A Brutalist-inspired apartment in the suburbs of Rome in Tor deโ Cenci recently received a complete renovation by STUDIOTAMAT. Designed for a lawyer couple, the project consisted of renovating the 120-square-meter apartment, along with a coveted 40-square-meter terrace. The Casa Rude residence overlooks the Castelporziano Nature Reserve offering both wooded and sea views, an ideal locale after years of living in small apartments in the heart of the city. Now, their space is filled with natural light, original character, and modern conveniences.
โWhat guided us in the design was the desire to enhance the distinctive features of the unique terraced building, dating back to the 1980s, which houses the apartment. We wanted to restore fluidity to the spaces, encourage the opening, and the discovery of pre-existing materials and details, on which to set a new vision,โ says STUDIOTAMAT co-founder Tommaso Amato.
The main living area is designed much like a open plan loft with unfinished walls and the support structureโs exposed concrete visually connecting the spaces.
Paired with the original Brutalist details are a variety of tones, textures, and materials that add up to a visually enticing space. The roughness of the terracotta tiles on the oval island and concrete pillars are juxtaposed with the smooth Patagonia marble countertops that connect the two.
A custom dining table with a Shou sugi treated wood top rests on a black base and a glossy red ceramic leg for a sleek look.
A large, multifunctional birch wood cube is built to hide the pantry, hold coats, provide storage, and house a TV.
A wall of perforated bricks separates the living room and home office allowing natural light to pass through. A custom desk extends out from the built-in shelves and is held up by a circular red wheel, complementing the dining tableโs leg a few feet away. The wheel allows the desk to roll along on a track to a new position.
A pivoting door visually separates the public areas from the sleeping area, which houses a main bedroom with ensuite bathroom, and a guest room.
In the primary bedroom, sliding ribbed glass doors offer privacy to those in the bathroom while allowing light in.
The large terrace features an outdoor kitchen, seating areas, dining space, and outdoor shower, all of which benefit from sunset views.
Photography by Serena Eller Vainicher.
Comfort and high design collide in Hightowerโs new Flote and Opus seating collections. Both are distinct and delightful with contemporary yet timeless aesthetics and the shared feeling of being embraced.
Flote brings the support, comfort, and easy relaxation of a pool float to its sofa and lounge. The team at Hightower went through extensive prototyping during the design phase to create that just-right sit. The Flote Sofa features a generous seat thatโs large enough to seat three adults comfortably, making it a great fit for a group setting, whether thatโs in a commercial or residential setting. Both the Flote Sofa and Flote Lounge bring a sense of lightness to users, with their curves, extended lumbar support, and inspired details making both easy to love.
Make Flote your own with unique seam and finish options. With the choice of an oversized welt, chunky zipper, or classic double-needle stitch, the collection can be customized to suit any space on the spectrum, from traditional to trendy.
Opus is Hightowerโs contemporary take on the classic club chair thatโs as comfortable as it is beautiful. Minimal and versatile, its seating can provide a sense of seclusion with its small footprint. The collection includes a chair and a lounge chair, both with a metal frame and upholstered seat and back.
Both designs feature a slender frame that adds a visual lightness, and either can be utilized in a conference room or at a dining table, complementing any aesthetic while doing so. Opus allows the rest of the spaceโs design choices shine while providing a classic yet modern edge. Choose from numerous finish options to make this collection work in spaces of all uses and sizes.
Bring together Opusโ simple style by taking advantage of optional contrasting fabrics on the back and seat, as well as custom frame colors. Whether itโs monochrome or high contrast, this collection makes it work and looks good doing it.
To learn more about Flote or Opus seating, visit hightoweraccess.com.
Aluminum in its rawest form has a very industrial aesthetic, which is the beauty of the Monochrome line by Chinese designer Ximi Li for his own design-led brand URBANCRAFT. Moved to challenge conventional processes and explore the uncertainty of materials, he showcases the malleability and flexibility of aluminum in the Basics collection for Monochrome, which consists of a bar table, dining table, chairs, and other pieces. The series is extremely straightforward due to the avant-garde application of technique so that you can see exactly where the bends and welding marks are created.
The streamlined designs have a raw yet elegant quality to them due to the sinuous lines that train the eye to follow the silhouettes. The natural form of welding scars are a unique characteristic of the collection, highlighting how and where the aluminum parts come together. Although the series appears primitive, there is precise consistency and intention throughout the design expression. The simplicity of the materiality allows the collection to adapt well to both indoor and outdoor settings.
For more information on Monochrome, visit urbancraftdesign.com.
