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Oct
18

Building With Dirt and Cardboard: A Construction Game-Changer

What if I told you that the future of sustainable construction might just come down to three simple ingredients: soil, water, and cardboard? It sounds almost too simple to be true, but researchers at RMIT University in Australia have just made it a reality with their breakthrough material called cardboard-confined rammed earth, or CCRE for short.‎

Here’s the thing. We all know concrete is everywhere in our built environment, but it comes with a hefty environmental price tag. Cement and concrete production accounts for about 8% of annual global emissions.‎ At the same time, Australia alone sends over 2.2 million tons of cardboard and paper to landfills every year.‎ The RMIT team looked at these two problems and saw an opportunity to solve both at once.

Designer Name: RMIT University

The concept is brilliantly straightforward. Instead of using traditional formwork that gets removed after concrete sets, builders use cardboard tubes as permanent casings. They compact moistened soil inside these tubes, and the cardboard stays in place, continuously confining and strengthening the earth core. Think of it like a structural hug that never lets go. What makes this so exciting is just how sustainable it really is. Dr. Jiaming Ma, the lead researcher on the project, explains that modern rammed earth construction typically adds cement to the soil for extra strength. But with those naturally thick rammed earth walls, that cement is actually overkill.‎ By swapping cement for cardboard, the team created a material with just one quarter of the carbon footprint of concrete at less than one third of the cost.‎ When you break down the numbers, a full-size CCRE column produces only 17.41 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent, compared to 77.95 kilograms for ordinary concrete.‎

The process itself is remarkably accessible. Construction teams can make CCRE right on site by compacting the soil and water mixture inside cardboard tubes, either by hand or with machines.‎ Professor Yi Min “Mike” Xie points out that instead of hauling in tons of bricks, steel, and concrete, builders would only need to bring lightweight cardboard since nearly all the material can be sourced locally.‎ This is particularly game-changing for remote areas where red soils, which are ideal for rammed earth construction, are readily available.

Now, you might be wondering about strength. After all, cardboard doesn’t exactly scream “structural integrity.” But here’s where it gets interesting. The team developed a formula that lets them predict exactly how strong the material will be based on the thickness of the cardboard tubes.‎ After 28 days of drying, compression tests showed that CCRE has comparable strength to conventional cement-stabilized rammed earth.‎ While it’s not quite as strong as typical concrete, it’s more than adequate for load-bearing applications in low-rise buildings. There’s another beautiful benefit to rammed earth construction that doesn’t get talked about enough. These buildings naturally regulate indoor temperatures and humidity thanks to their high thermal mass, which makes them ideal for hot climates. Less mechanical cooling means cutting both energy use and carbon emissions even further.

The RMIT team envisions CCRE being perfect for low-rise housing, community buildings, and off-grid projects. It taps into a global revival of earth-based construction driven by net zero goals and growing interest in local, sustainable materials. By transforming waste into structure, this innovation shows us that sustainable building materials can actually be greener, cheaper, and easier to produce all at once. The team is now looking for industry partners to help scale up this material for widespread use. It’s a refreshingly simple solution to a complex problem, proving that sometimes the best innovations come from looking at old techniques through a new, sustainable lens.

The post Building With Dirt and Cardboard: A Construction Game-Changer first appeared on Yanko Design.

Oct
18

collectible body art: tattoos by lawrence weiner, peter marino and more hit the auction block

Category: Design Boom

JOOPITER launches its first-ever tattoo auction

JOOPITER, Pharrell Williams’s auction platform, ventures into new territory with Inked: Tattoos by Contemporary Artists, its first-ever standalone tattoo auction featuring commissioned designs by sixteen artists. The sale opens for global bidding from October 22nd to 31st, 2025, at the platform’s website, while select designs will be previewed at Dover Street Market during Art Basel Paris.

Curated by author Sharon Coplan, the project reconsiders what it means to make, wear, and collect artworks that exist not just on walls or in collections, but on skin. Each invited artist was asked to develop a tattoo that stems from a core visual or conceptual thread within their practice, resulting in designs that are meant to be worn yet also stand alone as autonomous works. The diverse roster includes Derrick Adams, Thom Browne, Jeffrey Gibson, Gabriela Hearst, Haroshi, Stephen Jones, Titus Kaphar, Mickalene Thomas, Joel Mesler, Marilyn Minter, Peter Marino, Dr. Woo, Adam Pendleton, Tavares Strachan, Sarah Andelman, and the late Lawrence Weiner, figures whose participation underscores the cross-disciplinary reach of the project.

Joel Mesler, Heart Vines, 2025 | © Joel Mesler

Inked is A Tribute to Lawrence Weiner

At the conceptual core of JOOPITER’s Inked lies the reissue of a tattoo by Lawrence Weiner, created during his lifetime and released posthumously by his estate. Weiner’s contribution points to a longer lineage of artists using the body as both surface and site, where tattoos and printmaking share a material logic of transfer, reproduction, and permanence. ‘With Lawrence Weiner’s historic tattoo project as my starting point, it has been an honor to work with this illustrious group of artists to bring Inked: Tattoos by Contemporary Artists to life with JOOPITER,’ says curator Sharon Coplan. ‘This project offers collectors a unique way of engaging and living with art designed for the body.’

Caitlin Donovan, Global Head of Sale at the digital-first commerce platform, describes the initiative as ‘the ultimate convergence of contemporary art, fashion and collectibility.’ She adds: ‘It offers a new kind of engagement with artwork: not just to hang or hold, but to inhabit — an invitation to live with art not in your space, but on your body.’

Dr. Woo, Remaining Feature, 2025 | © Dr. Woo 2025

select designs on preview at Dover Street Market Paris

Each unique tattoo design will be accompanied by a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity, along with any artist-provided notes for execution by a tattooer. One edition of each design will be auctioned individually, while a complete set will be reserved for institutional donation. Artists will retain an Artist’s Proof and may direct part of their proceeds to a charity of their choice.

Select designs from Inked: Tattoos by Contemporary Artists will be previewed at Dover Street Market Paris to coincide with Art Basel Paris, offering a rare opportunity to view these editions in person before they are acquired and, ultimately, transferred onto skin.

Lawrence Weiner HEAD OVER HEELS AFTER MARX & ANGELS, 2010/2025 | © Lawrence Weiner Estate, 2025

Derrick Adams, Floater (Golden Swan), 2025 | © Derrick Adams Studio, 2025

Sarah Andelman, JUST A TATTOO, 2025 | © Sarah Andelman, © Yorgo Tloupas, 2025

Jeffrey Gibson LOVE, 2025 | © Jeffrey Gibson

Haroshi, GUZO RIPPER, 2025 | © HAROSHI, 2025

Gabriela Hearst Amigos, 2025 | © Gabriela Hearst 2025

Titus Kaphar Ascension, 2025 | © Ascension, 2025 by Titus Kaphar

Peter Marino Peter’s Dragons, 2025 | © Peter Marino

Marilyn Minter After Guston, #5 (Mouth), 2025 | © Marilyn Minter

Adam Pendleton, The Possibilities of You and Me, 2025 | © Adam Pendleton, 2025

Tavares Strachan YOU BELONG HERE, 2025 | © Tavares Strachan 2025

project info:

name: Inked: Tattoos by Contemporary Artists

organizer: JOOPITER | @joopiterofficial

curator: Sharon Coplan

participating artists: Derrick Adams, Thom Browne, Jeffrey Gibson, Gabriela Hearst, Haroshi, Stephen Jones, Titus Kaphar, Mickalene Thomas, Joel Mesler, Marilyn Minter, Peter Marino, Dr Woo, Adam Pendleton, Tavares Strachan, Sarah Andelman, and the late Lawrence Weiner

auction dates: October 22nd – 31st, 2025

The post collectible body art: tattoos by lawrence weiner, peter marino and more hit the auction block appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
18

10 Best Kitchen Gadgets & Tools Every Home Chef Needs for Soups, Stews, & Comfort Fall Food Season

Category: YankoDesign

Fall arrives with its crisp air and shorter days, bringing an irresistible pull toward the kitchen. This is the season when comfort food reigns supreme, when simmering pots fill homes with warmth, and when the simple act of cooking becomes a refuge from the cooling world outside. The right tools transform this seasonal ritual from routine to revelation.

These ten kitchen gadgets embrace fall’s essence, each designed to elevate your cold-weather cooking. From versatile cookers that handle everything autumn throws at them to specialized tools that perfect the small details, these pieces understand what the season demands. They’re not just functional objects but companions for the months when cooking shifts from necessity to nourishment.

1. Nanlong Concept Cooker: The All-in-One Fall Kitchen Command Center

Vuk Dragović’s concept cooker for Nanlong reimagines fall cooking by consolidating your entire seasonal arsenal into one sleek countertop appliance. This versatile unit grills, steams, bakes, and hosts hot-pot dinners through an intuitive control panel that eliminates the confusion of managing multiple devices. The interchangeable accessories snap in quickly—grill racks for roasted vegetables, steaming baskets for dumplings, baking trays for cornbread, and a hot-pot insert for communal dining experiences.

Fall cooking demands flexibility as temperatures drop and cravings shift from light salads to hearty stews. This concept cooker answers that call by replacing five separate appliances, freeing counter space while expanding your culinary possibilities. The hot-pot function particularly shines during autumn gatherings, allowing guests to gather around a simmering broth while leaves fall outside. Quick attachment changes mean transitioning from afternoon baking to evening braising takes seconds, matching the spontaneous nature of seasonal cooking.

What we like

Replaces multiple appliances with one compact unit, ideal for small kitchens.
Quick-change accessories adapt instantly to different fall cooking needs.

What we dislike

Concept design means availability remains uncertain.
A learning curve is required to master all functions.

