Polish Designer Sylwia Dudek Succinctly Mixes Mid-Century and Contemporary Elements in her Krakow HomeAn interior designer’s own home is the ideal case study for stretching their creative muscles, fine-tuning their methodologies, and showcasing their stylistic acumen so we’re always on the lookout for such projects, one of which is this characterful apartment in Krakow by Polish interior designer Sylwia Dudek.
10/08/22
A Memorabilia-Packed, Modern-Day Kafenion in Athens Swaps Stylish Elegance for Quirky CharacterInterior designers often elect to channel the past, either as a response to the history of the premises or as a nostalgia-inspired aesthetic choice. Conjuring a specific era through a new fit-out is of course a tricky task – as there is always the danger of producing a space that seems contrived or kitsch – but there is something even more challenging: convincingly conveying the passage of time.
10/06/22
4Rooms: La Società delle Api's Imaginative Takeover of a Historic Townhouse in Kastellorizo“May there be many a summer morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbours seen for the first time”, writes Greek poet Constantine Cavafy in his poem Ithaka, a lyrical overture that perfectly sums up what we felt when we arrived last month at the port and only town of Kastellorizo, a gem of an island located at the easternmost end of Greece. Situated between Rhodes and Cyprus a mere 2 kilometres off Turkey’s Anatolian coast and measuring less than 12 square kilometres, the tiny and remote island is one of those bucket list destinations you’re always been
10/04/22
A Meditative Culture Centre in Northeastern China by Wutopia Lab is Inspired by Chinese Ink DrawingsConceived as a meditative oasis for those who want to “be free from worldly distractions”, the Monologue Art Museum in the coastal city of Qinhuangdao in north-eastern China, caught our eye for its sculptural idiosyncrasy and unapologetic introversion.
09/30/22
A Taste of Scandinavian Creativity: Highlights Of Stockholm Design Week 2022It’s no secret that Scandinavian design holds a special place in Yatzer’s heart, both in terms of the soulful minimalism of the mid-century modern masters and the forward-looking ethos of today’s contemporary Nordic designers.
09/28/22
Forotheremore: Nick Cave's Kaleidoscopic Retrospective is An Exuberant Elegy to Victims of Racial InjusticeFor over three decades, Chicago-based artist Nick Cave has been creating vibrant works of art focused on community building so it’s only fair that his first ever career-spanning retrospective be held in his hometown.
09/27/22
Casa Somos Suenos: A Derelict Neoclassical Townhouse in Athens is Revived with Nostalgic SoulfulnessIt’s hard to imagine it now, but a century ago Athens was the poster child of European Romanticism, a beautiful city of Neoclassical edifices, mansions and houses surrounded by gardens and courtyards, in other words, the antithesis of today’s sprawling concrete metropolis.
09/26/22
An Australian All-Day Restaurant in London is an Urban Oasis of Art Deco GlamourThe Grand Union canal in London’s Paddington basin is no South Beach or Bondi Beach and yet London-based multidisciplinary design studio Run For The Hills have managed to conceptually channel both Miami’s and Sydney’s beachside destinations in their design of Bondi Green, the flagship venue of Aussie-owned, London-based restaurant and café chain Daisy Green.
09/24/22
Alexander & Co Injects Rich Materiality and Sculptural Elegance into a Cliffside House in SydneySydney-based architectural practice Alexander & CO. are no strangers to dealing with period houses judging by the numerous Victorian terrace house renovations under their belt.
09/21/22
A Tech Company's Warsaw Office Gives Out Some Serious Mid-Century Modern VibesWhen you think of tech start-ups, mid-century-modern inspired workspaces might not be the first thing that comes to mind for a work space which makes this meticulously designed new office in the centre of Warsaw all the more exceptional.
09/18/22
An Asian Restaurant in Budapest Mixes Retro-Industrial References with Hong Kong's Urban GritThere’s something instantly thrilling about stepping into Badhanna, a new Asian bar & restaurant that just opened its doors to the public in Budapest. Occupying the ground floor of a Neo-Renaissance townhouse built in 1886, the venue transports patrons through time and space, from the historic centre of the Hungarian capital all the way to the neon-lit alleys of mid-twentieth-century Hong Kong.
