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10 interior spaces that leave the raw material exposed instead of covering it up

From a Brazilian house with rammed earth walls left bare to a Tokyo flagship store stripped down to its bare concrete frame, these ten projects treat the structure itself as the finish.

Written by Monkey Inspo Authors4 min read
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Most interiors hide their bones. Drywall covers the framing, paint covers the concrete, dropped ceilings cover the ductwork. The ten projects below do the opposite. Their architects left the raw material, rammed earth, poured concrete, cracked plaster, structural steel, stone, brick, timber, standing as the finish surface, treating the building's own structure as the design rather than something to conceal behind it.

Full-height exposed concrete wall with visible formwork tie-holes and a textile artwork hung on it
An exposed concrete wall with formwork tie-holes still visible, in Memola Estudio's Gale Apartment

1. Rammed Earth House, by Estudio Piloti Arquitetura and Stepan Norair Chahinian

Estudio Piloti Arquitetura designed this house, built into a mountainside facing the Bocaina range in São Paulo state, Brazil. The 180-square-meter home uses rammed earth, taipa, as its primary wall material, built by specialist earth-wall craftsmen André Falleiros Heise and Marcio Vieira Hoffman alongside a wood-framed structural system. The compacted layers of earth stay visible inside and out, chosen for thermal mass and to root the house in local building tradition rather than importing a finish from elsewhere. Photography is by Luis Claudio Marques Dias.

Wide exterior view of the rammed earth house with its striated facade under a roof overhang
The striated rammed earth facade of the Rammed Earth House by Estudio Piloti Arquitetura
Entrance detail showing the rammed earth wall next to a perforated cobogo screen and wood door
The entrance pairs the rammed earth wall with a perforated screen and a wood door
Interior living and dining room with the rammed earth wall as the main backdrop
The living and dining room uses the rammed earth wall as its backdrop

2. Gale Apartment, by Memola Estudio

For this São Paulo apartment renovation, Memola Estudio stripped the ceiling and wall finishes back to the building's raw concrete structure, leaving piping and ductwork visible rather than boxing them in. Formwork tie-holes and the rough texture of the poured concrete stay on show throughout, set against warmer wood flooring and curated furniture that keep the apartment from reading as unfinished. Photography is by Fran Parente.

Dining room in the Gale Apartment with exposed concrete ceiling and visible conduit
The dining area keeps the concrete ceiling and electrical conduit on show
Full height exposed concrete wall with visible formwork tie holes in the Gale Apartment
Formwork tie holes and rough concrete texture stay on show across the full wall
Kitchen in the Gale Apartment with rough textured exposed concrete ceiling close up
A close look at the kitchen ceiling shows the raw texture left by the original formwork

3. HB6B, by Karin Matz

Architect Karin Matz renovated her own 36-square-meter Stockholm apartment around an abandoned 1980s renovation that had left one section with half-finished plaster and crumbling brick. Instead of completing the cover-up, Matz kept that zone as she found it, peeling paint, raw brick and all, while finishing the rest of the apartment conventionally, turning the unfinished wall into a visible record of the building's history.

Peeling paint and exposed brick left untouched in a corner of the HB6B apartment
The unfinished corner keeps its half-stripped plaster and crumbling brick as found
The finished side of the HB6B apartment with conventional white walls and flooring
The rest of the apartment is finished conventionally, framing the untouched zone by contrast
Detail view of the raw brick and plaster left exposed in the HB6B renovation
A close view of the brick and plaster texture kept from the abandoned 1980s renovation

4. Steel Moment Coffee Shop and Bakery, by Assemble Project

Assemble Project designed this 235-square-meter café and bakery in Paju, South Korea, running exposed structural steel, beams, handrails, framing, through the interior rather than hiding it behind finished walls. The architects set the raw steel against brick and a vine-covered facade outside, using the material contrast to pull the surrounding landscape into the room. Photography is by Guen Young Cho.

Interior of Steel Moment Coffee Shop with exposed structural steel beams and framing
Raw steel beams and framing run across the ceiling and walls of the cafe
Exposed steel handrail and stair structure inside Steel Moment Coffee Shop and Bakery
The stair and handrail keep their raw steel finish rather than a painted or clad surface
Exterior of Steel Moment Coffee Shop and Bakery with brick and a vine covered facade
The brick and vine covered exterior sets up the material contrast carried through the interior

5. Fondazione Luigi Rovati, by Mario Cucinella Architects

Inside a renovated 19th-century palazzo in Milan, Mario Cucinella Architects built new underground galleries out of overlapping limestone ashlar that curves upward into domed stone ceilings. The stone is left as the raw, load-bearing finish rather than clad or plastered over, a reference to Etruscan tomb architecture that suits the museum's Etruscan collection. Photography is by Duccio Malagamba.

