Playing with the balance between form and function, laminates enable architecture to perform a variety of tasks at the same time, being robust, flame-retardant, stain-resistant and antibacterial. With a wide range of applications in architecture, Egger has developed a range of products that can be applied to many of the spaces we inhabit daily, such as kitchens, bathrooms, offices, hotels and shops. Diving into the specifics of laminates and how they can be applied in architecture, we showcase how these materials are an ideal coating material with extra-wide format alternatives.

Beyond their features in the world of fashion, fabrics can also be an essential part of an interior design’s creative possibilities. While enhancing the aesthetic appeal of a space, these versatile materials –made from fibers or yarn that have been interlaced, knitted, or bonded together– also provide functionality to space. As part of a holistic architectural strategy, these natural and synthetic elements are essential for designing upholstery for furniture, curtains and drapes, space divisions and wall coverings. Changing the traditional notion of fabrics –known as stain collectors, bug homes and easily catching fire– the latest design innovations are exploring properties which take the use of fabrics one step further. Diving into Architonic’s fabric catalog, we take a look at different products with distinctive acoustic, fireproof and repellent properties.

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Besides providing external protection, natural ventilation, insulation and energy efficiency, the presence of façades enhances the building’s personality and character. Among the different types of façade systems, cladding strategies stand out for their variety of materials and textures –such as metal, glass, stone, wood and composite– all of which build durable, low-maintenance and visually appealing structures. Innovating with textures, forms and technologies, BŌK Modern has developed different metal panels for creating functional and aesthetic façade cladding systems. Showcasing six architectural projects, we delve into the practical and visual attributes of rainscreens and wallscreens.

Appropriate fittings are as crucial to interior design as any other prominent feature, enhancing aesthetic appeal and providing the finishing touches to a space. Considered spaces where some of our most basic needs are met, kitchens are ideally designed to suit the lifestyles of its inhabitants, and can include customized fittings with diverse faucet systems, functions and finishes. Seeking style and functionality, we showcase a round-up of Dornbracht’s latest series of kitchen faucets, which seamlessly integrate cutting-edge refinements with timeless design to create versatile living spaces.

From assigned cubicles to open plan coworks, workspaces have been transforming their design strategies following society’s changing lifestyles. While traditional layouts encouraged more independent work (avoiding social distractions), adjusting to new technologies and ways of thinking has enhanced productivity while respecting communication, wellness consciousness and the benefits of feeling comfortable at work.

Architects have followed these changing trends, proposing diverse workspace typologies, adapting to multiple working styles, and organizing them to create optimal productive spaces. Among them, Spanish women-led architecture offices from different backgrounds and styles stand out for introducing layouts that redefine what is commonly known as a workspace. Below we present a selection of innovative refurbishment projects, all of which showcase flexible and dynamic workspace design. 

Identified as small rectangular blocks made of fired or sun-dried clay, bricks have traditionally been used for building pavements, walls and other elements of masonry construction. Laid in courses or rows and joined together with mortar, bricks are known for their strong structural strength and durability. But beyond their basic functional purposes, their multiple patterns, sizes and shapes allow for a distinctive aesthetic with an infinite design versatility, becoming a design feature themselves. Showcasing an example of aesthetic brickwork, we will take a closer look of Villa Peer, an architecture project in Belgium that uses Randers Tegl’s long format waterstruck bricks as the main design feature for the whole building’s facade.

Cities are filled with waste materials and the need to reuse existing resources has become key in fighting the increase in waste production. More than a third of all the waste generated in the EU comes from construction and demolition, containing different materials such as glass, concrete, bricks and ceramics. But how to manage this staggering amount of waste production from construction? According to the Spanish Law on Waste and Contaminating Soils, concrete and ceramic waste with no considerable processing can both be reused in construction . By combining reused material waste with technology, architectural design can create innovative solutions that contribute to minimizing environmental impact.

Focused on bringing spaces back to life, Avalon Collective takes a pre-existing building and transforms it into a contemporary hotel that relates to the locality and origin of Orchard Road, while capturing its modern retail context. Through a consistent design language and spirit that incorporates history and regeneration, the new Hilton Singapore Orchard has been selected among the five winners of the 2022 Best of Globe Winner.

Historically home to vikings, kings and queens, Copenhagen is a vibrant city that mingles contemporary architecture with traditional waterways, narrow cobblestone streets, old timbered houses and ancient castles. Filled with history, its buildings embody a historic legacy that traces the memory of all the characters, epoques and events in which the city has passed through. How to keep all this history alive? By refurbishing traditional buildings within modern design, Copenhagen respectfully enjoys its historical architecture while adapting to current trends.

Taking a moment to envisage the existing built environment before addressing a clean slate, refurbishment allows architects to repurpose existing structures for a new use, preserving its character and history while reducing the environmental impact of new constructions. Through the most outstanding cases of rehabilitation of classic buildings in the city, the following article analyzes three different strategies for reusing historic buildings through innovative and sustainable design.

Sustainable cities demand sustainable solutions, which imply the development of a new mindset for the reformulation of conventional creation processes. Within the fight against climate change, the circular economy concept is known as a key factor for the sustainable solutions of the future. Part of this concept is known as circular design, which aims to transform the traditional paradigm of ‘using and throwing away’ into a commitment to reusing existing materials.

Circular design rethinks the creation process of products from the first steps, guiding architects and designers to create products that can be reused, recycled or transformed. Applying circularity in architecture opens the debate of rethinking the life cycle of construction materials. In this manner, fiber cement cladding –a combination of basic earth elements, mineral materials, water, air and fire, in a simple filtration process– proposes a design solution that meets the basic principles of circular construction. In addition to its composition, strength and durability, these products are designed as a system that can outlast a building's lifecycle.

As living spaces are becoming more scarce and expensive, design must create innovative strategies that maintain a balance between functionality and aesthetic expression, enhancing the creation of smaller spaces. With this goal in mind, Geberit has launched a competition across six European countries –Germany, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Denmark– to reimagine the bathroom inside a 6 m2 space, a common size in the urban environment that still allows for different layouts.

While offering a realistic approach, these proposals work as a guide on how to design bathrooms that optimize space and, at the same time, combine different products, materials and colors accordingly (and creatively).

By re-energising the existing building’s meeting floors, the EY Melbourne Project takes a step forward towards collaborative spaces and the way to reinvent workplaces. Within an architectural layout that combines adaptive reuse with the incorporation of featured products, Gensler designs a flexible space which has been selected among the five winners of the 2022 Best of Globe Winner.

Annually, 13% of the waste generated by humans is recycled, but where does the remaining 87% go? The combination of different types of waste is gradually filling the Earth’s oceans and landfills, leading to a negative impact on wildlife, the natural environment and human health. Within the large amounts of solid waste produced in developed cities, used electronics are a clear example of how materials can be efficiently managed after their life cycle ends. Understanding the behavior of these materials and resources before, during and after their useful life cycle has guided the search for new solutions, such as the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) methodology.

C2C proposes the design of products or processes that function as a healthy ecological system, where resources are efficiently managed in a cyclical way. By applying this methodology to electric appliances, JUNG has developed circular design strategies for their most-used switches and plugs for conventional and smart building technology, allowing them to be dismantled and reused when the product is no longer fit for use.