In the Cour Jardin of the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris, France, Univers Uchronia has unveiled Daybed, a large-scale installation that reinterprets the hotel’s garden through materiality, color, and form. The temporary work, on view until 11th November, 2025, functions as both sculptural object and inhabitable space, establishing a dialogue between contemporary design and the historic setting of the Plaza Athénée.

At the center of the project is a ceramic surface designed in collaboration with Dutch brand Palet. The installation is clad in Palet’s glazed tiles, whose dimensions (149 x 149 mm) and color flexibility formed the basis for Uchronia’s architectural composition. The palette, dominated by greens and reds, references the hotel’s signature tones, including the red geraniums that line the Cour Jardin. Produced in the Netherlands, each tile is glazed to order from Palet’s library of more than 100 colors, which can be combined into over 300,000 possible variations. The reflective surface changes character under different light conditions, giving the installation a shifting visual presence throughout the day.

all images by Felix Dol Maillot

Uchronia’s Daybed Combines Ceramics, Textiles, and Furnishings

The ceramic assembly by creative studio Univers Uchronia is complemented by additional crafted elements: a custom-designed headboard by Treca, bed linens by Le Jacquard Français, floral curtains and cushions by Misia, and painted finishes by Seigneurie. Together, these components extend the project beyond surface design, integrating textiles and furnishings into a cohesive environment.

Palet, founded in 2021 by Jaap Giesen, Gilles de Brock, and Niels Monsieurs, operates at the intersection of digital design and ceramic craftsmanship. Its platform allows designers and clients to configure bespoke color and pattern combinations at varying scales, bridging industrial repeatability with artisanal variation. The collaboration with Univers Uchronia continues a partnership that has evolved from small-scale interiors to more ambitious site-specific installations. Daybed at the Plaza Athénée exemplifies this ongoing exchange, presenting ceramic tile as both material and medium for architectural experimentation within a public-facing context.

Daybed installation in the Cour Jardin of Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris

Univers Uchronia reinterprets the garden through form, colour, and material

the installation functions as both sculpture and inhabitable space

textiles, floral curtains, and cushions enhance the composition

Palet’s glazed ceramic tiles form the surface of the installation

greens and reds echo the hotel’s iconic geraniums and palette

the reflective ceramic surface shifts character with changing light

Uchronia and Palet’s collaboration extends from interiors to large-scale work

Daybed explores ceramic tile as both material and medium of architecture

project info:

name: Daybed
designer: Uchronia | @uchronia_world

location: Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris, France

photographer: Felix Dol Maillot | @felixdolmaillot

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post green and red ceramic tiles clad sculptural daybed by uchronia at hôtel plaza athénée, paris appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea presents Esto es América, o qual é o limite?, the debut New York solo exhibition by Argentinian artist Gabriel Chaile. Currently on view through October 18th, 2025, the show brings together adobe sculptures, drawings, and photographs that combine ancestral forms with contemporary political imagery.

The five sculptural works at the center of the exhibition extend Chaile’s long-standing interest in the genealogy of form — his term for the ways shapes and motifs recur across cultures and time. The clay structures resemble bread ovens and animal figures, their surfaces marked with dense black line drawings. ‘Each sculpture is covered in black line drawings,’ the artist explains. ‘Within those lines, other hidden drawings emerge — like walking through a jungle, where you’re present, yet not always visible.’

Esto es América, o qual é o limite? (install view), Marianne Boesky Gallery, photo © Jason Wyche

gabriel chaile’s procession of anthropomorphic ovens

Artist Gabriel Chaile arranges the works in motion, as though marching across the gallery floor in procession. The largest piece suggests the body of a lizard or bird, captured mid-transformation. Surrounding it, four oven-like volumes evoke both domestic use and anthropomorphic presence. Together they form what the artist describes as ‘a walk, a march, or a protest.’

Along the walls, large photographic prints document a protest Chaile witnessed in Montana during a residency in the United States. Elderly people, children, and young adults gathered quietly with ambiguous signs. ‘What struck me was the manner of protest: people standing quietly on sidewalks,’ he recalls. ‘Watching from the car, I felt a kind of alignment — not necessarily with the political opposition, but with the deeper message: a call for a more inclusive coexistence.’

