Oct
1

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norman foster, david chipperfield and es devlin design bags, lamp, glass and more for zara

Category: Design Boom

Zara taps renowned designers for 50th anniversary collection

 

Norman Foster, David Chipperfield, Es Devlin, Marc Newson, Vincent Van Duysen and more design fashion pieces and homeware for Zara’s 50th anniversary collection. On October 6th, 2025, the brand is set to release the wearable and functional objects, which range from bags, lamps, and glasses to surfboards, ceramic plates, vessels, and pieces of luggage. The collection was unveiled at a week-long pop-up shop in Paris during Paris Fashion Week 2025, running from September 29th to October 7th. Sarah Andelman, the former co-founder of the concept store Colette, who also made book holders for the series, curated the exhibition and pop-up.  

 

The complete list of collaborators for Zara’s 50th anniversary collection includes Alex de Betak, Anna Sui, Annie Leibovitz, Axel Vervoordt, Beka Gvishiani, Cedric Grolet, Charlotte Rampling, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Craig McDean, David Bailey, David Chipperfield, David Sims, Es Devlin, Ezra Petronio, Fabien Baron, Guido Palau, Harry Lambert, Javier Vallhonrat, Karl Templer, Karlie Kloss, Kasing Lung, Kate Moss, Leslie Zhang, Linda Evangelista, Luca Guadagnino, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, M&M Paris, Marc Newson, Mario Sorrenti, Naomi Campbell, Narciso Rodriguez, Nick Knight, Norman Foster, Paolo Roversi, Pat McGrath, Pedro Almodóvar, Philip Treacy, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Pieter Mulier, Ramdane Touhami, Robbie Williams, Rosalía, Samuel Ross, Sarah Andelman, Sterling Ruby, Steven Meisel, Tim Walker and Vincent Van Duysen.

Pierpaolo Piccioli’s surfboard | all images courtesy of Zara

 

 

Marc Newson and Vincent Van Duysen design homeware

 

Zara’s 50th anniversary collection brings together renowned architects, industrial designers, and artists, tasked to produce fashion pieces and home objects for the series. Among them are architects Norman Foster and David Chipperfield, industrial designer Marc Newson, stage designer Es Devlin, and Belgian designer Vincent Van Duysen. Architect Norman Foster designs three leather bags for the brand, with a briefcase made in Italian brown leather. His focus was on functionality and durability, the same principles he uses in his architectural designs. Even architect David Chipperfield creates a set of leather bags, but unlike Norman Foster’s smooth finishes, his uses untreated leather to let the material show its natural surface and change over years of use. 

 

Belgian designer Vincent Van Duysen contributes a hand-blown glass vessel; each piece is made individually, so no two vessels are the same. For the industrial designer Marc Newson, the glazed tumblers showcase opaque surfaces, treating color as a solid material. The artist and designer Es Devlin designs a concrete lamp instead, shaped as a cube with openings for light. Cast in solid concrete, it echoes her large-scale stage and installation projects but in a reduced scale for domestic use. There’s also the set of ceramic plates, bowls, and a cup by artist Sterling Ruby; each piece is handmade with splatter patterns in yellow and black as a reference to his art practice.

Pet carrier by Steven Meisel

 

 

Pierpaolo Piccioli creates a hot pink surfboard

 

The Zara 50th anniversary collection continues with filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and his T-shirt featuring a montage of images from his well-known films, linking the collection to Spanish cinema and commercial fashion. Photographer Leslie Zhang contributes a porcelain vessel priced that references Longquan celadon, a Chinese ceramic style, but includes the brand’s name carved into the floral motif. Fashion designer Pierpaolo Piccioli creates a hot pink surfboard, which signals Zara’s interest in lifestyle products related to leisure. 

 

Singer Rosalía comes up with a furry daybed, and supermodels also chip in for the Zara 50th anniversary collection. Naomi Campbell designs a leather dress, Christy Turlington produces a piece of luggage, and Kate Moss creates a keepsake box, which can double as an ashtray. Then, streetwear designer Samuel Ross, founder of A-COLD-WALL*, adds an olive parka coat to the series. The Zara 50th anniversary collection goes live on October 6th, 2025.

