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PROJECT ORANGE


Biography

The London-based architecture and design studio Project Orange (PO) was founded in 1997 by Christopher Ash and James Soane. Ash graduated from Cambridge in 1991 and then completed his training at several firms in London (including Michael Squire & Partners).

Soane studied in Cambridge and graduated from the Bartlett School of Architecture: until 2001, he worked in Sir Terence Conran’s design firms, where he carried out his vocational training and activities as a teacher, critic and writer. Described by the press as “the composer and the collagist” (Building Design Magazine), the work of Ash and Soane highlights the examination of all the individual issues related to design, the search for the best housing solutions and a general sophisticated elegance.

The firm prefers “projects seeking a seamless marriage of the disciplines”, be they homes, hotels or offices. The approach of the PO firm can be described as an “inclusive attitude to style and aesthetics apparent in the diversity of our built projects (...), through this process we generate a narrative unique to the individual project”, the latter aimed at creating spaces and places that are a joy to inhabit.

They began to make a name for themselves with the building in Glossop Road 266 in Sheffield (2006), a Victorian building redeveloped into an emporium and apartments, which stands out from the surrounding urban context for its elegance and decoration. This work has won the RIBA National Award and Life Time Homes Award.

Over the years, Project Orange has become a successful and renowned firm not only in London and the UK, but also in Russia and India, ranging from architecture to corporate identity and furniture.
They have designed the interiors of many hotels: the Plus Seven in Saint Petersburg (2007), the Park in Navi Mumbai (2008) and the Zone Hotel (2014) in Coimbatore, both in India; and the Fitzwilliam in Dublin (with several interventions from 2009 to 2019).

Among the hotel interiors created in recent years, the recent work for Nhow Hotel in London (2019) is particularly fascinating due to its original design, which gives it a prominent role in the capital’s diverse landscape of creative districts. In this respect, James Soane has stated: “Nhow London required a lot of storytelling to develop the 'London Reloaded' concept and we wanted to develop an amazing series of scenic spaces for the Instagram generation. All areas are connected by a narrative line that transforms the traditional London icons into striking and sensational installations.” The result of the concept is a “fresh and bold” design, in which “the colorful textures of the rooms will be the backdrop to elements of contemporary art, creating an unforgettable vision of London. Punk style will meet high tech, whereas graffiti will accompany unconventional images of monarchs of the past” (A. Zanardini, Guestmagazine).

In addition to accommodation, Project Orange develops most of its projects in the residential sector.
These include the housing complex in Cemetery Road, Sheffield (RIBA, Civic Trust Award and other awards); the interior and redevelopment work in the magnificent Rush manor in Oxfordshire (2010, for which they won the British Homes Award) and a double apartment in Moscow, where they also designed custom-made furniture.

As part of the expansion of a former factory in Sheffield (2012), the industrial archaeology project “adapts the old spaces dating back to the Victorian era to the purpose of a bar-restaurant and raises them to create a duplex office building. The work becomes an urban landmark” (M. Corradi).

In this award-winning work, “the new roof profile creates a dynamic cross-section that is further reinforced by the use of double-height spaces. The result (...) is an architectural work in which past and present coexist and complement each other: the raw appearance and the signs of time of the old steel industry contrast with the perfect and standardized ones of the new extension” (A. Vivian, Arketipo).

In addition to those already mentioned, the many awards received by the firm include the Building Design Interior Architect of the Year Awards, the Civic Trust Award, the Housing Design Awards, the British Homes Awards and the European Hotel Awards.
 
Project Orange selected works and projects
 
- Grove Cottage, Suffolk (Regno Unito), 2019
- Interior design per Nhow London Hotel, Londra (Regno Unito), 2019
- Ampliamento e ristrutturazione abitazione in Spafield Street, Londra (Regno Unito)
- Abitazioni ad Ingoldisthorpe (progetto), Norfolk (Regno Unito), in corso
- Nuova residenza estiva in Ferry Road (progetto), Southwold (Regno Unito), in corso
- Interior design del Fitzwilliam Hotel, Belfast (Irlanda del Nord), 2009-2019
- Orange Cottage Garden, Lavenham, Suffolk (Regno Unito), 2018
- Interior design per The Swan Hotel, Southwold, Suffolk (Regno Unito), 2017
- Interior design per ITC Welcom Hotel, Guntur (India), in corso
- Complesso residenziale Rathbone Market, Londra (Regno Unito), 2017
- Interior design per Zone Hotel, Coimbatore (India), 2014
- Abitazione in Eaton Terrace, Londra (Gran Bretagna), 2013
- Appartamenti Abell and Cleland House, Londra (Gran Bretagna), 2013
- Ampliamento di una ex-fabbrica, Sheffield (Gran Bretagna), 2012
- Monsoon Restaurant, Bangalore (India), 2012
- Edificio residenziale in Cemetery Road, Sheffield (Gran Bretagna), 2011
- Rush manor, Oxfordshire (Gran Bretagna), 2010
- Edificio residenziale in Whitecross Street, Londra (Gran Bretagna), 2010
- Hoxton Hotel, Londra (Gran Bretagna), 2010
- Akham School, Rutland (Gran Bretagna), 2010
- Ristorante  I-talia, New Delhi (India), 2009
- I-Bar, Bangalore (India), 2008
- Interior design del Park Hotel, Navi Mumbai (India), 2008
- Interior design del Plus Seven Hotel, San Pietroburgo (Russia), 2007
- Interior design Old Corner House, Suffolk (Gran Bretagna)
- Orange Cottage, Suffolk (Gran Bretagna), 2007
- Interior design dell’Eynsham Hall, Oxford (Gran Bretagna), 2007
- Edificio in Glossop Road 266, Sheffield (Gran Bretagna), 2006
 
Official website
 
www.projectorange.com

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