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prostoria’s BONDS film series explores furniture design through human connections

Prostoria’s BONDS series celebrates the Life of Furniture

Croatian furniture brand Prostoria has launched BONDS, a documentary-style film series exploring the people, ideas, and relationships shaping its creative world. Conceived in collaboration with emerging filmmakers, BONDS weaves together three episodes into a cohesive portrait of design as a collaborative, human-centered practice. Through personal stories, architectural ambition, and a commitment to craft, the series invites viewers to see furniture not as static objects, but as silent witnesses to life’s moments — and as connectors between people, places, and ideas.

with its film series BONDS, Prostoria explores the deep connections that surround furniture | image © Domagoj Blazevic, all images courtesy of Prostoria

each episode reveals how design extends beyond objects

The series features ‘BONDS with Polygon,’ ‘BONDS with MVA Architects,’ and ‘BONDS Manu – A House in Harmony with Nature,’ where each of the three episodes blends documentary storytelling with a cinematic aesthetic, reflecting Prostoria’s design ethos: functional yet emotionally resonant. By featuring voices from diverse disciplines, BONDS reveals how design extends beyond objects to form connections between people, places, and ideas. It underscores the collaborative spirit behind Prostoria’s collections while offering audiences a rare glimpse into the creative processes usually hidden from view.

the BONDS films reveal the trust and collaboration between architects and Prostoria

episode 1: BONDS WITH POLYGON

Each episode focuses on a different aspect of design, building a mosaic of voices connected by shared values of innovation, craftsmanship, and human connection. With Episode 1, ‘BONDS with Polygon,’ the series opens in Zagreb with celebrated creative director Davor Bruketa, co-founder of Bruketa&Žinić&Grey, who invites viewers into his home to explore his personal connection to design. At the center of his living room for over a decade is the Polygon easy chair, one of Prostoria’s most iconic pieces. Known for its striking geometry and comfort, Polygon has witnessed everyday life unfold — from quiet moments of reading to lively family gatherings.

The film gains emotional depth as Bruketa recounts how the chair was damaged during the 2020 Zagreb earthquake and later fully restored by Prostoria, a gesture that underscored the brand’s dedication to lasting quality and care. The episode captures how furniture can transcend functionality to become part of life’s narrative, carrying with it memories, emotions, and meaning.

Prostoria launches its debut episode of the BONDS video series with celebrated creative director Davor Bruketa, offering a glimpse into how design becomes woven into everyday life | image © Domagoj Blazevic

in his Zagreb home, Bruketa (co-founder of Bruketa&Žinić&Grey) describes his living space as an ongoing creative experiment | image © Domagoj Blazevic

episode 2: Manu – A House in Harmony with Nature

Set on the island of Vis, Croatia, the Episode 2 ‘Manu – A House in Harmony with Nature’  transports viewers to House Manu, a modern Mediterranean retreat designed by Biro Luksic for entrepreneur Zoran Sainovic. Perched in the hills above the island Vis in the Adriatic, the house balances privacy and openness, seamlessly merging indoor and outdoor living through architecture that embraces the local climate and landscape.

Prostoria’s furniture shapes the experience of this home: the Echo sofa and armchair create a serene living area, the Monk dining table and Bik chairs bring intimacy to shared meals, while the Osmo and Jugo outdoor pieces extend comfort into the natural surroundings. For Sainovic, the house represents more than shelter — it embodies a lifestyle where architecture, nature, and furniture coexist in quiet harmony. 

titled ‘Manu – A House in Harmony with Nature,’ the second episode explores the quiet elegance of House Manu on the island of Vis and the life of entrepreneur Zoran Sainovic | image © Maja Danica Pecanic

in this Mediterranean retreat designed by Biro Luksic, Prostoria’s furniture flow through the spaces with equal ease | image © Maja Danica Pecanic

episode 3: BONDS with MVA Architects

Episode 3 is titled ‘BONDS with MVA Architects’ and explores Prostoria’s collaboration with MVA Architects, led by Mikelic & Vres in Zagreb. Over the years, the architects have integrated Prostoria furniture into numerous projects, including the MDK, production and business facility, a landmark office building in Croatia. The film captures the synergy between architecture and design as the architects reflect on shared values: mid-20th-century modernist inspiration, simplicity, functionality, and an appreciation for materials. Their partnership with Prostoria exemplifies how thoughtful furniture can complement and elevate architectural space, creating environments that feel both contemporary and timeless.

