Xiamen pilates studio by Wanmu Shazi resembles a light-dappled cave

Amorphous windows illuminate the cavernous interior of this pilates gym, which designer Wanmu Shazi has created in the Chinese port city of Xiamen.

The interior of TT Pilates, which is set inside a high-rise office building, was designed to distance visitors from the hustle and bustle of their urban surroundings.

The TT Pilates studio has cave-like interiors

"Pilates is a unique exercise that enables people to focus on themselves," Shazi explained.

"Through physical and mental training, people are able to enter another state of consciousness completely different from daily life and recharge their batteries. Such exercise needs an immersive, introverted space."

Natural light streams in through amorphous windows

With this aim, the designer focused on using soft colours and materials to mimic textures found in nature.

A mixture of micro cement and beige paint was used to form a rough, stone-like layer over the studio's walls and ceilings.

This fake rock finish also covers most of the studio's expansive steel-framed windows, leaving only a few organically-shaped openings so that visitors can catch glimpses of the skyline beyond.

Wooden stools are meant to look like pebbles

"Standing in the tranquil space and looking down at the bustling outside world through window openings evokes a transcendental experience," said Shazi.

These openings, along with those made in the ceiling to accommodate spotlights, cast bright patches of light onto the wooden floors.

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Rocky surfaces also appear in the bathroom with its huge trough-style sink, which rises up from the ground like a boulder.

And in the entrance area, wooden stools shaped to resemble pebbles allow visitors to sit down while changing their shoes.

A trough-style sink in the bathroom resembles a boulder

"Many people said the studio looks like a cave but actually, at the beginning of the design, no particular style or form popped into my mind," Shazi explained.

"Instead, I just hoped to create a pure space that reveals a natural, immersive and serene vibe."

Just beyond the studio is an outdoor courtyard

Just beyond the studio's two main classrooms is a drinks bar where visitors can relax on plump white beanbag chairs.

One of the room's walls is punctuated with arched windows looking through to an outdoor courtyard, which features an exotic tree surrounded by a shallow pool of water.

A thick ledge running around the perimeter of the pool allows visitors to sit and submerge their feet on warmer days.

A shallow pool surrounds a tree at the courtyard's centre

Wanmu Shazi isn't the only designer to create cave-like interiors in recent months.

BLUE Architecture Studio just completed a Chinese dessert cafe with craggy, boulder-style columns while Studio Wok designed a pizzeria in Sardinia with curved plaster walls that nod to the island's rocky coves.

Images are courtesy of 1988 Photography Studio and A Qi.

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Imbue Design completes glass-and-steel home in Utah desert landscape

Salt Lake City architecture studio Imbue Design has built a house outside Zion National Park in Utah with sweeping views of one of the USA's most renowned landscapes.

The Watchman Cabin was completed collaboratively with a nature-loving client who was "captivated" by the area's natural surroundings after visiting. Located in Springdale, the site is near the entrance to the Zion National Park, which is famed for its dramatic rock formations and rugged scenery.

Imbue Design built the house outside Zion National Park

"All around the Watchman Cabin's site rise massive stone megaliths that are the handiwork of water and wind and 150 million years of deposition," explained Imbue Design.

"The client requested that Imbue empathetically design a retreat that would harmonise with its unique environment, capture the essence of the place, and resonate with his deliberate nature," the studio added.

The cabin sits against the Utah landscape

The home is sited at the foot of a hill and divided into three volumes that encompass 1,900 square feet (177 square metres).

These include a garage, a main residence, and a standalone guesthouse with its own kitchen and a small living room.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing faces the dramatic views

Each room is connected by covered, but unenclosed walkways.

"All three are threaded together by a CMU [concrete masonry unit – also known as breezeblocks] retaining wall and organised about a central connecting courtyard for gathering," said Imbue Design.

Weathering steel wraps around openings

Within the shared terrace that separates the main residence from the guesthouse, the architects included amenities such as an outdoor fireplace and a soaking tub.

"Where the retaining wall is the cabin's spine, the courtyard is the project’s heart," said Imbue Design.

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Inside, the facades facing Zion's rock formations are glazed from floor to ceiling, offering expansive views of the landscape, while more private areas were clad in weathering steel.

This earthy tone, as well as the masonry's reddish shade, were inspired by the colour of the soil in the area.

Interior spaces offer views of the landscape

"The weathered steel skin provides privacy and protection from the harsh desert climate, while glass volumes in public spaces act as eyes taking in every magnificent vista," said the architects.

The interiors were completed in a restrained, grey palette that is contrasted by the underside of the overhanging roof, which was finished in wood and visible throughout the home.

The cabins give their nature-loving owner immediate access to the landscape

Utah is famed for its remote, dramatic landscapes and desert climate.

Other properties in the Western US state include a home by Klima Architecture in the mountains and a low-slung gabled retreat by Studio Upwall Architects.

