Alyn Griffiths

🏠 Design studio Simplicity crafted a traditional Japanese ryokan experience on the 28th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Osaka, located in the Dojima business district. The hotel occupies 12 floors of the One Dojima high-rise and offers 175 guest rooms. The ryokan floor, aiming to blend tradition with modernity, features 21 tatami rooms with interiors inspired by Japanese inns, complete with futon beds, and a Sabo tea lounge. This project aligns with Japan's economic surge and the forthcoming Expo 2025 Osaka.

🏠 YSG Studio renovated a seaside home in Byron Bay, Australia, with retro 1970s-inspired interiors. YSG director Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem designed period details like a sunken lounge, chrome additions, and a geometric patterned floor titled Checkmate. The kitchen was doubled in size, featuring a wooden screen and circular island. Vintage Italian dining chairs were reupholstered in chartreuse velvet, and terracotta pavers were laid in a grid pattern in living areas. Custom and vintage furniture pieces, including a Cassina Soriana chair, adorn the home.

🎶 Designed by Akin Atelier, JAM Record Bar in Sydney's central business district is a monochrome establishment seating 45 in an 80-square-metre space, featuring a decor inspired by Tokyo's mid-century listening bars. The owners, Justin and Bettina Hemmes of the Merivale hospitality group, named the bar after their parents and their music label, JAM Recordings. The interior includes 15,000 vinyl records, exposed pink fibreglass insulation for acoustic properties, and a central bar area. Kelvin Ho, with over 15 years and roughly 20 projects with Merivale, describes the design style as "simple and analogue but also refined," using materials like cork, plywood, and common insulation in a sophisticated manner. Chef Michael Fox and James Irvine contribute to the Japanese-inspired menu and crafted drinks.

🏠 London's Studio Est, founded in 2020 by Louise East, renovated an apartment inside the iconic Battersea Power Station, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott (1929-1955, decommissioned in 1975). The owner's vision was to mirror personal taste and the building's art deco heritage. Incorporating brutalist elements with softer textures, the design featured custom furnishings and vintage pieces like Mario Bellini leather chairs and a Charles Rennie Mackintosh Hill House Chair. The redevelopment added residential, office, and retail spaces; WilkinsonEyre and Foster + Partners contributed to the restoration and design, including an Apple office and store.