2. Playful Palm Grater: The Finishing Touch for Fall Dishes

This aluminum alloy grater redesigns the garnishing experience with a curved, palm-sized form that fits naturally in your hand. Available in vibrant colors, it transforms the final step of plating from chore to pleasure, making it easy to add fresh parmesan over butternut squash soup or ginger into apple cider. The single-plate construction ensures durability while the ergonomic shape provides control without the bulk of traditional box graters.

Fall dishes thrive on those final flourishes—freshly grated nutmeg over pumpkin pie, parmesan curls atop French onion soup, or lemon zest brightening braised short ribs. This grater makes those finishing touches effortless, allowing you to garnish tableside and turn the process into an interactive element of autumn dinner parties. Its compact size means it stores easily in drawers already crowded with seasonal tools, and the aluminum construction cleans quickly after grating hard cheeses or aromatic spices.

Click Here to Buy Now: $25.00

What we like

Ergonomic design provides superior control for delicate garnishing.
Compact size stores easily without taking up precious kitchen space.

What we dislike

A small surface area requires more strokes for larger grating tasks.
Not suitable for shredding large quantities.

3. Iron Frying Plate: From Stovetop to Table Elegance

This Iron Frying Plate eliminates the transfer step by serving as both cooking surface and serving plate, crafted from rust-resistant mill scale steel that’s ready to use straight from the box. The 1.6mm-thick construction distributes heat evenly for perfect sears on autumn vegetables or pan-roasted chicken thighs, while the detachable wooden handle removes with one hand for elegant table presentation. This uncoated surface develops natural seasoning over time, enhancing flavors with each use.

Fall cooking celebrates one-pan meals that move seamlessly from kitchen to dining table, and this iron plate embodies that philosophy perfectly. Picture seared Brussels sprouts with bacon still sizzling as guests serve themselves, or caramelized apple slices presented in the same vessel where butter and cinnamon worked their magic. The immediate service preserves optimal serving temperature, crucial when autumn evenings turn chilly. The absence of chemical coatings means ingredients taste purely of themselves, letting seasonal produce shine through.

Click Here to Buy Now: $69.00

What we like

Eliminates dish transfers, serving food at peak temperature.
Develops natural seasoning that improves with use.

What we dislike

Requires proper care to maintain rust resistance.
Hot surface needs careful handling at the table.

4. Lehua Slow Cooker: Underground Oven Wisdom for Modern Kitchens

Inspired by Hawaiian Imu underground pit cooking, the Lehua slow cooker reimagines ancient wisdom for contemporary fall cooking. The removable pot lifts safely away from the heating unit, while the innovative heat retention bag holds wood shavings, spices, or aromatic materials that infuse dishes with earthy, complex flavors. This filtering system mimics burial cooking methods, adding depth to stews and braises without compromising food safety or cleanliness.

Slow cooking defines fall cuisine, transforming tough cuts into tender perfection while filling homes with anticipation. This concept takes that familiar process deeper by introducing flavor dimensions usually requiring smoke or outdoor cooking. Imagine beef stew infused with hickory shavings, or chicken soup gaining subtle complexity from dried herbs in the retention bag. The separate pot design means serving and storage happen without moving a heavy, hot appliance, particularly valuable during the season of big-batch cooking and meal prep.

What we like

Unique flavor infusion system adds depth unavailable in standard slow cookers.
The removable pot simplifies serving and storage.

What we dislike

Concept design with unclear production timeline.
Additional components increase cleaning requirements.

5. BØYD Espresso Machine: Minimalist Mornings in Fall

NYZE Studio’s BØYD espresso machine concept strips coffee preparation to its geometric essence, combining bold minimalist form with intuitive operation. The arched handle fits naturally in the hand while the simplified interface eliminates morning confusion, making exceptional espresso accessible before your brain fully wakes. This machine functions as a countertop sculpture, proving functional appliances can serve as design statements.

Fall mornings demand more from coffee than simple caffeine delivery—they require ritual, warmth, and the sensory experience of watching steam rise as daylight slowly arrives. The BØYD concept understands this shift from summer’s iced convenience to autumn’s contemplative brewing. Its clean lines complement the season’s aesthetic of cozy minimalism, fitting seamlessly into kitchens where pumpkins and copper cookware create visual warmth. The straightforward operation means focus stays on savoring rather than fussing, perfect for those slow weekend mornings when the world outside turns golden.

What we like

Minimalist design elevates kitchen aesthetics.
Intuitive interface simplifies morning coffee ritual.

What we dislike

Concept status means purchasing remains impossible.
Premium design likely commands premium pricing.

6. Ceramic Cup: Zen Moments Between Cooking Sessions

This Japanese ceramic mug mimics cast iron’s humble appearance while offering ceramic’s smooth, cool touch against lips. The 350ml capacity suits generous servings of fall beverages, from matcha lattes to spiced apple cider, while the wooden handle provides a comfortable grip. The earthy aesthetic creates visual calm, encouraging the pause that ambitious fall cooking menus often forget to include.

Fall cooking involves marathon sessions—batch soups, overnight braises, endless holiday prep. These moments between stirring and chopping deserve vessels that encourage genuine rest rather than mindless sipping. The MUGR’s Zen-inspired design transforms tea breaks into intentional pauses, its weight and texture demanding attention rather than becoming background objects. The cast iron aesthetic connects to the season’s heavier cookware while remaining light enough for tired hands after hours of kitchen work.

Click Here to Buy Now: $60.00

What we like

Ceramic construction offers a smooth texture with a rustic appearance.
350ml capacity suits generous fall beverage servings.

What we dislike

Hand-wash-only care requires extra attention.
Cannot be microwaved for reheating.

7. Smart Tea Pot: Technology Meets Autumn Tradition

This revolutionary teapot uses six sensors to analyze heart rate, finger temperature, and environmental conditions, customizing each brew to your physical and emotional state. The app-connected system accesses a comprehensive database of optimal brewing conditions for teas ranging from delicate whites to robust pu-erhs, ensuring professional-quality results without expertise. The technology transforms tea from a simple beverage to a personalized wellness ritual.

Fall evenings call for tea’s comforting warmth, but temperature sensitivity can ruin expensive seasonal blends—too hot destroys delicate apple-cinnamon herbal teas, too cool fails to extract bold chai spices. This smart pot solves those problems while adding biometric awareness, brewing stronger tea when stress runs high or gentler infusions when relaxation already settles in. The environmental sensors adjust for chilly autumn kitchens versus heated living rooms, maintaining consistency despite seasonal temperature fluctuations.

Click Here to Buy Now: $349.00

What we like

Personalized brewing adapts to mood and physical state.
Comprehensive database ensures optimal preparation across tea varieties.

What we dislike

App dependency may frustrate those seeking simple tea experiences.
Premium technology commands substantial investment.

8. Tiger Edge Blender: Diagonal Innovation for Smooth Fall Soups

Tiger’s 45-degree diagonal blade technology revolutionizes blending through upward and downward motion that mimics knife cutting, delivering 23% more effective action than traditional horizontal blades. The compact 32-ounce capacity fits smaller kitchens, while ten variable speeds plus pulse handle everything from chunky vegetable soups to silky butternut squash puree. The BPA-free Tritan container proves dishwasher-safe while the dual-locking lid prevents the spills that plague rushed dinner preparations.

Fall soup season demands serious blending power—roasted tomato bisque needs velvety smoothness, while potato leek soup requires just enough texture. This blender’s diagonal technology handles both extremes, creating restaurant-quality results without the noise that typically accompanies powerful motors. At roughly 88 decibels, it runs quieter than premium competitors, letting you blend morning smoothies or evening soups without disrupting household peace. The space-saving footprint suits counters already crowded with seasonal appliances.

What we like

Innovative 45-degree blade creates superior texture in soups and purees.
Quieter operation than typical high-powered blenders.

What we dislike

32-ounce capacity may be small for large-batch cooking.
Limited to 120V, restricting international use.

9. Portable Electric Pot: Comfort Food Beyond the Kitchen

Yunsoo Choi’s camping-focused electric pot extends fall cooking adventures beyond home kitchens through a telescopic design that collapses for easy transport. The triangular silhouette mimics familiar camping tripods while the modular components nest together for compact carrying. The removable handlebar simplifies transport while the electric heating element brings soup-making capability to outdoor autumn gatherings in your backyard!

Fall camping and outdoor entertaining shouldn’t mean sacrificing warm, nourishing meals. This portable pot brings soup and stew capabilities to tailgates, camping trips, and outdoor fall festivals where the season’s chill makes cold sandwiches inadequate. Imagine serving hot butternut squash soup at a pumpkin patch gathering or keeping chili warm during an autumn football game. The compact design stores easily in cars already packed with seasonal gear, while the electric operation eliminates open flame concerns.

What we like

Collapsible design maximizes portability for outdoor fall events.
Electric operation provides a safer alternative to camping stoves.

What we dislike

Requires an electrical source, limiting truly remote camping use.
Smaller capacity may not suit large group gatherings.

10. Le Creuset Pumpkin Cocotte: Seasonal Elegance Meets Function

Le Creuset’s pumpkin-shaped cocotte transforms cast iron functionality into seasonal artistry, available in pristine white or soothing Chambray with a gold-finished stem handle. The 4-quart capacity handles substantial fall dishes from braised short ribs to apple crisp, while the smooth interior supports caramelization, resists stains, and prevents sticking. This piece serves dual purposes—exceptional cooking performance and stunning table presentation throughout autumn’s entertaining season.

Fall demands cookware that performs during cooking marathons and impresses when guests arrive for harvest dinners. This pumpkin cocotte bridges that gap beautifully, moving from oven to table with elegant confidence. The cast iron construction provides the even heat distribution essential for fall’s slow-cooked dishes, developing deep flavors in beef bourguignon or maintaining perfect temperature for bread pudding. The whimsical pumpkin shape celebrates the season without overwhelming sophistication, offering just enough festivity for November gatherings.

