Blog TSK

restaurant by studio kota cascades down balinese terrain in a series of open-air platforms

set n rise flows with the landscape of bali’s rice terraces

 

In the village of Pererenan, just outside the bustle of Canggu in Bali, Set n Rise is a semi-open-air Asian grill designed by Studio Kota. The architects draw from the island’s iconic rice terraces, resulting in a dining experience that unfolds one level at a time, stepping gently down the sloped terrain. The design brings guests closer to the land, with open views across the fields and sunlight filtering through timber fins.

the building enjoys unobstructed views of the surrounding terraced paddy fields

 

 

four staggered platforms form the restaurant

 

Set n Rise is built on a narrow site with a five-meter drop from front to back. Jakarta-based Studio Kota sculpts the building to follow the slope, shaping a triangular form that naturally fits the land. Openings to the east and south let in plenty of daylight and keep the rice fields in constant view.

 

The restaurant is a series of four staggered platforms, each aligned with the terrain. Guests move between them along a central ramp that ties everything together and makes the space accessible. At the street-level entrance, the open kitchen and bar set the tone with cast resin and textured concrete. The next platform introduces more casual seating and hides away the restrooms. Further down, the third level invites social gatherings with a bar, DJ booth, and dining tables. The lowest platform connects to a garden and a small outdoor amphitheater, where guests find themselves at eye-level with the rice fields, one final step that brings the whole experience full circle.

the architecture moves with the land, embracing the site’s topography

 

 

Timber slats wrap the facade of the project’s boutique

 

Above the Set n Rise restaurant, a small boutique adds another layer to the building without taking away from the open feeling below. The material palette throughout, composed of pigmented cement, rough concrete, and locally sourced timber, feels earthy and grounded, matching the textures of the surrounding landscape. Timber slats wrap the facade, referencing the lines of the terraces and filtering in sunlight and breeze. They also provide shade and rain protection, helping the building stay comfortable in Bali’s tropical climate.

the design maintains a balance between built form and open landscape

a facade of vertical wooden fins filters sunlight

a ramp serves as the primary vertical circulation

upon arrival, visitors are greeted with a dramatic vista of terracing paddy fields

visual continuity is maintained between the seating platform and the central bar

the grill station features a custom tabletop, where wood is cast in green resin to create a tactile focal point

seating platforms are unified under a single roof

 

 

project info:

 

name: Set N Rise Bali
architect: Studio Kota | @studio.kota

location: Pererenan, Bali, Indonesia

site area: 520 square meters

built area: 309 square meters

 

design team: Erick Kristanto, Gilbert Aldo, Rania Sidanta, Satrio Aulia Firdaus, Raissa Livyana Dewi, Allia Safira Pitaloka Dewi

interior design: Studio Kota & Set N Rise (Ari Triawan)

furniture design: Flowers in May

lighting design: Flowers in May

structural consultant: I Putu Agus Putra Wirawan

architecture & interior contractor: Maja Group

client: Set N Rise, Maja Group

photographer: Indra Wiras | @indrawiras

 

 

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

The post restaurant by studio kota cascades down balinese terrain in a series of open-air platforms appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

demountable pavilion by heimat architects offers fleeting coastal refuge at china’s sand city

‘UNDER THE SAME EAVES’ ANCHORS SOCIAL ENCOUNTERS by the sea

 

Heimat Architects (previously Atelier Heimat) unveils Under the Same Eaves, a demountable timber pavilion designed for the 2025 Aranya Theatre Festival in Qinhuangdao, China. Completed in just 14 days — 7 days for design and 7 for construction — the project serves as the festival’s main baijiu tasting station and a key node in Migratory Birds 300, a 300-hour continuous art experiment on the beach. Both intimate and open, the pavilion becomes a social anchor amid a landscape of ephemeral installations, celebrating fleeting encounters through architecture built to vanish.

bird’s eye view of the site | all images © Lv Xiaobin, unless stated otherwise

 

 

HEIMAT ARCHITECTS CREATES TIMBER COURTYARD OF SHARED MOMENTS

 

Situated in the Sand City zone of the festival, Under the Same Eaves by Heimat Architects forms a quiet courtyard composed of three tasting corridors and a compact bar unit. Each corridor is made of modular timber platforms arranged under repeating eaves that suggest both rhythm and rest. Through this design, the architecture team encourages spontaneous social interaction, offering visitors a variety of ways to sit, recline, or simply linger — all under a canopy that frames the sea breeze and passing conversations.

