The Christmas season. It’s the time of year when Christmas lists are made and presents are exchanged. Here the Stylepark team share their festive gift recommendations – and introduce themselves while they’re at it.

Are we already starting to miss her, the good old “Ostplatte”? And how about our notion of “city lighting” in Berlin? Two card games enlighten us on the ways in which you can toy around with history and learn something in the process.

Now available as a facsimile, Sou Fujimoto’s notebook shows how numerous soft-red sketches can bring revolutionary buildings seemingly plucked from the Japanese architect’s head to life.

An homage, all you need to know about metal, conceptual photography and a hermetic text body – this autumn, Trademark Publishing, from Frankfurt agency “Sign Kommunikation” who enjoy strong links with Stylepark has yet again presented us with a whole host of exciting new releases for the avid reader

Robert Volhard spoke to Giulio Cappellini, Art Director at Cappellini, about his love for the contemporary and how he succeeds in finding new talents.

What would “Gone with the Wind” be without Scarlett O’Hara’s green velvet dress, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” without Audrey Hepburn’s LBD? Now the Victoria and Albert Museum in London has dedicated a major exhibition to the pivotal role played by costume design in film – illustrating how it goes further toward determining a film’s plot and narrative style than one might think.

Stylepark congratulates the winner of the christmas competition and wishes a happy christmas season.

We like things light and bright. But the lighting required to do so consumes a great deal of energy. Robert Volhard spoke to Harald Sommerer, CEO of the Zumtobel Group, about sustainability, new technology and the correlation between light and architecture.

Set in among an array of villas and boathouses, Zurich-based architects Kaufmann Widrig have now built a detached house on the banks of Lake Geneva. The rust-red object aims to blend harmoniously with its surroundings while at the same time creating contrasts in its uniqueness.

Ever since people have taken to settling in one place, the kitchen has formed the heart of the home. So in today’s market what sets one kitchen apart from the rest? Robert Volhard spoke to Roberto Gavazzi, CEO of Boffi, about the connections between kitchens and cars and how kitchens can improve our lives.

The “Tea & Coffee Towers” project, initiated by Alberto Alessi and Alessandro Mendini in 2002, has long since enjoyed legendary status. Now, three interviews have been released in which David Chipperfield, Greg Lynn and Gary Chang explain how they went about it.

This year, PearsonLloyd took Orgatec, the specialist office & facility trade fair, to present a number of new additions to the “Parcs” and “Docklands” collections by Bene. They have now created a GIF animation demonstrating the potential of these new office typologies to change our way of working and our notion of the perfect office to boot.

We could not blame you for already being excited about what’s to come at the next domotex from January 12 through 15, 2013. Organizers Deutsche Messe have already caused a sensation with a preview. The leading trade fair for flooring has managed to get none other than designer Stefan Diez on board to create a setting that is attractive for exhibitors and visitors alike.

At a ceremony in Frankfurt’s Paulskirche the International High-Rise Award 2012 was bestowed on the office building at “1 Bligh Street” in Sydney designed by Christoph Ingenhoven’s studio in Düsseldorf and Architectus, Sydney. The prize-winning high-rise stands out less for its height and futuristic design than for its overall quality.

Which challenges are faced by young designers setting up shop on their own? How do they work? Where do they get their inspiration? And how can they organize design processes to suit them? Esther Schulze-Tsatsas and Dimitrios Tsatsas met up with Steffen Kehrle in Munich to learn his answers.

On the silver screen and at Orgatec, office environments are depicted as having a life of their own. What kind of image of reality do they convey? A rummage through the film archives and walkabout in the trade fair halls.

At this year's Orgatec trade fair, Ankara-based firm "Gug" confidently promoted a little different office design under the slogan "The Choice of the Elite".

How great an influence does the design of a car really have on the buyer? Thomas Edelmann spoke to Adrian van Hooydank, Head of Design Development at BMW Group, about new types of cars, emotions and functionality.

The Stuttgart edition of the architect’s trade fair Architect@Work has just come to a close and it certainly provided an impressive confirmation of the trend toward smaller, professionally curated event formats in the construction industry. There were over 3,200 professional visitors on both days, around 300 innovations on show by 165 exhibitors – and it has received a positive verdict from visitors, exhibitors and organizers alike.

This year’s Designers’ Saturday held in the Swiss town of Langenthal certainly confirmed the trade fair’s standing as one of the finest and most creative design events in the world.

“The Architect” exhibition in Munich presents the history of a profession –a chronological round-up from master builders to the times of the ancient Egyptians to present-day organizers.

What direction is automotive design taking in times of hybridization? A visit to Paris’ “Mondial de l’Automobil”, the most important European automotive motor show of the year.

The “Shareway” concept developed by Höweler + Yoon Architecture, winners of the Audi Urban Future Award 2012, spotlights the collaborative use of transportation structures. The other studios participating in the architecture award curated by Stylepark also focused on questions of mobility and transportation in 2030 – against the backdrop of individual needs and trends in society.

From Tokyo to Zurich, set foot in an office, medical practice or apartment belonging to some creative type and you are bound encounter his furniture: On the death of architect, engineer and planner Fritz Haller.

Orgatec 2012 in Cologne presents the 21st-century office as an urban landscape in colors as fresh as spring itself. Seldom does one feel so content at work – be it alone in a cocoon or in a meeting in a sheltered seating group.

Cell offices and cubicles are considered negative examples of office design. The era of what we would today regard as the human office started with the “Citizen Office”. Concepts such as the “Net'n'Nest” symbolize the attempt to combine networking and concentrated work. So will we in future work in a kind of adventure playground for adults?

The 23rd edition of the international “Biennale Interieur” in Kortrijk, Belgium, was yet another successful, appealing trade fair though of a slightly different kind, thanks to the mixture of manufacturers’ stands, intelligently chosen projects and the presentation of new design talents.

A site-specific installation by Canadian artist Cedric Bomford has radically changed the working environment in the large loft space that houses Stuttgart-based agency Dorten. The artist used found materials to create areas and installations that are surprisingly practical and have also given rise to a fundamental change in perspective.

October 23rd will see the presentation at Orgatec in Cologne of all the new products for the design of offices and public spaces. A list of selected exhibitors tells you which manufacturers are attending, and where to find them.