Heimtextil in Frankfurt am Main from 9 to 12 January 2024 offers the best market overview of current international topics in the home and contract textiles industry. Bettina Bär, Director Heimtextil, gives us a preview of the extensive programme.

Cleaf called its creative installation "Like a bar", which was developed in collaboration with Bestetti Associati and Audo Architects. It is the perfect example of how powerful surfaces are in shaping the atmosphere of a room and how many options Cleaf offers to personalise it.

Gerald Cappek is Managing Director of Vola GmbH Deutschland. In this interview he gives us some insights into his corporate philosophy, explains the concept behind the revamped showroom in Munich, and tells us why Arne Jacobsen’s design style is essential for Vola.

Sustainability manager Cristiane Kopp at Laufen, the Swiss bathroom specialist, explains in this interview what topics are currently the priorities in their sustainability approach and why the circular economy should be introduced at the local level.

Connected Urban Twins (CUT) is a project between the cities of Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich that promotes the development of urban data platforms and digital twins. Our author Robert Schütz spoke to the overall project manager Dr. Nora Reinecke.

The International Architecture Triennial recently opened in Sharjah. The curator is the Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo – in this interview, she tells us what to expect.

He leads interviews and designs situations: A conversation with the young German designer Silvio Rebholz.

The DVRZ Design Days in Kyiv recently provided a platform for designers from all corners of Ukraine to showcase their creations, fostering an environment of collaboration and mutual support. Curator Larysa Tsybina and architect Anait Danielian tell us what it takes to continue their creative work in the midst of war and what we can all learn from it.

Michele Cazzaniga, Simone Mandelli and Antonio Pagliarulo founded the interdisciplinary CMP Design Studio in 2009 and since then have been creating both furniture and brand identities. We visited them in their studio in Como.

Environmental science graduate Jörg Hoffmann is the Sustainability Manager at German furniture manufacturer and international player Wilkhahn. In this interview he highlights what issues are key in its commitment to the environment and which goals are still on the agenda.

Sylvia Leydecker is an interior designer and director of her own Cologne-based practice “100% interior”. Nanotechnology and health are her two central themes, which she has addressed in countless projects, publications and lectures. We talked with her about the opportunities and goals for designers as well as users.

Nanna Ditzel is one of the Danish designers of the twentieth century who made a significant contribution to innovative changes in design. The exhibition "Nanna Ditzel – Taking Design to New Heights" in Trapholt, Denmark, shows her complete oeuvre for the first time. Curator Sara Staunsager explains the concept to us in an interview.

Gary Bencheghib is a filmmaker and environmental activist. Together with his siblings, he founded the organisation Sungai Watch, which stands up against the massive environmental pollution in Indonesia. In parallel, he is looking for ways to recycle the plastic waste – like with Sungai Design and a Tiny House.

Xenia Watson is studying Product Design at the HfG Hochschule für Gestaltung in Offenbach. The result of “Within – A Shadow in Knitwear” – her term project – is a cardigan with integrated codes and every fiber of it attests to the appreciation of wool as a material.

The designers Judith Augustin and Sophie Dobrigkeit organise the DDC Women's Table format as part of the Deutschen Designer Club. They tell us in an interview what their goal is and why a platform for female designers from all over Germany is needed.

The International Building Exhibition in the Stuttgart Region is looking for answers to the question of how we want to live and work in the future. In this context, circular planning and building have a role to play. We spoke to Tobias Schiller and Stefanie Weavers from IBA'27 about the process-based approach of the projects.

This year designers Alberto Brogliato and Federico Traverso presented their latest product for Magis: The "Trave" chair. In this interview they tell us why for them good design is essentially about balance, time, and, paring things back.

In this interview Christoph Gerdesmeyer and Jonas Krohn provide an insight into their broad project portfolio – from the 4.0 office to the customized kitchen.