What we like

Cast iron construction provides superior heat retention for slow-cooked fall dishes.
Elegant pumpkin design serves as both cookware and table centerpiece.

What we dislike

Cast iron weight requires strength for regular handling.
Premium brand commands a corresponding price point.

Building Your Perfect Fall Kitchen Arsenal

These ten kitchen gadgets honor fall’s culinary traditions while pushing boundaries through thoughtful design. Some reimagine familiar tools with fresh perspectives, others introduce technologies that enhance rather than complicate, and a few simply celebrate the season’s aesthetic alongside serious functionality. Together they form a collection that understands fall cooking as equal parts necessity and pleasure, where the right tools elevate not just results but the entire experience of feeding people you love as the world grows colder outside.

The post 10 Best Kitchen Gadgets & Tools Every Home Chef Needs for Soups, Stews, & Comfort Fall Food Season first appeared on Yanko Design.

Oct
18

summer residence’s sharp geometry emerges from greek seaside slope

Category: Design Boom

Ovidium summer residence overlooks the Argosaronikos Gulf

The Ovidium, a summer residence by Hive Architects, is located on a peninsula overlooking the Argosaronikos Gulf in Greece. The project is conceived as a study in proportion, rhythm, and material coherence, where architectural clarity defines both structure and experience.

The design is organized around a sequence of covered spaces supported by evenly spaced columns, forming a balanced geometric composition. This spatial rhythm establishes continuity between interior and exterior areas, emphasizing openness and measured scale. Material selection plays a central role in the architectural expression. White plaster, metal columns, rammed earth, and travertine are combined to create a unified palette of textures and tones.

all visuals by IDAA – Nikos Mathioudakis

Hive Architects aims for volumetric clarity and material balance

The rammed earth integrates the structure with the natural landscape, while travertine introduces a durable material reference to classical architecture. The interplay between smooth and rough surfaces enhances tactile perception and reinforces the building’s volumetric clarity. For the landscape, the design team at Hive Architects follows the site’s geometry and natural morphology. Low Mediterranean shrubs and selective plantings frame the architecture, maintaining visual coherence between built and natural elements.

Through its ordered layout, restrained materiality, and sensitivity to light, Ovidium establishes a dialogue between architecture and landscape. The project aims for an enduring spatial quality, one that connects human presence with the surrounding environment through simplicity, proportion, and light.

Ovidium by Hive Architects overlooks the Argosaronikos Gulf in Greece

the summer residence occupies a peninsula site defined by open vistas and coastal light

evenly spaced columns establish a balanced geometric composition

white plaster, metal, rammed earth, and travertine form a unified palette

material selection anchors the project’s visual and structural language

contrasting textures emphasize tactility and spatial depth

a sequence of covered spaces defines the residence’s architectural rhythm

smooth and rough materials interact to define the building’s character

the residence maintains visual harmony between built form and nature

project info:

name: The Ovidium

architects: The Hive architects | ©thehivearchitects

location: Argosaronikos Gulf, Greece

design team: Michail Xirokostas, Theodoros Panopoulos, Alexandra Mitsakaki, Theofilos Papageorgiou, Giorgos Telmetidis, Anna Grigoriadou, Filio Sampsaki

3D visualizing: IDAA – Nikos Mathioudakis

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post summer residence’s sharp geometry emerges from greek seaside slope appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
18

designboom paris guide: what to see in and out of design miami and art basel 2025

Category: Design Boom

DESIGNBOOM GUIDE: A WEEK OF ART AND DESIGN IN PARIS

October sees Paris transform into a vibrant stage of creativity and culture as art and design fairs, museums and gallery exhibitions and public installations take over the French capital. For its fourth edition, Art Basel Paris returns to the newly restored Grand Palais, bringing together 206 international and local galleries as well as a strong public program beyond the fairgrounds. Meanwhile, Design Miami.Paris stages its third edition at the historic Hôtel de Maisons, presenting collectible design that bridges craft, history, and contemporary innovation.

Beyond the fairs, the entire city becomes part of the cultural program with several new exhibitions, installations, and site-specific projects on view. From Alex da Corte’s giant Kermit installation above Place Vendôme and an automated orchestra installation made of flip-flops at Lafayettes Anticipations, to the opening of Fondation Cartier’s new premises and a floral dining experience by We Are Ona and India Mahdavi, Paris unfolds into a landscape of ideas, dialogue, and experimentation.

Explore designboom’s curated guide below for our must-see highlights of Art Basel Paris, Design Miami.Paris, and other standout shows and events across the city.

image by Alexander Kagan on Unsplash

Art Basel paris 2025 returns to the Grand Palais

Art Basel Paris 2025 returns to the Grand Palais from October 24th to 26th, bringing together 206 galleries from 41 countries, including 29 newcomers and nearly a third with spaces in Paris. The fair unfolds across three sectors: Galeries, showcasing the breadth of international gallery programs; Emergence, dedicated to 16 solo presentations by rising artists; and Premise, highlighting curated historical projects with works predating 1900.

Beyond the fairgrounds, the Public Program, supported by Miu Miu, animates key Parisian landmarks such as the Petit Palais, Palais d’Iéna, and the Domaine national du Palais-Royal with site-specific commissions and installations developed in collaboration with major cultural institutions. Conversations, Art Basel’s flagship talks series, returns to the Petit Palais, hosting artists, curators, and thinkers in dialogue on contemporary art and culture. The fair also restages Oh La La!, its initiative inviting exhibitors to present creative rehangs on October 24th and 25th, this year guided by an overarching thematic prompt.

what: Art Basel Paris 2025
when: 24 – 26 October 2025
where: Grand Palais, 3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris

image courtesy of Art Basel

Helen Marten — 30 Blizzards. presented by Miu Miu

As part of the Art Basel Paris 2025 Public Program, Miu Miu presents 30 Blizzards., a major new project by British artist Helen Marten, staged at the Palais d’Iéna. This is Marten’s first large-scale performance work, created in collaboration with theater director Fabio Cherstich and composer Beatrice Dillon. On view from 22nd to 26th October, 2025, the project combines five sculptures and five new videos with monologues and a libretto performed by thirty characters, each linked to a symbolic object. Through song, speech, and movement, the performance explores themes of childhood, sexuality, community, interiority, and loss, while the title evokes both the performers and the turbulence of human temperament. Installed within the formal architecture of the Palais d’Iéna, the work features sculptural platforms, a central stage, and a circular track carrying vessels, creating an immersive environment where sculpture, video, text, music, and performance converge in a continuously unfolding narrative.

what: 30 Blizzards.
when: 22 – 26 October 2025
where: Palais d’Iéna, 9 Avenue d’Iéna, 75116 Paris

The Palais d’Iéna | photography by Aliki Christoforou for Art Basel

Alex Da Corte — Kermit the Frog, Even

The Art Basel Paris 2025 Public Program also features an inflatable sculpture by Alex Da Corte, which is inspired by the collapse of a Kermit balloon during New York’s 1991 Thanksgiving Day Parade. Half-deflated yet still afloat, the figure hovers above Place Vendôme in a state of suspended vulnerability, transforming an icon of childhood joy into a monument of fragility and delusion. By isolating this fleeting accident, Da Corte continues his exploration of American pop culture as a site of both collective fantasy and underlying unease, where cartoons, consumer icons, and suburban ideals reveal their hidden cracks. The work is on view from October 20th to 26th, 2025, with a performance activating the sculpture scheduled for Monday, October 20th.

what: Kermit the Frog, Even
when: 20 – 26 October 2025
where: Place Vendôme, Paris

Alex Da Corte, performance view, Kermit The Frog, Even, Fridericianum, Kassel, 7 September 2024. © Alex Da Corte. courtesy the artist and Fridericianum, Kassel. photo: Nicolas Wefers

Harry Nuriev — Objets Trouvés

Harry Nuriev transforms the Chapelle des Petits-Augustins into a site of exchange with Objets Trouvés (2025), a participatory installation inviting visitors to leave behind an object they no longer need and take one left by others. Arranged in supermarket-style boxes, each contribution is certified as an artwork, with all exchanges later compiled into a Yellow Pages–style publication, preserving the fleeting process as a collective archive. Rooted in Nuriev’s notion of Transformism — the reimagining of everyday materials into new forms and meanings — the project turns the act of exchange into a gesture of shared authorship and social interaction. Objets Trouvés is on view from October 21st to 26th, 2025 and is part of the Art Basel Paris 2025 Public Program.

what: Objets Trouvés
when: 21 – 26 October 2025
where: Chapelle des Petits-Augustins, Beaux-Arts de Paris

Harry Nuriev, Objets Trouvés, 2025 | image courtesy of the artist

Ugo Rondinone — the innocent

Ugo Rondinone installs the innocent (2024) on the parvis of the Institut de France, a monumental figure over four meters tall, composed of stacked bluestone blocks evoking heads, torsos, and legs. Archaic in form yet shifting with the light and weather, the work embodies both permanence and transience. Continuing Rondinone’s exploration of elemental sculpture as a reflection of the human condition, the innocent stands as sentinel and witness in the historic heart of Paris — at once timeless, fragile, and profoundly human. Presented in collaboration with the City of Paris and as part of the Art Basel Paris 2025 Public Program, the installation is on view from October 17th to 28th, 2025.

what: the innocent
when: 17 – 28 October 2025
where: Parvis de l’Institut de France, Paris

Ugo Rondinone, the innocent, 2024 | image courtesy of the artist

design Miami.Paris 2025 presents its third edition

The third edition of Design Miami.Paris returns to the historic Hôtel de Maisons, bringing together over 25 leading international galleries and designers to present rare and unique examples of historic and contemporary collectible design across the house and gardens. Set within the 18th-century mansion, the fair continues to explore the dialogue between architecture, craftsmanship, and innovation through curated exhibitions, site-specific installations, and its Design at Large program. Alongside the main fair, a series of talks, collaborations, and special projects will highlight new perspectives on design and its evolving role in culture and daily life.

what: Design Miami.Paris 2025
when: 21 – 26 October 2025
where: L’Hôtel de Maisons, 51 Rue de l’Université, Paris

image courtesy of Design Miami.Paris

Friedman Benda

As part of the Design Miami.Paris 2025 program, Friedman Benda (New York) presents a cross-section of contemporary design practice, showcasing designers, architects, and artists who push the discipline’s formal and conceptual limits. Among the highlights is the European debut of Frida Escobedo’s Creek Chair, a study in material poetics where delicate nickel ball chains cascade over a geometric frame.