Esto es América, o qual é o limite? (install view), Marianne Boesky Gallery, photo © Jason Wyche

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Earlier sculptures by Gabriel Chaile were often upright and hieratic, monumental in their stillness. The new works, by contrast, embody motion. ‘My previous sculptures were more static,’ he continues. ‘In contrast, this new group feels animated — as though they’re walking, moving. There’s an intentional sense that these once-static forms are now coming alive.’

The intricate tattoo-like drawings across their surfaces amplify this quality, making the sculptures appear restless and layered with meaning. Chaile describes these as the ‘rebellious siblings’ of his earlier work, which continue the same lineage yet shift its tone.

Esto es América, o qual é o limite? (install view), Marianne Boesky Gallery, photo © Jason Wyche

The exhibition’s title spans Spanish and Portuguese: Esto es América states, ‘This is America,’ while o qual é o limite? asks, ‘What is the limit?’ 

For Chaile, this dual language mirrors the histories of colonization that reshaped Indigenous languages across the continent. It also raises the contemporary question of what boundaries allow coexistence rather than division. He concludes: ‘This exhibition, for me, raises the question of what kind of limits allow us to live together — what boundaries support coexistence, rather than division.’

Esto es América, o qual é o limite? (install view), Marianne Boesky Gallery, photo © Jason Wyche

Esto es América, o qual é o limite? (install view), Marianne Boesky Gallery, photo © Jason Wyche

Esto es América, o qual é o limite? (install view), Marianne Boesky Gallery, photo © Jason Wyche

Esto es América, o qual é o limite? (install view), Marianne Boesky Gallery, photo © Jason Wyche

Esto es América, o qual é o limite? (install view), Marianne Boesky Gallery, photo © Jason Wyche

project info:

exhibition title: Esto es América, o qual é o limite?

artist: Gabriel Chaile | @soychaile

gallery: Marianne Boesky Gallery | @marianneboeskygallery

location: 507 West 24th Street, New York, NY

dates: September 4th — October 18th, 2025

photography: © Jason Wyche, Marianne Boesky Gallery

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Fahrenheit 180º, a design collective founded by Jeremy Morris and Luca Carlisle, develops From the Tagus to the Tile, an installation exploring the potential of regenerative biomaterials in architectural surfaces. Presented in the gardens of Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Center of Modern Art, the project reinterprets the city’s traditional azulejos using tiles produced from oyster shells and seaweed collected from the Tagus River, the Sado Estuary, and local food systems.

The installation is composed of three sculptural elements, a modular kitchen, a bench, and a linear table, clad in the biomaterial tiles. These tiles are designed to be biodegradable, dissolving back into natural systems as part of a circular design approach. Their development emphasizes the ecological value of oysters, which serve as natural filters, purifying up to 200 liters of water daily, stabilizing coastlines, and supporting marine biodiversity.

the ‘line,’ represents the invisible bio pigments around the banks of the river Tagus | all images courtesy of Fahrenheit 180º

Fahrenheit 180º explores Geometries and Biomaterial Tiles

The material palette reflects the diverse colors of the Tagus and its banks, developed through a collaboration with PhD student Mariana Simões. Hues range from earthy oxides and poppy seed tones to the pinks of microalgae, expanding the chromatic possibilities of tile production beyond conventional blue-and-white traditions. Oyster shells, of which 60,000 tons are produced annually in Portugal, are sourced from farms and restaurants. After sterilization through heat and UV treatment, the shells are ground into powders of varying aggregate sizes, then bound with seaweed material to form the tiles.