‘We share the same passion for good design and quality. In our work, we often look for inspiration in mid-20th-century modernism – the 1950s and 1960s. Prostoria and we share values like simplicity, functionality, abstraction, and an approach how to treat materials, both in design and the creative process,’ explains Mikelic & Vres (MVA) Architects from Zagreb.

Episode 3 explores their relationship with Prostoria’s design through the MDK, production and business facility project | image © Jure Zivkovic

Prostoria’s designs complement the distinguished architecture of MDK’s Horizontal HQ, a building that has become a landmark of Croatian architecture

Prostoria’s designs complement the distinguished architecture of MDK’s Horizontal HQ, a building that has become a landmark of Croatian architecture | image © Jure Zivkovic

project info:

name: BONDS

brand: Prostoria | @prostoria

video creation: Oda Communications | @odacommunications

episode 1: Bonds with Polygon

episode 2: Manu – A House in Harmony with Nature
episode 3: BONDS with MVA Architects

location: Croatia

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SANAA unveils taichung art museum in taiwan with translucent dual-layer metal facade

First look at Taichung Art Museum by SANAA

SANAA unveils Taichung Art Museum, part of the newly completed Taichung Green Museumbrary, set to open on December 13th, 2025. Located in Taiwan’s second-largest city, the project integrates the city’s central library with a metropolitan art museum, establishing a combined cultural facility that presents a new institutional model.

The Taichung Green Museumbrary sits on the northern edge of Central Park, a 67-hectare green space within the 254-hectare Shuinan Trade and Economic Park, formerly a military airport decommissioned in 2004. Positioned at the heart of this redevelopment area, the project has been described as Taiwan’s most significant cultural initiative of 2025. SANAA’s design follows the guiding idea of creating ‘a library in a park and an art museum in a forest.’ The building is lifted above ground level, allowing natural light and park breezes to move freely through shaded plazas that provide open, permeable access from all sides.

all images by YHLAA – Yi Hsien Lee

An Open Plan Connecting Culture and Nature

The plan dissolves traditional divisions between museum and library spaces within an open and inclusive interior. Reading areas and exhibition zones are designed to overlap, encouraging cross-programming and interaction. The library will house over one million physical and digital resources. On the rooftop, the design team at SANAA organizes an outdoor garden that offers views of Central Park and the Taichung skyline. Conceived as both a public landscape and a cultural extension of the building, the rooftop enhances the continuity between built and natural environments.

The dual-layer facade combines high-performance glass or metal cladding with an outer layer of aluminum expanded metal mesh. This silvery veil produces a sense of transparency while improving environmental performance. The facade and lifted volume emphasize lightness, openness, and integration with the surrounding park. At ground level, shaded plazas act as public thresholds where the city meets the museum and library.

SANAA unveils the Taichung Art Museum as part of the Green Museumbrary

the dual-layer facade combines glass or metal cladding with expanded aluminum mesh

the mesh screen improves environmental performance while shaping the building’s identity

the outdoor garden functions as both a public space and cultural extension

the cultural complex combines a metropolitan art museum with the city’s central library

the building volume is lifted above the ground to allow light and breeze to pass through

reading areas and exhibition zones are arranged to overlap and encourage interaction

the library is planned to hold over one million physical and digital resources

shaded plazas beneath the structure create open and permeable public access

the design concept is described as ‘a library in a park and an art museum in a forest’

at ground level, shaded plazas act as thresholds between the city and the museum

project info:

name: Taichung Art Museum

architect: SANAA | @sanaa_jimusho

location: Taichung, Taiwan

photographer: YHLAA – Yi Hsien Lee | @nevermind1107

retoucher: YHLAA – Kane Liou

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

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palestinian suad amiry & ZHA’s patrik schumacher win 2025 european prize for architecture

2025 European Prize for Architecture honors two architects

Palestinian architect, scholar, and activist Suad Amiry and German architect and theorist Patrik Schumacher jointly reveive the 2025 European Prize for Architecture from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art, Design and Urban Studies. The two architects are recognized for their contrasting but equally influential contributions: Amiry for her decades-long work safeguarding Palestinian architectural heritage, and Schumacher for his theoretical contribution and leadership of Zaha Hadid Architects.