09/15/22
Dutch Designer Bertram Beerbaum Transforms a Rural Cottage into his Dream HomeWhen it comes to designing a house, the job of an interior designer is interconnected, for better or worse, with the whims of the client so when the time comes to design their own home unencumbered by the taste of others, it’s reasonable to assume that such a project would be much easier and quicker to carry out.
09/13/22
Helsinki’s Hotel Torni Reclaims its Iconic Status as an Art-Filled Haven of Bohemian Sophistication and Eclectic PlayfulnessWhen Hotel Torni opened its doors in Helsinki in 1931, its skyscraper-like design (‘torni’ means tower in Finnish) caused quite a stir—not everyone was favourable to a 70-metre-tall building monopolizing the city’s low-lying skyline. Nevertheless, it soon became a beloved Helsinki landmark, not to mention the epicentre of the city’s political, cultural and culinary life.
09/10/22
Montreal's Café Constance Captivates the Imagination with its Whimsical Take on Victorian CharmLocated in the lobby of the Wilder building in downtown Montreal, home to Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Café Constance is as much an imaginative gathering spot for ballet enthusiasts attending the company’s productions as a relaxing spot for the company’s dancers and other employees. Local design practice Atelier Zébulon Perron conceived the venue as a whimsical Art Nouveau bistro in contrast to the building’s architectural solemnity and institutional context.
09/08/22
Traditional Chinese Architecture in Dialogue with Contemporary Design in the Mountains of HangzhouCommissioned to transform a derelict, centuries-old dwelling into a tea house and restaurant, Chinese architects Outlooker Design saw an opportunity to redress the common belief that traditional Chinese architecture is dated, unsophisticated and ugly. In a rapidly urbanized, tech-centric society such as China’s, contemporary architecture has flourished, often side-lining traditional architecture in favour of technological innovation and modernist styles.
09/05/22
WHITE Hotel in the Azores Gets a Makeover Inspired by the Archipelago’s Volcanic LandscapeWhen WHITE opened its doors in 2017 on the southern coast of São Miguel island in the Azores, it stood out not just for its monochromatic colour scheme but also for its tailor-made hospitality—the nine suites and one villa boutique hotel has come to be known as a pioneer in luxury travel in the archipelago. Not satisfied with resting on their laurels, last winter husband and wife hoteliers Catarina and João Reis decided it was time to give the hotel a makeover.
07/30/22
Mark Foster Gage Reinvents the Architectural Monogram with a Fantastical Desert Retreat in Saudi ArabiaFrom the Renaissance rediscovery of Vitruvius, to Le Corbusier’s encyclopaedic “Oeuvre complete” issued in eight volumes between 1929 and 1970, to Rem Koolhaas’s 1996 blockbuster S,M,L,XL, architectural monograms have been crucial in exploring and disseminating architectural ideas, but they have also been an effective tool to promote individual architects. Judging from the glossy hardcover promotional brochures that have come to define the genre in recent decades, packed with easily digestible illustrations, glamour-shots primed for Instagram, and adulatory explanations, the monogra
07/26/22
An Abandoned Stone-Built Hut in Rural Mallorca Finds New Life as an Off-Grid RetreatMallorca is a popular tourist destination, yet few visitors may have noticed the countless stone-built huts that populate the island’s countryside. Traditionally used as refuges for hunters and shepherds or storage units for labour tools, the structures have mostly fallen in disrepair but not for long if Spanish architecture studio Mariana de Delás has anything to do about it.
07/23/22
A Compact Café in Shenyang, China, Revels in Minimalist SoulfulnessThere are minimal cafés and then there is FatFace 3.0, a compact coffee shop in Shenyang in north-eastern China that takes minimalist design to another level. The third venue, as its name suggests, of hip speciality coffee chain FatFace, it was designed by local practice Baicai Design Office as a sparse, bare-bones space that embodies the brand’s no-nonsense ethos.
07/20/22
Kandinsky’s Art Theories Guide Holloway Li's Low-Impact Transformation of a Munich Office Building into a Lifestyle AparthotelTaking over a monumental office block in Sendling, a borough in the south-west of Munich, WunderLocke is the latest outpost of lifestyle apartment-hotel brand Locke.