‬ renovation

dongqi Design has renovated three different buildings into a multi-functional complex that integrates retail, exhibition, F&B and office spaces in downtown Shanghai. The project consists of a three-story brick-concrete building facing the street on the north side, an 8-meter-high factory building, and a single story brick-concrete building to the south. The ground floor of the three-story building serves as a leisure area, while the second and third floors are office areas. The factory building accommodates a retail area and an independent VIP room. The single-story building on the north side contains a catering area. All functional zones are organically interconnected while remaining separated. Yasu Kojima Yasu Kojima Yas... More

Renni is a wellness centre providing therapy services from clinical psychologists, social workers, body and movement practitioners.  The clinic is located within a renovated semi-detached Victorian era house in Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood.   The design reimagines the constrained condition of the existing house and property into a light filled and expansive set of experiences as a container for the inner work occurring within. Scott Norsworthy Scott Norsworthy Scott Norsworthy The project initiated with a design mandate to provide each individual treatment room with access to direct natural light, and to attempt to breakdown the inherent cellular condition of necessarily small individual spaces to mee... More

With an eye toward honoring the house’s mid-century character, the clients tasked the RBA design team to expand and reorganize the house to create a seamless integration of old and new—one that feels both timeless and distinctly tailored. As part of the design challenge, the clients made it clear to RBA that they wanted to retain the original character of the home. That vision guided the interiors, along with an expanded footprint. Custom oak cabinetry, cedar tongue-and-groove ceilings, and stacked brick fireplaces echo the home’s original vernacular, while concealing modern infrastructure. Enlarged skylights, expansive sliding doors, and a refined curtain wall bring light and connect interiors to the outdoors. Jeremy... More

Nestled within the mountains of Bentael, Lebanon, this modest stone house stood long abandoned, its walls and spaces gradually absorbed by the surrounding landscape. The renovation approached the existing structure not as an object to be restored according to a particular moment in time, but as a living fragment of the environment. This strategy would preserve the material character, as well as introducing a contemporary layer that would allow the house to evolve. © Walid Rashid © Walid Rashid © Walid Rashid © Walid Rashid The existing stone walls form the foundation of the project. Their irregular surfaces, weathered textures, and traces of previous construction were retained wherever possible, alon... More

Established by Georges de Latour with a vision of making wines that could rival those of his native France, the iconic Beaulieu Vineyard traces its history to the first year of the 20th century, when Georges’ wife Fernande laid eyes on the original Rutherford vineyard and declared “quelle beau lieu,” or “what a beautiful place.” Our goal for the reimagined Beaulieu Vineyard property was to bring back this sense of beauty, wonder and history with a design that honors the winery’s long history and reflects its essential role in both the past and future of the Napa Valley. Adam Potts Adam Potts Adam Potts Adam Potts Adam Potts Historic photographs show a winery built of stone with t... More

The modernization of the visual arts classroom at Pensionnat Notre-Dame-des-Anges transforms a former home economics room into a bright, functional, and inspiring studio. The layout is organized into two distinct zones: the teaching area and the storage spaces. A long, angular work surface creates a transition between the two, preserving visual continuity while allowing natural light to flow freely. The simplicity of the design allows for great flexibility of use, accommodating a variety of student and school activities. Phil Bernard Phil Bernard Phil Bernard Phil Bernard Phil Bernard Integrated furniture and display areas place students’ work at the forefront. Natural wood acts as a unifying element, while... More

Lumeah is a house designed by the legendary architect Paul Couch in the 2000s. The original house is in Paul's distinct architectural style, characterised by a rhythm of exposed concrete beams that sit on exposed concrete walls. The exposed slab continues the concrete through most of the house, infilled with bluestone paving in the wet areas, solid timber internal doors, stainless steel joinery, hybrid windows of timber and steel, and a ceiling covering of Stramit Board - panelling made from compressed straw. There is not a single painted surface in the house. Tom Ross Tom Ross Tom Ross Tom Ross Most of the original house was in its original state, with the exception of the Ensuite which had been subject to some awkward... More