 

More than just a tasting station, the pavilion acts as a spatial ritual for enjoying baijiu, China’s traditional spirit. The architecture invites visitors to move slowly: entering low eaves, stooping gently, then emerging into a central space of light and laughter. Its sculpted sections offer moments of openness for mingling and pockets of seclusion for reflection.

Under the Same Eaves: a demountable timber pavilion for the 2025 Aranya Theatre Festival

 

 

MODULAR DESIGN ENABLES ZERO-WASTE CONSTRUCTION

 

Simplicity and sustainability guided every decision. The entire structure uses just two sizes of locally sourced timber in a modular ‘sandwich truss’ system. These repeating units offered both structural strength and rapid assembly. The pavilion’s hipped roof shelters a service bar and storage space, while waterproof polyester fabric wraps the timber eaves, providing light shelter and visual softness against the coastal backdrop.

 

Part of the Migratory Birds 300 series, Heimat Architects’ pavilion is built with impermanence in mind. Like the performance art it accompanies, the structure is made to be disassembled, reused, and ultimately disappear — a poetic parallel to the transient nature of festival encounters. As the designers return ‘like migratory birds’ each year, the act of building becomes both a rehearsal and a ritual: a meditation on time, place, and the emotional weight of temporary space.

the pavilion forms a quiet courtyard composed of three corridors

each corridor is made of modular timber platforms

the entire structure uses just two sizes of locally sourced timber

waterproof polyester fabric wraps the timber eaves | image © Bai Rubing

the design offers pockets of seclusion for reflection

the pavilion is both intimate and open | image © Liu Guowei

Under the Same Eaves becomes a social anchor amid a landscape of ephemeral installations | image © Bai Rubing

 

project info:

 

name: Under the Same Eaves
architects: Heimat Architects
design team: Zhang Dong Guang, Liu Wenjuan, Ma Tianyang, Zhang Wenjing
site support: Sun Zhiwei
construction team: Yan Chuanwei, Yan Xuli, et al. Curators: Liu Chang, Zhu Sha

location: Qinhuangdao, China 
client: GUOJIAO 1573, Aranya Theatre Festival 

 

 

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom

The post demountable pavilion by heimat architects offers fleeting coastal refuge at china’s sand city appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

studio arthur casas wraps ribbed concrete tower with vertical gardens in são paulo

studio arthur casas grows garden-wrapped tower in são paulo

 

Located on a corner lot in the Moema neighborhood of São Paulo, Ibaté by Studio Arthur Casas unfolds as a monolith of exposed concrete softened by vertical landscaping and human-centric design. With just one spacious unit per floor, the 21,000 square-meter residential building offers privacy and openness in equal measure, integrating cross-ventilation, solar orientation, and generous terraces.

 

Studio Arthur Casas chooses to leave the concrete frame of the tower fully exposed. The facades are made of ribbed, warm-toned concrete that isn’t clad or painted, allowing the raw material to speak for itself. Built into the grid are vertical planters, which soften the strong, sculptural presence but also help regulate temperature and connect the building more closely with its tropical surroundings. 

all images by Fran Parente

 

 

ibaré opens up to the street with public-facing design

 

Each 450-square-meter apartment in Ibaté spans an entire floor and is accessed via dual elevator cores. The São Paulo- and New York-based architects at Studio Arthur Casas clearly divide public, private, and service areas while maintaining fluid transitions between them. Perimeter terraces wrap around each unit, acting as outdoor extensions of the living spaces. Their design is subtly modulated with staggered planters that shift floor by floor, breaking visual monotony, with large glass openings and brass-finished aluminum guardrails completing the envelope.

 

The interface between the building and the street departs from São Paulo’s typical urban defensiveness. At ground level, Ibaté resists heavy gates or walls, offering instead a glazed enclosure that works as a threshold to the city. This open, landscaped plaza connects with the sidewalk and includes furniture, a steel sculpture by Túlio Pinto, and communal areas such as the pool and elevator lobby. 

a monolith of exposed concrete softened by vertical landscaping

 

 

wood, glass, and metal finishes complete the interiors

 

Studio Arthur Casas balances Ibaté’s raw concrete with the warmth of wood, glass, and brushed metal finishes. Technical components are concealed behind wooden panels that maintain visual clarity, while curated furniture by Brazilian designers, including Jorge Zalszupin, Guilherme Wentz, and Arthur Casas himself, brings heritage and contemporaneity into conversation. 

