Magazin

Our author Falk Jaeger presents two current publications that offer a fresh and exciting take on the architecture in Germany’s capital.

In our series “Spotlight on Women Architects”, we regularly present the work of female architects – such as that of Regine Leibinger, who uses her special interest in sophisticated load-bearing structures, novel construction methods and materials when designing her extraordinary buildings.

Professor emeritus Dr. Uta Brandes is a design expert, theorist and author as well as the founder and chairwoman of iGDN – the international Gender Design Network e.V. As a pioneer, she has brought the topic of gender and design out of its academic niche. In an interview, she tells us what she feels is still lacking today.

The creative mind behind the project "An Improbable Future" wants to remain anoynm. We only do know this much: Mx is an industrial designer from New York whose work explores what the industrial and transport design of the future might look like if it is based on existing designs created by artificial intelligence.

Preserving the soul of the house – a goal that should be central to building with existing structures. For the renovation of the spacious "Hazelnut House" guesthouse in the east of Luxembourg, cookbook author Theresa Baumgärtner mastered this challenge with bravura. The barrier-free bathroom solutions from Villeroy & Boch contribute to the feel-good atmosphere.

Heimtextil, the largest international trade fair for home and contract textiles in Frankfurt am Main, has just closed its doors: We present ten projects that particularly caught our eye during our visit.

With "LANI", Toan Nguyen has designed a versatile bathroom furniture set for Laufen that offers plenty of storage space, can be integrated into any concept thanks to its elegant design and impresses with its sophisticated lines and high-quality materials.

After a successful start, Destination: Design is going into a new round from 22 to 24 January 2023. This year, a collective of 49 international manufacturers invite visitors to the Klokgebouw, a heritage-protected industrial building constructed in Eindhoven at the end of the 1920s.

Dominique Béolet’s work as a designer ranges from specific objects to several hundred square meters of exhibition space. He focuses not only on an attractive appearance and practicality but also and primarily on sustainability: For the cosmetics company nkm he recently designed a line of bottles for a reusable system that allows an almost zero-waste recycling cycle with low carbon emissions.

We take it for granted that roads and cycle paths are built to get us from A to B as quickly as possible. But does this necessarily have to be the case? And what happens if we no longer make saving time the uppermost priority in transport planning? New approaches are what journalist Thalia Verkade is pursuing in her book Movement, which she wrote together with the “bicycle professor” Marco te Brömmelstroet.

Irmel Kamp is perhaps not one of the most prominent names in architectural photography. Now, the first book on the work of the 85-year-old German photographer shows that it is indeed worth knowing her work.

Mona Makebrandt and Thomaz da Silva Lopes Vieira are the founders of ClipHut – a company offering a flexible wooden construction system that can be easily assembled and dismantled. With just a few elements it can be used to make houses, furniture, room dividers or trade fair stands. Thomaz da Silva Lopes Vieira explains the concept in this interview.

The style, the architecture, the attitude: At the Hotel Château Royal, Germany's capital city shows its best side. This "Berlin living room" is a place to experience contemporary art, to dine or to spend the night.

In our series “Spotlight on Women Architects”, we regularly present the work of female architects – such as that of Johanne Nalbach, who has demonstrated a particular expertise in the design and construction of hotels, and who recently carried out the extensive refurbishment of the Kant-Garagen in Berlin.

In September 2022 Bettina Bär took over as head of the Heimtextilien segment of Heimtextil. In this interview she tell us what appeals to her about her new task and what we can expect from the upcoming international trade fair for home and contract textiles in Frankfurt/Main.

How can craftsmanship draw inspiration from industry? Ceramic designer Charlotte Cigan and industrial designer Martin Duchêne of Studio Biskt address this question with works that are equally functional and individual.

Stylepark is raffling off one "Bouquet" table lamp by Magis.

By combining an interior design studio with its own workshops Holzrausch can offer holistically planned projects. Unique furniture and luminaire designs are regularly produced for these projects in cooperation with architects and designers – a selection is now available as editions in the Munich showroom. In this interview Tobias Petri and Sven Petzold give the publishers of Stylepark an insight into their work.

In our series “Spotlight on Women Architects”, we regularly present the work of female architects – such as that of Anna Heringer, who is a true believer in clay building. She was recently awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for her commitment.

Hectic hustle and bustle, noisy announcements, a babble of voices – airports are places of transit. A place of silence in the midst of all the commotion has been provided by gmp Architekten and Petersen Tegl at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

He works somewhere between design, sculpture and puppetry, says Simon Schmitz about his work as a luminaire designer. One thing is certain: The Berliner-by-choice is a tinkerer who stages light like a material.

"Material Cultures: Material Reform" highlights possibilities for sustainable and future-proof building: Paloma Gormley, Summer Islam and George Massoud outline what is needed for a holistic approach to the built environment, appealing for a new way of looking at construction and the systems in which it is embedded.

In the south of Munich jacob & spreng architekten have realized a spacious residential building that is ingeniously enhanced through the interior design of Stephanie Thatenhorst; she relies on natural materials like the floorboards by pur natur to create an almost meditative interior atmosphere.

The "D1" chair family by Stefan Diez for Wagner Living relieves the spinal discs with the Dondola joint, promotes back health and helps to improve concentration.

Fittingly for the upcoming holidays, the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna is showing the exhibition "The Fest: Between Representation and Revolt", a journey through time from aristocratic balls to Berlin's Berghain.

Rossoacoustic’s new “Disc’n Dots” acoustic system is not just cost effective, it combines diversity in design with easy installation and can be retrofitted into rooms.

Kim Colin and Sam Hecht from Studio Industrial Facility have reinterpreted the classic bentwood chair with the S 220 collection for Thonet. The result is a material-efficient moulded wood chair with a base made of tubular steel. Sam Hecht explains the idea to us in an interview.

Architect Cristiana Guerra, based in Ticino, Switzerland, has realized a contemplative refuge for members of a Catholic religious order in a location above Lake Maggiore. For her interior design, Guerra opted for flooring by Bauwerk Parkett.

They go by the name From Industrial Design: Cesare Bizzotto and Tobias Nitsche focus on the industrial design process involved in furniture and luminaires. Under the label From Lighting the latter are proving hugely successful at finding their way onto the wider market at present.

In Hamburg alone, almost 19,000 people live without a home. What structures do big cities offer to help them? And what role does architecture play in this context? Until 12 March 2023, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg is showing the exhibition "Who's Next? Homelessness, Architecture and the City". Curator Daniel Talesnik explains the concept to us in an interview.

For the new table and reading lamp series “Gioia”, Occhio writes a new chapter of its story of clear design language and delight in movement: The result: sculptures of light that offer impressive mobility and smart functions.

Sometimes it seems to be in the air: in 2022, a book was published for the first time that is dedicated to the amazing oeuvre of the two Berlin architects Inken and Hinrich Baller, and at the same time their architecture also plays an important role in a Netflix series. So if you don't know the Ballers yet, you can catch up with them now in multimedia form.

New life for old furniture, a climate-neutral salon and new composites with a reduced carbon footprint: the third German Sustainability Award for Design honoured strong contributions to sustainable transformation.

Thanks to the consistently high quality of its solid floorboards and the transparent documentation on their origin, pur natur conveys a heightened awareness for the benefits this natural product offers.