Dutch Design Awards 2021: sustainable archipelagos and virtual fashion
The winners of Dutch Design Awards 2021 mark a new impetus for the design world that thrives on change and cross-pollination and radiates hopeful optimism.
Dutch Design Week 2021 responds to humanity’s bulimia for irresponsible growth
Material innovation, upcycled furniture and digital exoterism. Dutch Design Week 2021 looks into the future of our homes and cities, challenging contemporary social and environmental issues with a proactive and positive attitude.
Grimshaw’s Sustainability Pavilion at Dubai Expo is energy and water self-sufficient
Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion by Grimshaw Architects at Expo 2020 Dubai features a forest of giant solar panel-clad e-trees following the sun like sunflowers, a thriving garden challenging desert environment and underground exhibition spaces thermally isolated with a smart earth roof system.
Italy Pavilion by Carlo Ratti at Dubai Expo is an experiment of circular and reconfigurable architecture
Italy Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai features three boat hulls as the structure’s roof, a multimedia facade made with two million recycled plastic bottles and a natural climate mitigation system that substitutes air conditioning.
In Milan, designers rethink marble and stone with sustainability in mind
Stefan Scholten, Birgitte Due Madsen and Studio Pepe present exquisite design projects challenging unsustainable marble and stone production processes.
Unnatural Practice: “decaying processes are a design source,” says Marcin Rusak
With the UNNATURAL PRACTICE solo exhibition, Marcin Rusak explores the decaying, ephemeral and preserved processes through design.
Natural Capital: Carlo Ratti visualises trees’ key role in reducing CO2 through data
Energy company Eni and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati present the ‘Natural Capital’ exhibition highlighting the importance of protecting and conserving forests. At the Brera Botanical Garden, a landscape of floating bubbles visualises through data how much CO2 each human produces and how much each tree species can capture and store.
London Design Biennale 2021 explores the role of design in tackling global issues
Curated by Es Devlin, London Design Biennale 2021 takes over Somerset House with 38 exhibitions from six continents and a ‘forest for change’ in the historic building’s courtyard.
CON-NECT-ED-NESS: the Danish Pavilion in Venice evokes an indelible sense of connection between people and Nature
A cyclic water system connects visitors, senses and surroundings at CON-NECT-ED-NESS, the biophilic exhibition at the Danish Pavilion.
TECLA by Mario Cucinella is the first eco-sustainable house 3D printed from raw earth
MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects and WASP, World’s Advanced Saving Project, teamed up to develop and create the TECLA eco-sustainable housing model.
‘Flowing Fragments’’ furniture collection by Richard Yasmine raises awareness on antiques trafficking
Classic geometries and minimal contemporary aesthetics blend in Richard Yasmine’s ‘Flowing Fragments’ design collection made from upcycled sedimentary and basaltic stones.
Lacaton and Vassal win the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2021
‘Architects should not demolish but always add, transform and reuse.’ Lacaton and Vassal win the 2021 Pritzker Prize with a human-based and sustainable vision.
The best projects of the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureates are on Pinterest
Lacaton and Vassal won the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize. We have rounded up some of the studio’s most notable projects in a dedicated Pinterest gallery.
The first large-scale Memorial to the Pandemic invites to reflect on our relationship with Nature
Gomez Platero designed the World Memorial to the Pandemic in Uruguay to build a collective consciousness reminding us that humankind is not the center of the ecosystem.
Couch-19 by Tobia Zambotti is stuffed with discarded face masks
Italian designer Tobia Zambotti has filled an iceberg-shaped sofa with face masks collected from the streets to raise awareness of the pollution we created because of Covid-19.
House of Hungarian Music by Sou Fujimoto is nearing completion in Budapest
Inspired by sound waves, Sou Fujimoto’s ‘House of Hungarian Music’ is topped by a white roof, punctuated with almost 100 holes for trees to grow through.