Creek Chair 02, 2023 by Frida Escobedo for Friedman Benda at Design Miami.Paris 2025 (Image courtesy of Friedman Benda Gallery)

Galerie Gastou and Galerie Desprez-Bréhéret

On the occasion of Design Miami.Paris 2025, Galerie Gastou and Galerie Desprez-Bréhéret (Paris) present Early Birds, a joint curation celebrating the art of mixing and dialogue across eras. The presentation brings together an ensemble of works by the Artisans de Marolles alongside pieces spanning from the early 1900s to contemporary design. Unified by the recurring motif of birds, the selection reflects both galleries’ shared sensibility for craftsmanship, symbolism, and timeless form.

image courtesy of Galerie Gastou and Galerie Desprez-Bréhéret

Patrick Parrish Studio

Making its French debut at Design Miami.Paris 2025, Patrick Parrish Studio (New York) presents a solo exhibition dedicated to Carl Auböck. The presentation spotlights the Austrian designer’s mastery of everyday objects — bells, dishes, baskets, and bookends — reframing them as refined objets d’art. Focusing on Auböck’s post-Bauhaus era, the curation highlights his signature blend of material sensitivity and craftsmanship, expressed through hand-sewn leather, polished brass, bamboo, and fine woods.

Assorted Objects, 1950s by Werkstätte Carl Auböck for Patrick Parrish Studio at Design Miami.Paris 2025 | image courtesy of Clemens Kois

ATRA x Pedro Reyes

Also making its debut at Design Miami.Paris 2025, ATRA (Mexico City) presents Aerial Symmetry, a collaboration with Pedro Reyes exploring geometry, time, and memory. The installation comprises a series of sculptural, pyramid-like structures arranged around a central chair by Reyes, conceived as a spatial marker visible from above. Referencing the cosmic alignments of ancient civilizations, Aerial Symmetry invites reflection on humanity’s enduring impulse to organize space in dialogue with the stars and the passage of time.

Aerial Symmetry, 2025 by Pedro Reyes for ATRA at Design Miami.Paris 2025 | image courtesy of ATRA

Maison Parisienne

At Design Miami.Paris 2025, Maison Parisienne (Paris) presents a site-specific installation by Aude Franjou, showcasing the artist’s hand-crafted linen sculptures throughout the Hôtel de Maisons. Franjou’s vivid, vine-like forms unfurl across the balcony of the étage noble and weave through the metal arches of the garden, creating a dialogue between textile and architecture. Rendered in radiant shades of yellow, orange, and red, the works highlight the expressive potential of linen while casting a vibrant contrast against the building’s neoclassical ironwork.

Embrassade en rouge opéra, 2024 by Aude Franjou for maison parisienne at Design Miami.Paris 2025 | image by Vincent Leroux

Designers of Tomorrow – Design Miami.Paris x Apple

Design Miami.Paris and Apple present Designers of Tomorrow, a special initiative highlighting four emerging designers whose creative practices are deeply integrated with the iPad Pro. Curated by AGO Projects co-founder Rodman Primack, and selected by a jury including Apple’s Alan Dye and Molly Anderson, the exhibition showcases how technology empowers innovation, from research to the final crafted work. Beyond the presentation, the project provides a platform for visibility, professional connection, and future opportunities within the global design community.

image © Elodie Μatcha

the 11th Edition of PARIS ASIAN ART FAIR

Returning for its 11th edition, Paris Asian Art Fair – Asia NOW once again brings together leading and emerging voices from across Asia and its diaspora. Held at the historic Monnaie de Paris, the fair reaffirms its role as a platform for dialogue and discovery, transcending geographic and cultural boundaries. Guided by the decentering mission initiated by My East is Your West, the fair continues to challenge traditional frameworks of presentation and perception—amplifying underrepresented narratives and expanding the understanding of what “Asian art” can mean today. Through its curated program, Paris Asian Art Fair invites visitors to experience Asia not as a fixed place, but as a methodology, a lens, and a movement shaping the global art landscape.

what: Paris Asian Art Fair – Asia NOW
when: 22 – 26 October 2025
where: Monnaie de Paris, 11 Quai de Conti, 75006 Paris

image courtesy of Asia NOW

exhibitions, events and galleries AROUND PARIS

Fondation Cartier Opens New Site at Place du Palais-Royal

On October 25th, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain inaugurates its new home at 2 Place du Palais-Royal, directly opposite the Louvre. Housed within a Haussmann-era building from 1855, the space has been entirely reimagined by architect Jean Nouvel, who designed the Fondation’s original glass structure on Boulevard Raspail in 1994. The new site unfolds across 8,500 square meters, including 6,500 square meters of exhibition space distributed over five adjustable platforms capable of shifting to eleven different heights. Conceived as a flexible ‘scenographic device,’ the architecture adapts to exhibitions spanning visual arts, film, performance, craft, and science, while fostering public exchange and dialogue.

To mark its inauguration, the Fondation presents Exposition Générale, a sweeping showcase of works from its collection tracing over 40 years of contemporary creation—from early commissions to recent landmark projects. Accompanied by live performances and spoken word events, the exhibition signals a new chapter for the Fondation Cartier: one that expands its architectural, cultural, and social reach within the very heart of Paris.

what: Exposition Générale
when: 25 October 2025 – 23 August 2026
where: 2 Place du Palais-Royal, 75001 Paris

rendering of platform 1 looking onto the Rue de Rivoli | image © Jean Nouvel/ADAGP, Paris, 2024

Gerhard Richter Retrospective at Fondation Louis Vuitton

The Fondation Louis Vuitton presents a landmark retrospective dedicated to Gerhard Richter, featuring 270 works from 1962 to 2024. Spanning paintings, glass and steel sculptures, drawings, watercolors, and overpainted photographs, the exhibition offers the most comprehensive view yet of Richter’s six-decade career.

Tracing his evolution from photo-based realism to lyrical abstraction, the show highlights the artist’s lifelong exploration of perception, memory, and the possibilities of painting. Occupying the entire museum, this exhibition continues the Fondation’s series of major monographs devoted to 20th- and 21st-century masters such as Basquiat, Mitchell, Rothko, and Hockney.

what: Gerhard Richter: Retrospective
when: 17 October 2025 – 2 March 2 2026
where: Fondation Louis Vuitton, 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Paris

Gerhard Richter, Gudrun, 1987 | image courtesy of Fondation Louis Vuitton

Gerhard Richter at David Zwirner

Coinciding with the major retrospective of Richter’s work at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, David Zwirner’s exhibition presents a selection of paintings, drawings, and glass works by Gerhard Richter at its Paris gallery. This marks Richter’s third exhibition with the gallery since his representation was announced in 2023, following solo shows in New York and London.

what: Gerhard Richter exhibition
when: 20 October – 20 December 2025
where: David Zwirner Gallery, 108, rue Vieille du Temple 75003 Paris

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting), 2001 (detail) | image courtesy of Gerard Richter

Minimal at Bourse de Commerce — Pinault Collection

Bourse de Commerce — Pinault Collection presents Minimal, an exhibiton that examines the global evolution of Minimalism, a movement since the 1960s that redefined the artwork and its relationship to the viewer. With a focus on simplicity, formal clarity, and spatial experience, artists worldwide used natural and industrial materials to create works emphasizing perception, presence, and direct interaction. The show is organized into seven themes — Light, Mono-ha, Balance, Surface, Grid, Monochrome, and Materialism — and spans North American, South American, Asian, Middle Eastern, and European perspectives. Featuring works from the Pinault Collection, Dia Art Foundation, and other major collections, the show highlights Minimalism’s global reach and experiential impact.

what: Minimal
when: 8 October 2025 – 19 January 2026
where: Bourse de Commerce — Pinault Collection, 2 rue de Viarmes, 75001 Paris

image courtesy of Bourse de Commerce — Pinault Collection

Meriem Bennani’s Sole Crushing at Lafayette Anticipations

For her solo exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations, Meriem Bennani transforms the foundation into a vast resonating chamber with Sole Crushing, a monumental sound installation spanning the building’s full height. Nearly two hundred pairs of flip-flops and slides form an automated orchestra, striking surrounding surfaces to create a rhythmic composition between symphony and uprising. Echoing crowds in movement — whether at protests, stadiums, or traditional dakka marrakchia ceremonies — the work explores the balance between individuality and collective rhythm, where the simple slap of a flip-flop becomes a shared pulse of resistance and connection. Reimagined from its first presentation at Fondazione Prada (2024–25), this new version features an original soundtrack by Reda Senhaji (Cheb Runner) and a site-specific design for Lafayette Anticipations.

what: Sole Crushing
when: 22 October 2025 – 8 February 2026
where: Lafayette Anticipations, 9 Rue du Plâtre, 75004 Paris

preparatory drawing Sole crushing, sound installation work-in-progress (2025). reinterpretation of the work originally presented in For My Best Family at Fondazione Prada in 2024–25 © Meriem Bennani

Steffani Jemison’s clear skies / troubled water at Lafayette Anticipations

Steffani Jemison’s solo exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations explores how physical and social forces shape our ability to move, act, and perceive. Developed during her residency at the foundation, the exhibition features a new sculpture and a video installation that examine movement, gravity, and orientation as frameworks for understanding power and resistance. Through these works, Jemison considers how bodies navigate systems of control and liberation, connecting geographies of violence with practices of resilience. The artist approaches atmosphere not simply as weather, but as a condition charged with history and tension — one that influences how we move, respond, and inhabit space.

what: clear skies / troubled water
when: from 22 October 2025
where: Lafayette Anticipations, 9 Rue du Plâtre, 75004 Paris

research still, video work-in-progress (2025) © Steffani Jemison

India Mahdavi x WE ARE ONA present Rose, c’est la vie !

