YODezeen is a located in Ukraine the award-winning architectural and interior design studio working in a variety of contemporary styles. Established in 2010 by architects and fellow students Artem Zverev and Artur Sharf. The Studio professional philosophy is to create customized and unique aesthetic solutions for clients through developing timeless designs with striking architecture. YODezeen incorporate luxury, comfort and truly unforgettable experience while fulfilling the goals of the clients.
Artur Sharf & Artem Zverev, co-founders of YODEZEEN for Yinjispace. Studio YODEZEEN, founded by Artem Zverev and Artur Scharf, is 10 years old. The architects themselves, who diligently avoid publicity, argue that this figure is neither small nor large. At the same time, they emphasize that a decade dedicated to the creation and development of your own brand, which has become known to thousands of people around the world, is a lifetime.
Artur and Artem were twenty years old when they started. During that period, there was nothing - no orders, no team, and no office. They were just young people, dreamers, who wanted to create outstanding designs. That is right - outstanding. Now, ten years later, they are still the same dreamers. The difference is a good rear and a big story. They say - looking back, they understand that dreams can lead anywhere.
At the same time, Artur and Artem are sure that the most difficult period in the development of the studio is over. Difficult is when you have to take on any orders. They say that the transition to a situation where the main goal was directly creating a cool product, and not just making money, was difficult and painful. To attract potential customers, to show what they were capable of, one had to develop one free concept after another. This allowed us to eventually find “our” customer - someone who can appreciate the unique and high-quality design. However, the most important thing turned out to be different - to find "my" team, a group of like-minded people. The guys with their usual courage say - to find the same "nerds" like themselves. It is challenging but doable.

Yinji：What do you think is the design concept of YODEZEEN? Which design style does YODEZEEN represent?
Artur: it has some kind of seasonality, a trick, inherent in our material combinations. We use them for two or three years, then we refuse and find something new. Earlier we were told, they say, we have dark interiors. Now we have cool light projects coming out.

Yinji：What is your favorite design master? What have you gained from their work?
Artem: Watching SAOTA is a studio from Cape Town. They are probably the closest to us.
Artur: We are doing together with them one of the houses in Los Angeles. They do architecture, we do design.
Artem: It was a surprise - we opened the project documentation, and there SAOTA. Then I would also call Pitsou Kedem Architects - this is a practice from Israel. Very powerful too. They are somewhat more localized, but they work great too. Brazilians, Studio MK27 - they work closely with Minotti.

Yinji：How to form design ideas when you start a new project?
Artem: For two years, we have been using brass in different finishes, from gold to dark bronze. We have already used up this resource and now we want to refuse it, despite the fact that it is a noble and flexible material. We have a certain understanding of how we see the interior - in layout, in volume, in decoration. Today we try to use only natural materials. Three years ago, we worked with large-format porcelain stoneware. Now about 80% of our projects are finished with natural stone. In addition, even if the customer can afford only 80 Euro per square meter, then we will sit in twine, deliver a stone from Iran or Turkey, but we will end up with the energy we need a result of a different quality.

Yinji：During the epidemic, how do you maintain your passion and creativity at work?
Artem: Of course, the crisis caused by the pandemic affected the work of our studio. We very quickly transferred everyone to a remote mode of work, provided everything necessary, slightly changed the interaction processes. Some projects stopped due to the impossibility of continuing to carry out construction work, on other projects the implementation deadlines were postponed, but this did not reduce the work and tasks. It became more difficult to carry out architectural supervision, since each object has its own characteristics - somewhere an empty apartment, but somewhere access is limited and this requires more time to solve organizational problems. We focused more on project work and on the opportunity that appeared to hone many processes, bring them to perfection.
Artem：I cannot say that the number of requests has decreased. Moreover, I think that right now, many people understand that a calm and measured life can change in 1 day and therefore it is no longer worth putting off your dreams and plans on the back burner.
Artur: I would also note that now there is more time for analysis: my projects, ideas, interactions within the team, analysis of our strengths and weaknesses. There was time for improving details, searching for and applying new solutions. We have not stopped the search for new employees, as we are gathering a strong and talented team. We now have time to develop new ideas and projects within the studio. It became more difficult to communicate with the team, since personal communication, teamwork on projects and tasks, the opportunity to hear and discuss, even argue is always important, but in personal communication it is always more effective to understand each other. Personal communication cannot be replaced by any new developments and software. Moreover, even a video conversation is not always a good substitute for a personal conversation.