T-shirt designed by Pedro Almodóvar

Craig McDean’s leather jacket

David Bailey’s jacket

left and center: Sarah Andelman’s book holders; right: mirror design by Robbie Williams

 

project info:

 

name: Zara 50th anniversary collection

brand: Zara | @zara

designs: Alex de Betak, Anna Sui, Annie Leibovitz, Axel Vervoordt, Beka Gvishiani, Cedric Grolet, Charlotte Rampling, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Craig McDean, David Bailey, David Chipperfield, David Sims, Es Devlin, Ezra Petronio, Fabien Baron, Guido Palau, Harry Lambert, Javier Vallhonrat, Karl Templer, Karlie Kloss, Kasing Lung, Kate Moss, Leslie Zhang, Linda Evangelista, Luca Guadagnino, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, M&M Paris, Marc Newson, Mario Sorrenti, Naomi Campbell, Narciso Rodriguez, Nick Knight, Norman Foster, Paolo Roversi, Pat McGrath, Pedro Almodóvar, Philip Treacy, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Pieter Mulier, Ramdane Touhami, Robbie Williams, Rosalía, Samuel Ross, Sarah Andelman, Sterling Ruby, Steven Meisel, Tim Walker and Vincent Van Duysen.

The post norman foster, david chipperfield and es devlin design bags, lamp, glass and more for zara appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
1

By

How the illustration industry is grappling with AI – a special report

Category: Design Week

In the world of illustration, AI has very quickly transformed from a future existential risk to a set of products having a tangible impact on the industry’s present.

Its effects are being seen in the legal landscape of image licensing and usage, to the copyright implications inherent in new “illustrator-friendly” AI tools, to the fees that illustrators are able to charge for their work.

And while many practitioners are now embracing the technology in their process in some form or another, others are more concerned than ever that AI poses a significant threat to the future of their craft.

In 2024, a survey of the members of The Society of Authors found that 26% of its illustrators had already lost work to AI. And 37% said that illustrated work had decreased in value due to the prevalence of Gen AI products.

In early 2025, in response to the UK Government’s open consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, the Association of Illustrators (AOI) surveyed its membership and found that over 32% of respondents had lost work to AI at an average of £9,262 per affected artist.

A frustrating lack of transparency

It is, says Rachel Hill, CEO of the AOI, difficult to have a nuanced conversation about AI at the moment. But these figures make it impossible to argue that the tech isn’t having a negative impact on the industry.

That doesn’t mean the AOI is inherently anti-AI – you can read its detailed stance on the issue here. It does, though, have no plans to allow AI-generated work to be submitted to the World Illustration Awards until there’s a legal framework preventing the exploitation of illustrators’ work in AI training.

Rather, Hill and her team are frustrated by the constant lack of transparency shown both by AI product providers, national governments and legislators around the world, which leaves clients, illustrators and agents all exposed to knotty legal issues.

For a body that seeks to represent, protect and advocate for the rights of the nation’s illustrators, this is making the AOI’s job more important than ever.

Karina Cao’s piece for Digital Frontier

New questions for agents

The same is true for agents representing commercial illustrators, whose whole approach to creating contracts and licensing agreements has been thrown into disarray due to ambiguity around AI.

“Adobe has been building AI into a lot of their products,” says Jeremy Wortsman, founder of the Jacky Winter Group, an international illustration agency headquartered in Melbourne with offices in the UK and US.

As a result, “We’ve had clients try to extend illustrated images or add extra animation frames to finished work. These things weren’t within the licenses, and artists are getting really upset by clients mangling their work.”

On the flipside, Wortsman has seen clients respond negatively to artists who have clearly used AI to create preliminary sketches for projects.

“At the same time, there’s a huge amount of interest from clients wanting to commission artists to make custom models for them, just like clients wanted entire asset libraries 10 to 15 years ago.

“But now they want it on the scale of AI, which is essentially saying, ‘We’ll pay you a tonne of money so we can replicate your style as much as possible’.”

This is the same promise on offer from “illustrator-empowering” off-the-shelf AI apps like Tess and Exactly.AI, which allow illustrators to train their own model exclusively on their own work.

In theory, this allows illustrators to generate unlimited images without any ethical concerns, but in fact, the legal issues are more complex.

“Some people think this kind of work is the Holy Grail of branding projects right now,” says Wortsman. “But the legal implications are so dicey and we’re starting to see lawsuits, like the Anthropic one,” in which the AI company was forced to pay $1.5billion to settle authors’ claims it had pirated their work to train chatbots.

For Wortsman, it’s a headache because his role is to make money for his artists.

“We represent artists with different approaches and opinions on AI,” he says. “The challenge of running an agency is that you can’t impose your own morals, and I really want to leave it to our artists to decide. We don’t want to shut down any opportunities.”

One of Charlotte Cripps’ pieces for Digital Frontier

A clear AI policy

To this end, Wortsman has spent the past few weeks co-authoring an agency-wide AI policy to clarify the group’s position to illustrators and clients alike.

It guarantees that all final work will be human-made.
If an illustrator uses AI during any part of the process it will be discussed with the client beforehand, and the specifics of that usage clearly disclosed.
The agency will consider all AI usage on a case-by-case basis, so as not to close down any work with clients interested in exploring its use.

