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Welcome architects, designers and readers! |
  Le Meurice bakery: From March this year, Pyrolave showcases the creations of the currently most sought-after pastry chef: Cédric Grolet. Famed for his extravagant pastries, his larger than life fruit sculptures and a host of awards, the chef chose Pyrolave enamelled lava to show off his creations in his 1st Le Meurice shop at 6 rue de Castiglione in Paris. A simple, refined and uncomplicated place to create on a daily basis, in line with his initial plan. Produced by the Ciguë architectural collective - whose trademark is customised creation, sensitivity to context and special attention to materials -, the shop is long and narrow, setting off the Pyrolave enamelled lava to great effect. ‘Received ideas are turned on their head here: the behind-the-scenes take centre stage, the long enamelled lava counter – the chief element of the site – faces the street and becomes a genuine scene for dressing and finishing the cakes and pastries’ explain the designers. In more detail, the equation of thermal resistance + food surface multiplied by mechanical performances, namely its non-porosity, was in no doubt when recommending a Pyrolave surface for this prestigious project, say Hugo Haas and Guillem Renard. Regarding functionality and design, the assembly of horizontal tops and vertical sections of thicknesses varying from 25-30 mm made possible a single-material project. It is a genuine advantage for this technical material, which for part of the table is cooled, and some vertical ornaments open for storage space. As for the colour – Antique white – it was chosen for its contemporary minimalism and relationship with the historic stone of the building. On closer inspection, the depth of the colour in conjunction with the ‘crackling’ of the enamel on the raw material are released like a random pattern that is generated at the very end of the process at Pyrolave. An immaculate, stable and timeless surface that genuinely shines a 'mineral’ light on the creations exhibited on the countertop for the delight of connoisseurs and food lovers alike!   
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     China Works & Pyrolave: New life for a historically charged building. Built in the 1800’s to set up the offices and showroom for the English pottery company Royal Doulton, this place now goes under the name of China Works and has been converted into a co-working space 2.0. Prestigiously located on Black Prince Road, a stone throw away from Westminster and the London Eye, the building is listed among English monuments and most clearly symbolises the Victorian Gothic style. This style inspired the Frost and Bluebottle agencies to breathe new life into the construction. Like the exuberant terracotta decoration of the time, the Bluebottle agency naturally recommended Pyrolave enamelled lava for decorating the bar: the new agora of this highly connected place. The choice was realised through the expertise of Pyrolave which can offer strictly the same colour – Emerald in this project – between the counter tops and the trim of the vertical sections. Each top and tile was minutely designed to give the bar a perfect overall harmony, says Geoff Leach – sole distributor for Pyrolave UK. The specific technical feature of this project lies in the ornamental shapes of the bar. These mouldings were obtained from lava blocks of the Volvic mountains, shaped by profile grinding on digitally controlled tools. Here, the picture rails are both horizontal and vertical, so Pyrolave engineers had to adapt the traditional manufacturing process to produce them in several sections while flat. The traditional mouldings evoking the Victorian style and the Emerald enamel applied to the Volvic lava give users a throwback in time within a prestigious and ultra-connected workspace. |
Chotto Matte London: Temple of Nikkei food in the United Kingdom, the Chotto Matte of London is a crazy project from the design of its interior spaces right up to the surprising content of its dishes. Explanations and behind the scenes insight on this revolutionary project for Pyrolave… Inherited from the Nikkeojin, Japanese emigrants to Latin America and particularly Peru, Nikkei food is the unlikely culinary alliance between Japan and Peru, tasty and spicy cooking on the rise. The Chotto Matte of London, designed by the AMA agency, proposes this outstanding culinary voyage in a relaxing and underground ambiance!
Designed as a grotto where the powers of stone are calming and instil a sense of silence and serenity, this high place of fusion cuisine draws on a mad and extremely sophisticated design. Bringing in massive blocks of natural lava and installing them as countertops: this was the architect’s challenge. It was impossible at first sight. As weight was a major constraint. But not for Pyrolave . The team rose to the challenge and came up with a solution combining the ‘lava crust’ appearance while still allowing transport. Several blocks of Volvic lava were dressed, hollowed out, juxtaposed then sculpted by an internationally renowned artist in the field: Thierry Courtadon. The result is conclusive with its perfectly uniform continuity. The upper part of these rocks is removed to allow the enamel to be applied and also bring out the duality between the raw material and the colour within the same block. The contract is fulfilled, and the site decorated by natural lava countertops that are more traditional with rounded concave and convex shapes. This unique creation pushed back the technical and architectural limits of Pyrolave’s expertise and made its company and employees proud.
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