New stories by Architonic

The new universal language of design: Design Shanghai Features and Design Forum 2024 | News | Architonic

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Design Shanghai, Asia’s most influential design show, announces its inaugural Features programme and Design Forum talks. Entering its eleventh year, Design Shanghai expects to welcome over 100,000 visitors over four days. Returning to the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre from June 19th to 22nd, 2024, the show continues to witness the rapid development of Chinese design. Growing year on year, Design Shanghai has become one of the biggest design shows in the world. The highly anticipated event will once again attract leading international and Chinese manufacturers, design-led brands, global industry leaders, architects, collectors, interior designers and design enthusiasts.

'After a decade of growth and refinement, Design Shanghai has established itself as Asia's premier design event. Each year, thousands of companies engage in business here, and our diverse forums an…

Block by block: embracing modular living with Cantori’s Blockbau sofa | News | Architonic

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 02:00:00 +0200

Traditionally consisting of horizontally stacked logs with interlocked corners, the Blockbau is among the oldest timber construction techniques, remaining prevalent in Northern Europe. Inspired by the versatility, modularity and practicality of this method is the Blockbau sofa, a unique furniture system designed to meet the flexibility requirements of modern living.

The Blockbau looks as it sounds – a modular masterpiece of design constructed from multiple engineered and crafted lozenges that can be arranged and secured in numerous formations. This latest concept from Cantori is impressively adaptable and one of the most customisable seating solutions to come to the market. Each individual block has rounded corners, contributing to…

Polycarbonate marvels shape Edra’s Veronica collection | News | Architonic

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 02:00:00 +0200

Further expanding the possibilities of extruded polycarbonate for Edra, Jacopo Foggini’s Veronica seating and table collection plays with materiality for a bold statement for a relaxed outdoor setting. The shell of Veronica’s low armchair appears like an elegant piece of embroidery, with a texture of solids and voids that is smooth to the touch, reflective and visually captivating, particularly when placed close to a light source.

In addition to this exquisite chair, the collection consists of three tables including a square, A’mare seating and table collection by Italian designer Jacopo Foggini for Edra is a natural protagonist for the outdoors. Inspired by the concept of solidifying water into a precious object, each sculptural element is made of handmade pure polycarbonate sticks that when placed near water – on a terrace overlooking the sea or a patio by the pool – harness the spectrum of sunlight creating a landscape of relaxation.

Composed of a chair, armchair, bench, Edra’s latest launch takes the form of an innovative new material covering offering extraordinary performance for both indoor and outdoor settings. It’s given shape to the Every Place collection, which has liberated existing iconic Edra seating systems such as On the Rocks, Sherazade and Standard to the outdoors, so that now, elegant Edra seating can be enjoyed everywhere.

The result of continued research, this new durable material is woven using a new type of yarn exclusively created for Edra and engineered from specially treated and regenerated plastic bottles (100% PET). This is combined with a sp…

Finding joy at work with Steelcase | News | Architonic

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

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Head to the Architonic Magazine for more insights on the latest products, trends and practices in architecture and design.

The essence and contemporaneity of Bonaldo's style | Architecture | Architonic

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

With an international perspective on design and deep Italian roots, Bonaldo's identity style is in constant evolution. Transcending cultural and geographical borders, it establishes itself worldwide as an innovative and pioneering yet always coherent company. Creating products with a unique personality that are closely related to each other and to the space in which they are placed: this is the fulcrum around which Bonaldo's B/Style concept revolves.

Bonaldo's thought and philosophy are supported by the creative talent of important names in international design. In close synergy with the company, they create unique products that capture attention and stand out independently, thriving best when integrated into larger contexts to seamlessly enhance residential, commercial or public spaces.

The company has always explored the delicate balance between living spaces and individuals' aspirations to reside in welcoming and pleasant environment…

Design Shanghai 2024: bringing innovative design from China and the West to the global stage | Design | Architonic

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 02:00:00 +0200

Design Shanghai, the 11th edition of Asia's largest international design event series, will be held from June 19 to 22, 2024, at the Shanghai World Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre. Over the past 10 years, Design Shanghai has established itself as one of the world's leading design fairs, attracting manufacturers, design brands, industry leaders, architects, collectors, interior designers and design enthusiasts. This year, more than 100,000 visitors are expected during the four days of the event.

New to the show this year is Hall 4: 'New Materials and Applications,' which will showcase innovative materials from global brands, complementing the existing three exhibition halls dedicated to Furniture and Lighting Design, Kitchen and Bathroom design and Living & Lifestyle. Among the exhibitors, international brands such as the Italian leader in wood dyeing TABU, th…

Bold, comfortable seating by Cassina: Cornaro, Dudet, Tamburound | News | Architonic

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0200

For interior designers seeking modern statement seating that is both bold and comfortable, Cassina has a series of new collections and extensions to explore. New pieces include the iconic Cornaro model by Carlo Scarpa; two new proposals of the contemporary Dudet by Patricia Urquiola; and the expansion of the Tamburound collection by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby…

Cassina celebrates 20th anniversary of the Charlotte Perriand Collection | News | Architonic

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0200

An indisputable protagonist of design history, Charlotte Perriand has defined an innovative art de vivre et d’habiter, in clear contrast to the traditional design codes of the day. Today, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Charlotte Perriand Collection, Cassina pays tribute to her work with an exclusive selection of never mass-produced models and previously unseen versions of icons already in catalogue.

The stories of Perriand and Cassina have intertwined on many occasions. In 1964, Cassina acquired the exclusive world rights to mass-produce the first four models designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre J…

Cassina and Philippe Starck: 30 years of creative synergy | News | Architonic

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0200

During Milan Design Week 2024, Cassina and Philippe Starck celebrated their thirty-year long collaboration of manufacturing excellence and creative vision with a poetic installation curated by Starck at the Cassina Store Milan. On the occasion of this milestone, the acclaimed designer created two new offerings; Somewhere El-S, a seating collection characterised by the sartorial details translated from elegant travelling to design, and Volage Ex-S Night Wood, a new chapter of the collection for the sleeping area.

‘In the middle of the desert, waiting for your chauffeur, it is always good to sit on your bag,’ says sustainability concerns, digitalisation and smart infrastructure demands, Light + Building 2024 emerged as a crucial nexus where stakeholders from across the globe exchanged ideas and fostered progress-driving collaborations. Under the motto 'Be Electrified', the international meeting place for the lighting and technology industry once again brightened up Messe Frankfurt from 3 to 8 March with discussions about the building sector's much-needed energy transition and showcases of cutting-edge products.

But in an era characterised by rapid urbanisation, the fair transcended mere commercial exhibition; it symbolised a collective commitment to forging sustainable, intelligent and interconnected designs of tomorrow. By spotlighting breakthroughs in energy-efficient systems, renewable energy inte…

Furnishing the modern executive workspace with Bonaldo | News | Architonic

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

‘Made in Italy’ is a longstanding metric in the world of quality interior design – and few brands are as synonymous with its cultivated reaches as Bonaldo.

The Padua-based company was founded in 1936, initially as a maker of metal bedsteads. By the 1960s, the purview had expanded into exemplary Italian furniture on an international scale, with an inaugural showing at Milan’s Salone del Mobile in 1971. Since then, the inventory has expanded exponentially: into tables, chairs, sofas, beds, accessories and lighting, typifying a finely crafted and contemporary sensibility.

The year 2000 onwards has seen the inauguration of a raft of collaborations with renowned designers and creatives including Karim Rashid, Alain Gilles and Toshiyuki Yoshino, working to Marmora collection of ceramic tiling from Casalgrande Padana has the edge.

