This project started with a very uncommon demand from the client and the art director of the park at the time," studio founder Carlos Castanheira, who has long collaborated with Siza, told Dezeen. "They liked very much one project made for Madrid European Capital of Culture 1992 that wasn’t built."

"It isn’t usual for us to 'repeat' a project in other places because we believe that each building belongs to a certain place or site," he added.

"But I went to visit the site and met the client and liked both and so we accepted the challenge knowing that it wouldn’t be exactly the same project because the site was different and the program also."

It was constructed using concrete

The 1,370-square-metre Saya Park Art Pavilion is roughly four times smaller than the building it references. It is located in Changpyeong-Ri in the Gyeongsang Province of South Korea, atop one of the area's tallest hills.

The pavilion takes shape as a linear, forked structure that is part-built below ground and was constructed using rough board-formed concrete.

It is comprised of two forked volumes

A sunken pathway runs down the hill to the entrance of the building. Concrete walls surround the pathway and act as retaining walls, holding back the earth.

The structure's largest volume makes up the rectangular body of the building and contains the main exhibition spaces. The second volume, which branches off the first, is curved in shape and contains additional exhibition spaces.

Concrete covers the walls, floors and ceilings

"Regarding the volume, shape and other examples that the client already had built in the park we decided to make it in rough concrete," said Castanheira.

"We thought that is the best material for the shape, program and – more important – to the landscape because it will adapt its colour with the passing of time."

The two volumes are connected by a corridor that runs perpendicular to the building's forked volumes, enclosing a small courtyard.

Inside, the monolithic look is continued. Vast concrete corridors lead visitors around the building, with squared openings in the walls and ceilings providing glimpses of the sky.

The pavilion is used to display work by Álvaro Siza. Photograph is by Jong Oh Kim

"Another very important thing was the approach to the building and how to circulate inside, and how the light and shadow will change by walking along the different closed or open spaces," said Castanheira.

"The views to the outside are very much controlled and the visitor is only allowed to look outside when the architect allows it. Like with any good architecture it is a necessary movement to absorb space and time."

Concrete has a textural quality

Like the unbuilt Picasso exhibition space it was based on, the building is used to display sculptures. These were designed by Siza and explore the theme of life and death.

The sculptures were placed within openings in the corridors beneath skylights that illuminate and spotlight the works over the duration of the day.

A courtyard sits at the centre of the building

In 2018, Siza and Carlos Castanheira Architects clad Hangzhou's 16,000-square-metre International Design Museum of China in red sandstone blocks.

More recently, the architects used black corrugated metal across the exterior of the undulating, windowless walls of the Huamao Museum of Art and Education building in Ningbo, China.

Photography is by Fernando Guerra unless otherwise stated.

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Designers and brands gear up for hectic "super September" of design shows and festivals

This September will feature back-to-back design shows as new events and rescheduled fairs including Salone del Mobile and Design Miami Basel jostle for attention with regular fixtures.

"Super September" will see a hectic programme of fairs and events taking place in cities across Europe and China. As well as regular September events, such as the London Design Festival, the month will also hold a number of fairs that had been moved or postponed.

For many brands, this September will mark the first opportunity to show their products at a physical event in over a year, as the coronavirus pandemic forced most 2020 design shows to move to online-only events.

Salone del Mobile last took place in 2019

The key newcomer this September is Milan, which has moved from its traditional April fixture. The citywide fuorisalone events take place from 4 to 10 September, including Alcova on 5 to 12 September and Brera Design District on 4 to 10 September, while the parallel Salone del Mobile furniture fair runs over 5 to 10 September.

The latter, which last took place in April 2019, will take the form of a special "Supersalone" event curated by architect Stefano Boeri that will be open to the public, who will be able to buy products.

Frech property fair MIPIM has also made the leap to September, after its events in March 2020 and June 2021 were cancelled. The vast real-estate blowout will now be held in Cannes from 7 to 8 September.

Maison & Objet, France’s biannual trade show for decoration, lifestyle and design, will take place in Paris from 9 to 13 September. It will host a series of digital fairs, as well as a physical exhibition and an off-site tour in Paris, which runs in conjunction with Paris Design Week.

3 Days of Design was one of few events to have a physical edition in 2020

Helsinki Design Week takes place at more or less the same time, running from 3 to 13 September. This year the event has the theme Wisdom, and will feature exhibitions, discussion forums and meeting places for design professionals and enthusiasts.

Next up is 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, which runs from 16 to 18 September. This was one of the few trade shows to hold a physical event last year after the fair was moved from its usual May slot to the late summer. This year, it has decided to retain its September date.

This will be followed by the London Design Festival from 18 to 26 September. The festival, which usually is spread out over numerous districts across London, was held in 2020 but it was a "quiet affair."