Despite looking heavy yet delicate, Max Lambโs Nanocrystaline Chairs are anything but. In 2006, the London-based artist began thinking about creating a chair using a material that could be melted away once it was encased in copper. This series of four chairs is the result.
Lamb molded each chair, one at a time, in order to use the very same wax for each. The mold was sprayed with a fine suspension of colloidal silver in alcohol, then submerged in a tank holding a solution of 15% copper. What happens next is referred to as the electro-deposition process. While soaking inside the tank, nanocrystals grew and encapsulated the wax in a honeycomb pattern โ this is where the materialโs strength and flexibility is found. After spending nearly a week in the tank, the chairโs shell was formed.
Once complete, the wax gets melted, drained into a custom heat box, and reused for the next design. While molding the sculptural chairs, Lamb considered their engineering as much as their appearance. The holes in each design help to provide thin, supporting walls of copper between the inner and outer portions. As mentioned, the chairs are both light and strong.
To learn more about the Nanocrystaline Chairs, visit maxlamb.org.
Images courtesy of the artist and Salon 94 Design. ยฉ Max Lamb.
Known for their California-inspired furniture designs as much as their architectural practice, Los Angeles-based design studio LAUN is expanding its outdoor Ribbon Collection. Two new pieces โ the Ribbon Curved Sofa and the Ribbon Curved Bench โ are joining the family of aluminum furniture. Modular in design like the rest of the collection, the curved sofa and bench can be moved around to create various seating situations to suit your needs. They were created by experimenting with the proportions and forms of the original Ribbon collection, allowing for the further expansion of its capabilities.
To learn more about the new additions to the Ribbon Collection, visit launlosangeles.com.
The trend of furniture designed with soft volumes that weโve been seeing throughout the past year doesnโt show any sign of moving on just yet. The aesthetic even translates beautifully to the contract world, case in point is the Oru collection. Designed by Patricia Urquiola for Andreu World, the influence of elements from the 1970s and Japanese design create a feeling and mood thatโs bold and iconic. Throughout the collection of chairs and tables youโll notice the ongoing use of three feet supporting each piece of furniture, showcasing topnotch craftsmanship.
The Oru collection was created for both casual and formal work settings, while remaining flexible, adaptable, and comfortable. In all, the series includes two types of chairs as well as coffee, dining, meeting, and auxiliary tables. The furniture all shares the same characteristic wooden structure that features rounded, soft geometries.
The Oru collection has received the Best of Year award from Interior Design Magazine in the category of best contract seat.ย The Oru table was also a finalist for the awards in the category of best table for contract.
To learn more about the Oru Collection, visit andreuworld.com.
In her first-ever interiors collaboration, British eco-conscious pioneer Stella McCartney worked with B&B Italia on a series that launched at Art Basel Miami Beach. Based on bothโs shared values of sustainability, the Le Bambole capsule collection features a hand-drawn โFungi Forestโ in a dark red and white toile print. The upholstery pattern was pulled from McCartneyโs Summer 2022 runway collection, and can be seen adorning the exclusive Le Bambole armchair and Granbambola 3-seater sofa. In reimagining Mario Belliniโs armchair, McCartney was able to experiment with a designerโs work she loves while also celebrating Le Bamboleโs 50th anniversary with B&B Italia.
Five decades after its introduction, Le Bambole has evolved using innovative design elements that contribute to its comfort and environmental footprint. The capsule collection brings together the quality and durability of B&B Italia with responsible materials and construction choices that are in line with McCartneyโs eco-conscious mission. The new Le Bambole is designed to be fully disassembled, allowing for easy repairs when necessary and a circular end-of-life process to do the least harm.
While the original construction used a metal structure wrapped in polyurethane, the updated versions employ a recycled polyethylene frame, elements in polyurethane foam, and thermoplastic elastomers. These are encased in recycled polyester fabric beneath the upholstery to give Le Bambole its iconic shape, comfort, and breathability.
The capsule collection also introduces sustainable innovations developed by B&B Italiaโs R&D team. Happily, Le Bamboleโs upholstery is made of 100% biodegradable and toxin-free polyester that leaves no harmful microplastics in the environment. Itโs produced using 25% bio-based, 75% petroleum based feedstock and made in audited mills which follow the strict OceanSafe Compliant standards, and the ink used for the print is Oeko-Texยฎ certified.
To learn more about Stella McCartney x B&B Italia three-piece capsule collection, visit bebitalia.com. They are available for purchase in all B&B Italia direct, mono-, and multi-brand stores globally as well as online.