Intensive research and innovation have developed a material with the rich colour and depth of rarefied sedimentary rock, complete with streaks of contrast that can be felt by the hand as well as picked up by the eye. The low-relief veining of Solarlux, that magic lies in highly sophisticated engineering.

As a pioneering manufacturer of bi-folding doors, the company from Melle can look back…

Renewed creativity: Minotti’s latest design collaborations | News | Architonic

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

At Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024, Minotti debuted the designs resulting from new collaborations with Hannes Peer and Giampiero Tagliaferri, who officially joined the brand’s international creative team this year. The introduction of their first contributions to the Minotti 2024 Collection, in synergy with the Minotti family, explores how harmonious collaborations can invigorate timeless values.

Hannes Peer, architect and interior designer from South Tyrol, and virtuoso on the AD100 and Elle Decor A-List, is known for his eclectic and multifaceted style, developed at the Milan Politecnico and the Technical University in Berlin, followed by stints at OMA/Rem Koolhaas, with Zvi Hecker in Berlin, at Studio Mosca, and Metrogramma in Milan, before est…

Echoes of design history and contemporary innovation: Minotti’s 2024 Collection | News | Architonic

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

The Minotti 2024 Collection of indoor and outdoor furniture demonstrates the Italian brand’s ability to balance form and function, memories of the past and dynamism of the present and future. This year’s renewed creativity, which embraces unexpected shapes, colours and details, is expressed through an international symphony of design voices, carefully orchestrated by the Minotti family, including Marcio Kogan / Studio MK27, Nendo, GamFratesi, Inoda+Sveje, and the latest additions, Hannes Peer and Giampiero Tagliaferri.

What marks this eclec…

An immersive pavilion hosted Minotti’s latest collection at Salone del Mobile.Milano | News | Architonic

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Each year at Salone del Mobile.Milano, Minotti sets the stage for its latest furniture collection within a sophisticated exhibition space. For the Italian brand that prides itself on timelessness, consistency and impeccable Made in Italy quality, the architecture serves as a storyteller, enhancing each design and spotlighting new textures, shapes and colours in a fresh light.

This year’s 4,500 sqm Minotti Pavilion unfolded an immersive experience within a succession of double height volumes. Designed by Minotti Studio and inspired by the enduring legacy of architect Rodolfo Dordoni, carved into the company’s DNA, the display skilfully combined space and materials to showcase the new…

Mixed-used developments where residents can work, rest and play | News | Architonic

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

With the WFH (work from home) and WFA (work from anywhere) revolutions now firmly fixed in a position of power, vacant office space is at an all time high in many cities across the globe. Meanwhile, the affordable housing shortage is in equal need of urgent address – with 6.5 million homes needed in the US alone, for example. By simply adapting one empty typology to meet the needs of another, mixed-use developments could be the answer to address the imbalance.

Mixed-use, however, isn’t always simple. With multiple failed examples to choose from, dual-purpose developments, it seems, suffer from double the economic danger. But with the hybrid model changing the way we live and work by blending office and home interior styles, so too can it change where we li…

The Brand Edit: design stories you should know | News | Architonic

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

A week is a long time in politics, they say. It’s also a long time in the design industry. Such is the concentration of fairs and other physical events these days that one’s sense of time and location can become a bit skewed. But cast your mind back, if you will, to Milan Design Week (only six weeks ago). Among the surfeit of products on show were a handful that are truly moving the needle.

One is Arper's Catifa Carta, a revisiting of their Catifa 53 chair, but this time made of paper – or, rather, PaperShell, a composite wood by-product that sequesters carbon in its creation. Just 29 sheets of paper, bonded with a natural resin, is all it takes to deliver a design every bit as iconic as its predecessor. Read Architonic contributor Harriet Thorpe’s recent report, where she speaks with Arper CEO Roberto Monti about the manufacturer’s motivation an…

Meet Buddy Oasi: Pedrali’s friendliest seating collection for the outdoors | News | Architonic

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

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Head to the Architonic Magazine for more insights on the latest products, trends and practices in architecture and design.

A complete package with a stylish design: the refreshed Architectura bathroom collection by Villeroy & Boch | News | Architonic

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

The Architectura series is one of Villeroy & Boch's largest complete bathroom collections. The manufacturer relaunched the series at the beginning of the year, which was specially developed for projects with high demands on flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Expanded to include numerous products, sizes and features, the tried-and-tested range is now even more flexible and offers solution for almost every project type, layout and budget. Part of the relaunch, which is consistently aligned with current market needs, is also a clearly noticeable visual update: without compromising the functional simplicity of the collection, the carefully executed facelift refreshes the purist design significantly, bringing a lightness to a geometric design language that is as elegant as it is contemporary.

Th…

GoEs: taking Bosnian wood crafting expertise onto the international stage | News | Architonic

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

A landscape that features dense forests and fast-growing trees has afforded Bosnia and Herzegovina a long history of supplying woods, wooden parts and fully crafted furniture to the world. Anyone who has invested in a Billy Bookcase in the past 15 years, chances are it started life in a Bosnian forest. Beyond the country’s borders, however, it’s been an unsung asset and expertise for much of that history, and we are only now starting to see the heritage of Bosnian furniture-making celebrated in the form of considered home-grown design brands on the international stage. Only now are the stories of both the origins of these fine raw materials and the making traditions being told.

While some Bosnian brands are emerging from family carpentry and carving traditions, others are branching off from some of the larger corporations of makers and suppliers. Such is the story of GoEs, which is a side shoot of Aptha, but v…

For Every Place: Edra’s classic sofas venture outdoors | News | Architonic

Wed, 29 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Founded in 1987, the Tuscan brand Edra has since become synonymous with archetypally chic and universal Italian interior design; amalgamating tradition, technology, superlative craftsmanship and quality materials to create products as innovative as they are timeless.

The company’s Standard, On the Rocks and Sherazade sofas – created by the visionary Milanese designer Francesco Binfaré, a close collaborator with the brand since 1992 – have long been stalwarts of the Edra inventory. This year, they’ve entered a process of r…

Pyrymyd: a multi-tasking ceiling system for sound and light control | News | Architonic

Mon, 27 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

We talk a lot about designing for the senses these days; about human engineering, ergonomics, people-centric products. It’s particularly a hot topic when it comes to looking at the modern working environment. If today’s office is to compete with home, it needs to bring similar feelings of comfort, but promote productivity and collaboration at the same time. Designers and architects are responding with increased attention towards auditory comfort, finely-tuned lighting, and cosseting touches via texture, colour and shape.

What if all these space-shaping elements could be combined into one super product that handled acoustics, both ambient and task lighting, and brought textural intimacy to a lofty-ceilinged echo-prone work zone? It’s the task Intra lighting set themselves when they conceived Pyrymyd. The family-run Slovenian compan…

The luminous poetry in Forestier’s Thésée collection | News | Architonic

Tue, 21 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

It’s a paradox that as our society becomes increasingly connected through global travel and digital realms, we often feel more disoriented and disconnected than ever before. The power of interiors to ground us in the present and help us reconnect with what we value should not be underestimated. One way to bring authentic emotional depth to space is through atmospheric lighting, which, in combining illumination and form, can transcend practical function to perform a vessel for mindfulness.

‘I like to observe the signs of our society, to try to offer objects that are connected to our times,’ says lighting designer David Fabbri. He has designed the new Thésée lighting collection – featuring a pendant, table and floor lamp – for French lighting atelier Forestier as an antidote to the chaos of contemporary life. Dra…

The innovative design and functional versatility of De Vorm’s Split lighting series | News | Architonic

Tue, 28 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

‘Working as a designer these days isn’t [just] about doing cool things for different companies. It’s about working with people – passionate people that have the drive. That’s something that really connects us. It’s also about a rational way of producing it.’