In return, they expect their clients:

To respect the rights of their artists, as outlined in their contracts, and not to use in-built AI functionality in tools to alter and amend work.
That final images are not used for any unauthorised training of AI models and are not uploaded to platforms where they’re likely to be scraped.
They agree to notify both agency and artist before using any form of AI in the project workflow.

Wortsman expects to amend this policy on a quarterly basis to allow for the rapid pace of change in AI tech.

By the time he makes the next update, the UK government may have finally decided on a course of action following its Copyright and Artificial Intelligence consultation. But Hill doesn’t believe legislators are in a rush to make a decision.

Following on from its survey, the AOI has been proactive in joining the Creators Right Alliance and the British Copyright Council in pushing back forcefully on the UK government’s proposals to exempt AI development companies from existing copyright laws. This would allow them to scrape any online visuals, unless creatives opt their work out on an image-by-image basis.

Over 92% of UK illustrators say that opting out of training datasets would seriously harm their business by reducing their discoverability online.

Currently, illustrators are reliant on publishing large numbers of their images to the web to attract business, making opting each image out of training a logistical impossibility.

“The government’s closeness to a few big names in tech is influencing their decision-making,” says Hill. “So creators have really come together in force to oppose that.”

Not all of them of course.

AI enthusiasm

“I don’t think it’s like the big juggernaut trying to stamp on people’s creative abilities,” says designer, illustrator and art director, Charlotte Cripps. “I think it’s important to embrace it, otherwise you’re just going to be left behind.”

Until recently, Cripps was design director of Digital Frontier, a UK-based platform that explored the intersection between technology, business and society.

Until she landed the role, she had no experience at all with AI, but over the last two years has honed her skills across Midjourney, Runway, Flora and others, to produce illustrations and animations that won the publication a loyal following and various industry awards for its rich visuals.

During that time, Cripps says that AI allowed her to produce imagery in a way that kept pace with a relentless online publishing schedule, while allowing her to be more experimental and tangential with her creative thinking.

One of Charlotte Cripps’ pieces for Digital Frontier

She is, however, keen to stress that none of the illustrations she produced at Digital Frontier were just made with AI. Rather, AI formed part of her process, with final images developed and finished with human input – and she always commissioned actual illustrators for the print magazine.

“You’ve got to see it as something that can aid you to propel yourself further and set yourself apart from everyone else doing the same trade,” she says. “If you don’t, you’ll find people will be able to generate work much faster than you.”

Now that she’s left Digital Frontier to go freelance, she says clients are approaching her specifically for her ability to amplify her design and illustration abilities with new AI skills.

“Reassuringly shit”

This has not been the case for another UK-based illustrator, Matt Blease, whose hand-drawn work has recently been used to promote IBM’s latest AI tools.

“I’ve just finished a big campaign for IBM where they used a real illustrator and a real frame-by-frame animation studio to create beautiful animations to advertise their AI products. And that did all feel a bit odd.”

Unlike Cripps, Blease is unconvinced by the value of AI for image-makers. “It’s reassuringly shit,” he says, smiling. “When I’ve been struggling for a concept or something and I’ve gone to ChatGPT, the ideas have just felt so basic.”

As a result, he neither feels threatened by AI – “I’m still insanely busy” – nor compelled to use it to stay competitive. But he is frustrated by the way it’s exacerbating an already messy problem in the industry – plagiarism.

Blease reports seeing his work plagiarised on an increasingly regular basis since the arrival of AI-powered image generation, compounding an already significant industry trend towards designers expecting illustration to be free.

In fact, he readily admits to having been part of the problem in the early days of his career.

“When I was a graphic designer commissioning illustrators, if there wasn’t a budget for imagery, then my senior designers would come to me because they knew that I could draw. I’d adapt my drawing to someone’s signature style and it would go on a billboard somewhere. I was basically AI.”

Wortsman agrees that AI itself is not the issue, but as a tool it amplifies a lot of existing negative practices across the creative industries. And it’s making life harder for many people, forced to balance competing pressures.

“If I use chat GPT now for anything, there’s an environmental cost, there is an ethical cost, but I’m also able to serve my artists better, because I’m able to work faster or communicate better,” he says.

“But the original sin of AI is that there’s no way to use it ethically right now, because any data set that you intersect with is using compromised information. You have no idea where these images have been scraped from, and there’s just no way that you can use it commercially.

“Life now just requires endless trolley problems in every aspect of our life. We always have to ask, ‘What’s the least-worst thing we can do’?”

