SUNDAY STUDY
Some new projects in the ARCHIVE, including our take on granny core, and a new favorite third place
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This week’s study is a collection of recent projects we’ve added to the ARCHIVE. Among them are an apartment renovation in Madrid that feels like a very LINEAR version of granny core, a house upstate perched on Ice Age-era plinths, and a newish wine bar in the Lower East Side inside a former dumpling factory that has us thinking about the relationship between retail and third places. Walk with us.
Jesús de Valle, by Archive for Space
We got an early look at a new project from Archive for Space that brings a kind of “punk romance” to a 20th-century apartment in Madrid’s Malasaña neighborhood.
Our familiarity with the neighborhood is admittedly limited, but everything we read about Malasaña — graffiti-covered streets, independent record shops, young Madrileños hanging out in public plazas — made the apartment make a little more sense. Archive for Space describes the space as something for a “grandmother with leather pants.” If we had to describe our version of granny chic, we’d probably point here.
We go back and forth between wanting our houses to feel like placed objects, light on the land, or monumental, weighty structures that seem intent on standing the test of time. Findling manages to be both.
Half the house rests on a New England stone wall built between 1770 and 1830, a remnant of the region’s agricultural past. The other half sits on Ice Age-era stone plinths. The house itself is built almost entirely from locally sourced larch, which will almost certainly lose the battle of time against the stones, but there’s something about a house that lets the landscape tell part of its story.
Designed by BIG, NOT A HOTEL Setouchi works its way through the dramatic topography of the Seto Inland Sea, framing the landscape through a series of 180°, 270°, and 360° views inspired by local building traditions.
What makes it especially LINEAR, is the way the project encourages guests to explore rather than prescribing a single route through the property. We’d recommend watching Bjarke’s walkthrough if you have a few minutes.
One detail to keep an eye out for: the courtyard ventilation grilles spell the name of each villa in Morse code. A small detail we’d never notice ourselves, but are very glad someone thought to do.
Colbo has made waves among the Buck Mason-type crowd for their natural blends, but it’s their first non-retail space that caught our attention.
We caught up with Of Enso, who transformed a former Lower East Side dumpling factory into a wine bar for the brand, and asked how they approached designing a space that was able to find the balance between retail and third place.
Of Enso told us, “We didn’t want it to feel like things are for sale in the space. The moment something is for sale, the room changes. People read it differently.”
The original stainless steel walls remain from the dumpling factory, while Enso’s handmade pendants and sconces are wrapped in Colbo deadstock fabric (which was a standout object for us — we’d very much like one for our home).
Swing by if you’re around, and let them know LINEAR sent you.
Car Part Time, by Office of Tangible Space
East Williamsburg keeps finding new uses for old industrial buildings. Refuge opened last year inside a 19th-century industrial complex. Now Car Part Time has transformed a former hangar into a café, record shop (curated by Freakout Spot, one of our favorite record stores in the Hudson Valley), registered collector car dealership, and event space.
We’re fans of spaces that refuse to be just one thing. Their audience is described as “car curious,” which we can’t help but feel like we inspired. We’re talking ourselves into hosting a party here. Should we? Hit our line.
Let us know what you think in the comments, or start a thread in our chat. Next week, we’re sharing a few of our favorite new stays that opened this year. And for our paid members, the LINEAR Field Guide to Porto. Stay curious.