Underground gallery at Fondazione Luigi Rovati with domed limestone ashlar ceiling
Overlapping limestone blocks curve upward into a domed ceiling left unclad
Stone gallery corridor at Fondazione Luigi Rovati referencing Etruscan tomb architecture
The stone corridor draws on Etruscan tomb architecture to suit the collection it houses
Close view of the limestone ashlar joints inside Fondazione Luigi Rovati
A close look shows the stacked limestone blocks left as the finished, load-bearing surface

6. TaoCang Art Center, by Roarc Renew

Roarc Renew converted a set of former grain-storage warehouses in Jiaxing, China, into a 2,448-square-meter cultural center and gallery, keeping the original brick facades and structure exposed rather than resurfacing them. New steel elements stitch the old brick volumes together, treating the existing masonry as the building's main architectural narrative rather than a shell to be hidden. Photography is by Wen Studio.

Exterior of TaoCang Art Center with original exposed brick warehouse facades
The former grain warehouses keep their original brick facades exposed rather than resurfaced
New steel structure stitching together brick warehouse volumes at TaoCang Art Center
Steel elements connect the old brick volumes without covering the original masonry
Gallery interior at TaoCang Art Center with exposed brick walls
Inside the gallery, the exposed brick becomes the main architectural narrative

7. UNIQLO Tokyo Store, by Herzog & de Meuron

For this 23,059-square-meter flagship store inside Ginza's former Marronnier Gate department store, Herzog & de Meuron worked through subtraction, stripping conventional retail finishes to reveal the building's original in-situ concrete frame. The bare beams and columns run across every sales floor, paired with stone, timber and metal flooring rather than the usual retail cladding. Photography is by Nacasa & Partners.

Sales floor at the UNIQLO Tokyo store with exposed in situ concrete columns and beams
Bare concrete columns and beams run across the sales floor instead of finished retail cladding
Upper floor of the UNIQLO Tokyo store showing stone and timber flooring against bare concrete
Stone and timber flooring pairs with the bare concrete frame rather than covering it
Ceiling detail at the UNIQLO Tokyo store showing exposed concrete slab and services
The ceiling keeps its raw concrete slab exposed rather than hidden behind a dropped finish

8. Diletto Pastas, Barrio Chino, by Cupla Arquitectura

At this pasta restaurant in Buenos Aires, Cupla Arquitectura's Lucia Vallve and Tomas Mielnikowicz ran a suspended metal grid across the ceiling and out onto the storefront, leaving it exposed as a unifying framework for the electrical, HVAC and lighting runs rather than hiding them behind a dropped ceiling. Photography is by Federico Kulekdjian.

Interior of Diletto Pastas with exposed suspended metal grid ceiling
The suspended metal grid runs across the ceiling, carrying electrical and lighting in view
Diletto Pastas storefront with the exposed metal grid extending outside
The grid extends out onto the storefront, unifying interior and exterior in one visible framework
Close view of the exposed metal grid and lighting fixtures at Diletto Pastas
Lighting and HVAC runs sit visibly within the grid instead of behind a dropped ceiling

9. Cafeteria in Ushimado, by Niji Architects

Niji Architects designed this 144-square-meter cafeteria for a construction company's staff in Ushimado, Japan, leaving its Douglas fir structural frame, 120-by-120-millimeter columns and 180-by-120-millimeter beams, fully exposed and deliberately unrefined. The rough timber detailing gives the space a workmanlike atmosphere suited to its client rather than the polished finish a typical cafeteria might get.

Interior of the Ushimado cafeteria with exposed Douglas fir columns and beams
The Douglas fir frame stays fully exposed, left rough and unrefined throughout
Detail of the exposed timber column and beam joinery in the Ushimado cafeteria
The 120 by 120 millimeter columns meet the beams in plainly visible joinery
Exterior of the cafeteria in Ushimado built for a construction company staff
The workmanlike timber structure suits the construction company staff who use the space

10. The Brick Connection, by TRAANSPACE

TRAANSPACE, led by architect Urvi Shah, designed this 6,500-square-foot house in Vadodara, India, around exposed brick left unplastered and unpainted across both facade and interior. The choice keeps the house connected to vernacular building tradition and the region's climate response, rather than dressing the brick up as most contemporary houses in the area would. Photography is by Umang Shah.

Facade of The Brick Connection house with unplastered exposed brick in Vadodara
The facade keeps its brick unplastered and unpainted, connecting the house to local building tradition
Interior of The Brick Connection with exposed brick walls left unpainted
Inside, the same unplastered brick continues from the facade into the living spaces
Close view of the exposed brick detailing at The Brick Connection house
A close look at the brickwork shows the texture left by keeping the material unfinished

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