Archive

"Immediately looks better" claims a slogan in a brochure brought out by a furniture discount store. While we are busy studying the new design items from Milan, the everyday madness of interiors continues unabated in the mega- and XXXL stores. A glance at the mailings to the world where the furniture then stands.

Italian luminaire maker Flos is now producing walls - that light up, of course.

Four months prior to the opening of the 12th Architecture Biennial in Venice director Kazuo Sejima presents her concept.

Cruises are big business. Ever more tourists are using the floating islands of comfort to observe like a photograph foreign shores from a safe distance while enjoying round-the-clock service. Notes on the "cruise system".

Centuries ago, in a small town in Tunisia on the edge of the Sahara, craftsmen experimented with the decorative potential of brick. At the same time they created functional but contemporary architecture.-

The ski slope in blistering hot Dubai, the tropical theme pool in Bochum or a shopping experience in the air-conditioned shopping mall in Edmonton - artificial weather conditions and the exclusion of the forces of nature are today more than ever a task for architecture. The manual "-arium" approaches these challenges in an unusual way.

In Munich's Mühlbachviertel you can "test-live in" a new apartment block.

Dutch designer duo Scholten & Baijings add subtle patterns and colors to forms, make fabric rhubarb stalks objects of communication, envelop design classics with their "Colour Plaids" and reinterpret traditional Dutch items of furniture. At the Milan Furniture Fair, they premiered designs with Established & Sons. Markus Frenzl caught up with the designers in Rotterdam and Milan.

What happens if you cross BMW, Kvadrat and Flos with Patricia Urquiola and Guilio Ridolfo in order to try and develop a completely new interior design for an automobile? "The Dwelling Lab" shows you.

At this year's Light+Building fair Stylepark has presented itself in the new Hall 11 of Messe Frankfurt.

The two articles on how art and architecture deal with the realm of mood have each created their own atmosphere with respect to their subject. And while we are on the subject of atmospheres and creativity our author embarks on a brief trip through Germany and notices some surprising things along the way.

Salone del Mobile 2010 has been and gone. Which of the new designs will endure, and which will swiftly be forgotten? The Stylepark ABC of the most persuasive new products predicts what may that future may be.

April showers bring May flowers: This year it brings the trend color yellow. Be it lemon yellow, Indian yellow or golden yellow - the ambivalent effect of the color is being put to the test.

At this year's Light+Building fair Stylepark has presented itself in the new Hall 11 of Messe Frankfurt.

One basic design, six variations, three colors, countless combinations: the vessel "Juuri" of young designer Sarah Böttger delights with its special design and material language.

Ideas, sketches, creative processes: The exhibition "The Hand of the Designer" at Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan presents drawings by designers and architects and demonstrates the importance of hand sketches in the digital age.

Admittedly, the borders of the Zona Tortona are a little frayed at the edges and in the new design district Ventura Lambrate designers are pushing into an area where artists once thronged, but there is a great deal to be discovered here. And, when all is said, when it comes to furniture design, things do tend to go around in productive circles.

Young, courageous, and experimental, the Salone Satellite in Milan. So one might think. But the mostly young exhibitors were all somewhat staid and highly professional. Bar a few exceptions, of course.

A trip to the trade fair is a very unique experience, almost like another world. Something different for everyone, something new for everyone. Especially at the Light+Building, where everything glitters and shines.

This year there were again countless things to discover during the Salone del Mobile in Milan. While there is still far too much decoration instead of serious design, the important names in the industry seem to be out to consolidate, not just economically, but also in terms of design.