Design Miami Basel, which is curated by Aric Chen, overlaps London Design Festival this year and takes place from 21 to 26 September. The 15th edition of the event, which showcases collectable design from designers and galleries around the world, was set to take place in June as usual but has been moved to September due to the pandemic.

London Design Festival had a low-key edition in 2020

Stockholm Creative Edition, a newcomer to the scene, will showcase Swedish design on September 23 to 29 September. Visitors can check out showrooms, studios and exhibition openings across the city, as well as pop-up spaces.

Another regular September fixture, Vienna Design Week (24 September to 3 October), takes place at the same time. Austria’s largest curated design festival will be the first under new management and will showcase architecture, product, furniture, industrial and graphic design.

Also starting on September 24 is Design China Beijing, a three-day festival that features both local talent and international designers. Talks from more than 30 design icons are on the schedule, with names including Feng Cao and Ab Rogers. The festival ends on September 27.

Finishing up the month is Stockholm Craft Week from 30 September to 3 October. Forty-two exhibitors will show their work at the event, which aims to increase awareness of craft as an art form.

Other key international events taking place include the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (6 September to 9 November) and the Chicago Architecture Biennial (throughout September).

Main image is by Chiara Venegoni.

These are just some of the numerous events taking place around the world this September. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Petit Pli launches collection of unisex clothes that expand to fit the wearer

Wearable technology company Petit Pli has launched a clothing collection made from mono-fibre polyester that adapts to the wearer's body shape and size.

The London-based studio, which has previously designed expandable clothes for children, launched the adultwear collection with the goal of reducing environmental damage, meeting user demand and catering to pregnant women.

The clothes are made from a mono-fibre polyester that contracts and expands to fit the wearer over time. The versatility of this patented material is meant to make it suitable for all genders, styles, shapes and sizes, including pregnant women.

Above: the design was made with pregnant women in mind. Top image: all genders, shapes and sizes can wear the collection

"Our adultwear has been engineered using placements of our patent-accepted structure in areas which see the most extreme growth in adults – the lower trunk, which can triple in size over a matter of weeks during pregnancy," Ryan Mario Yasin, Petit Pli's founder and CEO told Dezeen.

"The finish of the textile is our most comfortable to date. A mono-fibre construction allows clothing to be easier to recycle at the end of life since more energy would be required to separate a mixture of fibres."

The collection can be worn throughout different stages of life

Significantly, the clothes can be worn throughout all stages of a pregnancy thanks to the way they adapt to changes in size and shape.

"The series of garments have been created to work during and after pregnancy, which sees the body go through such extreme anatomical and physiological changes," Yasin said.

"Petit Pli Adultwear is soft and comfortable for ease of movement and expands across the bust, under arms and around the bump, with elasticated bands at the waist of the trousers and hem of the gilets to ensure fit. After pregnancy, the fabric contracts again, retaining its original shape."

A close-fitting but flexible design was used

The collection consists of an outerwear gilet, inner gilet and trousers. The team wanted the clothing to be tight-fitting and shapely as an antidote to more traditional unisex clothing.

"Petit Pli Adultwear is soft and comfortable for ease of movement and expands across the bust, under arms and around the bump, with elasticated bands at the waist of the trousers and hem of the gilets to ensure fit," Yasin continued.

In addition to lasting through all stages of adulthood, Petit Pli hopes the collection will minimise the number of people sending back their clothes – another key contributor to fashion industry emissions.

"By applying our unique patent-accepted material to adultwear we had the potential to reduce emissions created by size-related returns by creating a one size adult fit design," he stated.

The clothes build on a collection made for children

The clothes build on Petit Pli's children's collection, which won a Dezeen Award in 2018. The innovative designs were made to stretch as children grow.

Significant tweaks were made to the structure of the children's designs to ensure the adultwear fit pregnant bellies.

Petit Pli has also created an expandable face mask in response to the surge in plastic pollution during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Maximum Marmi tiles by Fiandre

Dezeen Showroom: Fiandre has added new styles to its Maximum Marmi tile range, using the latest in research and technology to achieve sophisticated marble looks.

Currently on display in the Italian brand's New York City showroom, the new additions to the Maximum Marmi porcelain collection are based on white and green stone.

The Invisible tile features grey veins on a pure white background

The Invisible tile has a pure white background traversed by a web of grey veins with golden accents, while Apuano Purissimo features lighter veins that fade into shaded areas to create what Fiandre describes as "a surface of unparalleled elegance".

Verde Fantastico references an Iranian aesthetic with its dark green background and white, brown and ochre details.

The Verde Fantastico tile contains gold accents

Another green tile, Alpi Chiaro Venato, features an intensely coloured background with white veins.

The Maximum Marmi range comes in large-format slab tiles of 300 by 150 centimetres that can be used on walls, floors or facades.

Smaller format options are also available to allow designers full flexibility. Maximum Marmi tiles come in polished or semi-polished finishes.

Product: Maximum Marmi
Brand: Fiandre
Contact: info@transceramica.com

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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