Source

Oct
1

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a look at bewunder’s role in shaping immersive multimedia pavilions at expo 2025 in osaka

Category: Design Boom

IMMERSIVE MULTIMEDIA PAVILIONS AT EXPO 2025 OSAKA

 

Behind several of the most anticipated pavilions at EXPO 2025 Osaka lies BeWunder’s expertise in turning architectural visions into captivating, multisensory realities. The World Expo is a dynamic stage where architecture, design, and technology converge to create compelling narratives about the future. The pavilions act as canvases where abstract ideas are brought to life through an orchestration of light, sound, and interactive technology. designboom takes a look at pavilions, created in collaboration with BeWunder, pushing the boundaries of spatial design and turning a passive visit into an active, immersive multimedia journey.

USA Pavilion | image ©Hufton+Crow, all images courtesy of ​​BeWunder

 

 

FROM STAGED EXPERIENCES TO FULL-SCALE EVENT PRODUCTION

 

As a specialist in museums, exhibitions, and brand pavilions, BeWunder serves as a turnkey partner for creating unforgettable spatial experiences. The company‘s passion lies in producing multisensory visitor experiences that combine multimedia technology, content, staged lighting, interactive elements, and scenery. With an end-to-end approach, BeWunder’s team is expertly positioned to bridge the gap between creative vision and its physical reality. Their proven international track record in both live events and permanent construction has positioned them to deliver exceptional projects, regardless of scope, scale, or location.

designed as an architectural homage to openness and progress, the Kuwait Pavilion features bold open wings

 

 

TURNKEY PROJECTS AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM BEWUNDER

 

For the USA, Netherlands, and Philippines Pavilions, BeWunder served as a turnkey design and build contractor, taking full responsibility for the final design and delivery. Their scope encompassed an integrated approach, covering everything from initial concept development and feasibility studies to the final delivery of multimedia and lighting systems, interactive elements, scenic fit-out, exhibit fabrication, graphics, print, and signage. 

 

Each project was uniquely defined by its architectural and cultural narrative. Inspired by the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, the USA Pavilion’s architectural form consists of two triangular wooden structures contrasted by a suspended, illuminated cube. BeWunder supported the exhibition design team by further developing the concept, ensuring that technology, storytelling, and spatial design worked hand-in-hand to create a compelling and immersive experience for visitors. Similarly, for the Philippines Pavilion, whose design pays tribute to Filipino heritage and features over 200 handwoven textiles, BeWunder managed the installation of the exterior facade and coordinated all artworks to bring the creative vision to life with precision. A highlight of the Netherlands Pavilion was the design and manufacturing of a bespoke interactive sphere system, enabling visitors to engage with content in dynamic, personalized ways.

BeWunder was responsible for the complete multimedia and lighting systems inside the Kuwait Pavilion exhibition

 

 

BeWunder also applied its specialized skills in audio-visual and lighting systems to achieve the vision for a number of other pavilions, including the Kuwait, Luxembourg, and Germany Pavilions. The Kuwait Pavilion, with its distinctive open wings, was brought to life with comprehensive interior multimedia and lighting systems. This expertise extended to the exterior as well, with the team designing and installing the façade and landscape lighting to highlight the structure’s unique architecture, especially at night.

 

From a monumental spiral sculpture of the Austria Pavilion to a moving stage in the Uzbekistan Pavilion, BeWunder created standout features, designed for unforgettable, multisensory journeys. A groundbreaking 100-channel audio system in the Austria Pavilion enables visitors to collaboratively create music, turning the inside into an active and participatory experience. For the Switzerland Pavilion, BeWunder’s expertise was focused on an integrated lighting setup that animated the pavilion’s iconic bubble effects. Meanwhile, a standout feature of the Uzbekistan Pavilion was a moving stage that transports visitors between floors while being fully immersed in projection content. For the Luxembourg Pavilion, a key highlight of their scope was the development and delivery of custom-made LED screens, manufactured specifically for the project to meet unique design and spatial requirements.

Switzerland’s Pavilion is driven by three key themes: life, planet, and augmented human

 

 

 

Beyond full-scale delivery, BeWunder’s partner mindset allowed them to provide targeted technical and consultancy services. For the Portugal Pavilion, they acted as a consultant, offering feasibility studies and value engineering to align design intent with budget and technical feasibility. Similarly, for the UAE Pavilion, BeWunder served as a media hardware planner, responsible for the design and specification of all AV technology. This comprehensive range of services ensures that every client, regardless of their specific needs, can bring their creative vision to life.

the Portugal Pavilion offers an interactive experience, inviting visitors to explore the ocean as a life-giving resource

BeWunder served as the turnkey design & build contractor for the visitor experience at the Philippines Pavilion

with its theme of common ground, the Netherlands Pavilion aims to foster openness and cooperation

for the UAE Pavilion, BeWunder ensured the AV system fully supports and enhances the creative vision

the Germany Pavilion centres on the theme of circular economy, with the title Wa! Germany

the European Union Pavilion highlights the EU’s commitment to building a sustainable, inclusive, and secure future

the USA Pavilion invites visitors to imagine a future where collaboration and creativity lead global progress