So explains Jens Fager in the video presentation for his Split lighting series, newly created with Dutch interiors brand De Vorm. This inaugural collaboration is an apt one. Fager is one of Sweden’s most feted designers – a graduate of Stockholm’s Konstfack University, who has exhibited in Milan and London, and created pieces for brands like Muuto, Edsbyn and RIG-TIG – whose creative approach chimes perfectly with De Vorm’s singularly innovative, future-facing approach to industrial design.

The company was founded in 2005. An early pioneer in harnessing recycled…

Lema's philosophy for a universal design language: the In’Habit project | News | Architonic

Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

For designers with clients who own multiple eclectic homes, it’s useful to have a few go-to suppliers in the black book. Yet what about turning to one catalogue, showing a range of contemporary furniture collections that could solve every interior need and seamlessly adapt to each cross-continental residential scenario? Imagine the breeze of a book that could serve up a piece for every function, with a broad range of customisable dimensions and finishes, to blend into all kinds of colour palettes, lifestyles and architectural movements. This is exactly why Italian design brand Lema has created the In’Habit ‘lifestyle project’. It’s a philosophy for a universal design language, which any architect or designer can depend on for any room, scale or location; expressed through an…

Swirling to the power of three: TwistFlush[e³] by Villeroy & Boch | News | Architonic

Wed, 15 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

For three years now, Villeroy & Boch has been implementing the TwistFlush vortex flush technology in selected toilets. This innovative flushing technology harnesses the physical force of the swirl to optimise flushing performance and toilet hygiene. Two nozzles generate a powerful water vortex, which cleans nearly the entire inner surface of the toilet and pulls all dirt residue into the drain with its strong suction. Coupled with the conical geometry and extra-smooth walls of the bowl, this makes repeated flushes and the use of the toilet brushes practically unnecessary. Compared to conventional flushes, this innovation is also particularly water-saving, making a significant contribution to resource conservation.

With Robin Rizzini at the Salone del Mobile Milano.

Meaning charisma or attractiveness, it’s a word that, according to American media outlet NPR, one shouldn’t feel too bad about being unfamiliar with. ‘If you're asking what "rizz" means, you're not alone – particularly if you're a generation or so olde…

Urban squares that use play to bring people together | News | Architonic

Mon, 06 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Transforming the grey palette of the townscape into more energetic spaces filled with colour and energy, urban playgrounds provide children of all ages with much-needed areas for exercise, socialisation and stimulation away from the enticing pull of screens or other less wholesome indoor activities. But children aren’t the only clients the designers and architects of playground landscapes need to consider. When a valuable section of city space is retained for community use, it needs to serve the entire community.

Urban squares, meanwhile, are the perfect example of spaces ripe for community use. Natural hives of civic activity, they connect the modern ley lines of a city, blending ages and cultures together on their disparate paths. By adding a place of play to a busy city square, it’s transformed into a restful…

Design Mumbai catapults India onto the global design stage | News | Architonic

Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

The world's largest exercise in democracy is currently underway in the world's largest democracy. With nearly 970 million citizens eligible to vote in India's general election, the process takes an eyebrow-raising month and a half to complete.

The scale of the subcontinent's political franchise – and, indeed, its even larger total population – is reflected in the size of its nominal GDP, which, perhaps surprising to some, is ranked fifth largest globally, ahead of the UK and France.

It’s within this hyper-dynamic context that the country’s first major international design fair, Design Mumbai, will throw open its doors later this year to an international audience of A&D professionals, planners and other expert specifiers.

Running from 6–9 November at the city’s lush Jio World Garden, the trade show’s inaugural edition is as much a two-way street as it is a crossroads: homegrown design m…

A modern reinterpretation of the classic tap: DÉCA by TONI Copenhagen and BIG | News | Architonic

Tue, 14 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

For designers seeking to evoke a sartorial expression of ‘quiet luxury’ through an interior, a necessity to a minimalist palette is the addition of a sculptural object – one that catches the eye, glints like a jewel, and nods towards understated refinement. For kitchens and bathrooms where functionality reigns, how about capturing that moment of chic tension – that je ne sais quoi – with a radical faucet?

It’s a bold proposition from an unexpected source: Denmark’s oldest manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom fixtures, TONI Copenhagen, founded upon a legacy of craft 105 years ago and renowned for its scrupulously traditional products – the last time it launched a new faucet line was in 1985. Now, DÉCA is here to ‘rock the boat’,…

A new era of sustainable seating: Arper unveils Catifa Carta | News | Architonic

Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

When it comes to crafting an interior, every environmentally conscious decision makes a difference. If each product specified takes a progressive sustainable approach, incrementally, change can take a firmer root – across commercial networks, in material science laboratories and in the soil of our earth that feeds us. What’s exciting is that in 2024, making those decisions does not mean compromising on good – and even iconic – design. There’s a cohort of trailblazing brands disrupting the status quo with product updates, innovations and material swaps that respond to the circular thinking necessary to today’s climate crisis.

Arper’s new Catifa Carta Chair is a fine example of this. It’s a reinterpretation of the iconic Busch-Jaeger programme would certainly have made the writer Joachim Ringelnatz reassess his own cleverness. With the Busch-Watchdog® PRO and the Busch-Welcome® door communication technology, houses and buildings are completely secure in a convenient way.

Detecting external threats early is one of the oldest security principles known to mankind, and it continues to prove its worth to this day. Using the latest technologies, Busch-Jaeger has developed motion detectors based on the basic idea of vigilance, so to speak, which for over 35 years have reliably signalled anyone approaching a house,…

EGGER welcomes the new generation of wood | News | Architonic

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

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Head to the Architonic Magazine for more insights on the latest products, trends and practices in architecture and design.

Design responsibility in the era of social change at 'ICONIC AWARDS 2024: Interior Products' | Architecture | Architonic

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

A high-calibre jury of international experts from the design and architecture industry, including Ester Bruzkus (Ester Bruzkus Architekten) and Antonio Rodriguez (Matteo Thun & Partners), evaluated over 300 submissions and selected numerous innovations for the award. With nine main categories, as well as special awards for 'Brand of the Year' and 'Creator of the Year,' the award represents excellence within the international industry. Particularly noteworthy were the forward-thinking product developments and sustainable approaches in product and furniture design that were honoured. Manufacturers and designers showcased clever modular products, emphasising reduced material usage and the development of smart technical solutions. The design studio Formafantasma, founded by Italian designers Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, was voted 'Creator of the Year' by the jury. The Spanish company Vibia Lighting, founded in 1987, received the special 'Brand of the Year' award. To emphasize

Top ten: curated projects that prompt external living with outdoor kitchens | News | Architonic

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

In this latest assortment of curated project highlights, we invite readers over to our place, to share a slice of summer sun and a seasonal spread, showing different ways to create an outdoor kitchen. With summer making its cautious approach across Europe, the time is now to throw open our increasingly popular glazed facades of sliding and bi-fold doors and welcome the outside world back into our lives. And what better way to refresh a neglected friendship than by breaking bread?

During periods of development and renovation, it’s normal for homes to double up on room typologies, adding secondary Indeed automatic from the premium German brand Dauphin. Designed for flexible desk use, this contemporary seating solution lets users sit down, lean back and be embraced in comfort without the need for any further adjustments apart from the seat height. It’s truly a blessing. Moreover, for those who prefer finer adjustm…

Ceaseless passion: Royal Botania's perseverance in exclusive outdoor furniture design | News | Architonic

Tue, 28 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Providing exclusive design for spending quality time outdoors. That is the key ambition behind Belgian outdoor furniture brand, Royal Botania. An intention which comes across in a manifest manner when going through the catalogue of their 2024 Outdoor Collections. Images of elegant, high-grade seating and dining furniture set in supreme nature surroundings awake the senses, make you urge to sit outside in warm temperatures, breathe in aromas of plants and trees, sand and the sea. Dreamy settings which illustrate how well-designed outdoor furniture can definitely enhance the pleasure of outdoor lounging and dining.