Jean Nouvel unveils the sustainable ‘Aquarela’ residential complex in Ecuador
Verdant balconies and green canyons define Jean Nouvel’s biophilic high-rise AQUARELA apartment complex near Quito, aiming to combine sustainability with social justice.
The Line: Saudi Arabia unveils the masterplan for a 170km long smart city without cars
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced THE LINE, a 170km urban belt of hyper-connected future communities, without cars and roads and built around nature. Breaking ground in the first half of 2021, the smart city is a direct response to some of the most pressing challenges such as legacy infrastructure, pollution, traffic, and human congestion.
Best of 2020: 8 urban stories from China to the Italian Alps
Top 8 urban stories of 2020: Stockholm’s underground art trail, transparent Tokyo public toilets and a sport campus hidden under a green hilly landscape in China.
2020 Best Architecture: 12 great stories from Dubai to the Arctic
2020 Best Architecture: an Arctic whale watching facility, a pitched-roof garden house in Beverly Hills and a sustainable micro-library in Indonesia are among our favourite architectures of the year.
Mischer’traxler creates The Curiosity Cloud installation for Maison Perrier-Jouët at DesignMiami
Hand-crafted insects are trapped in the lightbulbs of The Curiosity Cloud chandelier by Austrian duo mischer’traxler who invite to reflect on the relationship between man and nature, the impact of human activity and the importance of biodiversity.
THE HOTHOUSE: Studio Weave creates an edible tropical jungle with a sustainable message in London
By 2050 mangos and pineapples are likely to ripe in orchards across the UK, say scientists. THE HOTHOUSE conservatory by Studio Weave highlights the reality of Climate Change and rising temperature.
BIG reveals the sustainable BIODIVERCITY masterplan for an artificial archipelago in Malaysia
The BIODIVERCITY masterplan for Penang south islands aims to become a sustainable destination where cultural, ecological and economic growth is secured and where people and nature co-exist in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.
THE WHALE Museum by Dorte Mandrup will emerge from Arctic landscapes
THE WHALE museum and whale-watching facility by Dorte Mandrup Architects grows from the ground dissolving the lines between architecture and Norway’s Arctic wilderness while inviting to discover the fabled creatures through art, science and architecture.
Zaha Hadid Architects develops the Roatán Próspera modular housing complex in Honduras
Can a digital architectural platform allow residents to customize their own home while supporting local business in a sustainable way? The Roatán Próspera project by Zaha Hadid Architects features curved roofs and rounded balconies on the Bay Islands in the Caribbeans.
Yves Behar’s unveils PROTEUS™ underwater research station set to tackle Climate Change
Yves Behar and his team at fuseproject unveiled the design of PROTEUS™, the world’s most advanced underwater scientific research station and habitat conceived as the submarine equivalent of the International Space Station.
Sansiro 2.0: Angelo Renna re-imagines Milan’s iconic stadium as a memorial to the victims of Covid-19
35.000 cypresses, as many as the victim of COVID-19 in Italy, stand in the ‘SANSIRO 2.0 – A A MONUMENT FOR LIFE’ memorial envisioned by Angelo Renna. The proposal repurposes Milan’s iconic stadium as a silent place for contemplation, saving it from demolition.
The Plus: BIG and Vestre unveil “the world’s most sustainable furniture factory”
Tucked in the heart of the Norwegian forest, The Plus factory by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group for urban furniture manufacturer Vestre was “envisioned as a village for a community dedicated to the cleanest, carbon neutral fabrication of urban and social furniture.”
Snøhetta’s Tungestølen hiking cabins offer breathtaking views of a Norwegian glacier
Designed as an architectural reaction to changing weather conditions, architecture firm Snøhetta’s Tungestølen hiking cabin in the western part of Norway on a small plateau overlooks the Jostedalen glacier.
Porky Hefer’s’ ‘Endangered’ animals-shaped alcoves protect species at risk of extinction
Would you take a nap hugging a polar bear or finding a comfy space between a white shark jaws? Probably YES if your cuddling mate is one of Porky Hefer’s creations!