The house was built in reinforced concrete construction in the seventies. The task was the enlargement of the attic and the complete renovation of the interior. The building structure and the plan were preserved. The external door, internal doors, staircase, paving and furniture were redesigned and renewed the diversity of design in the usage of timber was shown to the fullest extent. tuncer cakmakli architects   The characteristics of the material could be observed in every detail of the artful carpentary work the function, the feeling, the touch, and the appearance should be realized with a clear understanding of the material and a harmonious combination of proportions. The idea behind the design of the garage door with its st... More

The project concerns the transformation of a former industrial space into an apartment, that can potentially host temporary art exhibitions. The renovation took place in a postwar office building, a dominant typology in the centre of Athens, that posed several challenges. Characteristic of this typology is the insufficiency of domestic infrastructure, like plumbing/sewage installations (toilets located externally per floor), and adaptation limitations for heating/cooling systems. These restraints, in combination with the mixed-used program, informed the design methodology to a large extent.  The main feature of the composition is the creation of a strict limit that divides the plan in two distinct parts. The first part refers to the p... More

When a well-travelled, retired lawyer asked Smac Studio to create original interiorsblending serenity with character, it was a very welcome challenge. “The client wantedher home to feel timeless, feminine and elegant—but also with a bit of cool factor,” says Shona McElroy, Principal of Smac Studio. Embracing and reflecting the lush garden was a priority, with olive green andaubergine tones specified in the brief. Originally a very dark ‘90s build facing inwards,small interventions to the layout made a big difference to how the client lives andentertains. By changing a tucked away, U-shaped corner kitchen into a centred kitchen island focus has shifted out towards the garden. Caption Caption Caption... More

Designed for a textile designer and artist, Red Threads reimagines a traditional Grey Lynn villa as a home, studio and lively presence in its neighbourhood. It also marks a milestone for Pac Studio: our first carbon-positive house! Its corner site presents two public faces and a useful tension between creative openness and domestic privacy. Samuel Hartnett Samuel Hartnett Samuel Hartnett Samuel Hartnett Samuel Hartnett The original house was clarified by removing an awkward street-front addition, extending the verandah and resolving the roof into a stronger composition of gabled and hipped forms. At the rear, the new work steps down the sloping site, reconnecting rooms that once sat well above the garden. A split-... More

Villa, bungalow, state home; regardless of typology, much of our existing housing stock was templated rather than designed to connect with the specific qualities of a site. Among the numerous renovation projects we undertake, a typical goal is to address deficiencies in light and outlook while strengthening connections to gardens, or to break discrete rooms into larger spaces that better cater to the needs of family life. As was the case in this project. Samuel Hartnett The key to efficient use of the budget on this project was to maximise space within the existing footprint, reorganising the floorplan to orient living spaces towards garden and sun, and merging the backyard and living spaces into a large indoor-outdoor area. Apart fro... More

This newly renovated kitchen sits within an existing 1920s bungalow in Maungawhau Mt Eden, Auckland. The house, located at the end of a quiet suburban cul-de-sac, is a charming example of the Californian bungalow typology, with classic detailing, tongue and groove floorboards, high ceilings, kauri panelling and colourful leadlights among the existing features.  The back of the house however, had been modified with an aesthetically jarring 1980s addition. It looked out of place and had reached the end of its serviceable life. Working with our client, we sought to revitalise and reimagine the kitchen in ways that were sympathetic to the heritage, detail and craft of the existing bungalow. It was, however, an exercise in creating new ide... More

Designed for a compact urban site, this sculptural alteration challenges expectations of light and volume. In plan, a corner of the home was carefully opened to extend into a new deck space, sheltered by a transparent roof—creating a softer, more diffused threshold between indoors and out. For our clients, both working in TV and film, we explored ways to apply deeper, moodier hues within new sculptural volumes. The result is an almost cinematic effect—attuned to the dramatic interplay of black and white. Caption Caption Caption The intervention maximises natural light—essential within a tight footprint—via strategically placed skylights, detailed within a carefully considered reflected ceiling plan. A... More