India Mahdavi teams up with Luca Pronzato’s WE ARE ONA on Rose, c’est la vie !, an immersive one-week dining installation. Set inside a former car repair shop in Paris’ 7ᵉ arrondissement, the project transforms the space into a hidden speakeasy — a parallel world that carries the spirit of APT, Mahdavi’s first New York nightclub, reinterpreted for today.

At the heart of the experience is Mahdavi’s signature ‘all-over’ approach: a bespoke textile inspired by the Rose d’Ispahan envelops the space entirely, from tablecloths and napkins to aprons, creating a tactile, poetic cocoon. The menu, conceived by guest chef Jesús Durón, mirrors the setting with a multi-course experience designed exclusively for the occasion.

what: Rose, c’est la vie !
when: 20 – 26 October 2025
where: Secret location, 7ᵉ arrondissement

image courtesy of India Mahdavi and WE ARE ONA

PROJECT ROOM #20: Parenchyma by KAUANI / India Mahdavi

AGO Projects, the Mexico City–based collectible design gallery, presents Parenchyma, a solo exhibition by the design studio Kauani, in Project Room #20, India Mahdavi’s open platform for international design. This marks AGO Projects’ third year participating, showcasing innovative approaches to material, form, and spatial experience in a space designed to connect Paris with the global design community.

what: Parenchyma
when: 21 October – 7 November 2025
where: Project Room, 29 rue de Bellechasse

image by Ines Llasera

INDIA MAHDAVI PROJECT ROOM #7: FOLK CITY by Serban Ionescu

India Mahdavi’s Tiny Room #7 presents Folk City, a solo project by Serban Ionescu exploring the form and memory of the chair. Using raw materials, Ionescu treats wood like drawing or clay, improvised and direct, embracing accidents. Inspired by his Balkan roots and heirloom traditions, the Folk Chairs series began after visiting the Museum of the Peasant in Bucharest in 2015, where simple wooden chairs from around 1900 sparked a spontaneous creative response. These fast, rough chairs, made from discarded materials without plans, grow through improvisation, reflecting childhood memories of joy and sadness.

what: Folk City
when: 21 October – 7 November 2025
where: Tiny Room, 3 rue Las Cases

image by Thierry Depagne

Maison Guerlain presents Straight to the Heart: A Century of Pure Love

To mark the centenary of Shalimar, its iconic fragrance created in 1925, Maison Guerlain presents Straight to the Heart: A Century of Pure Love, in partnership with Art Basel Paris. The exhibition explores how our understanding of love has evolved over the past hundred years, bringing together more than thirty artists across generations and disciplines—from Louise Bourgeois, Marina Abramović & Ulay, and Robert Mapplethorpe to Camille Henrot, Alex Gardner, and Pierre et Gilles. Spread across three floors of Guerlain’s historic flagship designed by Charles Mewès, the show unfolds as a multi-sensory journey through painting, photography, sculpture, video, and performance. An olfactory installation by Guerlain perfumer Delphine Jelk and Magique Studio complements the artworks, translating emotion into scent and creating what Guerlain calls ‘love potions to see, smell, and feel.’ Drawing inspiration from Shalimar’s origin — a tale of eternal devotion that inspired the Taj Mahal — the exhibition reflects on love as a force that transforms, endures, and reappears in ever-changing forms.

what: Straight to the Heart: A Century of Pure Love
when: 22 October – 16 November 2025
where: Guerlain, 68 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris

RongRong&inri, Untitled 2008 No.25, 2008

Maison Perrier-Jouët

Maison Perrier-Jouët presents a new collaboration with botanical artist Marcin Rusak, featuring an installation that lets viewers see, hear, and interpret the hidden signals of plants. Drawing on its botanical heritage, Rusak transforms natural phenomena into an immersive sensory experience, blurring the boundaries between art, science, and nature.

At the same time, the Maison transforms Maxim’s into the House of Wonder, a sensorial celebration of champagne, art, and floral gastronomy inside one of the city’s most iconic venues.

image courtesy of Maison Perrier-Jouët

The Salons of Imagination by Studio GGSV

From October 13th to November 2nd, French design duo Studio GGSV presents The Salons of Imagination, an immersive installation created for the newly established Manufactures Nationales as part of its inaugural PAVILLON program. Conceived for this first edition at the invitation of the institution, the project gives contemporary designers free rein to imagine the interiors of tomorrow while honoring the role of the interior designer. Housed inside the Pavillon d’Angiviller at the historic Manufacture des Gobelins in Paris, it transforms a 200-square-meter apartment into three interconnected interiors where art, architecture, and craftsmanship converge to offer profound sensory experiences. For this commission, Gaëlle Gabillet and Stéphane Villard, founders of Studio GGSV and known for their experimental use of illusion and trompe-l’œil, designed every piece of furniture and décor, presenting several never-before-seen works. The three environments — the Reception Salon, the Conversation Salon, and the Reading Salon — are conceived as spaces that stimulate the mind as much as they invite contemplation, encouraging visitors to imagine, exchange, and dream while celebrating French savoir-faire.

what: The Salons of Imagination
when: 13 October – 2 November 2025
where: Manufactures Nationales, 42 avenue des Gobelins 75013 Paris

image © Jean Allard

Ed Ruscha: Talking Doorways at Gagosian

Gagosian presents Ed Ruscha: Talking Doorways, an exhibition of new paintings that mark a striking shift in the artist’s six-decade exploration of architecture and language — from public facades to the quiet intimacy of private interiors. In these works, Ruscha depicts sparse rooms defined by molding and doorframes, each pierced by a doorway through which a painted phrase appears, accompanied by trailing bands that evoke both beams of light and soundwaves. The series draws inspiration from Vilhelm Hammershøi, the Danish painter known for his restrained, light-filled interiors, whose influence led Ruscha to explore the emotional resonance of empty spaces.

what: Ed Ruscha: Talking Doorways
when: 22 October – 3 December 2025
where: Gagosian, rue de Castiglione, Paris

Ed Ruscha, Says I to Myself Says I, 2025. acrylic and graphite on canvas, 54 × 120 inches (137.2 × 304.8 cm) © Ed Ruscha. photo: Jeff McLane

The Singular Experience at Gagosian Le Bourget

Gagosian Le Bourget presents The Singular Experience exhibition, curated by Donna De Salvo, marking what would have been American artist, sculptor, illustrator and composer Walter De Maria’s 90th birthday. At its center is Truck Trilogy (2011–17), De Maria’s final sculpture, shown for the first time outside the U.S., featuring three polished 1950s Chevrolet pickup trucks transformed into minimalist monuments of geometry and reflection. The exhibition also includes 13, 14, 15 Meter Rows (1985), drawings, films, and archival materials that trace the artist’s lifelong exploration of measurement, rhythm, and perception.

what: The Singular Experience
when: 19 October 2025-18 April 2026
where: Gagosian, 26 Avenue de l’Europe, Le Bourget

Walter De Maria, Truck Trilogy, 2011–2017, installation view at Dia Art Foundation, Beacon, New York, 2017–19

Magma No. 3: Archive of the Future

Magma Journal launches its third issue, Magma No. 3: Archive of the Future, with the support of Bottega Veneta. Conceived as a forum for artistic expression, Magma revives the tradition of the twentieth-century revues d’art, inviting artists and writers to collaborate on original, previously unseen works. The new volume will debut on October 19th, accompanied by a month-long exhibition presenting the featured artworks within an immersive scenography by Matière Noire.

what: Magma No. 3: Archive of the Future
when: 19 October – 19 November 2025
where: FORMA, 127 rue de Turenne 75003, Marais district, Paris

A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE x Eugene Kangawa

Japanese multidisciplinary artist Eugene Kangawa and A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE unveil a new textile innovation, the result of a three-year creative dialogue between Kangawa and designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae and his team. Inspired by Kangawa’s ongoing series Light and shadow inside me (2021–), the textile reinterprets the gradations of photographic paper through weaving alone, achieving shifts from black to white without dyes or multiple thread colours. The project debuts in Paris in an exhibition conceived by architect Tsuyoshi Tane, presenting the new textile alongside test pieces, artworks, and creative tools, and accompanied by guided tours and hands-on workshops. Following its Paris premiere, the exhibition is scheduled to travel to Tokyo and Osaka.

what: A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE x Eugene Kangawa exhibition
when: 24 – 25 October 2025 (11:00 – 19:00) and 26 October 2025 (11:00 – 18:00)
where: Lycée Turgot Paris, 40 Rue Volta, 75003 Paris

Eugene Kangawa, Artist and Yoshiyuki Miyamae,Designer, A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE discussing the project at the artist’s atelier in Japan © ISSEY MIYAKE INC.

Constantin Brancusi’s Photographs at Thaddaeus Ropac

Following the acclaimed retrospective at the Centre Pompidou, Thaddaeus Ropac Paris presents Photographs, a focused exhibition devoted to Constantin Brancusi’s rarely seen photographic work from 1906 to 1938.

