Magazin

The international zeitgeist has uncovered Detroit as America's maltreated "motor city": a growing creative scene is bearing witness to the emergence of new visions and an alternative "do-it-yourself movement" for this post-industrial wasteland.

Architects, designers and artists in the 1960s and 1970s just loved communicating their idea of architecture in "little magazines". While there are often immense differences between the periodicals in terms of content and graphics, they all express a wish for radical rejuvenation. "Clip Stamp Fold" is a book that gives a good overall impression of this glittering chapter in the history of architecture.

+++ Space experiments by J. Mayer H. ++++++ London Design Festival ++++++ Beijing Design Week ++++++ Carlo Mollino – Maniera Moderna +++ +++ New perspectives to Ernst May +++

In Year One after Capital of Culture 2010: A photo exhibition in Dortmund looks at the Ruhr region in a way it is otherwise never looked at, portraying a region in upheaval, with scars, non-locations, inhospitable zones. Its present day attests to a past that is gone forever and points to a future that still needs to be identified.

"Misfit" is the title of the current monograph on Hella Jongerius. The publication not only illuminates the Dutch designer's oeuvre to date but also illustrates the available design options when the medium book is re-thought.

Can design learn from history? Are movements like "Memphis" still conceivable or is design moving towards a new kind of normality? These and similar questions were discussed in the third edition of "Dornbracht Conversations". Now the discussions conducted by prominent panel members can be viewed in extensive film documentaries.

The new Kunsthalle Bremen buildings are largely still empty. Before all eyes turn to the first exhibition on Edvard Munch, due to open in mid-October, attention is currently focused on the architecture by Berlin-based firm Hufnagel Pütz Rafaelian.

+++ Tendence ++++++ Maison&Objet ++++++ Frontline ++++++ Materials Revisited ++++++ Art in public space +++

This need to make a personal mark in public space is nothing new. But the means of intervening in buildings, public transport and green spaces are forever changing. Today it is not uncommon to stumble across Lego bricks, knitting and engraved padlocks, for example.

A hotel is always a major investment. All the more important, then, for it to have the right concept. Over the past few years interior designer Yasmine Mahmoudieh has made a name for herself, and not only with "Haus Rheinsberg". Nina Reetzke met up with Yasmine Mahmoudieh for an interview.

Living cities are constantly reinventing themselves. In Paris, this is especially apparent if one looks at the “Les Halles” district. The next wave of conversion and modernization is expected in the not-too-distant future. And this does not alter the dilemma of urban planning decreed from above.

The six architecture offices taking part in the current ‘Lights Change’ display at the Vitra Showroom in Frankfurt immediately agreed that “we want a joint project and we want to use the entire showroom.” Such team spirit is compelling.

He is without doubt one of the best-known Frankfurt architects and the German Architecture Museum is rightly devoting a major retrospective to his oeuvre. For Frankfurt, Ernst developed the concept of "The New Frankfurt", which should to this day prompt discussion, for example as regards overcoming bureaucratic hurdles.

With their “Boudoir” tile series, Villeroy & Boch are offering not only elegant wall tiles, but also a truly captivating design concept.

Applying the "606" by Dieter Rams to any situation. Monika Hary and Michael Haberbosch have decades' worth of experience with the universal shelving system – right now in a show apartment in Munich.

Roman Bezjak has been photographing the architecture of "Eastern Modernism" since 2005. His images do not so much serve documentary purposes, but rather convey what he has seen in relation to everyday life – while maintaining a certain distance. A new photo book presents a selection of these snapshots depicting an uncertain future.

While NASA – following Atlantis' return to Earth – bids a weepy farewell to manned space flight, an exhibition by Slovakian artist Roman Ondák at Kunsthaus Zürich revives that atmosphere of euphoria once associated with man's exploration of outer space. What, asks Roman Ondák, has become of the Soviet Union's Sputnik, which in 1957 became the first satellite to be launched? Did it really burn up when re-entering Earth's atmosphere? Or is it still out there, orbiting the planet?

During the Cold War, the trade fair in Zagreb was one of the few locations where NATO member countries and Warsaw Pact nations presented their wares. Today, the trade-fair complex on the banks of the Sava River is hopelessly out of date and the city is considering a new solution.

“Urban farming” takes many shapes – in America’s shrinking cities the new trend toward self-providers shows just how obvious visionary town planning can be.

In Germany we are still busy discussing old "bridging technology". In the Indian Federal State of Gujarat people have long since been trailblazing new ways. Here, you will find thermally powered canteen kitchens and an ashram run on renewable energy supplies.

An exhibition at Château de Boisbuchet is presenting "naked” aluminum objects from Japan, thereby portraying an episode of cultural history and the qualities of anonymous Japanese design.

The work by (interior) designer Francesc Rifé stands out for its clarity and reduction. This is particularly surprising, as if anything, traditional Spanish design is known more for its shrill tones.

Royal Tichelaar Makkum is one of the very oldest companies in the Netherlands. For some years now the family-owned company has been catching the eye with products created by such renowned designers as Hella Jongerius and Studio Makkink & Bey. A book has now appeared describing the porcelain manufactory.

How much are titles, prizes and other distinctions really worth? What some consider a mark of quality is seen by others as a red rag. The Finnish capital Helsinki has been selected as the World Design Capital 2012 – and is definitely worth a visit.

His works seem familiar and strange at once. Martin Brüger makes simple additions to everyday objects. Sometimes the proportions change, then the color effect alters, or a kind of frame is created. Nina Reetzke spoke to the Darmstadt artist about his views on the things that surround us.

From busy images to quiet ones to wild games with letters – the work featured in a competition, "100 best posters", gladdens the eye and makes the heart beat a little faster.

Designs by young designers are currently on display in Villa Noailles. With the help of craftsmanship Jean-Baptiste Fastrez,for example, restores individuality to industrial kettles. And Brynjar Sigurdarson has created a luminaire that at one and the same time is reminiscent of a brush, a torch, and a magic wand.

French designer Inga Sempé is one of the most interesting phenomena in the current design scene. Nancy Jehmlich talked with her about the status design has in France, about her experience with manufacturers, about expensive and cheap products, and about her favorite places in Paris.

When the discussion turns to contemporary design, few people in Germany necessarily think of India. In Ahmedabad, the descendant of an ancient textile empire is working hard to change this.

In our current Stylepark Magazine for Product Culture we address the transient and fleeting nature of life – with temporary buildings, compostable materials and Japanese packaging design.

In several of the pavilions and works of the 54th Venice Art Biennial we can see a return from the image to the space and thus to the incompressible here-and-now.

It would seem that the topic of the “nation” has by no means been exhausted – and this is true of the Venice Biennial, too. Nationality continues to play a major role in answering the questions of who is allowed membership and who is condemned to remain on the move. Examples from the Roma Pavilion and the disturbing photographic oeuvre of Hsieh Chun-Te from Taiwan show this most clearly.

It is well known that copycat versions of design objects cause high economic losses. That said, at universities copying is still considered a practical principle in learning. The upshot of this may be surprising – even pirate copies can sometimes lead to new insights.

In no less than three country pavilions, artists use opera and song as a means of discussing and criticizing the state of the world. In the Icelandic pavilion this takes the form of a criticism of European immigration policies, in the Hungarian pavilion music represents a metaphor for the crisis in post-communist Hungary, while in the Dutch pavilion opera acts as a model for teamwork in the nation.

The Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt (MMK), is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a major exhibition, which is being held not only in museum itself.