 

 

project info:

 

name: Turnkey Projects at Osaka Expo 2025

company: BeWunder | @bewunder_expierences

location: Osaka, Japan

The post a look at bewunder’s role in shaping immersive multimedia pavilions at expo 2025 in osaka appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
1

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qatar foundation to open m. f. husain museum in doha, tracing six decades of modernist art

Category: Design Boom

qatar to welcome M. F. Husain Museum in november 2025

 

Qatar Foundation is set to open a cultural landmark dedicated to the life and work of Maqbool Fida Husain, one of the most influential modernist artists of the 20th century. Titled Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum, the institution will open on November 28th, 2025, in Education City, Doha, and is designed to be the first and largest museum worldwide devoted to Husain’s art. Its collection spans six decades of practice across painting, film, tapestry, photography, poetry, and installation.

 

The concept of the building is closely tied to the artist’s vision, taking shape from a 2008 sketch Husain made of how he imagined the museum. The project reflects Husain’s commitment to experimentation and to dissolving boundaries between disciplines. 

all images courtesy of Qatar Foundation

 

 

spanning 60 years of the indian artist’s work

 

Covering more than 3,000 square meters, the museum brings together a permanent collection and immersive displays that retrace Husain’s career from the 1950s until his death in 2011. Highlights include a cycle of paintings commissioned by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, inspired by Arab civilization and completed in the artist’s final years in Qatar. The galleries will also incorporate Seeroo fi al Ardh (2009), Husain’s last major work—a multimedia installation that depicts humanity’s technological and cultural progress.

 

Born in India in 1913, Husain became a founding member of the Progressive Artists Group in 1947, breaking away from academic traditions and shaping a modern Indian visual language. His work traversed oil painting, serigraphy, sculpture, and cinema, with themes ranging from mythological epics and rural life to postcolonial realities and religious diversity. Celebrated internationally, his career spanned exhibitions from the Venice Biennale (1952) to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (2014). Husain described himself as a ‘global nomad,’ forging strong ties with Europe, the United States, and the Arab world, particularly Qatar, where he spent his final years and held citizenship.

 

Within Education City—already home to public art installations, research centers, and universities — the new museum situates Husain’s work in dialogue with broader questions of creativity and cultural exchange. As Kholoud M. Al-Ali, executive director of community engagement and programming at Qatar Foundation, notes, the space is designed for exploration and critical engagement, connecting audiences with Husain’s art as a living legacy rather than a static archive.

Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum will open on November 28th, 2025, in Education City, Doha

designed to be the first and largest museum worldwide devoted to Husain’s art

its collection spans six decades of practice across painting, film, tapestry, photography, poetry, and installation

Zuljanah Horse (2007), Maqbool Fida Husain

Sketch by Maqbool Fida Husain (2008)

 

 

project info:

 

name: Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum
location: Education City, Doha, Qatar
opening: November 28th, 2025

The post qatar foundation to open m. f. husain museum in doha, tracing six decades of modernist art appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
1

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green and red ceramic tiles clad sculptural daybed by uchronia at hôtel plaza athénée, paris

Category: Design Boom

Uchronia’s Daybed Installation Transforms Hôtel Plaza Athénée

 

In the Cour Jardin of the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris, France, Univers Uchronia has unveiled Daybed, a large-scale installation that reinterprets the hotel’s garden through materiality, color, and form. The temporary work, on view until 11th November, 2025, functions as both sculptural object and inhabitable space, establishing a dialogue between contemporary design and the historic setting of the Plaza Athénée.

 

At the center of the project is a ceramic surface designed in collaboration with Dutch brand Palet. The installation is clad in Palet’s glazed tiles, whose dimensions (149 x 149 mm) and color flexibility formed the basis for Uchronia’s architectural composition. The palette, dominated by greens and reds, references the hotel’s signature tones, including the red geraniums that line the Cour Jardin. Produced in the Netherlands, each tile is glazed to order from Palet’s library of more than 100 colors, which can be combined into over 300,000 possible variations. The reflective surface changes character under different light conditions, giving the installation a shifting visual presence throughout the day.

all images by Felix Dol Maillot

 

 

Uchronia’s Daybed Combines Ceramics, Textiles, and Furnishings

 

The ceramic assembly by creative studio Univers Uchronia is complemented by additional crafted elements: a custom-designed headboard by Treca, bed linens by Le Jacquard Français, floral curtains and cushions by Misia, and painted finishes by Seigneurie. Together, these components extend the project beyond surface design, integrating textiles and furnishings into a cohesive environment.

