Venice Glass Week 2023: ten serendipitous glassworks and exhibitions

The Floating Furnace @ Venice Design Week 2023 - Photo by Venice Design Week 2023.

A floating furnace under the Rialto bridge, detergent dispensers made from Murano glass, and a tribute to Bohemian masters… Check what we liked the most at Venice Glass Week 2023.

Bird-friendly ‘Mirror Houses’ by Peter Pichler Architecture

MIRROR HOUSES by Peter Pichler Architecture - Photo by Oscar da Riz, courtesy of Peter Pichler Architecture.

Peter Pichler Architecture’s Mirror Houses completely disappear in the landscape while providing breakthrough views on the South Tyrolean Dolomites. The floating building’s reflective surfaces are laminated with an UV coating preventing birds collision.

Hotel entirely designed by Zaha Hadid opens at ZHA’s Opus building in Dubai

OPUS by Zaha Hadid Architects in Dubai - Photo: ©Laurian Ghinitoiu.

Under the Burj Khalifa, Zaha Hadid Architects’ Opus building explores “the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior”. The project is home to the new ME Dubai hotel, the first and last one in which the late architect created both the architecture and the interior design.

Maestro DOBEL® Tequila and Julian Mayor unveil bespoke agave-inspired bar and drinking vessels

Agave-inspired handcrafted steel cup & glass by Julian Mayor x Maestro DOBEL Tequila - Courtesy of Maestro DOBEL Tequila

It all started from the agave, the base ingredient of tequila, and a trip to Mexico – then it took a lot of computer work and welding. That’s how the agave-inspired limited-edition set by Julian Mayor and Maestro DOBEL® tequila was born.

Sophie Thomas’ Broken Ocean glassware series turns ocean plastic waste into bespoke crafts

Broken Ocean by Sophie Thomas and Louis Thompson - Photo by Ester Segerra.

The ‘Broken Ocean’ glassware series by Sophie Thomas and Louis Thompson captures the ominous and chaotic beauty of entangled ghost nets being pulled out from the deep ocean. The duo has worked with hand blown glass, waste glass fragments and found ocean plastic from Hawaii and other beaches around the world.

MEMPHIS – PLASTIC FIELD exhibition in Venice celebrates the geometric shapes and the bright colours of the rebel design group

MEMPHIS - PLASTIC FIELD exhibition by Fondazione Berengo - Photo by Francesco Allegretto.

Fondazione Berengo presents the exhibition MEMPHIS – PLASTIC FIELD which highlights the irreverent spirit of the Memphis group by framing iconic designs within the sumptuous halls of a 16th century Venician palazzo.

Lasvit goes on show in Milan with a Monster Cabaret

Lasvit's Monster Cabaret -Photo: courtesy of Lasvit.

Blown glass martians, a multi-eyed mirror and troops of quirky creatures populate Lasvit’s latest collection which took over the halls and the stage of a Milanese theatre with a monster cabaret.

“Lisbon is an ideal city where to craft and develop human-driven design” says Emmanuel Babled to Archipanic 

Babled Design atelier in Lisbon - Courtesy of Babled Design.

From Paris to Sicilian volcanos and Lisbon. International designer Emmanuel Babled tells to Archipanic how different cultures, craftsmanship and a human-driven approach shaped his designs… and led him to settle in the Portuguese capital.

Credenza: Spazio Pontaccio presents Patricia Urquiola’s church inspired designs

Credenza collection by Patricia Urquiola and Federico Pepe for Spazio Pontaccio

Patricia Urquiola and Federico Pepe created a collection cabinets and room-dividers for Spazio Pontaccio taking inspiration from churches stained glass starting from the Italian word “credenza” that means both “faith / belief” and “cabinet”.