The sculptural forms, referred to as ‘creepy crawlers,’ rest within the museum gardens with angular, irregular legs that suggest movements from an underwater landscape. Their geometries favor organic distortion over strict rationality, linking ecological storytelling with spatial experimentation. From the Tagus to the Tile extends Studio Fahrenheit 180º’s research into regenerative practices that challenge extractive material systems. By revisiting the legacy of oyster farming in the Tagus estuary and connecting it with contemporary design, the project advocates for bioregional thinking and material approaches rooted in local ecological processes.

wasted shrimp shell acting here as bio pigments

3 modules are part of a deconstructed kitchen, with a gas hob and two cutting counter tops

Oyster Sink module

the project explores regenerative biomaterials in architectural surfaces

Oyster Sink module detail

the oyster sink in action, with a closed filtering system, the water is part of a continuous loop where the plants act as natural filters

three sculptural elements include a kitchen, a bench, and a table

samples of various prototypes

ingredients: Oysters, Mussels, Algae, Pin resin

tile sizes: from 14×14 to 10×10, ingredients: Oysters, Algae, Bio pigments

marble tiles, representing different water states of the Tagus Estuary

the ‘egg’ has been pigmented with natural micro-algae from the salt marshes of Samoucou in Lisbon

‘crassostrea angulata’ is the real name of the oyster species native to Portugal

project info:

name: ‘From the Tagus to the Tile’ – ‘A flor do azulejo a cor do Tejo’
designer: Fahrenheit 180º | @Fahrenheit_180

lead designers: Jeremy Morris, Luca Carlisle

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In Barcelona’s Raval district, MIAS Architects completes Lady Raval, a social housing project that revitalizes a once-fragmented building. Positioned on the emblematic Hospital Street, the team revamps a historic structure, weaving in the cultural richness of the neighborhood and the lived experiences of its community. Awarded first prize in the city’s competition, the restoration transforms a decaying apartment block into a bright housing complex built around a richly detailed central courtyard.

At the center of the transformation is the courtyard, brought back to life as both the heart of the building and a space shared by everyone who lives there. Once closed off and cluttered, it’s been opened up and redesigned as a calm, welcoming area that connects all the homes. The architecture here tells a story using textured walls, handmade ceramics, and colors inspired by everyday objects like fabrics, food, and tools. These elements reflect the different cultures and backgrounds of the people who live in Raval, many of whom are returning to live in this newly restored space. ‘The project is both a refurbishment of a historic building in central Barcelona and a tribute to the memory and cultural roots of its inhabitants,’ notes Josep Miàs, director and founder of MIAS Architects.

all images by Adrià Goula

lady raval transformed by removing additions

Internationally recognized MIAS Architects maintains the integrity of the original structure while reconfiguring the interior into a series of open, light-filled spaces that invite connection and comfort. Lady Raval is made up of two parts, one facing the street and another L-shaped wing that wraps around its central courtyard. Over the years, these spaces had been broken up into tiny units, with makeshift additions, even on the roof, making the building feel cramped and chaotic. The architectural team removed these additions and brought back a clearer layout, with two apartments per floor in the front building and three per floor in the wing. They kept the two staircases, added a lift in each section to make the building accessible, and a shop on the ground floor that still opens out onto the street, staying part of the daily life of the neighborhood.

MIAS Architects use handmade ceramic tiles in the courtyard

ceramic tiles narrate the residents’ personal stories

Working closely with architect and ceramist Carlos Jiménez Cenamor, MIAS Architects use handmade ceramic frames in the courtyard to bring in patterns and shapes inspired by the cultural backgrounds of the residents. These ceramic details are tied to personal and collective stories, helping the space feel familiar and full of meaning. The colors are bright and warm, and together with plants that hang from balconies, they give the courtyard a sense of life.

MIAS redesigned Lady Raval’s circulation areas, staircases, landings, and hallways so they feel open and welcoming. With added windows and carefully placed openings, light passes through the whole building, and people can see and connect with each other.

at the center of the project is the courtyard

these ceramic details are tied to personal and collective stories

the colors are bright and warm, reviving the space

bringing in patterns and shapes inspired by the cultural backgrounds of the residents

these elements reflect the different cultures and backgrounds of the people who live in Raval

