loom atelier is an independent creative studio established by a portuguese and an australian architect, who after 7 years of working together for major brands across the Europe and middle east region, began their own practice focusing on the development of immersive narratives within architectural interiors.
loom atelier is based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
a collaboration between loom atelier and rotterdam based graphic designer Sumarty Schiffer.
the project was a re-examination of way-finding throughout the main circulation spaces at kunstinstituut melly + tent rotterdam, creating woven panels with Netherlands based manufacturer EE Exclusives, lending the signage acoustic properties to manage noise throughout the main areas of the museum.
The colour schemes and concept were extended to establish a clear hierarchy in the spatial usages throughout the museum too, specifically calling out the gathering area with richer, warmer colours on walls and fixtures as well as a warmer light temperature, to draw attention to where visitors congregate, leave their coats and freshen up before proceeding through the rest of the museum.
the reworking of the inherited gardens of a family’s grandparents with the intention of creating a place where the family could continue to gather, creating many new memories to compliment those from earlier years. functionally, the site will operate as a shared, familial allotment, where fresh produce can be grown and shared.
loom atelier’s premiere private residential project, is a renovation of a 91sqm house in Heiloo, The Netherlands, for a couple of dutch design enthusiasts retreating from Amsterdam.
bringing with them a plethora of custom furniture pieces including a kitchen by Studio Lukas Cober, a dining setting by Valentin Loellmann, and smaller accents by new talents like Sho Ota and Bram Vanderbeke, we curated the pieces to establish the most natural dialogue while taming the existing architectural volumes, creating a warm, textured and minimalistic environment the couple can proudly call home.
seeking to enrich the work environment for staff at an online platform’s original HQ in russia, loom atelier began an exploration in way-finding and place making leading expression with the brand’s own splendid colour scheme to create a joyful work environment that established environs for communication.
In 2022 we spent quite some time working with …,staat exploring a concept for a next generation department store, targeted at a Gen-Z audience but still relevant to millennials and beyond.
loom atelier has its beginnings in the collaborative environments of international design studios, creating innovative customer focused experiences in retail and food and beverage.
Alongside the studio’s own work in residential and commercial fields, we continue collaborative works with a range of studios and brands. To date we have had the pleasure collaborating with:
McDonalds, HEMA, Redevco, Nike, Hatter Agency, …,staat, Miro, TENT Rotterdam, Kunstinstituut Melly, Grammes, Starbucks, the red cross, UnderArmour
commissioned by an energetic new comer to the Amsterdam Baking scene, loom was invited to present a customer facing experience that was more inline with the bakery’s branding, and provide opportunity for the bakery’s head chef to sell an extended offer of delicious pastries. working with the chef’s desire for an “open kitchen” concept, we played with materiality to tie the front bar in with the material expression of the facilities used to create the viennoiserie customers queue for.
seeking a disruptively soulful solution for standard branding within the filed of interior design,
we turned to hand crafted solutions, making linoleum block prints to print our logos and configuring office stamps to share our contact details. white stock paper of a heavy weight, cut into sharp rectangles juxtapose this expression, establishing an element of humour.
a design for a Starbucks reserve coffee bar located in a historic building opposite Prague City Hall, rich, wooden, walnut panels feature prominently in the store, defining the bar area as the focal point, while accents of copper help to establish a contemporary design language with industrial flourishes.
custom furniture pieces and art works created with local artisans lend soulfulness that entices customers to linger beyond the last sip.
this store was awarded the International Best Fit-Out Award 2018 by the Construction and Investment Journal CE and was featured in Elle Magazine.
a styling exercise to a 4 storey home, for a family of five, in Heemskerk. the focus was on introducing softness to mediate the sharp angles of the building, by way of dreamy colours and recurrent elements such as ephemeral drapes and rice paper light features, all of which subtly elevate the existing spaces while avoiding major architectural reconstruction.
renovation to an existing home for a delightful family of 4 taking inspiration from their art collection, love of colour and cinema. The catalyst for the renovation was the desire to extend a mezzanine into a full floor to increase the size of the master bedroom and to combine 2 smaller rooms on the top floor into a larger, combined room for the children to enjoy.
Amsterdam is one of the Europe’s greenest cities in and this collage re-examines the use of its forgotten green areas.
Changing lifestyles, urban growth, and overcrowding of the existing city call for new approaches to existing green spaces, beyond the limited number of large public parks, exploring how to transform these under-utilised spaces into places worth visiting and for the public to enjoy.
Green areas are the lifeblood of happy cities. They provide people with crucial recreational space, enriching cultural experiences, and places where families and friends can come together, enriching their daily lives. By activating the currently overlooked green pockets around the city with new activities and initiatives such as exciting and welcoming design features and activities that communicate a sense of belonging and prompt exploration, these areas can become elevate the role of green spaces within Amsterdam to a new eleven, making them accessible to everybody.