For Brancusi, photography was both documentation and creation—an extension of his sculptural practice through which he explored form, light, and spatial dialogue. Influenced by his friendships with Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, and Man Ray, Brancusi used his camera to ‘sculpt light,’ capturing the radiance of his polished bronzes and the interplay between his works and their surroundings. Featuring self-portraits, early naturalist studies, and iconic views of his atelier, the exhibition reveals how Brancusi shaped his own myth and legacy through the lens—transforming his studio into a living space for sculpture and light.

what: Photographs
when: 20 October – 22 November 2025
where: Thaddaeus Ropac, 7 Rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris

Precious Okoyomon’s it’s important to have ur fangs out at the end of the world AT Mendes Wood DM

Mendes Wood DM presents Precious Okoyomon’s first solo exhibition in Paris, it’s important to have ur fangs out at the end of the world, coinciding with the artist’s presentation at Art Basel Paris. Known for creating living ecosystems that merge poetry, sculpture, and organic materials, Okoyomon explores the entanglement of race, nature, and power, exposing the invisible violences that shape our shared environments. At the gallery, the exhibition unfolds across several immersive settings: newly conceived wallpaper and a series of child-sized teddy bear sculptures introduce the show, while further rooms feature dioramas, a new poetic text, and a large-scale horticultural installation of aromatic flowering plants accompanied by sound. Together, these elements evoke a world where decay and regeneration, innocence and ferocity coexist, offering a sensorial reflection on survival and transformation at the end of an era.

what: it’s important to have ur fangs out at the end of the world
when: 20 October 2025 – 17 January 2026
where: Mendes Wood DM, 25 Pl. des Vosges, 75004 Paris

Precious Okoyomon, ONE EITHER LOVES ONESELF OR KNOWS ONESELF, Exhibition view second floor Kunsthaus Bregenz, 2025, in the belly of the sun endless, 2025 | photo: Markus Tretter © Precious Okoyomon, Kunsthaus Bregenz courtesy of the artist and Kunsthaus Bregenz

The Spaceless Gallery and MycoWorks present Matières Sensibles

From October 20 – November 28, 2025, The Spaceless Gallery collaborates with MycoWorks to present Matières Sensibles at The exhibition combines contemporary art and next-generation biomaterials, featuring ceramics, pigment-based works, floral assemblages, abstractions, and sculptural/AI collaborations. MycoWorks highlights Reishi designs, including pendant lights by Alea and a new stool by Tim Leclabart. The show explores materiality, form, and technique, celebrating the dialogue between human creativity and natural matter.

what: Matières Sensibles
when: 20 October – 28 November 2025
where: Reishi House, 14 avenue de l’Opéra, 75001 Paris

image courtesy of The Spaceless Gallery

Enrico David’s The Soul Drains the Hand at White Cube

Enrico David presents his first solo exhibition The Soul Drains the Hand at White Cube Paris. Opening during Art Basel Paris, the show coincides with his major survey at Castello di Rivoli, Italy. The exhibition features new sculptures, furniture, tapestries, and works on paper, continuing David’s exploration of the body through inventive manipulation of materials and form.

what: The Soul Drains the Hand
when: 21 October 2025 – 19 December 2025
where: White Cube Paris, 10 Avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris

Paul Sietsema at Marian Goodman

Marian Goodman Gallery presents Paul Sietsema’s second solo exhibition in France, featuring new works and earlier pieces, including two 16mm films. Known for his exploration of image, material, and meaning, Sietsema examines how objects and gestures acquire cultural and symbolic value. The exhibition spans paintings, sculptures, and film, from recent object-based compositions, depicting telephones, coins, and paintbrushes, to archival works exploring labor, media, and perception. Together, they trace the artist’s ongoing investigation into the shifting relationship between image, material, and time.

what: Paul Sietsema exhibition
when: 18 October – 20 December 2025
where: Marian Goodman Gallery, 79 Rue du Temple, 75003 Paris

image courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery

Pièces à vivre at GALLERIA CONTINUA

Galleria Continua presents Pièces à vivre, a group exhibition featuring works by Ai Weiwei, Leandro Erlich, Eva Jospin, Julio Le Parc, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Nari Ward, Pascale Marthine Tayou, and over twenty other international artists. Set within the gallery’s historic Marais space, a former leather goods store redesigned by MBL architects, the exhibition transforms each room into a reimagined domestic environment where art and everyday life seamlessly merge.

Conceived as a ‘house of art,’ Pièces à vivre invites visitors to wander through spaces that blur the boundaries between intimacy and imagination. Each artwork engages in dialogue with its surroundings, offering fragments of memory, emotion, and collective experience. In this hybrid setting, GALLERIA CONTINUA continues its mission to create a living continuity between art, architecture, and daily life.

what: Pièces à vivre
when: until 29 October 2025
where: Galleria Continua, Paris, 87 Rue du Temple, 75003 Paris

Jeffrey Gibson’s This is dedicated to the one I love at Hauser & Wirth

Hauser & Wirth presents Jeffrey Gibson’s first solo exhibition in France, showcasing new paintings, beaded panels, cloaks, punching bags, and ceramic head sculptures. Dubbed This is dedicated to the one I love, the show reflects Gibson’s interdisciplinary practice, rooted in American, Indigenous, and queer histories, and inspired by music, literature, and art history. With his signature use of bold color, pattern, and abstraction, Gibson explores empathy, resilience, and creative expression in times of crisis, inviting viewers into a space where identity, culture, and color converge.

what: This is dedicated to the one I love
when: 20 October – 20 December 2025
where: Hauser & Wirth, 26 bis Rue François 1er, 75008 Paris

image courtesy of Hauser & Wirth

Ronan Bouroullec’s Clair-obscur at Galerie kreo

Galerie kreo presents a new exhibition by Ronan Bouroullec, extending his exploration of light as both material and perception. Suspended glass compositions — part sculpture, part drawing — balance fragility and precision, lightness and structure. Each piece combines white opaline globes with transparent, gray, or amber glass corollas, connected by anodized aluminum rods of near watchmaking detail. Rooted in repetition and variation, the works transform their surroundings through diffused, filtered, or reflected light, inviting a phenomenological experience of perception.

what: Clair-obscur
when: until 1 November 2025
where: Galerie kreo 31, rue Dauphine 75006 Paris

image courtesy of Galerie kreo

CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE: 40 YEARS OF THE WRAPPED PONT NEUF

Paris celebrates 40 years since Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s legendary transformation of the Pont Neuf into a monumental work of art. Realized in 1985 with 41,800 square meters of fabric and the help of hundreds of workers, The Pont Neuf Wrapped remains one of the city’s most iconic artistic gestures. To mark the anniversary, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, with support from the City of Paris, presents Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Parisian Projects, a free open-air exhibition tracing the artists’ deep connection with the French capital through projects including Wall of Oil Barrels – The Iron Curtain (1961–62), Wrapped Statue, Trocadéro (1964), and The Arc de Triomphe Wrapped (1961–2021). The celebration continues in summer 2026 with JR’s Projet Pont-Neuf, an installation inspired by the artists’ legacy, transforming the historic bridge once again through a dialogue between art, architecture, and the city.

what: The Pont Neuf Wrapped: 40th Anniversary

when: until 30 October 2025

where: Quai de la Mégisserie, beneath the Pont-Neuf

The post designboom paris guide: what to see in and out of design miami and art basel 2025 appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
18

eduardo souto de moura and OODA propose ‘oricon tower’ for tirana, albania

Category: Design Boom

eduardo souto de moura and ooda take to albania

This proposed Oricon Tower introduces a new landmark for Tirana, Albania conceived through the collaboration of Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura and Porto-based OODA. Designed as a gateway to the Albanian capital, the fifty-story tower stands at the threshold between the city’s historic grid and its expanding western edge, where infrastructure, housing, and commerce meet.

From the outset, the project is guided by proportion, structure, and material. Souto de Moura’s disciplined approach to form meets OODA’s generational emphasis on adaptability and urban engagement, resulting in a work that feels both grounded and forward-looking. The tower aligns with the rhythm of the avenue while anchoring the skyline with a quiet authority that stems from its geometry rather than its scale.

Urban Presence and Context

Positioned beside the Bond Tower in Tirana, Albania, Oricon Tower by OODA and Eduardo Souto de Moura establishes a dialogue with its surroundings through calibrated massing and a deliberate treatment of the base. The lower levels form a porous interface with the street, opening toward the city through glazed facades and deep recesses that temper light and define thresholds. This base gives way to a vertical composition where repetition, shadow, and reflection lend a measured continuity to the facade.

Its placement along the primary axis connecting the airport to the city center underscores its role as an urban threshold. Rather than presenting a single facade to the city, the building modulates its expression according to orientation, solid toward the approach from the airport, more permeable toward the inner city. This allows the structure to mediate between movement and arrival.

Material and Structure

The architectural identity of Albania’s Oricon Tower by Eduardo Souto de Moura and OODA emerges from its material construction. Concrete, marble, and glass are handled with restraint, emphasizing continuity and texture over surface effect. These materials reference regional building traditions while supporting the tower’s structural clarity: vertical load-bearing elements frame broad spans that open the interiors to natural light and long views.

Detailing is purposeful throughout. Marble panels articulate the tower’s middle section, lending weight and permanence, while lighter glazing at the upper levels enhances transparency and luminosity for the hotel floors. The building’s structure — refined through close coordination between architects and engineers — balances expressive simplicity with technical rigor, ensuring stability without excess.

Interior Organization and Experience

The functional gradient of the Oricon Tower mirrors the city’s layered activity. Shops and offices occupy the base, giving the ground plane a civic presence and extending the commercial energy of Dritan Hoxha Avenue. Mid-level apartments are arranged around the central core, with layouts that prioritize privacy and views toward the surrounding mountains.

The upper levels house a hotel and a restaurant that crowns the building. Here, the spatial character shifts from compressed circulation spaces to open volumes, where daylight and panorama define the atmosphere. Circulation remains direct and efficient, an aspect integral to Souto de Moura’s practice, and is supported by the core that links the separate lobbies for residential, commercial, and hospitality uses.