MIAS Architects maintains the integrity of the original structure

reconfiguring the interior into a series of open, light-filled spaces

the project transforms a decaying apartment block into a bright housing complex

project info:

name: Lady Raval

architect: MIAS Architects | @miasarchitects

location: Raval, Barcelona, Spain

ceramics: Carlos Jiménez Cenamor (DelAmorYlaBelleza) | @delamorylabelleza

photographer: Adrià Goula | @adriagoulaphoto

The post ceramic tiles tell stories of barcelona’s residents in restored social housing by MIAS architects appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Mediavaert, designed by Team V Architecture, is one of Europe’s largest hybrid timber office buildings, serving as the headquarters for DPG Media in Amsterdam’s Overamstel district. The 46,000 sq m building accommodates editorial offices and recording studios for multiple Dutch newspapers, magazines, and radio stations. The project was developed in collaboration with real estate developer Being and engineering firm Arup and is located on a former parking lot adjacent to DPG Media’s printing facility.

The building uses a hybrid structural approach, applying timber where possible and steel or concrete where necessary. Over 7,000 cu m of cross-laminated timber (CLT), sourced from Austrian production forests, is used for beams, columns, and floors. Prefabricated components enabled efficient assembly, reducing waste and construction time. The facade incorporates 15,000 hand-glazed ceramic tiles produced locally by Royal Tichelaar. These tiles, along with the building’s rounded edges, introduce a textured and visually softer contrast to the industrial surroundings.

all images by Ossip van Duivenbode

team v architecture conceives hybrid timber office building

Mediavaert integrates energy-efficient systems, including CO₂-controlled ventilation with heat recovery, ground-source heating and cooling (WKO), solar panels, and water-saving fixtures. Interior spaces are designed to maximize natural daylight and visibility of greenery, supported by features such as skylights, an atrium, and open-plan layouts. A 430-meter elevated green walking path surrounds the building, accessible to all occupants.

The project by Team V Architecture Studio follows principles of circularity and ecological integration, combining architecture, interior design, and landscaping into a single framework. These strategies have contributed to the building achieving BREEAM Excellent certification, the 2024 National Timber Award, and recognition as ‘Office Building of the Year’ at the Architectenweb Awards. Mediavaert demonstrates the scalability of industrialized timber construction for large-scale urban developments while addressing environmental performance, workplace health, and adaptability.

Mediavaert serves as DPG Media’s headquarters in Amsterdam

the building spans 46,000 sq m of editorial and recording spaces

designed by Team V Architecture in collaboration with Being and Arup

hybrid structure combines timber, steel, and concrete

facade features 15,000 hand-glazed ceramic tiles

greenery is visible throughout the interior spaces

timber forms the beams, columns, and floors of the building

prefabricated components reduced waste and sped up assembly

Mediavaert uses over 7,000 cu m of Austrian-sourced cross-laminated timber

skylights and an atrium maximize natural daylight indoors

CO₂-controlled ventilation ensures optimal air quality

the project was recognized as ‘Office Building of the Year’

rounded edges soften the building’s industrial surroundings

project info:

name: Mediavaert DPG Media
architect: Team V Architecture | @team.v.architecture

location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

area: 46,000 sqm

client: DPG Media

collaborators: Being, Arup, DGMR, Delva, Martijn Sandberg (artwork)

contractor: BESIX NL

photographer: Ossip van Duivenbode | @ossipvanduivenbode

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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The Petites Inventions du Paysage project by Studio Baudequinmaldes consists of a set of three devices and a micro-architecture, inviting walkers to interact sensitively and poetically with nature’s micro phenomena. Located at the heart of the Petit musée des plantes sauvages comestibles, a rural and forested environment in Berrac in the south of France, these interactive installations materialize in the form of architectural archetypes such as the Sensory Shelter, the Scent Mill, the Sky Lighthouse, and the Vegetal Fountain. All designed with local materials typical of the region, red clay and pine wood, but also supported and carried by the people of Berrac, who have all, in their own way, participated in the creation of these devices.

Based on the premise that our relationship with the world is deeply embodied and experienced through our senses, we have adopted a methodology that focuses on the corporal and sensorial dimension of experience. This approach leads the designers to consider the landscape as a lived space, imbued with meanings and sensations that shape our experience of and relationship with the world. The place becomes a laboratory for sensitive experimentation, where we gather elements for reflection, materials for thought, to re-articulate our alliances with the landscape and living beings. In this way, the team observes how practices, experiential knowledge, and in situ results intertwine to question our modes of mediation with the ‘natural’ world.