Geometric lines and unexpected elements feature prominently in this new Starbucks store, located at the Hilltown Shopping Mall, Kucukyali, Istanbul,Turkey.
Inspired by the “sea faring traditions of coffee trade”, a visually arresting world map in conjunction with a celestial Siren, feature as prominent artworks and inspire of the shape language of the store.
Wooden elements strategically vary in form, concealing and revealing design features as customers navigate throughout, helping to establish a hierarchy.
The prominently located bar and the graphical wooden structure above it ground the heart of the store, visually connecting the primary artworks and emphasizing the theater of coffee.
Furniture selection, arrangement, lighting, and a sensitive material selection all work together to create a memorable and welcoming customer experience.
In the Netherlands, the elements are an inescapable factor of daily life. Celebrated and revered, you are not living in Amsterdam until you arrive at work, soaked to the bone by a sudden shower that reminded you of your place in nature while you pedalled along the “grachten” on your “omafiets”.
Nature has provided tremendous solace over the past year, in a period of uncertainty on personal, professional, social and economic levels, throughout which the Dutch tradition of wandering in the breeze, “uitwaaien”, has resurfaced as one of the most prevalent lock-down activities. It is credited with calming nerves, easing stress, and also provides a relatively safe way to share a moment of connection while we continue to grapple with the virus. The only inconvenience, until now, has been the need to flock to overcrowded parks or to travel by train, bus or car, in order to arrive at a destination for wandering.
This bridge proposal presents a newly appropriated urban structure accommodating “uitwaaien” by a body of water with exploratory landscapes incorporated along its meandering paths, creating a memorable experience whether clearing your head, zipping across the harbour for work, or enjoying a leisurely catch up.
a styling exercise for an expat couple relocating to Rotterdam after many years living in amsterdam. playing off bold features within the existing space; exposed ceiling beams, fab kitchen tiles and beautiful old bathroom tiles, we created enveloping environs within each room that established an overall narrative inline with the clients love of rich colour and engaging design, adding a few new accent pieces invigorating their existing collection of belongings.
For the flagship store of a sportswear brand in Spain, located at El Corte Engles in Barcelona, we worked with the brand to adapt their existing retail concept to a more European audience.
this involved exploring new and more richly textured wall finishes, incorporating local references, like a brand specific take on the hexagonal Gaudi tile, as well as linking the in-store experience to the brand’s digital experience.
To engage with local youth, a series of new graphics were developed to be applied as graffiti and more dynamic furniture and merchandise display elements created.
Additional architectural elements such as a ceiling structure over the entry merchandise display incorporated dimensional place making for a more nuanced in-store experience.
supporting BHB Creative in the design, visualization and documentation of a refresh to a lobby lounge, cafeteria and kitchen area of the offices of this humanitarian organization.
the adaptation of an attic storage space into a home office and studio in amsterdam west. the focus was on cost effective solutions and establishing a language that was soulful, stimulating and had good ergonomics in order that occupants could comfortably work there year round, adapting it to their needs each day, whether they were working on computer, hosting clients or hand crafting elements for specific projects.
loom atelier’s submission to MADE’s talent lab. this chair was developed while in the first lockdown of 2020 and, feeling the need for kindness, we developed a chair that felt like the warm embrace of our favourite sweater, selecting a rainbow bouclé for the upholstery of the back and seat which are formed by 2 interlocking plywood plates that wrap around the lower back in a comforting embrace. the legs were to be stainless steel in the thinnest possible diameter, a wink toward the lightness of chairs created by some of our favourite japanese architects.
a pitch for the redevelopment of storage and WC facilities at a community greenhouse and workshop space in amsterdam west.
looking beyond the singular structure, the triangulation and materialization of the proposed building maintains focus on the existing, beautiful greenhouse, while creating a secondary plaza at the back of the site , lending another zone in which to expand the vibrant activities of the site into a lush moment of greenery with in the urban area.
a full architectural project for 2 neighbouring house holds: one, a young family, the other, new grandparents seeing to downsize, on adjacent ocean front plots in Portugal. the focus of the design was in sourcing cost effective solutions for the architecture and interior with
(construction beginning mid 2021)
loom atelier has its beginnings in some of the greatest design studios around the globe, whose influence resonates at the foundations of its own practice.
we are eternally grateful to those workplaces for nurturing our creativity.
FutureBrands UXUS
Starbucks Design Studio EMEA
Specific Generic (formerly Bozarth Fornell Architects)
Junya Ishigami & Associates
Lucy McRae
Aseven Atelier
Kennedy & Associates Architects