The 2024 Outdoor Collection by Royal Botania is not a tour de force of new design pieces. Sure, there are some brand-new designs added to existing collecti…

The Heritage collection blends high-performance with stone-inspired beauty | News | Architonic

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

When selecting materials to clad walls and floors in residential and commercial interiors, durability and ease of maintenance are crucial factors to consider. Yet it’s important not to forget the role that aesthetics, and particularly biophilic aesthetics, play in our daily lives: it has been scientifically proven that natural materials can improve our wellbeing by enhancing moods, whilst also evoking culture, history and memory.

Finding a harmonious balance between function and aesthetics for floor and wall coverings has been the raison d’être for Italian porcelain stoneware specialist Ceramiche Keope since 1995. Each product undertakes a process of material alchemy from the HQ in Casalgrande in Reggio Emilia, Italy, where it is thoroughly researched, patiently iterated and produced to ‘Made in Italy’ quality. The result is a surface covering that provides easy maintenance, durability and moisture…

Cassina’s iconic Utrecht XL armchair is reimagined for the open-air | News | Architonic

Tue, 07 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Cassina presents a new outdoor version of the iconic Utrecht armchair by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld. This reinterpretation maintains the same aesthetic and construction characteristics as the Utrecht XL, the larger version of the model developed by the company to meet the needs of new generations with a more ample seat. Designed by the Dutch architect in 1935 for the Metz&Co. department store and named after his hometown, the Utrecht armchair has been produced exclusively worldwide by Cassina since 1988.

As a synthesis of experimentation and comfort, Utrecht XL Outdo…

An outdoor dining duo completes Cassina’s playful Trampoline collection | News | Architonic

Tue, 07 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Patricia Urquiola has created an ‘open-air banquet’ in Trampoline, a novel outdoor dining duo from Cassina that completes the playful Trampoline collection. Two new products, a table and a chair, with the same rounded contours as the wider collection, have been designed to blend into a variety of outdoor settings between the light and shadows cast by the sun.

With a modern architectural aesthetic, the Trampoline Table features a painted aluminium structure – available in four colours: ivory, taupe, terracotta and green – bounded by two lateral sections reminiscent of stone po…

A refined design for informal comfort: Esosoft Outdoor system by Cassina | News | Architonic

Tue, 07 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Bringing timeless aesthetics and informal comfort to alfresco settings, Cassina’s Esosoft Outdoor collection designed by Antonio Citterio offers a new complete system comprising a two- and three-seater sofa and end element, a love-bed, an armchair and a series of low tables with solid Iroko wood slatted tops.

Characterised by warm colours and intriguing visual and textural contrasts, Esosoft Outd…

GROHE SPA crafts a water sanctuary at palazzo reale during Milan Design Week 2024 | News | Architonic

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

From April 16–21, the courtyard of Milan’s historic Palazzo Reale will undergo a transformation into an exhibition space. Conceived by the in-house LIXIL Global Design and Brand Identity team, the installation pays tribute to the history of the building by evoking its past and interweaving it with the contemporary GROHE SPA ‘Salus per aquam’ (Latin for ‘Health through Water’) concept. ‘We are proud to be a part of Milan Design Week once again. This occasion offers us an ideal platform for meaningful engagement and exchange with architects and designers, fostering mutual inspiration. Our objective transcends a mere product presentation; rather, we aspire to cultivate a holistic experience that underlines the essence of GROHE SPA: the belief that water is the source of vital energy,’ says Karl Lennon, Leader GROHE SPA, LIXIL EMENA. Crafting a sanctu…

Let’s split up: multi-structure hotel experiences | News | Architonic

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

With luxury amenities at every turn, guests of first-class hotels rarely wish to leave; not just at the end of their stay, but often being content to while away their vacation days inside, too. However, when a hotel’s surroundings are its main attraction, visitors can feel trapped inside a maze of characterless, artificially-lit internal corridors and long to escape into the natural setting. In contrast, the independent settings of holiday rental homes have played a major role in the success of the model with modern vacationers.

In the face of this loss in market share, a new typology of hotel has arisen, one that splits up its constituent parts. By keeping shared facilities together and scattering suites across numerous independent structures to keep them apart, hotel sites can blend their luxury interior settings with the beauty of their natural surroundings, utilised as co…

‘There are always ideas passing by. You need to grab them’: AMDL CIRCLE x Mara | News | Architonic

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to ask questions. Probably too many.

But when you meet with Italian architecture and design grandee Michele De Lucchi, you’re all ears, such is the calibre of this thought and the eloquence of its expression, built on the back of over half a century of experimental, and sometimes iconoclastic, creative practice. From his participation in such avant-garde design collectives as Studio Alchimia and Memphis to his authorship of the Compasso d’Oro-winning Tolomeo lamp and Pulcina coffee pot, he’s seen a lot and done a lot.

The fact that De Lucchi’s commentary comes with such experience-backed heft meant that I had the singular pleasure, in a recent call with the man, of listening more than interrogating. (When I sugges…

'We see ergonomics as a wellness tool': Todd Bracher for Humanscale | News | Architonic

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Here's a fun fact for you. The use of the term 'ergonomics' extends as far back as the mid-19th century and stems from the Greek for 'work' and 'natural law'. Although it's been around for a while, the science's methodologies and scope of ambition have evolved over the years.

'Historically, ergonomics was more about human factors,' explains Todd Bracher, New York-based industrial designer and creative director at office-furniture experts Humanscale. 'Can you reach? Does it fit? And the interface with the human experience. But we now realise its impact on long-term health. We see ergonomics as a wellness tool.'

Under the banner of 'ergonomics everywhere' – which neatly captures the reality of our peripatetic work lives today, where we move between home office and…

Fast stay one step ahead in the category of outdoor design | News | Architonic

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

It’s strange to think how restrictive our vision for outdoor design once was, when today the boundaries between the aesthetics of outdoor and indoor have all but fallen. Not even that long ago most of us in need of a table to dine under the open skies of summer would simply have been browsing teak slatted numbers or furled ironwork ornately worked into tables and chairs at local garden centres. These were the exterior furniture archetypes we were loath to break free from.

Among the pioneers of contemporary outdoor design who have pushed the evolution of the category forward are Fast, the Italian company born and still resident in Brescia’s leafy Valle Sabbia; an area specialising in the production of aluminium. In 1995 Fast took inspiration from local nature and industry to build a brand prescient of design preoccupations to come. Fast have now been doing their thing, creating original al fresco furnitu…

Delightfully uncomplicated: ray work from Brunner | News | Architonic

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

‘Do we still need the classic, fully-fledged office chair in 2024?’, asks Markus Böhm and seems to ponder for a moment. Then the Head of Brunner Product Development leans back, relaxes and shakes his head resolutely. No wonder, after all, he is sitting on ray work and thus, to a certain extent, on the actual answer to his question. The innovative swivel chair is the latest addition to the ray product collection and, like all the furniture in the series, was designed by Stuttgart-based design studio jehs+laub.