Sensory Shelter is designed to observe weather in its intimacy | all images by Mathieu Maldes

Sensory Shelter and Scent Mill Explore Rain and Scent

The Sensory Shelter offers a moment of tranquility to awaken the senses and invite visitors to listen to the sound of rain. Designed by Studio Baudequinmaldes in harmony with the environment, it offers an immersive experience dedicated to contemplation and daydreaming. Its Douglas fir structure is built on a field of wild mint, and crowned with climbing and aromatic plants. Rainy days reveal the fresh scents of the plants, offering a subtle, soothing atmosphere. The shelter’s roof is designed with a gentle slope so that water flows down the center of it along the inverted chimney. At the heart of the shelter is a brass bowl perched on a mound of intertwined wood that echoes, on a smaller scale, the structure of the architecture. The melody of raindrops falling into the bowl invites visitors to let themselves be carried away by this natural symphony. Walkers are invited to take in this living fragment of the landscape, using all the sensory means at their disposal, as they enjoy the shelter afforded by this device. The Sensory Shelter is designed as a place of rest, where time seems suspended. It brings together the conditions needed to rediscover a form of inner peace amid the hustle and bustle of the outside world. This space offers walkers the opportunity to question our ways of living with sensitivity.

The Scent Mill is a device located at the end of the museum, close to the washhouse and the overflowing spring. In the form of a large transparent tube, open at both ends and anchored in the damp ground, and a red ceramic propeller at nose level, it takes and records an olfactory sample of the site. This olfactory ‘core sample,’ made up of a mixture of air, earth, pebbles, and vegetation, highlights the ghostly presence of smell. Walkers are invited to turn the propeller to immerse themselves in this olfactory maceration. The movements of the propeller, by stirring the air, make it possible to see and breathe in these components imprisoned within the structure. But they also have the opportunity to deposit their own olfactory notes at the bottom of the transparent cylinder: crumpled wild mint, fragmented lemon balm, crushed marsh ache, fragmented bay leaves, among others. So many olfactory elements discovered and collected along the way, testifying to the diversity of the site’s olfactory landscape.

a brass bowl placed in the middle, designed to host water, reflect light, and echo each falling drop

Sky Lighthouse and Vegetal Fountain Invite Pause, Observation

The Sky Lighthouse encourages visual exploration and attention to the different landscapes that make up the sky. At times, the interior of the bowl is tinged with different shades of blue; at others, it is veiled in mist or dotted with moving cumulus clouds. This installation offers a contemplative experience, highlighting the passage of time through the changing hues of the sky. The device invites walkers to perform rotational movements to orient the mirror and observe various meteorological micro-events. The tool frames the sky, like a sensitive lens focused on light, clouds, and the slow pace of change. The Lighthouse acts as a poetic observatory, an instrument for measuring suspended moments, where the sky becomes material for reading, daydreaming, and shared attention.

The Vegetal Fountain is made up of five pieces of red stoneware, inspired by the concept of hanging gardens. This accumulative arrangement creates a vertical planter where the superimposed earth is home to a variety of aromatic plants. Erected high above the ground, this construction allows walkers to fully appreciate the fragrance of the herbs grown. Conceived as a point of elevation at the heart of the landscape, the fountain becomes both a biodiversity support and a sensory device. The plants that grow there are chosen for their olfactory richness, but also for their ability to attract insects and birds, creating a micro-zone of living interaction. The verticality of the installation plays with levels of perception: the sense of smell is set in motion, exploring the different strata of this plant column. It invites us to slow down, to bend over, to breathe. The simple gesture of smelling a plant becomes a ritual of reconnection with the forest, an attention to the subtleties of an ecosystem. The fountain proposes a pause, a suspended moment to perceive the fragility of living things, the discreet beauty of the ordinary world.

