BoConcept‘s Chelsea chair is designed by Karim Rashid, an industrial designer well known for his organically shaped products. With its rounded corners and simple format, it seems utterly natural and basic, almost like a non-design. Yet, obviously, a lot of thought and experimentation has gone into the process of creating such an unambiguous object.

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Thirty years ago, a contemporary classic was launched by Dornbracht: TARA. The bathroom series became the brand's best selling offering, as its versatility and timeless modernism allowed for its widespread use. As the German luxury fittings manufacturer celebrates thirty decades of its most popular bathroom series, it's looking ahead and introducing new product variants and finishes to the modern classic.

To start the day in a relaxed state of mind, it is good to have a natural sense of inner calm, or, failing that, a peaceful space to retreat to where stress can be left outside. In their first collaboration, Duravit and designer Sebastian Herkner transform the bathroom into a place of true well-being – for the restorative cleansing of body, mind and soul. Here, there really is nothing to remind one of everyday life, as the Zencha bathroom series transports us away, paying homage to the traditional tea ceremonies of Japan.

The following applies to all creative disciplines: truly unique, high-quality works of design are almost always the result of certain favourable constellations. This is just as true for directors and musicians as it is for architects and designers. Because great creative ideas can often only be realised in a team, in cooperation with collaborators.

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Not many architectural projects require maps of the area to be updated. But, then again, not many projects are as sensitively considered as the Lighthouse Hotel & Spa in Büsum, North Germany.

Avian hazard – and that's hazard to birds rather than some Hitchcockian hazard to you – is an increasing concern for architects and developers. You may not have thought about it much, but build a tall glass building and sooner rather than later an unwitting bird is going to fly right into it. And then more and often with fatal consequences.

In case you missed the memo: customisation of furniture and furnishings is one of the most significant developments in the interiors industry today. I don’t exaggerate when I say that every conversation I engage in with design brands includes a discussion around the notion of customisation – so much so that my internal thesaurus is replete with synonyms for the word, since this usually leads to me writing it a lot.

Today there are enormous application possibilities when it comes to textile technology, and as new developments emerge within the sector, this number will continue to grow. A current example from the world of architecture neatly demonstrates the improvements that can be realised in relation to the quality of air, work and life in general if one is prepared to explore alternative ways of doing things. The project involves a recently developed curtain-type textile facade that can not only reduce a building's solar cooling load by up to 78%, but can even gather nitrogen oxide particles from the air and convert them in an environmentally friendly way by means of a special coating.

At a prime location in the middle of Belgium, an original concept has taken form, as NOA Outdoor Living invites professionals to experience outdoor design in an entirely different way.

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A starry blend of vision, talent, craft and technical know-how aligns for BOMMA. The glass-lighting producer, based in the Czech Republic, fuses centuries of glassmaking tradition as hand-blown, monumental-sized designs take shape and form through the use of unconventional materials, daring colours and modern technological advancements. These combinations characterise each of BOMMA’s seventeen collections, five of which can be arranged into otherworldly constellations. To expand the artistry further, designers and architects are invited to project their boldest creative visions of space through several of the brand’s collections.

Challenging social spaces to properly reflect our modern existence should be an important quest for all designers – the power of progressive interiors should not be underestimated, and can even contribute to a change in the course of history. Danish design brand MENU is driven by a human-centric approach rooted in social agency – with the end result of each product design being to forge a sense of community and belonging in the real world.

There’s nothing unusual about an architect extending their artistic vision beyond the bones of a building, and into the detail of its content – iconic pieces of 20th century furniture design are often attached to a specific building. Among those practising such gesamtkunstwerke, or the art of synthesising all aesthetic aspects of a site, were often the authors of architectural movements; the artist and crafter William Morris, the Bauhausian lead Walter Gropius or the Secessionists Joseph Maria Olbrich and Josef Hoffmann.

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They say you only really become aware of whether an architect has considered the acoustics of a space when she or he hasn't. Think archly Instagrammable, yet I-can't-hear-my-dining-partner-speak restaurant interiors.

Sometimes in this business called design, you just need one smart idea to set you off. A light-bulb moment, if you will. A product that does something novel and timely, offering customers something they didn’t know they needed, but most definitely now want. This, however, is just the start of a journey. Once the noise dies down, how does your hit item evolve into a rounded, sustainable business with impact beyond its initial revolution?

In the early days of the pandemic, MOMA curator Paola Antonelli and London-based design commentator Alice Rawsthorn started an Instagram Live series called Design Emergency. It documented the more phenomenal design solutions emerging from the Covid crisis – those tackling pressing health and societal needs with unprecedented focus, clarity and speed, often in a very local way. May sees the launch of the book that evolved from the conversations they had with the problem-solving protagonists and moves those conversations on to the next focus for the design world: how to build on the experience and be the agent of change. It’s apt then, as New York’s design shows, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and WantedDesign Manhattan return to their regular springtime slot from 15 to 17 May, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, that Antonelli’s is a voice we will hear in the key talk 'Design Emergency: Building a Better Future'.

Certain chairs make such a strong first impression that they immediately take a place in our consciousness. Some are powerful, solid and deliberately down-to-earth. Others because of their playful lightness and elegance. mudra, the new universal chair by Brunner and Diez Office, definitely belongs to the latter category. The sculptural chair acts like an inviting gesture that brings the formal and ecological possibilities of shaped wood technology into the present.

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In 1940, American nutritionist Victor Lindlahr wrote the book 'You are what you eat', consolidating thinking towards the idea that what we put into our body directly impacts our mental and physical health. In more recent times, popular chefs have taken over the campaign and prompted the overhaul of educational and clinical catering, nudging us towards universal acceptance of the powerful correlation between wellbeing and food, and an understanding that learning, behaviour and recovery can all be improved with the right diet.