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We talk a lot about designing for the senses these days; about human engineering, ergonomics, people-centric products. It’s particularly a hot topic when it comes to looking at the modern working environment. If today’s office is to compete with home, it needs to bring similar feelings of comfort, but promote productivity and collaboration at the same time. Designers and architects are responding with increased attention towards auditory comfort, finely-tuned lighting, and cosseting touches via texture, color and shape. 

It’s a paradox that as our society becomes increasingly connected through global travel and digital realms, we often feel more disoriented and disconnected than ever before. The power of interiors to ground us in the present and help us reconnect with what we value should not be underestimated. One way to bring authentic emotional depth to space is through atmospheric lighting, which, in combining illumination and form, can transcend practical function to perform a vessel for mindfulness.

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For three years now, Villeroy & Boch has been implementing the TwistFlush vortex flush technology in selected toilets. This innovative flushing technology harnesses the physical force of the swirl to optimize flushing performance and toilet hygiene. Two nozzles generate a powerful water vortex, which cleans nearly the entire inner surface of the toilet and pulls all dirt residue into the drain with its strong suction. Coupled with the conical geometry and extra-smooth walls of the bowl, this makes repeated flushes and the use of the toilet brushes practically unnecessary. Compared to conventional flushes, this innovation is also particularly water-saving, making a significant contribution to resource conservation.

For designers seeking to evoke a sartorial expression of "quiet luxury" through an interior, a necessity to a minimalist palette is the addition of a sculptural object—one that catches the eye, glints like a jewel, and nods towards understated refinement. For kitchens and bathrooms where functionality reigns, how about capturing that moment of chic tension—that je ne sais quoi—with a radical faucet?

We talk a lot about how the success of an interior leans on the layout of its walls, doors and windows, and maybe the shade of paint or degree of cushioning on the chairs placed inside. The truth is, it will probably live or die by the quality of its light.

It’s not news that light tends to lift the spirits, while long shady days of winter can bring a dip in mood; the power of light has always had a bearing on architecture. Talk to the British architect John Pawson for five minutes and you realize that light is perhaps his favorite material—he shapes interiors with light by controlling its entry points meticulously. But today the power of lighting goes deeper than the management of daylight in a space; growing intelligence about the precise impact of different qualities of light means we can start to mold moods with artificial illumination in our interiors to great effect. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to ask questions. Probably too many. But when you meet with Italian architecture and design grandee Michele De Lucchi, you’re all ears, such is the caliber of his thought and the eloquence of his expression, built on the back of over half a century of experimental, and sometimes iconoclastic, creative practice. From his participation in such avant-garde design collectives as Studio Alchimia and Memphis to his authorship of the Compasso d’Oro-winning Tolomeo lamp and Pulcina coffee pot, he’s seen a lot and done a lot.

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The International Union of Architects, in collaboration with UN-Habitat, has announced the launch of the second cycle of the UIA 2030 Award. This biennial award promotes the work of architects contributing to the delivery of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development together with the New Urban Agenda.

Join Shannon Vos, an Interior Designer, Renovator, and one-half of the winning team from 2014's 'The Block', for an insightful discussion on the dos and don'ts of renovating at the DECO Innovation Centre.

2024 OBEL Award Teaching Fellowship program is accepting joint applications from potential fellows and host universities.

Havana seems to be frozen in time by centralized economic and political controls. Its inhabitants face constant material challenges in their lives. Cuban society responds by thriving with idealism, stoicism, and resilience. This dynamic interplay between myriad limitations and boundless creativity is the subject matter of our programme.  

Contemporary and fresh, luminous and colorful, intriguing and surprising; the interior design of a newly finished apartment project in London speaks the visual language of its maker, award-winning designer Karim Rashid. Having spent the past four decades in the field of design and architecture, Rashid has manifested both his talent and approach with an always recognizable design DNA.

Gaggenau’s commitment to innovation and eye-soothing aesthetics in the kitchen is well known; its appliances aim to please the most demanding cook and meet the rigor of the dedicated minimalist. Its latest launch, however, turns the idea of appliance design on its head.

The fourth cohort of the postgraduate program in Social Urbanism at the Insper Arq.Futuro Cities Lab will begin its activities with an inaugural lecture on January 31. Applications are open until January 29. The hybrid program will hold classes on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Classes take place one week per month (with the exception of February, when they will be held during the first and last weeks).

Today, more than ever, we need to safeguard one of the cornerstones of sustainable urban development: citizen participation in urban planning processes.

Aiming to rethink the legacy of the German-Venezuelan artist Gego and its historical significance within a contemporary context, LA ESCUELA___ invites participation in "Reticulárea colectiva: cartografías comunes" (Collective Reticulárea: Common Cartographies). This participatory project, conceptualized by artist Miguel Braceli, proposes building a space for encounter and learning centered on collaboration, networking, and the formation of affective bonds regarding art and territory, while addressing themes of diaspora and migration.

In order to secure the food supply for Berlin's rapidly growing population at the end of the 19th century, the Kornversuchsspeicher was built in 1898 on the former site of the Hamburger and Lehrter freight depots. A building with a scientific mission, it served to research new storage methods for grain. After years of vacancy and then interim use as a creative space, the brick building has been carefully renovated in recent years by AFF Architekten, extended with the addition of a seventh floor and transformed into a modern event, gastronomy and office building, with a focus on fully preserving its industrial charm. This was a project that called for great expertise in all areas, including from Solarlux, the specialist called upon for customized window and facade solutions.

Architecture photographer Edmund Sumner has taken us on a journey from Europe, to India, Mexico, and beyond. Now his works will be featured at London's Albumen Gallery. You can read about Edmund's perspectives in our interview.

It could've been so kitsch. When you hear that a former prison has been transformed into a hotel, you'd be forgiven for imagining an incarceration-themed novelty destination, replete with door handles in the shape of handcuffs and complimentary striped pajamas.  

Grüntuch Ernst Architekten's sensitive adaptation of a women’s jail in Berlin-Charlottenburg is anything but, however. The landmark building, originally completed in 1896, has been carefully honed into a place of light and tranquility and has already managed, since its opening last year, to cultivate a loyal community of discerning –and returning– guests in search of restorativeness rather than restorative justice.