a brass bowl left to rain, collecting sounds, vibrations, and ripples, unfolding stories on its surface

when rain hits the ground, the aromas of earth and leaves are released, rising up in Scent Mill’s transparent tube

a manually triggered olfactory device, transforming scented materials into a reconnecting experience

base collects moisture and plant matter, a passive olfactory system activated by rain and evaporation

Sky Lighthouse, a tool for observing the sky, framing clouds, light shifts, and the subtle choreography of weather

activated by movement, the structure guides the gaze, transforming sky-watching into a shared ritual

a slice of sky appears, not above, but within; reflection becomes perception

Vegetal Fountain, a vertical clay garden, brings aromatic plants to be smelled

aromatic plants can be smelled with a funnel

project info:

name: Petites Inventions du Paysage
designer: Studio Baudequinmaldes | @baudequinmaldes

location: Berrac, France

photographer: Mathieu Maldes

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Elise Eeraerts & Roberto Aparicio Ronda install Folly (Vase), a small pavilion, in the Germinal public gardens of Evere, Brussels. The permanent installation is made not of bricks or timber, but of vases, and is the first in a series of five public follies. This structure turns storytelling into a tangible object, shaped through a collaborative design process and built entirely from ceramic vessels, 3D printed and stacked into architectural form.

The surface of each vase tells a fragment of a larger narrative. Patterns and textures wrap around the ceramics like visual memory maps, derived from spontaneous conversations with the local residents of Germinal. These graphic elements hold the imprint of the neighborhood’s stories, moods, and rhythms. In this way, Folly (Vase) functions as both sculpture and archive, where ornament becomes language and craft becomes communication.

Elise Eeraerts & Roberto Aparicio Ronda reveal Folly (Vase)

Folly (Vase) fuses 3D printed ceramics and community stories

Rather than imposing a single design logic, Belgian artist Elise Eeraerts and Spanish architect Roberto Aparicio Ronda embrace informality and openness in this pavilion. Its form is playful and permeable, inviting people to walk through, rest, or simply observe how nature plays off its soft curves and earthy textures. The vases are used as containers for planting, anchoring the folly within the garden.

Folly (Vase) is the first of five planned pavilions as part of Follies, a permanent intervention initiated under the framework of 101e%, by BGHM (Brussels Housing Authority). The project reimagines the role of architectural follies within public space — not as whimsical decoration, but as participatory, materially experimental, and site-specific elements. As new follies are added to the park, each one will take on a different character while remaining rooted in community engagement and ecological integration

this small pavilion is installed in the Germinal public gardens of Evere, Brussels

the first in a series of five public follies

Folly (Vase) functions as both sculpture and archive

the surface of each vase tells a fragment of a larger narrative

observing how nature plays off its soft curves and earthy textures

patterns and textures wrap around the ceramics like visual memory maps

these graphic elements hold the imprint of the neighborhood’s stories, moods, and rhythms

the permanent installation is made of vases

ornament becomes language

the vases are used as containers for planting, anchoring the folly within the garden

project info:

name: Folly (Vase)
designer: Elise Eeraerts & Roberto Aparicio Ronda

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

The post 3D printed ceramics tell brussels local stories in pavilion by elise eeraerts & aparicio ronda appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Product designer Yiannis Ghikas, in collaboration with Myran Scandinavian Design, introduces Artificiel, a series of porcelain objects based on the sculpted cement surfaces found on mid-20th-century apartment buildings in Athens. The project documents and translates the city’s vanishing artificiel facades, once crafted by hand and now threatened by new insulation regulations, into tangible domestic forms, like cups and bowls, using digital scanning and traditional casting techniques.

To preserve this overlooked layer of the city’s material history, the designer scans three types of surviving artificiel patterns, chtení (fine), thrapína (medium), and koutaliá (coarse), from buildings in Kypseli and Kolonaki neighborhoods using photogrammetry and 3D modeling. These digital textures are then used to produce molds for porcelain objects, which were cast and manufactured in Portugal.