 

Palet, founded in 2021 by Jaap Giesen, Gilles de Brock, and Niels Monsieurs, operates at the intersection of digital design and ceramic craftsmanship. Its platform allows designers and clients to configure bespoke color and pattern combinations at varying scales, bridging industrial repeatability with artisanal variation. The collaboration with Univers Uchronia continues a partnership that has evolved from small-scale interiors to more ambitious site-specific installations. Daybed at the Plaza Athénée exemplifies this ongoing exchange, presenting ceramic tile as both material and medium for architectural experimentation within a public-facing context.

Daybed installation in the Cour Jardin of Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris

Univers Uchronia reinterprets the garden through form, colour, and material

the installation functions as both sculpture and inhabitable space

textiles, floral curtains, and cushions enhance the composition

Palet’s glazed ceramic tiles form the surface of the installation

greens and reds echo the hotel’s iconic geraniums and palette

the reflective ceramic surface shifts character with changing light

Uchronia and Palet’s collaboration extends from interiors to large-scale work

Daybed explores ceramic tile as both material and medium of architecture

 

project info:

 

name: Daybed
designer: Uchronia | @uchronia_world

location: Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris, France

photographer: Felix Dol Maillot | @felixdolmaillot

 

 

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 green and red ceramic tiles clad sculptural daybed by uchronia at hôtel plaza athénée, paris appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
1

By

tianfu habitat pavilion: two ring-shaped rooftops form interlocking gardens in chengdu

Category: Design Boom

Tianfu Habitat Pavilion opens in Chengdu

 

The Tianfu Habitat Pavilion, designed by China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute (CSWADI), stands as one of the main exhibition venues of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2024 Chengdu. Located on a gently sloping site, the design draws from the city’s cultural heritage and geography, using circular rooftops to shape its architecture and frame the visitor experience.

 

Rather than dominating the landscape, the low-lying pavilion integrates with the terrain, organizing the program through interlocking courtyards that emphasize Chengdu’s traditions of gathering and shared ritual.

images © Arch-Exist

 

 

Circles as Cultural Framework

 

The circle is central to the Tianfu Habitat Pavilion’s concept, reflecting Chengdu’s cultural identity as well as its natural setting in the Sichuan Basin. Circular geometries — seen in communal dining, tea rituals, and traditional residential layouts — are reinterpreted as architectural devices that structure movement and define zones of activity.

 

The design is organized into three overlapping rings, each symbolizing a distinct aspect of the city: courtyard, lotus pond, and bamboo hills. These forms create immersive environments that reference both domestic scale and landscape typology, translating familiar cultural symbols into a contemporary setting.

the Tianfu Habitat Pavilion integrates with the hillside in Chengdu

 

 

the courtyard

 

The courtyard is a symbolic element which establishes Chengdu’s Tianfu Habitat Pavilion as an archetype of Western Sichuan residential life. Here, the arrangement accommodates a sequence of experiences — viewing, listening, tasting, and ascending — that layer together cultural traditions with architectural clarity. A fan-shaped exhibition hall, supported by a steel framework, allows flexible configurations for future use. Its ceiling references Sichuan bamboo weaving, expressed through folded aluminum panels that connect interior and exterior spaces with a continuous texture.

 

Adjacent to the hall, a dual-sided stage provides a platform for Sichuan opera and storytelling. Its open orientation extends performances into the courtyard, allowing audiences to gather indoors or in the open air. Along the perimeter, a bamboo-framed tea room modeled on Chengdu’s historic Heming Teahouse offers visitors the opportunity to sit, drink, and observe performances, reinforcing the social and contemplative role of the courtyard. A gently inclined path rises along the circular edge, inviting visitors to ascend to a rooftop promenade with panoramic views across the site.

circular geometries organize the pavilion into interconnected courtyards

 

 

lotus pond

 

Water is introduced as a second defining element through the lotus pond, which mirrors the agricultural and cultural significance of Chengdu’s rural landscapes. A slender walkway crosses the water, creating vantage points for observing the pond under shifting light conditions.

 

Floating platforms, designed as stylized lotus leaves, serve as dining spaces where visitors can gather for hotpot meals, extending the theme of communal life into the aquatic setting. The pond operates both as a symbolic reference and as a functional environment, emphasizing Chengdu’s tradition of linking food, water, and social ritual.

a dual-sided stage extends Sichuan Opera into the open air

 

 

Bamboo Hills

 

Beyond the pond, the pavilion extends into the hillside, where bamboo groves and small inns create a retreat-like environment intended for long-term use after the exhibition concludes. The integration of bamboo as both cultural emblem and ecological material reinforces the local character of the site. Guest rooms open toward dense green slopes, framing uninterrupted views of the forested terrain.

