Rarely seen interior design projects celebrating a unique way of respecting traditional craftsmanship and techniques with a very contemporary twist.

The Guild of Saint Luke, whose name is a callback to the early-modern European city guilds of artists, is a design studio guided by the core principle of “remastering the past.” Arguing that traditional design techniques are very much alive and well, and bringing together artisans and artists who focus on locally sensitive projects, they embrace the historic context of the places where they work.

This book features a selection of their most remarkable recent international projects, original creations and restorations alike. It includes private apartments in Paris; spectacular renovations of iconic brasseries Terminus Nord, Bouillon Julien, and Brasserie Excelsior, all true temples of French urban life whose Art Nouveau and Art Deco interiors have been returned to new glory; the extraordinary Lasdun restaurant, seated within the iconic walls of London’s National Theatre; the one-of-a-kind barbershop Eredi Zucca in Milan. Each project is imbued with a peculiar cinematic atmosphere, imaginatively reinvigorating the spaces and announcing renovation as a creative medium. 

About The Author

British designer John Whelan is a specialist in heritage design and creative direction. He is the founder of The Guild of Saint Luke. Toto Bergamo Rossi is director of the Venetian Heritage Foundation and a master restorer. Oskar Proctor is an architecture photographer based in London, whose work is featured in international publications such as Architectural Digest, The World of Interiors, Cabana, and T Magazine.