Every week we highlight the FRAME Awards submissions that have been frequented most by our readers and jury. Below are the five most-viewed projects between 2 and 9 August 2024, shared with feedback left by the jury.
Wow Concept Serrano Flagship
Culdesac
The new flagship for Wow Concept, the online retailer’s second store in Madrid, aims to create a more accessible and intuitive purchasing environment (Multi-Brand Store, 8.25). Culdesac carefully crafted a sequence of unique, immersive environments, each tailored to the brand’s diverse merchandise ranging from fashion and beauty to technology and homeware. Furniture elements that blur the line between functionality and art were designed to display products and encourage customer interaction. The store is conceived as a flexible system, able to adapt and evolve through scalable and configurable elements that cater to various needs, such as events and presentations. Madrid’s WOW Concept store enhances brand engagement and futureproofs the retail experience, by fusing commercial needs with artistic expression.
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Yebisu Brewery Tokyo
Ryusuke Nanki / dentsu
Tokyo’s Ebisu neighbourhood is named after a beer brand; the brewery was fundamental to its development (Light, 8.07). With the ambition to re-establish Ebisu’s connection to beer production, Yebisu Brewery Tokyo bridges past, present and future through an immersive brand experience. The venue has been designed with three areas: a museum showcasing the brewery’s 130 years of operation, the revived brewery and a taproom. The ‘Beer Storeroom’ serves as a meeting space open to the local community, underpinning the brewery’s role in the neighbourhood. ‘The light was designed elegantly, giving a delightful visual and sensorial experience,’ comments Arthur Guimarães, chief executive officer at Arthur Guimarães Architects.
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American Australian Association
Woods Bagot
The American Australian Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1948 dedicated to strengthening ties between Australia and the United States (Small Office, 7.56). The New York City location blends Australian-inspired cues with flexible office design to represent the relationship between the two countries. An Australia-sourced bentwood slat wall installation in the welcome area and organic inlays within the flooring evoke Australia’s landscape that contrasts the views of midtown Manhattan. Designed as a multifunctional workplace, the space responds to its employees’ evolving needs while preserving the ability to transform and host activities like discussions, performances, art showcases, business roundtables and networking events. Woods Bagot introduced an overlay of hospitality to an office space environment, with movable furniture that doubles for work and in-office activations.
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T² Coffee
Karv One Design
T² Coffee is located near Xinglong Lake in Chengdu, China, a lakeside park with a diverse landscape (Bar, 8.13). Aiming to connect with the surroundings through its renovation, the lake inspires the space’s oval shape, while the interior contains various interpretations of water. The 15-m curved bar at the entrance defines the floorplan and is surrounded by an open seating space. With the intent to act as a place of respite, the designer opted for extensive use of white and hues of light grey to create a bright and relaxing environment. ‘The interior design conception is quite impressive and has a good selection of materials, providing an appearance that everything is clean and futuristic,' says Guimarães.
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Zen Resort Nikko Cabin A
Gosuke Kambayashi / plat
Nestled in Japan's Nikko National Park, the Zen Resort Nikko Cabin A proposes an alternative to 'glamping' (Hotel, 8.08). Deviating from the typical dome-shaped tents and luxury furnishings, Gosuke Kambayashi /plat designed a 191-sq-m wooden cabin with minimal interiors that connect with the surrounding nature. Accommodating three guest rooms and bathroom facilities, the cabin is designed to serve as a permanent structure. Inspired by the architecture of Japanese shrines, a one-m wooden foundation supports the cabin, giving the sense that the structure itself emerges from the ground. Placed in between existing trees, the Zen Resort Nikko Cabin A exemplifies how nature and architecture can coexist. ‘Being nestled in nature and using natural material cladding achieves the goal to make guests part of nature,’ says Mark Eric Magno, principal at Aedas Interiors.
See more here.