 

Sustainability is integrated into the building from the start with solar panels heating the pool, a graywater system allowing for water reuse, and EV charging points built in. Cross-ventilation and dense greenery help reduce the need for air conditioning, improving energy efficiency while keeping the spaces comfortable.

the 21,000 square-meter residential building offers privacy and openness in equal measure

integrating cross-ventilation, solar orientation, and generous terraces

the facades are made of ribbed, warm-toned concrete

the raw material speaks for itself

each 450-square-meter apartment in Ibaté spans an entire floor

Studio Arthur Casas clearly divides public, private, and service areas

raw concrete balances with the warmth of wood, glass, and brushed metal finishes

vertical planters are built into the grid

 

 

project info:

 

name: Ibaté

architect: Studio Arthur Casas | @studio.arthurcasas

location: Moema, São Paulo, Brazil

built area: 21,082.02 square meters

land area: 2,162 sqm

 

co-arch: Gabriel Ranieri

landscaping: Arterra

developer: Cáucaso

project management – architecture: Cadu Vilela

project management – interiors: Mariana Santoro

project management – decoration: Fabiola Andrade

decoration coordinator: Paulina Tabet

 

acoustics: Harmoni

structure: Roberto Leme

concrete: Gabriel Regino

foundations: MG&A

frames (windows/glazing): Crescêncio

partitions/walls: Paula Vianna

waterproofing: Proasp

lighting design: Ilumination

visual communication: Nitsche

 

carpentry: Inovart

window frames & guardrails: Luxalum

lighting fixtures: Elight, Lumini, LD Arti, Luxsim

furniture & objects: +55design, By Kamy, Studio Objeto, Lattoog, Boobam, Vallvé, Srta Galante, Wentz, L’oeil, Pair Store, Herança Cultural, Etel, Micasa, Jorge Zalszupin

visual communication: F Teo Design

collaborators: Adriano Bergemann, Marcelo Beretta, Luciano Sessa, Rodrigo Carvalho, Beto Cabariti, Reginaldo Machado, Yuri Chamon, Beatriz Costa, Renan Prandini, Vinicius Bazan, Alessandra Mattar, Giuliana Maia, Luisa Mader, Raul Valadão, Marcelo Melo, Marcela Du Plessis, Rafael Palombo, Camilla Dall’Oca, Paulina Tabet, Marcella França, Virginia Fornari, Leonardo Navarro, Amanda Tamburus, Conrado Almeida, Natalia Lorenzoni

 

photographer: Fran Parente | @franparente

The post studio arthur casas wraps ribbed concrete tower with vertical gardens in são paulo appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

oilstainlab’s HF-11 evokes retro-modern design inspired by porsche and can-am race cars

Lightweight supercar with digital mirror and rear camera

 

Oilstainlab’s HF-11 vehicle reflects retro-modern design inspired by classic Porsche and the Canadian-American Challenge Cup race cars. To appear at the JDM vs EURO car show in Los Angeles, US, on July 12th, 2025, the lightweight supercar uses two-layer, aerospace carbon fiber for a robust frame, and its butterfly-winged doors open extensively enough to already showcase the cabin from the outside. Stepping inside, the Porsche race car-inspired HF-11 by Oilstainlab, the use of carbon fiber continues throughout the seats with three-point seatbelts.

 

The modern touch comes through the digital gauges and display as well as the rear camera, push-button handbrake, and start button to fire up the vehicle. Even the mirror is digital, equipped with a high-definition display. One of the retro design elements, which also hints at the race cars in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup as well as some classic Porsches, appears as the racing helmets stored in the doors of the vehicle. Oilstainlab wants HF-11, inspired by classic Porsches and race cars, to look clean; hence, the absence of dramatic and sculpted lines on the exterior.

all images courtesy of Oilstainlab

 

 

oilstainlab’s HF-11 inspired by classic Porsches and race cars

 

At the back of the vehicle, passersby see parts of the engine and power system where they’re traditionally hidden. The design team leaves them semi-open to show the inner workings and designs of the supercar. The fenders above the wheels are big enough to cover the wide tires, designed to reduce drag and increase the vehicle’s road grip. The team also shaped the side of the car downward to guide the air towards that direction and keep it stable at high speeds. There’s also a hidden rear wing to give the vehicle additional downforce.

 

Specs-wise, the Oilstainlab HF-11, inspired by classic Porsches and race cars, uses a custom suspension system from Öhlins and features a double-wishbone system for both front and rear for ideal racing-level handling. The manual steering has an electronic assist, and the engine comes with two flat-six options as well as an electric version. The engine lies behind the driver but in front of the rear wheels, and it is naturally aspirated without a turbocharger. The base horsepower is 600 hp, but it can go up to 1,200 hp. So far, Oilstainlab has already opened the pool of ownership for the lightweight HF-11, so drivers can own the vehicle inspired by classic Porsches and race cars.