100ml, 180ml and 300ml cups | all images by Giorgos Vitsaropoulos, unless stated otherwise

relocating the fading architectural skin of athens

Artificiel refers to a colloquial term for a finishing method that gave many Athenian ‘polykatoikia’ buildings their textured cement exteriors. These surfaces were shaped manually by skilled construction workers known as ‘pelekanoi’ between the 1930s and 1970s. Though once a defining feature of Athenian urban architecture, they are now being covered or destroyed as external thermal insulation becomes the new norm under contemporary building standards.

Through Artificiel, Athens-based Yiannis Ghikas together with Myran offer a way to engage with the architectural skin of Athens in a moment when it risks being erased. Rather than preserving these surfaces in place, The series relocates these surfaces into a different context, one that is domestic and tactile. It draws attention to a vernacular aesthetic that is often ignored, yet remains central to the city’s visual identity.

Yiannis Ghikas collaborates with Myran Scandinavian Design for Artificiel

this series is based on the sculpted cement surfaces found on Athens’ mid-20th-century apartment buildings

Koutalia pattern on the espresso cup

cast and manufactured in Portugal

the project documents and translates the city’s vanishing artificiel facades | image by Alina Lefa

translating facades into domestic forms through digital scanning | image by Vassilis Karidis

the designer scans three types of surviving artificiel patterns | image by Alina Lefa

digital textures are used to produce molds for porcelain objects | image courtesy Yiannis Ghikas

a way to engage with the architectural skin of Athens | image courtesy Yiannis Ghikas

these surfaces were shaped manually by skilled construction workers known as ‘pelekanoi’ | image courtesy Yiannis Ghikas

project info:

name: Artificiel Athens
designer: Yiannis Ghikas | @yiannisghikas X Myran | @myrandesign

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

The post 3D scans of athenian facades shape porcelain objects by yiannis ghikas and myran appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Kosuke Takahashi and 224 Porcelain release Corcelain, a series of ceramic cups and vessels with mountable 3D printed feet and screws. Dubbed the world’s first customizable porcelain vessel, each object comes with a screw hole at the bottom, so users can add vibrant legs, handles, lids, and more under every homeware piece. The design is inspired by a term in traditional Japanese ceramics called Kodai, which is the raised circle shape on the bottom of cups and bowls that allows the homeware to be more stable. In Corcerlain, the ceramic cups and vessels make use of Kodai for the 3D printed feet and parts, raising the objects while giving them a more playful yet functional look.

Because the parts are 3D printed, the users can customize the kind of mountable objects for their ceramic cups and vessels. ‘As a maker and 3D printer user myself, it’s hard to make things safe for food or drink,’ Kosuke Takahashi shares with designboom. ‘Standard materials like PLA and ABS aren’t food-safe, and even with safer filaments, the layered surfaces trap food particles. That’s where the idea of a modular vessel came from. You could mix and match ceramic bases with whatever extensions you dream up. That way, we solve the hygiene issue and, at the same time, give anyone the power to customize everyday objects like cups and plates. Corcelain became a reality thanks to a collaboration with 224 Porcelain, which is a traditional kiln in Yoshida – Saga, Japan.’

all images courtesy of Kosuke Takahashi/ootori

corcelain’s ceramic cups come with custom 3D printed parts

There’s a backstory to why the maker Kosuke Takahashi started Corcelain with pottery manufacturer 224 Porcelain. He tells us that traditional craft industries in Japan are facing a crisis, so he wants to bridge this with the use of current technologies like mountable 3D printed parts for the ceramic cups. He worked with a craftsman named Mr. Tsuji, who has been trained in traditional porcelain techniques that have been around for 400 years. ‘The idea of adding a screw hole to the base only worked because of Tsuji-san’s touch, combining technology with delicate, hands-on adjustments from his artisanal intuition,’ Kosuke Takahashi explains.