The unique design of ray work combines visual lightness with ergonomic design in a speci…

Timeless design icons by next125 | News | Architonic

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 02:00:00 +0200

Many things are made to outlast trends. The same goes for next125 icons. Inspired by the Bauhaus, the icons represent a perfect symbiosis of form and function. Scaled down to the essentials, each of these timeless design classics is functional, linear and elegant, playfully and effortlessly blending into any lifestyle or room in the house, guaranteed to make a statement for years to come.

Take the multifunctional, architectural next125 sideboards, designed with such clarity that they appear to float, whilst seamlessly combining complementary elements such as the frame rack, pedestal, frame legs or plinth feet. Another icon is the next125 glass display unit, an elegant eye-c…

Emotion meets practicality in kitchen design: next125 | | Architonic

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

For more than two decades, next125 has been creating kitchens that are characterised by the brand’s seven design principles: precision, elegance, creativity, minimalism, function, emotion and technology. This special design language results in functional, sophisticated kitchens, full of both practicality and emotion.

The kitchen brand next125 is the international premium brand of Schüller Möbelwerk KG, a kitchen sector market leader founded and still rooted in Herrieden in Southern Germany in 1966. The family firm, now in its second generation, devotes itself to the ultramodern industrial manufacturing of products ‘Made in Germany’ and stands out for its outstanding vertical integration.

Alongside the established quality brand Schüller, next125 is renowned for functionality and flexibility, enabling its systems and products to be used in kitchen…

'The Fireplace' sparks inspiration at Milan Design Week: Kéré x next125 | News | Architonic

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Sparks of innovation always fly at Milan Design Week. This year is no exception, particularly with next125's installation 'The Fireplace', designed by pioneering architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, winner of the Pritzker Prize 2022. Presented in the Milan Superstudio, Kéré's organic, pantheon-like wooden dome frames the modern, purist aesthetics of a next125 premium kitchen made by Schüller, one of Germany's leading kitchen and furniture manufacturers.

Wood, which fuels fire, is a core material of next125 kitchens, here showcased with dark oak veneer, cool natural stone, and bronzed mirror glass. Mirrored fronts capture the warm radiance of the surroundings, while the worktop and adjoining table are made from grey natural stone. In addition, further next125 kitchens will be presented at kymo, this is precisely the subtle difference in their work and company philosophy. Denis Türker laughs when he says that he grew up on piles of carpet. Even as a child, he was able to accompany his parents, who were among the first and largest importers of oriental carpets, on their travels and learned a lot about patterns, techniques and, above all, the nature of carpet…

Shaping moods: Reggiani and the stimulating effects of controlled light | News | Architonic

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

We talk a lot about how the success of an interior leans on the layout of its walls, doors and windows, and maybe the shade of paint or degree of cushioning on the chairs placed inside. The truth is, it will probably live or die by the quality of its light.

It’s not news that light tends to lift the spirits, while long shady days of winter can bring a dip in mood; the power of light has always had a bearing on architecture. Talk to the British architect John Pawson for five minutes and you realise that light is perhaps his favourite material – he shapes interiors with light by controlling its entry points meticulously. But today the power of lighting goes deeper than the management of daylight into a space; growing intelligence about the precise impact of different qualities of light means we can start to mould moods with artificial illumination in our interiors to great effect.

67-year-old lighting brand NEFF, however, the whole point is the party. NEFF has been on a mission for many years to design kitchen appliances that aren’t simply about flawless functionality producing Michelin quality cooking in the home, but about bringing playfulness to the process, and making the kitchen the centre of the party.

It’s why NEFF’s booth at this year’s EuroCucina – the biennial kitchen exhibition that takes place in the hallowed halls of Rho Fiera Milano during Salone – will be called Flavour District, and will be abuzz…

Customise your kitchen appliances with the NEFF Collection range | News | Architonic

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Over the past 20 years, it’s been a single innovation that has set NEFF apart from other makers of high-quality built-in kitchen appliances – the Slide and Hide® oven door. Now a series of innovative features for the new NEFF Collection of ovens, hoods, hobs and coffee makers are making waves by bringing fun and flexibility to the functional parts of the kitchen.

For Aeris has been creating healthy and energised offices for over 25 years. The mission of the German active seating furniture manufacturer is to break through old ways of thinking and create ergonomic solutions. As a pioneer in the field of New Work, Aeris not only promotes movement and flexibility, but also demonstrates through its product portfolio that the balancing act between functionality and sophisticated design can be achieved without compromise. With Aeris products, architects and planners not only achieve new room aesthetics, but also change the entire working experience. Aeris design chairs are no ordinary chairs – they are energisers that ensure that you are still full of energy even after the 9-to-5 marathon. With their ergonomic design, they offer comfort and freedom of movement to keep you moving all day long. Concentration and productivity go…

Smarter pods for a smarter office | News | Architonic

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

After becoming used to the comfort and autonomy of remote work, experts predict that workplace culture will never completely return to the way things were. Companies can maximise the productivity of their workforce by blending the flexibility of remote with the creative collaboration of in-person work in a hybrid system; but while spare rooms and kitchen tables have been sacrificed to carve out comfortable workspaces at home, the office space – originally designed around a 100% in-person system – needs to accept change too. A large part of that change is the introduction of working pods and "phone booths," which allow employees to enjoy the same acoustic comforts and privacy advantages they get at home, while in the office. Although the professional and social connections made through in-person work are a crucial part of the success of the hybrid system,…

Weaving ties between furniture, architecture and the city: Pedrali in Istanbul | News | Architonic

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Crossroads is the metaphor that’s often used to describe Istanbul, with its supreme intersectionality: its strategic location (the city famously straddles the Bosphorous river, connecting Europe and Asia) is attended by layers of social, cultural and religious shifts. But it’s not only a hub of history. With a population of over 15 million, Istanbul (formerly Constantinople, and, before that, Byzantium) has for millennia been, and continues to be, a major node for the exchange of goods, ideas and people.

Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s recent Istanbul Modern project – which is already attracting an international visitorship – celebrates the idea of intersections. Located in the city’s Beyoğlu district, with the old town to the west, the Bosphorus to the south, Tophane Park to the north and the new Galataport waterside development to the east, Turkey’s first museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art lies at the intersection of these various areas, p…

Furnishing tomorrow’s office interiors with PALMBERG | News | Architonic

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

There are many theories about the future of work. In Bruneck, it has already become a reality with the NOI Techpark, a modern space that nurtures bold, pioneering ideas and innovative projects. The former bus station not only impresses with its architecture, but also sets new standards in interior design. The amenities meet the demands of the working world of tomorrow, promoting collaboration, dynamic exchange and transformative thinking.

The concept behind the pioneering workspaces comes from Trias. With an exciting combination of renowned brands such as Vitra and the innovative manufacturer PALMBERG, the interior design experts from Brixen were able to win the public tender to design the interiors. Trias partnered with PALMBERG for a good ten years, yet it is only in the last three that the products from the German company have been increasingly integrated.

…

No bath-room: dismantling bath functionality myths | News | Architonic

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

In contemporary interiors, the notion that bathroom spaces are purely functional, guided solely by technical, physiological and psychological needs, is challenged, especially in the context of bathrooms. The concept of private property often compartmentalises human activities, isolating them into distinct areas. However, spaces like the bedroom, dining room, kitchen and bathroom are more than just functional areas; they represent a journey through our daily needs and activities.

While traditionally viewed as a space for two fundamental activities – bathing and waste elimination – the modern bathroom has undergone a significant transformation. The components of the bathroom, once relegated to hidden corners, now take centre stage, blurring the boundaries that once enclosed hygienic activities. This shift transforms the following four bathroom projects into multifunctional sanctuaries, where architectural design embraces spatial qualities that challenge conventional notions.