Oilstainlab’s HF-11 vehicle reflects retro-modern design inspired by Porsche and race cars

roof view of the vehicle

no dramatic and sculpted lines on the exterior for a clean look

side view of the vehicle

the hood, trunk, and doors open upward

there are digital displays and gauges inside the cabin

the team says owners can customize the interiors

 

project info:

 

name: HF-11

design: Oilstainlab | @oilstainlab

The post oilstainlab’s HF-11 evokes retro-modern design inspired by porsche and can-am race cars appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

SICIS creates glowing swimming pool surface with decorative glass for cambodian villa

SICIS TRANSFORMS POOL WITH ILLUMINATED VETRITE SURFACE

 

SICIS steps up the game in aquatic architecture with a transformative take on swimming pool design, turning decorative glass into a glowing, underwater surface. At the private residence known as Olympic Villa in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Italian brand showcases the potential of its signature glass panel system, Vetrite, applied in a fully submerged, illuminated installation. 

 

Unlike traditional pools that reflect their environment, this one emits a luminous glow from beneath the surface. Made possible by the patented Neptune system, the project merges SICIS’ technical expertise with a purpose-built lighting solution engineered specifically for underwater use. Vetrite panels from the Gem Glass collection create a mineral-inspired pattern that lights up the water both day and night, enhancing the pool’s presence as an immersive and ever-changing visual centerpiece.

swimming pool at Olympic Villa glows with SICIS’ Vetrite decorative glass panels | all images courtesy of SICIS

 

 

FROM MOSAIC TO UNDERWATER INNOVATION WITH DECORATIVE GLASS

 

For centuries, decorative glass was largely considered too delicate for the demanding conditions of aquatic environments. Integrating it safely and effectively below water required technical reinvention. That’s where SICIS comes in. Known for its roots in fine mosaic craftsmanship, the Italian brand has continuously expanded its material research to develop surfaces that balance artistic impact with structural resilience.

 

Based in Ravenna — the historic heart of Italian mosaic — SICIS draws on traditions of manual skill and visual storytelling to inform its contemporary production methods. What began as a vision to modernize the mosaic has evolved into a full-spectrum interior design brand, encompassing furniture, lighting, textiles, and architectural surfaces.

Vetrite surfaces from the Gem Glass collection bring depth and luminosity to the water

 

 

BACKLIT TECHNOLOGY DESIGNED FOR AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS

 

Vetrite, the material at the heart of the Olympic Villa project, is a large-format decorative surface made by fusing glass with polymer films. Its unique composition lends visual depth and a gem-inspired translucency, while maintaining the durability required for challenging environments, including underwater applications.

 

For this particular installation, 120×120 cm slabs from the Vetrite Gem Glass collection were cut and arranged in a bookmatch layout, ensuring that the mineral-inspired pattern repeats symmetrically across the pool’s surface. The result is a continuous, flowing aesthetic that echoes natural crystal formations — organic yet meticulously controlled.

SICIS’ patented Neptune system enables fully submerged lighting beneath decorative glass

 

 

Bringing this vision to life beneath the surface is Neptune, SICIS’ patented system engineered for submerged backlighting. It uses a very low voltage power supply, ensuring total safety even in direct contact with water. A specialized matrix evenly distributes light, accentuating the visual complexity of the material while withstanding water pressure, humidity, and temperature changes.

 

The effect is a pool that emits a stable, ambient glow — visible even during the day and dramatically intensified at night. When illuminated, the Vetrite surface comes alive, shimmering with aquatic tones and revealing intricate layers of light and texture. During daylight hours, it reflects its surroundings with subtlety and elegance.

The Vetrite and Neptune combination is designed for widespread use in luxury resorts, wellness centers, and spa environments, offering architects and designers a way to integrate light and surface in a single, unified gesture. Collections like the Gem Glass provide a range of visual options, each customizable in format, finish, and lighting intensity.

glass and light converge to create an immersive swimming experience at Olympic Villa

the surface collections provide a range of visual options, each customizable in format, finish, and lighting intensity

underneath the surface, SICIS’ neptune system integrates lighting for a custom underwater performance

the project demonstrates SICIS’ technical mastery in underwater surface applications

 

 

project info: 

 

name: Vetrite

company: SICIS | @sicis_official

collection: Gem Glass

system: Neptune system

location: Olympic Villa, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The post SICIS creates glowing swimming pool surface with decorative glass for cambodian villa appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.