 

Below, a stream threads its way downhill, feeding a series of outdoor pools and indoor hot springs designed to host year-round bathing rituals. These elements give the pavilion a lasting function, allowing it to evolve into a destination for cultural and ecological tourism in Chengdu.

 

Through its interlocking geometry, the Tianfu Habitat Pavilion translates the abstract motif of the circle into built form. Each programmatic zone — courtyard, lotus pond, bamboo hills — symbolizes a particular tradition of Chengdu

the exhibition hall ceiling recalls traditional bamboo weaving

a rooftop path provides panoramic views across the site

floating platforms resemble lotus leaves in the pond

the tea house references Chengdu’s historic Heming teahouse

 

project info:

 

name: Tianfu Habitat Exhibition Hall

architect: CSWADI

location: Chengdu, China

photography: © Arch-Exist | @archexist

The post tianfu habitat pavilion: two ring-shaped rooftops form interlocking gardens in chengdu appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
1

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Edward Tingatinga: The Founder of an African Artistic Tradition That Endures

Category: DailyArt Magazine

The post Edward Tingatinga: The Founder of an African Artistic Tradition That Endures appeared first on DailyArt Magazine.

Oct
1

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Veronica Ryan: Late Bloomer with a Blast

Category: DailyArt Magazine

The post Veronica Ryan: Late Bloomer with a Blast appeared first on DailyArt Magazine.

Oct
1

By

6 Contemporary African Artists You Should Know

Category: DailyArt Magazine

The post 6 Contemporary African Artists You Should Know appeared first on DailyArt Magazine.

Oct
1

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Top 5 Biophilic Product Designs To Adapt Functional Greenery for Wellness and Style

Category: YankoDesign

Functional greenery is reshaping interior design by integrating nature with utility. These innovative products incorporate live plants into everyday items such as lighting, furniture, room dividers, and wall art that enhance form and function. Beyond their aesthetic design, these designs promote well-being, improve air quality, and support a more sustainable lifestyle.

Let’s explore how these biophilic product designs enrich modern environments with greenery that is both functional and beautiful.

1. Nature-Infused Furniture Design

Furniture integrated with planters beautifully merges function with nature, transforming ordinary pieces into living, breathing design elements. Tables with built-in planters, benches with herb gardens, and sofas with plant pockets invite greenery directly into our everyday routines. These designs not only save space but also infuse a biophilic vibe into the home or office décor.

Beyond visual aesthetics, such multifunctional furniture promotes a healthier indoor environment by improving air quality and encouraging a deeper connection to nature. It redefines the role of plants in interior design, which is a step beyond decorative add-ons.

Designer Pei-Ju Wu’s Oasis is a clever fusion of planter, lamp, and a primary working table that is integrated into one sophisticated piece of furniture for the modern home. It serves as a functional workstation while bringing greenery and soft lighting into your everyday environment. Water is poured through a central funnel on the tabletop, which channels it to the soil below. Through capillary action, plants naturally absorb moisture, while excess water flows to a hidden tray and evaporates back into the air.

An LED strip built into the planting area provides essential light, controlled by a timer to support plant growth and also serve as ambient or task lighting. The foliage drapes gracefully like a living tablecloth, adding a calming presence to your workspace. Finished in dark grey with a green-tinted glass top, Oasis transforms nature into a design statement, where furniture and greenery coexist beautifully in one purposeful, multi-use creation.

2. Greenery Lit with Purpose

The innovative fusion of lighting and plants in contemporary design is reshaping indoor greenery. Once limited to greenhouse settings, grow lights are now incorporated into everyday items such as lamps, shelves, and wall installations. These integrated lighting solutions provide the necessary spectrum for photosynthesis, allowing plants to grow and flourish indoors, even in areas with limited natural light or during darker seasons.

Beyond functionality, integrated lighting highlights the natural beauty of greenery, turning plants into living focal points. Whether used in workspaces, homes, or public interiors, this fusion of light and nature enhances ambience, supports wellness, and brings a calming, biophilic presence into our built environments.

LUMISO is a thoughtfully designed indoor planter that combines smart functionality with elegant design. Equipped with integrated grow-lights that replicate the full solar spectrum, it ensures your herbs, greens, and small plants receive the optimal balance of light and UV rays needed for healthy growth. Ideal for homes with limited outdoor access, LUMISO takes the challenge out of indoor gardening by providing consistent, plant-friendly lighting year-round, even during low-light winter months.

Beyond its role as a planter, LUMISO also functions as a stylish desk lamp. Emitting cool and warm light, it creates a pleasant ambience while supporting your plants. A simple button at the base activates the grow-light, and the bulbs are easily replaceable, ensuring long-term use. Compact and versatile, LUMISO fits seamlessly on desks, countertops, or windowsills, making it the perfect addition for plant lovers who want to integrate greenery and light into their modern living spaces.