Top ten: curated bathrooms with wood surfaces | News | Architonic

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Next up in our new series of curated project highlights, we open the door to the most individual room in the home: the bathroom. As a sustainable and renewable material, the popularity of wood in contemporary interiors is growing fast. With regular leaps in material innovation being made, both the durability of real wood and the realistic look and feel of wood replacements like laminates and veneers make them a more sensible material choice for high-moisture spa…

A tropical allure: the Guinea outdoor collection by Pedrali | News | Architonic

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

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Collaborative insights for more sustainable habitat design | News | Architonic

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

‘If you ask different questions, you will come up with different answers.’ This is how the Founding Partner at Danish architecture studio EFFEKT, Sinus Lynge, sums up the great potential of daring to reflect in unconventional ways. Even though he is talking in the context of modern-day construction and sustainability improvements – complicated matters – the message in his statement is simple: the possibility for change is right in front of us; we just need to be bold enough to act differently.

Back in 2021, a group of like-minded companies within the building industry partnered up to start a discussion. The VELUX Group, EFFEKT architects, Artelia engineers and Enemærke & Petersen as contractors gathered to reflect on the question of how to create better living places. The initiator, VELUX, believed it was about time to rethink how buildings can help resolve global climate and health challenges through sustainable solutions and practical action. Today, about four years later,…

Illuminating spaces: MHZ's legacy in light control | News | Architonic

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Light, whether in a home, office, municipal building or cultural hub, is everything. It provides warmth and ambiance, and its correct modulation can profoundly alter our perception of a space and create a salve from the clamour of the outside world. The control of light is something we take for granted. Whether via blinds, textile shading or shutters, the flooding with colour and clarity of our living spaces is something fundamentally entrenched in the routine of everyday life.

Introducing MHZ: a German manufacturer of sun and privacy protection systems, and an industry leader for nearly a century. An independent, family-run company since its inception in 1930, MHZ was founded by interior decorator Wilhelm Hachtel and carpenter Adolf Stäbler. Their first product, a mechanical curtain pull, didn’t take off – but it preordained the company’s legacy.

Now, Summa is styled as an executive chair. Designed in 2019 by Humanscale’s in-house team, in collaboration with world-renowned architectural consultancy Gensler, the idea was to create a boardroom chair for the 21st century. It would take in Humanscale’s most up-to-date personalisation technology and assume the sort of refined materials and exquisite crafting that would make it a future classic.

This was achieved, after a rigorous design process, by incorporating a height-adjustment lever discretely into Summa’s seat, as well as Human…

Smart Conference: Humanscale’s essential ingredient to happy hybrid-ing | News | Architonic

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Smart Conference is an office chair that wants you to feel at home. More precisely, it is an evolution of Humanscale’s Smart Chair, itself an adaptation of the iconic task chair designs that legendary designer Niels Diffrient brought to Humanscale two decades ago. Diffrient famously put people first in his design process and started the dream of custom comfort in the workplace.

Inspiring the details of the Smart Conference design, however, is a set of very current human considerations. Work culture today sees few people holding onto their seating for t…

A creative coming together: Humanscale x Kvadrat | News | Architonic

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Long-time innovator in the field of ergonomic and sustainable office furniture, Humanscale, has entered into a global partnership with the game-changing textile brand, Kvadrat. A range of task chairs from Humanscale’s portfolio will now be available upholstered in a selection of Kvadrat’s most renowned textiles, from Hallingdal 65 to Vanir by Raf Simmons.

Textile brands don’t typically assume the same sort of iconic status as those brands dealing in well-loved hard furnishings. Kvadrat is something of an exception. The Danish fabric makers enjoy recognition globally for shaking up the world of soft – and solid furnishing – with fabric innovations that transform the environments they enter through unique shades, pattern and tactility, but that also attend to the wider…

Crafting more from less with Triboo’s circular furniture solutions | News | Architonic

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

To make a real impact, sustainable design must advance on multiple fronts. It has to tackle waste and emissions in production, along supply chains and in logistics and, perfectly, re-use existing waste and never become waste.

The Dutch company Triboo is determined on making just those advances, offering offices and other businesses more sustainable furniture and fittings but also a radical new model for creating a sustainable office environment and dealing with waste.

A key plank of its business is tabletops, desktops, shelving, acoustic panels, privacy booths and internal wall systems. The sustainability USP is that, depending on their thickness, they use 60-90% less materials than traditional panels but are far stronger and do not warp. Triboo can create panels up to five metres in length, perfect for one-piece ultra-long tables

Top Ten: curated projects that consider their ecological footprint | News | Architonic

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

In the second of a new series of curated project highlights, we handpick ten projects from the last few years of the Architonic project database. In each article, we’ll pick apart one contemporary trend-setting element of interior design and architecture, highlighting – in the architects’ own words – how it was approached. As part of Architonic’s first Sustainability Project Newsletter of 2024, we present projects that underscore the necessity of prioritising sustainability from the outset of architectural design.

The selection of materials, building processes and the symbiotic relationship between the artificial and natural realms are just a few of the factors that directly impact the environment when proposing an architectural intervention. Opting for reuse, local materials and alternative technologie…

An all-British furniture collection bringing crafted comfort to our coffee breaks | News | Architonic

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

We're all at it: side-eyeing the latest AI tool that we suspect is out to take our livelihood. Look at it, all hard and mean and emotionless, promising ruthless efficiency and prompt delivery. Surely it can’t replace me? I can do all that with feeling, a smile and a coffee round thrown in! And therein lies our salvation: our humanity, our emotional intelligence, our soft skills. Why mention it? Because if soft skills are what we bring, soft furniture is what we need to nurture those invaluable attributes in the work environment.

Soft, beckoning breakout zones have become an essential part of office design - some might say since lockdowns gave us a taste for comfortable conferencing. More likely, however, as is the case for so many evolutionary trends during the pandemic, it is an acceleration of events underway; namely, the growing need to accommodate all-important social interaction in the workplace. For many office furniture makers, it has meant a dash to boost portfolios w…

Milan Design Week 2024: fair and city guides are live! | News | Architonic

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

As Designboom, Architonic, and ArchDaily, our core vision is to inspire, connect and empower. And while we can’t physically steer you in the right direction on the city streets or Salone del Mobile’s redesigned 2024 floor plans, we can make sure you have the optimal tools to locate the biggest discoveries, best new contacts and most exciting stories: our two curated Milan guides, one to the fair and one to the city. Our exclusive guide to the fair is a selection of the hottest brands to visit at the Salone. The one to the city, meanwhile, features showrooms, selected locations, fringe events, architect tips and recommendations for other key happenings. Both guides ar…

Sustainable bamboo installations that aren’t built to last | News | Architonic

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

One of the most common arguments referenced by the design and architecture sector when attempting to defend the sustainability of new construction projects or the manufacturing of new products, is that they’re ‘made to last’ – either with the strength and quality of their construction and materials or with the timelessness of their style and functionality. This is often followed by the suggestion that the question of where and how to recycle, reuse or dispose of their constituent materials is of little concern. But one thing is certain about the concept of ‘new’: it can never last.

Unlike demonised single-use products or even buildings deemed unsuitable for adaptive reuse, the intensional mortality of temporary structures gives no illusions about their lifespan. And as a fast-growing organic material with a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel or concrete, bamboo is the perfect choice to form strong and stable structures. As this range of temporary, reusable and ready-t…

Material innovation at the forefront: Surface Design Show 2024 highlights | News | Architonic

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

As the boundaries between virtual and reality continue to blur, architectural surfaces play a vital role in shaping multi-sensory spaces that live up to the types of experiences we expect from our ever-changing world. For designers seeking to create meaningful experiences in interior space, embracing technological advancements and new design approaches to surface design is key. Yet while embracing the promise of the present, how can designers also make sure they are protecting the people and planet of the future?