The photography is by Miranda Kimberlin.

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Project credits:

Contractor: Fahrenkamp
Engineer: Epic Engineering
Geotech: AGEC

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Stacked steel tubes form Waterline Monument by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh

Hundreds of stacked, weathered steel tubes form this arched monument in Laagraven Park, Utrecht, designed by architecture and art studio Gijs Van Vaerenbergh.

The Waterline Monument was created to celebrate the New Dutch Waterline being awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2021.

The Waterline Monument is a steel tubed monument that was designed by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh

Operational from 1815 to 1940, the New Dutch Waterline was a defensive system of canals, forts and bunkers that enabled areas of land to be strategically flooded in order to make them inaccessible in the event of an invasion.

Stretching from Muiden, outside Amsterdam, down to what is now the Biesbosch National park near Rotterdam, the area has since become a popular route for cycling and hiking, with many of its forts, bunkers and locks still intact.

The installation was constructed using hundreds of weathered steel tubes

Gijs Van Vaerenbergh saw these historic structures as being crucial to the "collective memory" of the area. For the design of the monument, the studio abstracted the form of one of the many locks along the route using a welded stack of metal tubes.

"By presenting the lock in its essential form, that is, three arched openings at right angles to the viewing direction, the image is shifted from that of a lock to that of an (entrance) gate," said the studio.

"As the sculpture is situated on top of the slope, it is also reminiscent of a triumphal arch. The play with the recognisability of these different forms imbues the work with ambiguous meanings," it continued.

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Concrete bunker in the Netherlands transformed into a tiny vacation home

From a distance, the monument is designed to appear as a solid structure, similar to many of others dotted along the route of the New Dutch Waterline.

When approached, however, the different lengths of tube and their hollow forms cause this initially solid appearance to "dissolve" as visitors move around it.

Steel tubes have different lengths

"The work always presents itself as a solid stack of tubes, except when visitors pass by it. The gaze then not only passes through the arches of the gate, but also through the tubes themselves," said the studio.

"For a brief moment, the image dissolves; the artwork becomes partially transparent. This creates a special, elusive moment of wonder and a new perception of spatiality," it continued.

From certain points, the Waterline Monument looks as though it is solid

The structures along the New Dutch Waterline have been the site of many previous architectural interventions.

Belgian studio B-ILD converted a former bunker into a tiny holiday home, and RAAAF and Atelier de Lyon created a sculptural visitor attraction by slicing a bunker down its middle to create a route through its interior.

The photography is by Johnny Umans.

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Andreas Lyckefors and Josefine Wikholm build twin houses in Gothenburg

Swedish architect couple Andreas Lyckefors and Josefine Wikholm have designed and built themselves a home with a decorative lattice facade, plus a matching property next door.

Lyckefors, who is co-founder of architecture firm Bornstein Lyckefors, and Wikholm, who works for Semrén & Månsson, designed Villa Timmerman and its neighbour for a site in the south of Gothenburg, near the sea.

Andreas Lyckefors and Josefine Wikholm built Villa Timmerman as their own home

Developing the site into two properties rather than one was key to making the project stack up financially.

Instead of creating a bespoke design for themselves, the couple decided to make both homes identical. The only difference is in the orientation – the floor plans are a mirror image of each other.

The house sits alongside a matching property, designed for private sale

"We tried different layouts but came up with a scheme that worked really well in both directions," Lyckefors told Dezeen.

By making the homes semi-detached, the architects were able to create a more cost- and space-efficient scheme.

While planning authorities would only permit a certain amount of development on the site, the couple were able to create five bedrooms in both homes.

"The site is pretty much developed to a maximum," said Lyckefors. "There was no room for us to create separate structures and still keep the size of the homes."

The facade features timber beams running in three directions

The most distinctive feature of the building that holds the two homes is the patterned facade, made up of timber beams running in three different directions. Some run vertical, while others follow the angle of the sloping roof.

The idea was to give the building more character than it would have with just vertical cladding. But the arrangement has proven to have other benefits.

The facade protects from drifting rain and catches the snow

"It works well as extra protection against solar radiation on the facade and as a protective layer against the drifting rain on the west coast," said Lyckefors.

"Also, the layering of snow adds a seasonal touch to the house during winter."

Both houses contain three storeys

Wood was used for the entire building structure. As well as the lattice cladding, the houses have a timber frame that was prefabricated in a factory and assembled on site.

The exterior is coated in a wood tar that combines black and brown pigments, helping to protect the structure.

Living spaces are located on all three levels

Exposed wood is a common feature throughout the interiors, thanks to the addition of ash veneer and solid ash boards.

The staircases are a highlight, incorporating extra-large steps that can be used as seating or a display area.

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"We wanted a light wood Scandinavian feel to the house," said Lyckefors.

