Dezeen Showroom: Spanish manufacturer Decocer has released Crag, a collection of porcelain tiles with an "avant-garde industrial aesthetic" designed to resemble stone and weathered metal.
The Crag collection is made of hardwearing grès porcelain for use both indoors and outdoors, and is digitally printed in two opposing colourways – Ash and Snow.
While Ash features warm, coppery hues reminiscent of the weathered "charm of a New York loft", Snow's cooler tones help to create a bright, minimalist feel.
Crag tiles can be used both indoors (above) and outdoors (top image)
"The technological innovation of digital printing allows us to apply to the pieces a textured matte finish," said Decocer.
"The Crag collection is designed to transmit an avant-garde industrial aesthetic, for people who want to break with convention."
The collection is available in two colourways including the cool-toned Snow
The tiles are available in one standard format of seven by 28 centimetres.
They can be used on both walls and floors, including in kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces, as well as on patios and in swimming pools.
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Fashion brand Balenciaga has renovated its flagship store in London, which features aged and distressed surfaces and exposed construction elements.
Located on Sloane Street, a luxury shopping destination in West London, the flagship store debuts Balenciaga's new concept for its retail locations.
Top: Balenciaga has reopened its flagship store on Sloane Street in London. Above: the store was renovated with a "raw architecture" concept
Spread across two floors and totalling 722 squares metres, the newly renovated space was informed by building sites, according to the brand.
"It introduces a new concept we are calling Raw Architecture," a Balenciaga spokesperson told Dezeen. "It has elements of construction sites, civil engineering projects, and abandoned spaces, but balanced with finer details."
The interior of the store was clad in distressed and patinated concrete
The exterior of the store sets the tone, with large floor to ceiling windows set between bands of aged concrete that aim to tie the storefront to adjoining structures.
Inside, distressed concrete predominantly covers the walls, floors and ceilings.
Columns have cracked and stained surfaces
Stained and cracked columns are spaced across the patinated concrete floors, creating the look and feel of a construction site.
Where not finished in concrete, the floors are fitted with large glass panels that reveal the rubble, debris and construction waste strewn across the ground beneath.
A glass floor highlights rubble and construction materials below
An unfinished, breeze-block-wrapped elevator core is covered in brightly hued construction markings. It rises from the glass-topped rubble floors to connect with the above.
The retail space surrounding the elevator core contains purposely stained, cast concrete shelving that will display Balenciaga's accessories.
A dark stairwell at the centre of the store also provides access to the upper floor.
Its walls are clad in blackened concrete, while the ceiling above is fitted with a translucent sheet that diffuses blue and white light to imitate daylight.
Distressed leather seating was placed throughout the flagship
A dropped ceiling constructed from metal mesh panels was partially installed across the store, organised in clusters to highlight cables, pipes, lighting and ventilation systems.
Distressed leather and stained white seating are installed between rough-edged partition walls, which support cross-cut metal shelving.
Digital screens, LED lights and aluminium displays contrast with the distressed look
"There are rough, untreated surfaces, faded graffiti, fissures and faults, exposed ventilation systems, visible cables, and also polished fixtures and high-tech displays," the brand said.
"With the Raw Architecture concept, exterior facades, shopping levels, and differentiated surfaces react to the space's surroundings and histories as well, giving new meaning to site-specificity."
The studio designed the coffee shop, which opened last month, inside a space within the newly built Green Tower at the Shiroiya Hotel that it described as "cave-like."
A large glass sliding door was used to maximize light inside the coffee shop and ensure the counter can be seen from outside
"The feeling of the original structure of the interior space was literally hard and forbidding before the construction," studio founder Ashizawa told Dezeen.
"I decided to have a fun characteristic where the homely atmosphere in the interior space would coexist with the distinct stony feeling of the cave entrance, by applying a warmer tone throughout the floor, counter top, sofa, and furniture, yet still utilizing the original concrete structure including pillars and beams in the space."
The flooring is made from brick often used in historic local buildings
A type of brick commonly found in historic buildings in Maebashi was used for the floors, with the bar counter plastered to complement its colouring.
Furniture was specially designed for the coffee shop
The lighting fixtures in the cafe, as well as detailing on the furniture, are made from copper.
"Responding to the textures of the bricks and the counters, we chose copper with a slight shimmer for the lighting fixtures and furniture, paper cords for the entrance handles, and upholstery for the sofas which are a collection of materials that are tactile and felt by touch," the studio said.
Like in other Blue Bottle Coffee shops, the bar counter is situated so it can be seen from outside.
The coffee shop was designed as a cave-like space
"Although it is a relatively small space, we tried to create a park-like environment where one can casually sit by providing sofa benches as the main type of seating," Ashizawa added.
"In particular, we ensured that the large sofa located in the middle would be comfortable for customers of all ages, from small children, parents to elderly, so that the space would feel welcoming to everyone."
A new art piece by local artist Yoshio Shirakawa, a study on the history of Maebashi titled 'Akagiyama Dragon Body', was chosen for the wall.
The Shiroiya's own history dates back over 300 years, with the existing 1970s hotel closing in 2008.
Copper has been used to complement the brick flooring
Blue Bottle Coffee was founded as a small roastery in Oakland, California by James Freeman in 2002, and has since grown into a chain of cafes across the USA and Asia, with several in Japan.
A concept for a city in which citizens can access their daily necessities by foot or by bike within 15 minutes has won the Obel Award for 2021.
Aptly named the 15-Minute City, the urban planning model was developed by French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno to help tackle car hegemony and create more sustainable human-centric urban environments.