Capturing and communicating these cutting-edge developments and debates, this year’s Surface Design Show (6-8 February 2024) brought over 180 exhibitors to the Business Design Centre in London’s Islington, presenting innovation across stone, ceramics, wall coverings, flooring, finishes, processes and more. The fair’s theme of ‘Mindful Living’ asked how we can negotiate today’s ambitious…

Continuous innovation: Brunner Design News 2024 | News | Architonic

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The fact that the office is changing is of course nothing new to you, dear architecture and interior design professionals. Ever since work related to knowledge, creativity and information has existed, humans have been reflecting on the ideal environment to carry out such work – sometimes more from the employer’s perspective, considering productivity and duty of care, and sometimes from the perspective of employees and their need for individuality.

In the age of remote, location-independent communication, a fundamental reevaluation of the traditional office is imperative. For the majority of the working population, working from home has become the norm – at least one to just under two days per week on average according to a survey conducted by the Munich-based ifo Institute last year, covering 34 countries. What does this mean for the office, the company headquarters, the beating heart of a company and its various locations? Evidently, office spaces are being…

Stockholm Design Week 2024: the northern highlights | News | Architonic

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Tillsammans. It’s a word I’ve loved for a long time, in spite of the fact that I don’t speak a jot of Swedish. (Apart from ‘tillsammans’, that is.) I first encountered it in the form of a Lukas Moodysson film title from the early 2000s. Wonderfully sonorous, it means ‘together’, a clearly ironic choice by the director, given the story is one of love and dysfunction in a mid-1970s hippie commune. The word kept coming back to me during a recent trip to Stockholm for the city’s annual design week, where I found myself, on the first morning, huddled together with a cohort of international design journalists in front of Nordiska Kompaniet, the high-end department store – our proximity to each other necessitated as much by the sub-zero temperatures as by the desire to get as clear a view as possible into the store windows, which had been transformed into micro-exhibition spaces showing…

Making architecture work: offices with structural shells | News | Architonic

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Edges that delineate existing buildings are the skin of these work spaces. Space is cleverly enclosed within an adaptive reuse shell and a previous void transforms into a platform for introducing a new interior architecture, seeking shelter among an aged envelope. The configuration of interior space shapes atmospheres with new interior meanings as these offices repurpose old structural shells and transform them into modern work spaces that blend history with contemporary functionality.

Redefining gives way to ambiguity as the ambiguous spaces prompt users to discern the connection with the environment before comprehending the use behind their design. With open layouts, industrial aesthetics and innovative design elements, these four stage-like projects around the world offer an added element of intrigue and foster creativity among their occupants.

Evoking the atmosph…

Top ten: curated offices with light-giving atriums | News | Architonic

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

In the first of a new series of curated project highlights, we handpick ten offices from the last few years of the Architonic project database. In each article, we’ll pick apart one contemporary trend-setting element of interior design and architecture, highlighting – in the architects’ own words – how it was approached. As part of Architonic’s first Office Project Newsletter of 2024, we present the following large-scale office buildings with central atrium spaces. Used to visually and audibly connect floors and departments across expansive office buildings, these light and open gathering spaces use Gensler’s Global Workplace Survey Comparison 2023 revealed that 61% of the workforce say they need the office to maximize productivity but lack optimal spaces within theirs suited to a range of work modes. Indeed, employee satisfaction and success hinge largely on a flexibly designed office – a workplace with a variety of environments for a variety of work modes. In brief, the office must give people choice in where they work within it. After all, it is no coincidence that 88% of people in the highest-performing workplaces enjoy this very freedom. It is in light of this burgeoning employee desire for choice that our team releases an expanded catalogue of office furniture including the hushFree selection of pods, the hushSpot hotdesking and collaboration bench, and the Bodenschatz development team is constantly dealing with these questions. The latest findings have been incorporated into the new Signa bathroom accessory line, which Bodenschatz has developed with the Basel design studio, Tale. A total of 15 solutions were specifically created to make life easier for users in the bathroom. Although some of the technical solutions developed for Signa are complex, you can't tell by looking at the products. The designers opted for proportions that allow the accessories to blend harmoniously into a contemporary bathroom. The newly developed solutions include the quadruple bath towel rail, designed to hold four towels and fold up to sav…

Virtual brand spaces: exploring the visual worlds of Danthree Studio | News | Architonic

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

It was quite a surprise when RICHTER+FRENZEL presented its own premium brand for high-quality bathroom furnishings last fall. The Bavarian company is considered a pioneer in the German Sanitary and Heating Wholesale Trade, organises the annual RIFA trade fair in Nuremberg and is now embarking on a journey towards end customers. FOR is the name of the brand in question, which is committed to aspects such as individualisation, comfort and well-being. Its product range is broad: from washbasin, bathtub and shower fittings to bathroom ceramics, furniture and accessories. Richter+Frenzel works with experienced producers in Germany and Italy to manufacture FOR's five distinctive future series.

But how does this new brand take shape? How do you charge a name with emotion? And how do you create visual worlds that bring the range to life even before all the products can be physically assembled in one place? Richter+Frenzel entrusted the Munich-based AGENTUR RICHTER with the market launch,…

Feel the difference: EGGER Decorative Collection 24+ | News | Architonic

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

EGGER is, without question, a specialist when it comes to decorative surfaces. Authentic results in appearance and texture, an exemplary approach to aspects of sustainability – in particular recyclability – and the use of wood-based and healthy raw materials convince even the most hardened advocates of ‘real’ materials.

EGGER breathes life into its wood-based materials for furniture and interior design with more than 300 decor/texture combinations – available within the Decorative Collection 24+ since the beginning of February. Another new feature is the rolling collection concept, which will provide architects, dealers and fabricators with new decors updated by the company's own trend and design team at least every two years. At the same time, the wood-based materials specialist promises a binding availability period for all de…

Keeping home automation simple, yet refined with Basalte | News | Architonic

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

As anyone who has ever renovated knows, one of the most niggling of design decisions concerns electrical interfaces. To some that’s simply light switches and plug sockets – once predominately white Bakelite or plastic and now available in a gloriously broad palette of materials, finishes, colours, shapes and profiles. But increasingly the decisions go beyond working out the least jarring isolator switch to integrate into your dream kitchen tiling scheme.

High-end homes have become intelligent – and while this suggests intuitive and remote controls of everything from dimmable lighting to door security, we still need to welcome these smart interlopers physically into our living environment. Which means we require their design to be at peace with our interior design scheme.

One man who recognised early on that a gulf was developing between the fast-evolving realm of home technology and acceptable aesthetics was the engineer Cassina’s extraordinary chapters in design history: perhaps Cassina’s most iconic and coveted pieces, certainly not confined to the past, yet ever-evolving to the beat of their founding spirit.

It was back in 1964 that Cassina acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to produce the first four models by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand. Whilst embracing authenticity, Cassina has championed their progressive, high-quality evolutions. The Cassina to sit back and simply live off its legacy – it would certainly be comfortable – yet the company continues to keep ahead of the curve. New sofa systems such as Esosoft, Sengu Bold and Moncloud respond to the flexibility required for contemporary life and innovate new production techniques and alternative materials.

Take the Esosoft sofa, designed by architect Antonio Citterio as his debut for Cassina. With…

Cassina’s sofa systems: bridging heritage and innovation | News | Architonic

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Cassina is renowned for its production excellence of sofa systems, and not just sofas – it’s a brand that has been integral to the development and refinement of design with a capital D. Acknowledging this, in 2022, the company joined the Special Register of Historical Trademarks of National Interest, established by the Ministry of Economic Development in Italy.