The design of the Oricon Tower rests on the principle that architecture and construction are inseparable. Each decision, from facade modulation to structural span, reflects the logic of how the building stands and breathes within its environment. The collaboration between Eduardo Souto de Moura and OODA synthesizes experience and experimentation into a coherent statement.

project info:

name: Oricon Tower

architect: OODA | @oodaarchitecture, Eduardo Souto de Moura

local architect: Artech Studio | @artech_al

The post eduardo souto de moura and OODA propose ‘oricon tower’ for tirana, albania appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
18

This Mario Pipe Air Purifier Is the Most Delightfully Weird Thing You’ll Want in Your Home

Category: YankoDesign

The WOOP Air Purifier takes its cue from the world’s most famous plumber’s pipe, but instead of warping you to another world, it purifies the air in yours. Hidden HEPA filtration meets unmistakable design in this cylindrical aluminum powerhouse.

Passakorn Kulkliang and the team at SYRUBSTUDIO in Bangkok just dropped what might be the year’s most delightfully unsubtle product design homage. The WOOP Air Purifier is a full-throated love letter to Super Mario’s green warp pipes, rendered in anodized aluminum with enough visual wit to make you grin and enough actual engineering to justify the space it takes up on your shelf. I’ve seen plenty of gaming-inspired products that lean too hard into kitsch or try to be subtle about their references and fail at both. This one commits to the bit completely while maintaining enough restraint in execution to work as an actual object you’d want in your living room.

Designer: Passakorn Kulkliang

The form is dead simple. A cylindrical body wrapped in precision perforations for air intake, topped with a broader cap that houses the outlet and touch controls. The green finish comes in that distinctly Mario shade of vibrant metallic green, though they also offer it in brushed aluminum if you want the reference to be slightly less obvious to guests. The perforations aren’t just decorative either. They’re strategically distributed across the surface to maximize airflow into the HEPA filter core hidden inside, which handles the actual work of scrubbing particulates from your air. Air gets pulled through those tiny holes, passes through the filter, and exits upward through radiating vents in the top cap.

The interface lives on that top surface, integrated so seamlessly you barely notice it until you need it. Touch-sensitive LED icons indicate different fan modes without cluttering the design with physical buttons or garish displays. There’s also a front-facing light that pulses gently during operation, almost like the device is breathing. When the filter needs replacing, that light shifts to a warm red-orange glow. Smart move there, turning a maintenance reminder into an ambient design feature rather than an annoying blinking alert.

What makes this work is the total lack of apology in the design language. Kulkliang could have tried to make a vaguely cylindrical purifier with subtle pipe-like qualities, giving themselves plausible deniability about the inspiration. Instead, they went all in on the proportions, the color, the tiered construction. It looks exactly like what it’s supposed to look like, and that confidence is what elevates it from novelty to genuinely interesting industrial design. The Mario reference becomes the hook that gets you to look, but the actual craft in material choice, perforation patterns, and interface design is what makes it hold up under scrutiny.

The specs are solid enough for a compact purifier. HEPA filtration handles particles down to 0.3 microns, which covers most common indoor air quality concerns like dust, pollen, and pet dander. No word yet on CADR ratings or room size coverage, which would be helpful for understanding actual performance capabilities beyond the visual appeal. The aluminum body isn’t just aesthetic either. Metal conducts heat better than plastic, which helps with thermal management for the motor and extends component lifespan. It also gives the thing some actual heft, so it feels substantial rather than like a cheap plastic shell wrapped around a fan.

This sits in an interesting space between functional appliance and design object. Most air purifiers try desperately to disappear into your decor, all neutral tones and forgettable shapes. WOOP does the opposite, demanding attention while somehow still working as a coherent piece of modern design. That’s a difficult balance to strike. Go too far toward the novelty end and you get something that’s fun for a week before it starts feeling like clutter. Stay too conservative and you’ve just made another boring appliance. This threads that needle by being visually bold but texturally refined, playful in concept but serious in execution.

The post This Mario Pipe Air Purifier Is the Most Delightfully Weird Thing You’ll Want in Your Home first appeared on Yanko Design.

Oct
18

This Deskterior Set Has a Sun Lamp, Wave Holder, and Sandcastle Bank

Category: YankoDesign

Workspaces have become monotonous landscapes of black keyboards, white monitors, and gray storage bins. Most desk accessories prioritize pure function, leaving little room for visual interest or emotional connection. The result is an environment that feels more like a holding cell than a place where creative work happens. Even well-designed offices can feel draining when everything looks the same.

Cove is a concept desk set that addresses this visual fatigue by bringing vacation elements to the desk. The collection includes three pieces: a lamp shaped like a rising sun, a card holder that mimics ocean waves, and a coin bank styled like a sandcastle. Together, they create a small ecosystem of beach-inspired objects. The design aims to make desks feel less utilitarian and more personal.

Designers: Yunseo Jung, Dayoung Yoon, Gayeon Kim

The lamp stands out with its glowing circular face and curved orange support. The circular head can slide up and down the arc, allowing users to adjust its position throughout the day. Raising it in the morning signals the start of work. Lowering it in the evening creates a visual boundary between professional and personal time. The interaction turns a simple gesture into a daily ritual.

The cardholder borrows its shape from rolling waves. Layered teal forms create natural slots for business cards, notes, and reminders. The design adds vertical movement to what’s usually a flat surface. A clip attachment on the front holds to-do lists in place. The wave structure organizes desk items while maintaining the collection’s coastal theme without being too literal about it.

The coin bank looks like a compact sandcastle with smooth edges and soft curves. A small flag sits on top and slides up and down for added interaction. The lid pops off easily thanks to silicone stoppers on the underside. Users can drop spare change throughout the week and access it when needed. The tactile elements encourage engagement beyond just looking at it.

Color ties the three pieces together. Warm orange appears on the lamp and flag. Bright teal covers the wave holder. Neutral sand tones define the coin bank. The palette creates visual harmony without forcing exact matches. These colors stand out against typical office equipment, making the set easy to spot even on crowded desks.

Packaging continues the vacation concept with clean, minimal boxes. Each container uses color blocking and simple illustrations. Product names and numbers appear clearly on the front. The boxes feel like small gifts rather than standard product packaging. Everything reinforces the idea that these objects belong together as a coordinated system.

The Cove collection shows how desk accessories can do more than organize supplies. Small design choices create moments of visual relief throughout the workday. The vacation theme reminds users that work environments don’t have to default to bland neutrals and sharp edges. Sometimes, bringing a bit of playfulness to functional objects makes a difference.

The post This Deskterior Set Has a Sun Lamp, Wave Holder, and Sandcastle Bank first appeared on Yanko Design.

Oct
18

This $122 Pocket Knife Is Thinner Than a Pack of Gum and Holds a Crossbar Lock

Category: YankoDesign

Imagine an EDC knife so thin it disappears in your pocket (or even your wallet), yet feels as solid and capable as a full-sized tool. That’s the engineering marvel behind Vosteed’s Parallel series. With a thickness of just 0.28 inches and a weight barely brushing 2.36 ounces, this knife shatters expectations of what an EDC blade can be, while titanium handles, crackle textures, and new blade geometries add futuristic flair to a minimal, stealthy form.

Vosteed dropped three new Parallel configurations this year, and they’re worth paying attention to. Two variants run S35VN steel with what they’re calling “Crackle” finishes (Arctic Crackle in silver-gold, Iridescent Crackle in full rainbow), and a third introduces the line’s first tanto blade in 154CM with a Destroyer Grey titanium treatment. GearPatrol has been all over these releases, and for good reason: the Parallel keeps selling out faster than Vosteed can restock them. When a knife this slim packs a crossbar lock and actual usability, people notice.

Designer: Vosteed In-house Design

Click Here to Buy Now: $122.55 $129 (5% off, use coupon code “YANKO”). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours! Amazon Here.

The Parallel measures 7.04 inches open with a 2.9-inch blade, putting it right in that sweet spot for daily tasks without feeling like you’re lugging around a combat folder. The handle sits at 4.13 inches, and here’s where things get interesting: that 0.28-inch profile (7.1mm if you prefer metric) makes this thinner than a pack of gum. For context, The James Brand’s Ellis Slim, which made waves for its own minimalist build, clocks in at 8mm. Vosteed went thinner and somehow kept a full-strength locking mechanism. That’s the kind of engineering that makes you stop and wonder how they pulled it off. Titanium handles keep the weight down without sacrificing durability, and the ambidextrous crossbar lock means lefties and righties get equal treatment. Dual thumb studs, reversible wire clip, triangle lanyard hole: all the functional bits are present and accounted for.

The blade geometry choices tell you a lot about how Vosteed sees this knife being used. The reverse tanto on the S35VN models balances slicing performance with tip strength, giving you a point that can handle detail work without being as fragile as a drop point or as aggressive as a full tanto. It’s the kind of blade shape that works equally well opening Amazon boxes, cutting paracord, prepping food at a campsite, or handling light prying tasks you probably shouldn’t be doing with a folder anyway. The full tanto on the 154CM variant leans harder into piercing and controlled cuts, with that reinforced tip and angular geometry that excels at puncturing tough materials. Both shapes sit at 2.9 inches, which means you’re working with enough blade length to be useful without crossing into territory that makes HR nervous if someone spots it clipped to your pocket at the office. The satin and brushed finishes on the S35VN models keep maintenance straightforward, while the stonewashed and coated options hide wear better if you’re rougher on your gear.