The 15-Minute City by Carlos Moreno (above) has won the Obel Award 2021. Photo is by Mathieu Delmestre
It is the third project ever to win an Obel Award, an international prize presented annually by the Henrik Frode Obel Foundation to celebrate "outstanding architectural contributions to human development".
This year the competition focused specifically on new solutions to the challenges faced by cities around the world.
Paris among cities already using Moreno's ideas
Moreno first revealed his vision for the 15-Minute City model in 2016. Its overarching aim is to help improve the quality of life of people living in dense metropolitan areas.
It imagines decentralised cities in which citizens can access both their home and workplace in either a short walk or cycle. Food, health, education and cultural facilities would also be accessible without a car within a quarter of an hour.
Reducing dependency on vehicles in this way could help cut fossil fuel usage, carbon emissions and air pollution and, in turn, improve the health of both people and the planet.
The concept imagines cities where everything is accessible within 15 minutes. The drawing is by Micael
Facilitating active travel would also offer citizens physical health benefits, while reducing their commute times would help them to achieve a better work-life balance.
Moreno's framework, which can be adapted to suit local cultures and needs, has already informed urban planning in cities such as Buenos Aires, Chengdu and Melbourne.
Schwartz, who chaired the jury, described the 15-Minute City concept as "a real step towards the future".
Moreno's ideas are being implemented in Paris. The drawing is by Micael
"We are living in a time of urgency to make a change and live more efficiently," she said.
"The 15-Minute City addresses the need for us to rethink how our cities can be reimagined, redesigned, and regenerated for the primary benefit of people and the environment."
Moreno to reimagine concept for "rural territories"
With a prize of €100,000 (£86,000), Moreno and his team are now developing the concept further in order to tailor it to places with lower densities. For example, a scheme in the south of France could allow citizens to access daily needs within 30 minutes.
"We need to broaden our focus to include different densities and territories: from the small cities to the mid-sized cities and even to the rural territories," Moreno said.
"We need to keep the concept of the 15-Minute City but imagine new ways to implement its principle of proximity in other densities."
Moreno hopes that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic may also help put the 15-Minute City on the agenda in other countries. This is because the pandemic and resultant lockdowns have led many people to travel less and spend more time in their immediate neighbourhoods, illuminating the benefits of localisation and walkable public space.
In 2020 the Obel Award was given to German architect Anna Heringer for the Anandaloy community centre in Bangladesh. The building's structural elements are crafted from rammed earth made with mud from local ponds for its structural elements.
Before that, Japanese architect Junya Ishigami won the prize for his ObelArt Biotop Water Garden – an artificial landscape near the Nasu Mountains in Japan. It was chosen by the jury as it demonstrates how human interventions can enhance a landscape, rather than cause damage.
Main photo is by Emilie Koefoed for the Obel Award.
London-based artist Lakwena Maciver has painted a rarely used rooftop in bright colours and geometric shapes as part of a redevelopment of a London Underground station.
Maciver was commissioned to brighten up the unused rooftop above Temple Station
The painting is meant to act as "a beacon of London's recovery" as the city comes out of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Back in the Air is about connection," Maciver told Dezeen. "I like to respond to the context of spaces when I'm making work in public spaces, and this felt really relevant here given the name Temple and the fact that the space is a raised platform, facing the heavens."
"A lot of my work is concerned with this connection between above and below and between people," she added.
The phrase Nothing can Separate Us is incorporated into the design
Maciver used a kaleidoscope of paint colours including royal blue, vibrant turquoise and bright green in stripes, squares and text for her "contemporary vision of Paradise".
After sketching out her planned designs, the artist translated her initial drawings into a pattern that was stuck to the roof using tiles that are usually used for sports arenas.
She chose the tiles as they are sturdy and the station's roof couldn't be disturbed.
A hut covered in Maciver's design is informed by a shelter near the station
"This was a really difficult site to respond to," said Maciver.
"Having a vast half-acre of space to fill, with various obstacles within it, but also not being allowed to screw or drill anything onto the surface, and also needing to create something temporary, but that would also be weatherproof," she explained.
"The connotations of both play and mosaics that the tiles brought with them really resonated nicely with the themes in the work."
The phrase Nothing Can Separate Us can be seen at the entrance to the garden. For Maciver, this phrase has a personal meaning as she began making a painting with the same text for her home in 2020.
"Shortly after the pandemic broke out, we went into lockdown, and the painting took on a wider meaning," she explained. "Those sentiments seem especially poignant now just coming out of lockdown and as the city comes back together."
"I see my paintings as prayers and meditations, so it felt right to paint this on this raised platform to the sky, and for this mosaic of colours to flow outwards from it to cover the whole surface," continued Maciver.
Tiles used in sporting halls form the foundation of the artwork
A specially constructed hut modelled on a London taxi driver's shelter was also placed on top of the roof and painted in Maciver's designs.
The charity Cabmen's Shelter aims to provide taxi drivers with wholesome meals. One of its huts can be found on the ground level near Temple Station.
The designer used bright colours and striking patterns
Commuters who use Temple station, which was built in 1870, are largely unaware of the expansive terrace above their heads.
The raised area is not visible from the street and is only seen by the few Londoners who can see it from their elevated places of work, or who work on nearby building sites.
The roof can be accessed via steps that lead up to the roof. Visitors to the artwork can walk across the colourful tiles and take in views across the River Thames towards the South Bank opposite.
Maciver is the first of a series of emerging artists who will redesign the roof terrace in a project that Westminister City Council and theCoLAB have called the Artist's Garden.
The project forms part of a burgeoning design movement that Adam Nathaniel Furman has coined the New London Fabulous. The term is used to describe work that constitutes a "highly aesthetic, sensual and celebratory of mixed cultures" by a group of creatives working in the capital.