Cassina’s notoriety is rooted in its history, the present and the future. Originally founded in 1927 in Italy, from the 1950s it became a leader of industrial design whilst remaining committed to traditional craftsmanship. This blend of expertise still continues today in Meda, in the Brianza region, where each piece of furniture is still rigorously made.

Over the past years the quest for manufacturing distinction has only grown more ambitious and the company’s mission to ret…

How to maximise facades in wall-to-wall architecture | News | Architonic

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Whether due to urban regulations, typologies, land use or even informality in urban development, building between adjacent structures limits the number of faces of a new architectural volume. This reduction typically results in a building with only two facades at the front and back and also presents a spatial challenge in terms of achieving adequate illumination and ventilation along an apparent single horizontal axis.

The compression caused by surrounding structures, however, can also lead to the exploration of new relationships between elements such as full and empty spaces, light and shadow as well as permeable and impermeable surfaces. In addition, the roof of the volume can be understood as a third face or facade to serve as another axis, a vertical current. These four projects illuminate only a few of the possibilities for maximising facades in the context of wall-to-wall architecture.

Being the community heart of an overpopulated center in the middle of Cairo, the…

German Design Awards 2024 announce the winners of a sustainable future | Architecture | Architonic

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The German Design Council proudly celebrates the winners of the German Design Awards 2024. Following a meticulous evaluation by an esteemed international jury, a total of 65 Gold awards were presented in the Excellent Product Design, Excellent Communications Design and Excellent Architecture disciplines. The grand event unfolded at the prestigious Award Show on January 26, 2024, at Kap Europa, Messe Frankfurt’s congress center. As one of the world’s leading centers in the field, the German Design Council has been communicating and transferring knowledge within design, branding and innovation with three main tasks: to connect its members and numerous other international design and brand experts, foster discourse, and provide important stimulation for the global economy. Since its foundation in 1953, one of the central aims of the o…

Layer up: multi-purpose buildings with multi-layered facade solutions | News | Architonic

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

While some equal the wearing of a mask to acting ‘fake’ or two-faced’, depending on which side of the generational line you fall, as humans, most of us regularly – and often unwittingly – change the masks we wear. It’s natural for us to sell the best version of ourselves to others, and to transform into whatever version we think they’re most comfortable with.

As a building’s mask, its facade plays a crucial role in defining its use and character, and in turn the characters of its visitors – the employees, residents, students, shoppers and audiences – who define a little part of themselves with the buildings they frequent. Unable to change their masks as easily as humans, however, a building’s facade is a more constant, honest reflection of itself. These large buildings use facades with multiple layers not to hide themselves away underneath a mask, but instead as opportunities to reveal the hidden depths of their history and character.

‘…

Infusing elegance into the open-air world with Minotti’s outdoor designs | News | Architonic

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Across the world, diverse settings, customs and tastes offer many different challenges for sourcing outdoor furniture. Consider the contrast between a tropical garden in Bali, a hotel terrace overlooking the Alps, a sun-drenched courtyard in Mexico City and a historic balcony in beautiful, yet rainy, London. Then simply imagine how our use across all of these outdoors spaces varies – from the activities we carry out to the length of time we spend, from dynamic conversations to quiet relaxation.

Seeking to make life easy for architects and interior designers working on high-end residential, hospitality and yachting projects around the world, when Italian design brand Minotti launched its first outdoor furniture in 2006, it set out on a journey to build an extended proposal of elegant design pieces with personality that could be combined to suit any exterior setting in any global location. In addition, the br…

Inter-species residences: houses for plants, animals and humans | News | Architonic

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

In acknowledging that both plants and animals residing within our houses are domesticated entities, we can consider whether we should confine them within the functional boundaries of human-centric living. Which begs the question, what could be labelled as a worthy inter-species dwelling?

The architectural resolution of space can conceive a residence as an interspecies domestic system and consequently, engage a variety of species with one another and with their environment in an equitable manner. These four residences challenge the conventional concept of domestic architecture primarily tailored for human inhabitants.

In this residential design, a staircase goes beyond its obvious function of facilitating vertical circulation within a three-story structure. In place, it is repurposed to create a generous space for both plants and the eight cats that predominantly reside on the first floor with the elder generation of the family. This strategically positioned element in

Of magical effects, quiet design and uniqueness | Architecture | Architonic

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Light is an elementary component of the built world. It sets visual accents, ideally combines aesthetically with the architecture and at the same time fulfils functional aspects. Innovative technology enters into an exciting combination with forward-looking design. An outlook on the trends in 2024/25 is provided by the presentation of the trend bureau bora.herke.palmisano, during Light + Building at the Design Plaza in Hall 3.1. From March 3 to 8, the trend experts will be giving daily presentations on social influences and developments that will have an impact on luminaire design in 2024/25.  The trend bureau gives this brief outlook: “The Light + Building trends 2024_25 take up the groundbreaking developments in the lighting sector and s…

Tales of textures and colours: Casamance’s latest wallcoverings and fabrics | News | Architonic

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

It might seem self-evident – but the walls of the places we live in are some of life’s most impactful surfaces; swathes of space that provide calm, stimulus and a means for large-scale self-expression.

It’s a holistic notion prevalent in the wallpapers, wallcoverings and fabrics created by French brand Casamance. Founded in 2000, the multi-department company has since carved a niche as a purveyor of honed palettes, varied textures and a panoply of visual motifs, fashioned in materials of exemplary quality and, despite their pan-global influences, a very French level of elegance.

It’s all exemplified in the brand’s six newest collections. Both timeless and highly contemporary, their designs are bathed in glowing colours inspired by the vibrant landscapes of South America and Asia, and geometric patterns – created using innovative techniques and rendered in sophisticated velvets, gauzy voiles and em…

Boxed in: rectilinear architecture gets back its edge | News | Architonic

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Sometimes combined with negative connotations of boring and featureless architecture, ‘boxy’ is not a term commonly used by estate agents. Although the contemporary architectural style is still considered by many to be eternally ahead of its time – burying character and creativity deep in the poured concrete foundations of homes with few identifiable features, the clean lines, minimalist aesthetic and bold simplicity of the cuboid mean the look is steadily growing in popularity.

Architects and clients alike in all corners of the world are realising there’s a lot of fun to be had, either by strictly keeping inside the lines or by drawing up the rules before daringly breaking them. These four new homes and residential projects represent completely varied takes on the theme of the box.

‘The rocks excavated during construction were recycled and used to fill the front yard,’ explains Karim Rashid. Having spent the past four decades in the field of design and architecture, Rashid has manifested both his talent and approach with an always recognisable design DNA.

For this London project, Rashid was brought in to design an atypical type of home, a timeshare. The real-estate developer behind the project, Flyway, specialises in second homes based on the timeshare principle, a vacation property with a shared ownership model. Not a new concept as such, yet Flyway has introduced its own angle, concentrating on well-designed spaces located in popular cities. ‘Flyway introduced themselves as a new innovative m…

Big benefits with BoConcept | News | Architonic

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

BoConcept is curious about how people live. And not just in the sense of what colour they would like their sofa to be, but in a broader and more sociological sense too, trying to understand what people’s lives at home, at work and on the move, look like and how these things are changing and developing. What kind of spaces do we live in and how would we like them to look in ten years? How can the spaces we live in accommodate the types of lives we dream of living? Who better to talk to about these questions than the people who study spaces and buildings, namely architects.

Collaborating and exchanging ideas with architects is nothing new to BoConcept. The new Nawabari collection is the latest example of it. Together with the Danish architectur…