"Using the wood vertically in the staircase, the warm embrace of light on wood is cutting through the entire house."

The first-floor kitchen and living space opens out to a balcony

The layout is designed to provide flexibility for a range of situations.

Living spaces are open but located on all three floors, so they feel connected but can allow various activities to take place simultaneously.

There are also bedrooms on all three levels, so they can easily be used for other purposes.

"We wanted the house to be able to grow with the family and function well during all stages of life," said Lyckefors.

The ground floor rooms are lined with ash panels

This is the second project that Lyckefors and Wikholm have developed themselves, having previously built a summerhouse on the island of Kallaxön.

With this project, the couple struggled to decide which house to keep for themselves, having put the same degree of care into both properties.

"It was incredibly hard to pick sides," added Lyckefors. "We couldn't make up our mind until the last day before meeting the real estate agency."

Photography is by Kalle Sanner.

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Animated ArchiPaper farmhouse gets built in Poland

BXB Studio has completed a house built of five overlapping barns that was the basis of the dream-like animated short film ArchiPaper.

Named Polish Farmhouse, the house is a transformation of a historical homestead that involved redeveloping an old house on the property and reimagining five outbuildings that were demolished.

The home drew global attention in 2019 when visualisation artist Rafał Barnaś, who is architect Rafał Barnaś' brother, photographed the model of the project and created a paper-cutout style of animation.

Titled ArchiPaper: A Surrealist Story About Architecture, the film went on to win awards at international festivals and is now available to watch in full on YouTube.

The model for the Polish Farmhouse was the basis of the short film ArchiPaper

BXB Studio renovated the original 100-year-old homestead into a guesthouse and around it, the studio created a modern home within five intersecting forms that are similar in size to the original outbuildings.

The architecture studio tried to position the volumes so that they could keep certain trees, and to create views in each room that would be appropriate to their function.

The Polish Farmhouse consists of five overlapping barn-like volumes

"In the place of five farm buildings due for demolition, we proposed five permeating barns, to create a highly dynamic space," said Bogusław Barnaś. "The seemingly random scattered solids were carefully defined by the surrounding landscape, the position of the sun and the function of the building."

"The house is a well-balanced architectural composition, corresponding with the surrounding landscape allowing the building to be ecological and energy efficient and providing a human connection to nature," he continued.

BXB Studio applied several different styles of wood cladding and ornamentation on the building's exterior

The home's functions are spread across the five volumes. Barn no.1 was built at the roadside entrance to the property and contains the garage with a gym above it.

BXB Studio used only timber as a construction and finishing material here, which, according to the studio, creates a woody scent and helps to create a sense of adventure by emphasising the barn-like nature of the space.

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Rafał Barnaś creates an "abstract world built out of paper" for animated film ArchiPaper

The entrance to the residence was placed in Barn no.2, which leads onto the children's zone and main hall in Barn no.3.

Barn no.4 contains the kitchen and two study rooms, with the kitchen opening out onto the courtyard where the historic house sits, and the studies facing the more private side of the property, where there is dense greenery and a pond.

The wooden details are informed by the historical buildings

The largest barn is no.5, which contains a two-level living space including a double-height living room that opens out onto both the central courtyard and a covered external terrace with a fireplace. At one end of the space, on the first floor, is the parents' bedroom.

BXB Studio positioned this structure on the site of the former barn.

A feature of the Polish Farmhouse is its use of multiple styles of decorative wooden exterior elements. These all take inspiration from ornamental woodwork on the site's former buildings.

The residence's functions are divided across the five barn-like volumes

For its renovation of the existing house, BXB Studio demolished annexes that had been added over time to restore the building to its original proportions.

It then added a new entrance with more historically-inspired wooden ornamentation and focused on uncovering and highlighting the interior's original building material, red brick.

The studio also reconstructed the tiled heater stove inside the main space and brought in full glazing for one of the walls, creating a connection to the main residence's entertaining area.

One side of the property looks out onto dense greenery and another onto a central courtyard

BXB Studio characterised its approach to the Polish Farmhouse as emphasising the relationship between humans and nature, with careful reference to place, history and tradition.

"It was not only about a contemporary building, but a uniquely balanced space – one which would be the synthesis of the local tradition, outstanding landscape and function," said Bogusław Barnaś.

It was the model of the Polish Farmhouse that featured in the film ArchiPaper

Bogusław Barnaś founded BXBstudio in 2009 after working for a number of studios, including Foster + Partners.

His brother Rafal Barnaś is the founder of Unique Vision Studio, with which he made ArchiPaper, which he calls "experimental story about architecture".

The dialogue-free movie shows the model of the Polish Farmhouse as part of a paper world that is teeming with life.

"My goal was to try a new way of telling about architecture," said Barnaś. "The film is a huge aesthetic experiment and my tribute to architecture."

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