It wouldn’t be an end of year wrap-up without a look at this year’s hottest interior designs. AN Interior is published three times per year by The Architect’s Newspaper and features the top projects, products, designer profiles, and more. Check out the best of AN Interior below! (See the rest of our Year in Review 2016 articles here.)
In and Outdoors
As people continue to choose urban environments over the lush expanse of the countryside, access to outdoor space has become a luxury amenity for both commercial and residential spaces. Take a look at some of the best vertical gardens, over-sized balconies, expanded courtyards, and green roofs from across the nation.
Kitchen Confidential
When Daniel Boulud, one of America’s leading chefs, decided to renovate his 2,500 square-foot flat atop his flagship restaurant at 65th and Park Ave., he called in Stephanie Goto to turn his seemingly regular kitchen setup into a culinary studio fit for a maestro.
All of the Light
In a rare Manhattan home that receives sunlight from all sides, Bryan Young, principal of New York-based Young Projects, devised a stainless-steel screen that can be moved from one side of the Gerken Residence to another, allowing guests to have more restricted or open views. The screen’s design mirrors what Young described as the “plaster core,” a textured volume that houses the back-of-house programmatic elements, which allows the rest of the apartment to be so open.
What’s that? It’s Design, Bitches
AN Interior took a look at L.A.-based multidisciplinary firm, Design, Bitches, whose keen and self-described interest in pop seeps into their practice from every angle. Check out how co-founders Catherine Johnson and Rebecca Rudolph have seamlessly merged architecture, interior design, and graphic design to create some of L.A.’s trendiest spots.
Making Design Easy
Do you need to furnish a hotel or a new restaurant? Just call Aito—the latest venture from some of the minds behind Scandinavian design giants Flexhouse, Hem, and One Nordic. Their new company gives designers access to a network of manufacturers that Aito’s founders have built through previous endeavors to produce high-quality furniture. Ask Aito to make your product. And then if you want to sell your new product, just ask Aito again.
The Finnish Line
What happens when two siblings want to build the ultimate eco-friendly home? The Atelier House, located in the woods just 30 miles outside of Helsinki. The brother-sister duo of California and Finland-based Atelje Sotamma used digital fabrication and construction technology to leave a light footprint on the land, to make the infinitely customizable structures of their dream home a reality.
Virtual Reality, Minus the Virtual
Japanese art collective teamLab debuted an interactive installation this fall that’s like virtual reality without the headset. Twenty different immersive experiences were assembled within a single 20,000 square-foot space in the heart of Silicon Valley for this interactive art extravaganza that sought to make virtual reality a bit more social.
Berlin Biennale
The 9th Annual Berlin Biennale, The Present In Drag, had much less to do with drag than it did with interior design. The exhibition broke with tradition by acting as a platform for artists to perform the present their work and tease out the contradictions and confusing realities of contemporary culture. There were also a lot of urinals in strange places.
Stairway to Heaven
When Square moved into the old Bank of America data center in San Francisco, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania-based Bohlin Cywinski Jackson went all out to transform the space from miserable and windowless to open, spacious, modern, and fit for a modern tech company. They might have removed all the cooling towers, but this office is still super chill.
Double Trouble
The 300-square-foot exhibition space known as Jai & Jai Gallery has become a home for L.A.’s young creatives. Check out some of the coolest projects coming out of the gallery.
