By Jenna Adrian-Diaz
These projects—which range from a movie theater and a wine shop to a noodle house and corporate headquarters—make exceptional use of wood elements. Find even more materials innovation on our Materials Pinterest board and follow @interiordesignmag on Instagram for additional design inspiration.
Hundreds of faux-timber slats reference the subtle animation of a flip-book in a corridor leading from the entry to the theaters in this Shanghai movie house.
2. Hunan Slurp by New Practice Studio📷
Nearly 100 curved oak-veneer slats symbolize noodles in this canopy within a Chinese eatery in New York.
Geometric micro-perforated oak paneling in the expansive lobby serves a dual purpose by dampening sound and entrancing the eye. Photography by Bruce Damonte.
4. De Vinos y Viandes by Zooco Estudio📷
A total of 18 varnished MDF ribs and arches recall rounded oak barrels and glass bottles in this wine shop in Northern Spain.
Douglas fir, pine, and stained maple flooring unite traditional wood and modern glass construction, giving the illusion of an expansive open-air performance space to this dance school in Beckett, MA.
More than 10,000 hexagonal oak-veneer ceiling tiles nod to the shape of an espresso portafilter, while a massive 88-foot coffee bar offers a contrasting organic influence in the world’s largest Starbucks.
7. Hyatt Global Headquarters by Gensler 📷
An undulating slatted ceiling adds movement in the Chicago headquarters’ common area.
8. Urban Union by BAMO 📷
The warmth and spontaneity added by this American white oak wall treatment contrasts with the Seattle office building’s steel and stone elements.
Sharp edges and smooth curves play off each other harmoniously in a sculptural bamboo staircase that connects four levels of the marketing company’s offices.
Reflections of beehive-inspired plywood grids create a Wellsian illusion of space inside a compact Parisian boutique.
11. Museo del Violino by Arkpabi📷
Balconies designed in veneered maple take on organic forms inspired by string instruments in this chamber ensemble performance auditorium in Cremona, Italy.
Streamlined linear wood ceiling panels recede into space, guiding the eye east toward Jerusalem from the balcony of this Orthodox temple in Mexico City.
13. Zhongshuge Bookstore by X + Living📷
Backlit wooden bookshelves curve dramatically, while free-standing display tables in the same finish offer continuity and direction through the expansive corridor.
14. Washington D.C. Residence by NADAAA📷
Plywood ribs milled with slightly varied profiles allow light and air to pass while offering a methodical exploration of curvature in this transformed center hall colonial in the U.S. capital.
A eucalyptus-veneered spiral staircase, created in the style of a singular wood shaving, dwarfs other structures within the atrium of this Sydney business school.