Industrial designer Simon Busse has created the first mass-produced design of a SparkShape for Ambright: The pendant luminaire "PARIS", which consists of two layers of printed light running perpendicular to each other. The basis for the elegant design was provided by the slim corpuses of the SparkShapes.

The artist and furniture designer Sara Martinsen recently collaborated with the Danish furniture manufacturer Garde Hvalsøe at 3daysofdesign to present a wide range of organic materials in an aesthetic context. She explains her practice to us in an interview.

The designer and architect Patricia Urquiola is one of the mentors of the project "Mentorship Milano": The project, conceived and promoted by the city councillor Alessia Cappello and the city of Milan, is the first public and free mentoring project by women for women between the ages of 16 and 30 in the region. She explains the concept to us in an interview.

With "Vry" for burgbad Patrick Frey presents a bathroom furniture collection which with its graphic appearance and variable functions offers new perspectives in the bathroom – but is adaptable enough to cut a fine figure in all other living areas.

If you have a good idea, sooner or later it will be copied – designer Luca Nichetto recently highlighted two examples where his works were obviously the basis. In an interview, he tells us why these plagiarisms are symptoms of a diseased system.

Honoka Lab, a design collective from Japan, was honoured with first place at this year's SaloneSatellite Award. For their Tatami ReFAB Project, they use 3D printing technology and recycled materials to bring a centuries-old tradition into the modern age: discarded tatami mats serve as the base material for furniture.

Studio Besau Marguerre have redesigned the foyer of the MK&G in Hamburg. We spoke to Eva Marguerre and Marcel Besau about a space where you can catch your breath, about how to talk about colors while out for a walk and why sometimes you have to choose bright colors.

He is considered a master of timeless elegance, and many of his designs have been steadily produced by leading manufacturers in the Italian furniture industry: Piero Lissoni, architect, designer and creative director of seven Italian furniture brands, has apparently cracked the "classic" code for furniture design. Now Knoll is launching new outdoor furniture with a claim to imperishability.

How can your hot water supply and heating be separated in a way that is energy-efficient and what role do instantaneous water heaters play? Jörg A. Gerdes, Managing Partner of Clage, explains the principle behind the idea.

In 2021, Barbara Elwardt and Piotr Wisniewski founded weStudio in Berlin, a multidisciplinary creative studio specialising in interior design, gastronomy and the hotel industry. With a focus on art and custom-made furniture, the duo creates harmonious spaces.

Under the title "How dare you", Laufen presented an extraordinary show during Milan Design Week that included both the new collection by architects and designers Nicolo Ornaghi, Delfino Sisto Legnani and Francesco Zorzi of NM3, as well as that by artist Monique Baumann. They explain their creative approach to us in an interview.

Emanuele Stamuli is a naval architect and designs high-end stores, mainly for international, popular fashion brands, as well as residential projects and hip furniture. He tells us in an interview how he follows his own path with a rationalist approach to design, a soft spot for detail and sustainability.

What would it be like if our society were controlled exclusively by algorithms? Under the direction of Prof. Fabian Hemmert, students from the Industrial Design department at the University of Wuppertal have developed dystopian products that are intended to sharpen our view of undesirable futures.

The architects and designers Pio and Tito Toso have created the "Anemos" table for Pedrali, which expresses the material of concrete in a new way: The brothers have formed two shells from it, which are slightly rotated to provide the base for the rounded tabletop. Tito Toso explains the idea to us in an interview.

In its current exhibition "Repair Revolution!", which runs until 15 October 2023, the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich shows how repairs can avoid waste and even create something new.

The architecture firm Snøhetta impresses with fine lighting in its powerful yet discreet projects around the world. In our interview, interior architect Peter Girgis from the Oslo headquarters talks about the influence of Nordic light, the design of luminaires and the challenges of illuminating a restaurant at the bottom of the sea.

Xaveer de Geyter Architects and Topotek 1 Architektur are the winners of the architectural competition for the entire new building of HfG, the Offenbach University of Art and Design. In the following interview Xaveer De Geyter explains their idea of a "small town around a green campus".