Located at the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District, Lau Pa Sat (meaning ‘The Old Market’ in Singapore’s colloquial Chinese) is one of the oldest Victorian-era structures in Southeast Asia. It was first built in 1824 as a waterfront fish market elsewhere before undergoing several refurbishments and relocated to its current location in 1894. The market was converted into a hawker centre in 1972 and gazetted as a national monument in 1973.

Today, Lau Pa Sat still sports the same cast-iron octagonal structure designed by engineer James MacRitchie in 1894, but with a thoroughly modernised interior.

Cosentino has taken part in the historic revamp which was completed in 2020. Done by local architecture studio Farm, Lau Pa Sat’s latest renovation applies a combined total of 410 sqm of Dekton and Silestone for various areas within Food Folks.

The design of the new Grill Bar in Tel Aviv was a great challenge for interior designer Racheli Ben Avi. The aim was to create a seamless space that would offer clients a sensory experience through its atmosphere. “The biggest challenge of the project was planning the restaurant space. The idea was to create an open space that would encourage a natural and dynamic flow, allowing visual connection between the different parts of the space”, explains the designer. In addition to this, the combination of several different styles posed the challenge of maintaining a well-balanced and refined design.

“The eclectic style was achieved by integrating industrial materials, an exposed black painted ceiling, bronze light fixtures, a wine display cabinet, green plants and a brightly coloured pop art piece in the cladding”, she explains. To merge all these different elements, Racheli Ben Avi opted for Cosentino materials. The entire restaurant is clad in Dekton, including the bar counter, walls, cabinets and floor.

After the complete redesign of several areas, including the lobby, restaurant, meeting rooms and bathrooms, one of the landmark hotels in the Italian city of Milan is sporting a fresh new look. The renovation, carried out jointly by Spanish architect Álvaro Sans and Vittorio Grassi Architects, has given a new look to the Meliá Milano, a hotel located in Via Masaccio, very close to the trendy area known as City Life, the new centre of luxury shopping in the city.

The functional and architectural approach of the renovation project led to the rebirth of this 20-year-old hotel, opening up spaces by creating a new, spacious and flexible layout of the common areas. The interior gardens, high skylights and contemporary use of materials and textures give the bar, restaurant and co-working area a sophisticated feel.

The concept of Hayal Kahvesi, a restaurant chain in Turkey, goes beyond serving lunch and dinner, as it turns into a concert hall at night. And in keeping with this multi-disciplinary concept, one of its premises in Istanbul has been refurbished. ‘During the day it is a good place to eat and to meet. At night, it turns into a club-lounge,’ explain the architects and interior designers working with Tanya Ildiroğlu and her studio Margo Interior and Product Design on the project.

The entire design revolves around both experiences and tries to meet the needs of the customers. ‘We are organic beings, who need food to nourish the body and music to nourish the soul. We live in one of the largest metropolises and have to deal with a lot of hustle and bustle. Therefore, one of the objectives was for the interior design to be able to restore all of the negativity of the day and turn it into something positive,’ the designers explain.

In the Italian city of Taranto, Apulia, there is a legendary meeting place that is now coming back to life after the renovation carried out by the architect Lello Nigro. Caffè Tarentum is a historic café restaurant that has been run by the same family for 35 years. The owners want to freshen up this place that offers coffee, pastries and home-made ice cream.

This renovation, carried out by Scrimieri Lab under the supervision of Nigro, aimed to create a warm, welcoming, restrained but elegant space. Materials such as Canaletto Walnut, Dekton by Cosentino and an array of natural matt lacquered finishes have been used to add a sophisticated and very comfortable character to the café.

The former Finnish State Railways VR headquarters building, originally designed by Eliel Saarinen and completed in 1909, has been transformed into a Scandic Hotel. The building is strongly tied to Helsinki’s railway station, an important part of the cityscape as well as culturally and historically significant, as it served as the railway administration headquarters for almost a century. The design work on the hotel was exceptionally demanding. The building is protected under the Act on the Protection of the Built Heritage.

Representing Eliel Saarinen’s Art Nouveau style, the former Finnish State Railways VR headquarters building was renovated and expanded into an elegant hotel with almost 500 rooms as well as meeting and event facilities. The cultural and historical landmark’s demanding renovation and change of use was carried out in cooperation with the Finnish Heritage Agency and the city of Helsinki.

The renovation was an exceptionally demanding project. Protected parts of the building include its entire exterior and roofing, as well as its main lobby, main staircase and hallways, the longest of which is 159 metres long.

Food as a language of love. This is how renowned chef Aitor Jerónimo Orive sums up his passion for gastronomy, heritage of his homeland, the Basque Country, a region in northern Spain. “My grandparents are wonderful cooks and I always caught them in the kitchen, stirring a pot of hot, hearty and incredibly delicious food”, Aitor recalls. For Aitor, the logical step was to become a chef and open his own culinary space. So far, nothing unusual. Except that he opened his restaurant in Singapore, more than 11,000 kilometres away from home. It was there that he opened the Basque Kitchen, a Michelin-starred restaurant where Basque cuisine has become part of international cultural heritage.

Now, after several years of hard work that have earned him the appreciation of the general public, the Basque Kitchen by Aitor moves to the historic building The Fullerton Waterboat House, and does so under the guidance of the design studio Grey Matters, featuring Dekton as the reference material. “Moving from Amoy Street to its new location was a bold move that required careful planning. Redefining a brand that has such history and so much prestige is a task that must be handled with delicacy, sensitivity and the utmost care so as not to undermine all the hard work that the Chef and his team have put in over the last few years”, explains the studio.

For the third year in a row, Cosentino is the reference partner of Team France in the famous international cooking competition Bocuse d’Or. This year, they have also contributed to the renovation of the kitchen of the ‘Refuge’ in Écully, located 10 kilometres from Lyon and very close to the Paul Bocuse Institute, where chef Davy Tissot’s team prepares for the competition.

Two Dekton colours of great beauty were used in the kitchen renovation: Kovic for the wall cladding and Laurent for the worktop. In choosing Dekton, cleanliness, functionality and excellent performance at high temperatures were paramount. The result is a kitchen that is modern and perfectly equipped, yet elegant and timeless at the same time.

Dekton Laurent is inspired by the natural stone of Port Laurent and features an almost dramatic finish with brown and golden veining. A very theatrical context for presenting the work to be judged by the best jury.