This is how he conceived the name Corelain for the series of ceramic cups and vessels with 3D printed feet and screws. It is a blend of ‘co-creation’ and ‘porcelain’, a hint at the use of traditional craftsmanship techniques with present technologies. The manufacturer 224 Porcelain steps in here, too, through its use of machines like CNC and 3D printers in their pottery works, which has allowed Kosuke Takahashi to realize his series. For Corcelain, the inventor also draws inspiration from the Japanese word ‘utsuwa’ which translates to ‘vessel’ or ‘container.’ But this word has its roots in the term ‘utsuho’ which means ‘emptiness’, but one that is waiting to be used. At the bottom of the Corcelain’s ceramic cups, it comes through as the kodai, the hollow bottom, allowing the users to bolt in the custom 3D printed feet, screws, and parts they have designed in varying colors.

Kosuke Takahashi and 224 Porcelain release Corcelain, a series of ceramic cups with 3D printed feet

the design is inspired by a term in traditional Japanese ceramics called Kodai

each object comes with a screw hole at the bottom, so users can add vibrant legs

in Corcerlain, the ceramic cups and vessels make use of Kodai for the 3D printed feet and parts

because the parts are 3D printed, the users can customize the mountable objects for the ceramic cups

the series’ name is a portmanteau of ‘co-creation’ and ‘porcelain’

users can also add handles

detailed view of the handle with circular bottom plate

view of the parts’ printing process

project info:

name: Corcelain

design: Kosuke Takahashi | @ootori_t

pottery: 224 Porcelain | @224porcelain

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: matthew burgos | designboom

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In Xiamen, China, OMA completes a new headquarters for JOMOO, the country’s largest sanitaryware manufacturer. Marking the transition of the company from national supplier to global brand, the project redefines the conventional office typology through a sculptural volume that bridges city and nature. On one side, dense high-rises of the emerging central business district press in, while on the other, forested hills rise above the coast. Responding to these contrasts, OMA’s design combines a multi-functional base with a 230-meter tower, anchoring JOMOO’s identity. White vertical ceramic stripes compose the facade, a detail that references both the company’s industrial roots in ceramics and traditional window patterns found in Fujian’s vernacular houses. These stripes shift orientation across the surface of the building, creating a pattern that gives the headquarters a distinct presence. 

Led by OMA partner Chris van Duijn, with project architects Chen Lu and Lingxiao Zhang, the building is the firm’s first realized high-rise in China, a precursor to several ongoing commissions in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and beyond. ‘Located in rapidly growing cities,’ van Duijn notes, ‘these projects explore new connections to their immediate urban context, reinterpreting the prevailing tower typology that has shaped much of China’s recent urban expansion.’

images courtesy of OMA

rocky topography inspires the irregular form of the tower

The OMA-designed structure houses JOMOO’s offices and showroom, along with public-facing spaces like a lobby, multipurpose hall, and recruitment and conference rooms. The design team embeds all these areas within a monolithic base volume, whose irregular form draws from the rocky topography of the surrounding landscape. This base anchors the campus in its natural setting, while establishing a civic presence along the urban front.

The system of the facade eliminates the need for interior columns, allowing flexible and open floor plans throughout the tower, an architectural choice aligned with JOMOO’s modular, future-oriented production ethos. The project is the result of a close collaboration between OMA and local architect Huayi Design, which also handled structural and mechanical engineering. 

OMA completes a new headquarters for JOMOO

the project redefines the conventional office typology through a bold sculptural volume

OMA’s design combines a multi-functional base with a 230-meter tower

vertical ceramic stripes compose the facade

the detail references the material expertise of the company and traditional window patterns

these stripes shift orientation across the surface of the building

the OMA-designed structure houses JOMOO’s offices and showroom

project info:

name: JOMOO Headquarters

architect: OMA | @omanewyork

location: Xiamen, China

client: JOMOO | @jomoointer

partner-in-charge: Chris van Duijn

project architects: Chen Lu, Lingxiao Zhang

design team: Mark Bavoso, Slava Savova, Sebastian Schulte, Ricky Suen, Gabriele Ubareviciute, Yue Wu, Adisak Yavilas, Pu Hsien Chan, Alan Lau, Cecilia Lei, Kevin Mak, Connor Sullivan

local architect: Huayi Design

structural & mechanical engineering: Huayi Design

facade consultant: VS-A

photographer: Xia Zhi, Chen Hao

The post OMA completes JOMOO headquarters in china with sculptural white-striped tower appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.