3. Green Space Separators

Plant dividers are versatile design features that blend natural greenery with space definition and offer a serene and stylish way to separate areas within open-plan interiors. Whether in homes, offices, cafés, or studios, these green partitions break up large spaces without feeling heavy or intrusive. They bring in natural texture, cleaner air, and a biophilic presence that softens modern interiors.

Beyond their visual appeal, these dividers serve important practical purposes that provide privacy, reduce ambient noise, and support focus in shared environments. They help establish subtle boundaries between zones like workstations, dining areas, or lounge spaces, while maintaining an open, airy feel.

The Limbus GreenFrame by Kauppi & Kauppi for Glimakra of Sweden is a thoughtfully designed, multifunctional piece of office furniture that brings greenery, light, and privacy into modern workspaces. Crafted from minimalist ash wood, the rectangular frame functions as a floor screen divider, plant holder, and lighting fixture all in one. It holds up to three potted plants and features integrated LED lighting along the top, designed to support plant growth indoors, especially in low-light conditions or during the winter months.

Beyond aesthetics, the GreenFrame enhances office acoustics and visual comfort. The plants naturally absorb and diffuse sound, creating quieter, more focused zones within open-plan offices. For greater acoustic control, the frame can be fitted with a sound-absorbing board in place of the plants. Precision CNC-milling hides the power cables and adapter, keeping the design clean and seamless. The Limbus GreenFrame is more than a divider as it is a living element that nurtures wellbeing and productivity indoors.

4. Garden-inspired Wallscapes

Botanical Wallscapes transform living plants into interesting wall art, blending nature with design to create dynamic, ever-changing displays. By using vertical planters, mounted frames, or modular panels, these green installations bring life and texture to otherwise flat walls. Whether composed of cascading ferns, succulents, moss, or flowering species, they add a natural focal point to homes, offices, or public spaces.

Beyond their aesthetic appeal, these living artworks purify air, improve indoor humidity, and introduce a calming, biophilic element to interiors. Customizable in size, shape, and plant selection, Botanical Wallscapes offer a beautiful, sustainable way to merge art, wellness, and greenery.

Gromeo is a compact, self-sustaining living wall system designed by Habitat Horticulture to bring the joy of gardening into modern urban homes. Ideal for apartments with limited space or light, Gromeo comes fully planted with greenery specifically selected to thrive in your home’s unique light conditions, whether you have bright windows or none at all. It features a one-gallon built-in water reservoir and uses Growtex’s water-efficient wicking technology, allowing plants to absorb moisture through capillary action and stay hydrated for up to three weeks without any electrical or plumbing setup.

Made from sustainably sourced maple wood and recycled materials, Gromeo is as eco-conscious as it is stylish. It comes ready to install with mounting hardware and drywall anchors for easy setup. The system offers different plant palettes, from low-light-loving ferns and palms to sun-seeking cacti and grasses. With minimal maintenance and a clean, natural aesthetic, Gromeo makes indoor gardening effortless, accessible, and beautifully integrated into any living space.

5. Botanical Sculptural Accents

Plants can play multifunctional roles in home décor when integrated into sculptural accessories like vases, fish tanks, candle holders, and picture frames. These hybrid objects combine function with greenery, transforming everyday items into living design statements. A vase may double as a planter, a fish tank can become a lush underwater garden, and picture frames or candle holders can host small succulents or moss, adding organic texture to flat surfaces.

These plant-infused designs bring nature indoors in subtle yet creative ways, improving air quality and ambience. They offer a harmonious blend of utility, beauty, and biophilic charm for modern interiors.

AQUA is a thoughtfully designed multifunctional aquarium that redefines the traditional fish tank by integrating sculptural aesthetics, plant display, and aquatic habitat into one cohesive unit. With its clean, geometric form and refined material finishes, AQUA blends into modern interiors, serving not only as a functional home for aquatic life but also as a sculptural accessory that enhances the overall décor. It offers a sophisticated alternative to conventional tanks, which often disrupt the visual harmony of a space. Most importantly, AQUA is engineered to maintain an optimal and healthy environment for fish, ensuring its elegant form does not compromise function.

Available in a variety of sizes, proportions, and finishes, AQUA is adaptable to diverse interior styles and spatial needs. Its artistic presence makes it an eye-catching element in any room, while its built-in plant feature adds a touch of greenery.

By merging form and function, these planter-integrated designs bring nature indoors in creative, space-saving ways. They offer more than just visual appeal as they support healthier living and connect us to the calming presence of greenery in our daily environments.

The post Top 5 Biophilic Product Designs To Adapt Functional Greenery for Wellness and Style first appeared on Yanko Design.

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