The Parallel targets a specific type of user: someone who wants a legitimate tool but refuses to tolerate pocket bulk. If you’re the kind of person who evaluates every item in your carry by weight and volume, who resents unnecessary thickness in wallets, flashlights, and knives, this design makes sense. It appeals to minimalists who still need cutting capability, urban carriers who value discretion over tactical presence, and gear nerds who appreciate engineering solutions to design constraints. The slim profile means you can stack this with other EDC items without creating an uncomfortable lump, and at 2.36 ounces it won’t drag your pocket down or require constant readjustment. That said, if you have large hands or prefer a fuller grip, the 4.13-inch handle might feel less substantial than chunkier folders. The titanium scales provide durability without the heft of G10 or micarta, but they also lack the texture and warmth those materials offer. Vosteed built this for people who prioritize portability and precision over hand-filling comfort, and that trade-off is deliberate, calculated, and completely transparent in the design language.

We start with fawning over the Arctic Crackle – a visual direction we haven’t really seen in EDC before. You’ll see Damascus patterns, anodized finishes, maybe even some heat-treated rainbow ones, or glow-in-the-dark variants… but this crackle finish is truly eye-catching and unique. Vosteed achieved this through precision laser engraving alone, no anodizing trickery or color-shifting coatings. The silver titanium base gets etched with golden crackle patterns that catch light differently depending on angle, giving the handle a constantly shifting presence. According to their own product notes, they ran “numerous trials adjusting beam intensity and engraving sequences” to nail the look. That level of obsessive iteration shows in the final product. The effect mimics fractured ice or dried earth, organic yet meticulously controlled. It’s the kind of texture that photographs well but feels even better in hand, adding grip without aggressive jimping or rubberized inserts.

The Iridescent Crackle goes harder on the visual drama. Rainbow anodizing meets black crackle laser work, creating something that looks like it belongs in a cyberpunk prop collection. This one uses controlled voltage anodizing combined with laser engraving to lock in the color spectrum permanently. It’s loud, unapologetically flashy, and probably polarizing depending on your aesthetic tolerance. If you carry gear as a form of self-expression, this variant leans all the way into that philosophy. If you prefer your tools to blend into the background, the Arctic or Destroyer Grey options offer more restraint.

Speaking of the Destroyer Grey: this is the tactical-minded variant with a tanto blade. The 154CM steel gets a grey titanium coating for added surface hardness and wear resistance, plus that low-glare finish that’s become standard in hard-use knives. The tanto geometry brings a reinforced tip and angular lines suited to piercing and controlled cutting tasks. Vosteed positions this as the “tactical clarity” option, and the grey-on-grey colorway backs that up. It’s utilitarian in the best sense, form following function without excess decoration. The coating does double duty as protection and aesthetics, which is the kind of practical design choice that doesn’t need marketing fluff to justify itself.

All three variants use that same slim titanium frame and crossbar lock, which raises an obvious question: how does a lock mechanism this robust fit into such a thin package? Crossbar locks typically require more internal real estate than frame locks or liner locks. Vosteed clearly did the math on material tolerances and load distribution to make this work. The lock bar runs horizontally behind the blade tang when open, and titanium’s strength-to-weight ratio allows for thinner stock without compromising structural integrity. It’s a clever bit of problem-solving that lets the Parallel stay competitive with slimmer designs that use weaker locking systems.

Pricing sits at $129 for the 154CM tanto and $169 for the S35VN variants. That puts the Parallel in a competitive bracket with other premium EDC folders, though arguably on the lower end given the materials and engineering involved. S35VN is a proven performer with excellent edge retention and corrosion resistance, while 154CM offers solid durability at a slightly lower price point. Both steels handle daily cutting tasks without fuss, and both sharpen reasonably well when the time comes. You’re not dealing with exotic super steels here, which honestly works in the knife’s favor. Practical, proven, reliable.

The Parallel delivers on the promise of minimal carry without the usual compromises. Thin knives often sacrifice lock strength, blade length, or handle ergonomics to hit their size targets. Vosteed kept all three intact while adding legitimate style options that go beyond basic black or stonewashed finishes. Whether that matters depends on how you view your EDC gear, but the engineering speaks for itself regardless of finish preference. A 7.1mm folder with a crossbar lock and titanium construction is worth attention, and the fact that it keeps selling out within hours of dropping suggests the market agrees.

Click Here to Buy Now: $122.55 $129 (5% off, use coupon code “YANKO”). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours! Amazon Here.

The post This $122 Pocket Knife Is Thinner Than a Pack of Gum and Holds a Crossbar Lock first appeared on Yanko Design.

Oct
18

Porsche and SMEG Just Dropped a Kitchen Collab Worth Obsessing Over

Category: YankoDesign

For those whose passions extend from the garage into the heart of their home, the latest collaboration between Porsche and SMEG is a dream come true. Limited-edition fridges, coffee machines, and more, dressed in iconic racing livery and classic colorways, promise to make every morning routine feel like a lap at Le Mans. If you’ve ever wanted your kitchen to echo the spirit of the racetrack, this is your moment.

Because let’s be honest, the line between automotive obsession and lifestyle branding has been getting thinner for years now. Porsche Lifestyle Group has been building out an empire of watches, luggage, and accessories, but a full-blown appliance collab with SMEG? That’s a different level of commitment. And frankly, it makes sense. SMEG’s retro-futuristic appliances have been design darlings for decades, sitting somewhere between mid-century nostalgia and contemporary cool, and Porsche’s motorsport heritage is basically unmatched. Put them together and you get appliances that feel like they belong in a glass-walled Stuttgart showroom as much as they do in your kitchen.

Designers: SMEG x Porsche

The crown jewel here is the 917 Salzburg Red collection, limited to exactly 1,970 units per piece (a nod to the year Porsche clinched its first overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans). We’re talking about a FAB28 refrigerator and an automatic coffee machine with steam wand, both individually numbered with metal certification plates. The Salzburg livery, that brilliant red with white racing stripes and the iconic “23” roundel, translates shockingly well to kitchen appliances. SMEG’s rounded, almost cartoonish retro silhouettes get injected with motorsport aggression, and the result walks a fine line between playful and genuinely striking. The fridge, in particular, features a custom handle design inspired by the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, proportioned to match the refrigerator’s scale rather than just slapping on a car part and calling it a day. Even the interior profiles get darker finishes to echo the external matte black details, which shows the kind of thoroughness that separates a real collaboration from a logo licensing deal.

Then there are the Carrara White Metallic and Shade Green Metallic collections, pulling from Porsche’s paint catalog to offer slightly more subdued options. These lineups include the FAB28 fridge plus a full suite of smaller appliances: the TSF01 retro-style 2-slice toaster with six browning levels and reheat/defrost/bagel functions, the KLF03 electric kettle with a 1.7-liter capacity (that’s seven cups, if you’re counting), a soft-opening lid, and an auto-shutoff at 212°F, and the BLF03 blender. Each piece gets the Porsche stripe treatment, matte black accents on handles and bases, and custom numbering on things like the kettle’s temperature gauge. The attention to detail extends to Porsche-inspired icons scattered across the controls, little touches that reward close inspection. The Shade Green Metallic, in particular, has this understated elegance that feels closer to a classic 911 parked in a Malibu driveway than a race car screaming down Mulsanne Straight.

The Carrara White Metallic collection brings Porsche’s signature paint finish to SMEG’s retro lineup, complete with the horizontal racing stripe, matte black handle accents, and Porsche wordmark. The color is softer than stark white, almost creamy, which keeps it from feeling clinical while still maintaining that clean, timeless aesthetic that works in pretty much any kitchen style. Notice how the stripe wraps around the entire body of each appliance, a detail that feels more considered than necessary, which is exactly the point.

Shade Green Metallic is one of those colors that photographs differently depending on the light, sitting somewhere between sage and seafoam with a metallic shimmer that catches just enough to feel special without being flashy. It’s a classic Porsche hue that feels more vintage 911 than modern GT car, and on SMEG’s curved, bulbous appliance forms, it reads almost organic, like these things grew in a very stylish garden. The matte black accents and Porsche branding keep it grounded and sporty, preventing it from drifting too far into soft, pastel territory where it might lose its edge.

SMEG has done brand collaborations before (Dolce & Gabbana comes to mind, with their hand-painted Sicilian motifs), but this Porsche partnership feels different. It leans into function and heritage rather than pure ornamentation. The coffee machine, for instance, comes with a built-in grinder, meaning you’re getting legitimate espresso capability wrapped in that Salzburg Red body. The blender and kettle aren’t just pretty faces either; they’re the same solid performers SMEG has built its reputation on, now wearing Porsche colors like a tailored racing suit. What makes this compelling is that both brands have cultivated cult followings based on design philosophy and performance credibility, so the overlap feels organic rather than forced.

The 917 Salzburg Red might be the most audacious thing either brand has released in years, and that’s saying something considering we’re talking about a company that makes million-dollar hypercars and another that once covered a fridge in hand-painted lemons. That brilliant, almost candy-apple red is lifted directly from the Porsche 917 KH that won Le Mans in 1970, and the white racing stripes plus the “23” roundel are applied with the kind of precision you’d expect from a livery wrap on an actual race car. The numbered metal plates certifying each of the 1,970 units add a layer of collectibility that pushes these firmly into “investment piece” territory, assuming you can resist the urge to actually use them. What’s remarkable is how well the motorsport aggression translates to something as mundane as a refrigerator or coffee machine, the bold graphics somehow making SMEG’s already theatrical design language feel even more intentional. This is kitchen equipment that demands to be the center of attention, and it absolutely earns it.

Now, will these appliances make your coffee taste better or your toast crispier than the standard SMEG lineup? No. But that’s missing the point. These are objects meant to sit at the intersection of utility and desire, where the act of making breakfast becomes a little ritual tied to a broader aesthetic and emotional narrative. For Porsche collectors, the numbered Salzburg editions will likely become trophies. For design nerds, they represent a fascinating case study in how automotive language translates to domestic objects. And for everyone else, they’re a reminder that sometimes the best part of owning something beautiful is just getting to look at it every single day.

The post Porsche and SMEG Just Dropped a Kitchen Collab Worth Obsessing Over first appeared on Yanko Design.