Two accompanying exhibitions, Suad Amiry and Zaha Hadid Architects, are currently on view at The European Centre in Athens.

Suad Amiry | image by Columbia GSAPP via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

suad amiry: heritage preservation as cultural resistance

Since founding the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation in Ramallah in 1991, novelist, essayist and architect Suad Amiry has dedicated her career to documenting and restoring Palestinian heritage as a form of cultural resistance. Riwaq’s Registry of Historic Buildings catalogued more than 50,000 structures across the West Bank and Gaza, while projects such as the 50 Village Rehabilitation Project and The Life Jacket Project have combined conservation with social and economic resilience.

‘Spanning for more than three decades,’ notes Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, president of The Chicago Athenaeum, ‘Suad Amiry has been on a heroic mission to vigorously promote, protect, intervene, renovate, and restore cultural landmarks, monuments, and vernacular architecture throughout the State of Palestine.’

Amiry’s vision ties built heritage to collective memory and survival. ‘Israel tore down nearly 400 historic centers during the Nakba,’ she has stated. ‘Hence I will reclaim, document, and rehabilitate another 400 throughout the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem.’

Beyond her architectural work, Amiry is also a celebrated writer, with books such as Sharon and My Mother-in-Law (2003) and Mother of Strangers (2022) amplifying Palestinian voices worldwide. Her approach has earned her the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2013) and the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize (2025), cementing her role as a figure whose practice is both architectural and political.

Patrik Schumacher | image via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

patrik schumacher continues zaha hadid’s legacy

In parallel, Patrik Schumacher has been recognized for shaping architectural discourse through both built work and theory. As principal of Zaha Hadid Architects since 2016, Schumacher has overseen landmark projects including the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum (2023), the Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Arts Centre (2023), and Prague’s Masaryčka Building (2023).

He is also credited with formulating and advancing parametricism, a computational design approach he first named in 2008, which seeks to generate adaptive, fluid, and complex forms. ‘Schumacher uses the term to denote the use in the architecture of advanced computational design techniques,’ explains Narkiewicz-Laine.

Schumacher’s outspoken theoretical positions—ranging from calls for a ‘new universal style’ to critiques of biennales and architectural academia—have made him one of the field’s most controversial figures. Yet his insistence on architecture’s capacity for innovation and systemic coherence has positioned him as a key provocateur shaping global debate.

Registry of Historic Buildings | image courtesy of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation

europe’s highest architectural honor

Since its founding, the European Prize for Architecture has recognized architects who value humanism, innovation, and critical engagement with the built environment. Previous laureates include Bjarke Ingels, Santiago Calatrava, Manuelle Gautrand, querkraft architektur, and others.

Amiry becomes the 22nd laureate, while Schumacher becomes the 23rd, their names inscribed together in the ongoing lineage of European architecture. ‘This is architecture as cultural resistance,’ states Narkiewicz-Laine of Amiry’s work, ‘and against all odds, Ms. Amiry is an absolute hero of profound proportion.’ Of Schumacher, he adds: ‘Unquestionably, he inherited one of the highest-profile jobs in global architecture, with real clout to see his ideas and theories put into practice.’

Suad Amiry has dedicated her career to documenting and restoring Palestinian heritage | image courtesy of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation

the center catalogued more than 50,000 structures across the West Bank and Gaza | image courtesy of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation

Masaryčka building by ZHA | image © boysplaynice

Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre by ZHA | image © Virgile Simon Bertrand

Chengdu Science Fiction Museum resembles an expanding star cloud | image Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), © ATCHAIN

project info:

name: European Prize For Architecture 2025

laureates: Patrik Schumacher | @schumacher.patrik, Suad Amiry | @suad.amiry

organizers: The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum Of Architecture And Design | @thechicagoathenaeummuseum, The European Centre For Architecture Art Design And Urban Studies | @europeancentreforarchitecture

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tadao ando’s sketches and drawings catalogued in upcoming book by taschen

The Visual Language of an Architect

Taschen’s newest release, Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture, brings an intimate view of the legendary Japanese architect’s creative process across more than five decades of work. Born in Osaka in 1941 and entirely self-taught, Ando founded his practice in 1969 after extended travels across the world. International recognition followed as he won the Pritzker Prize in 1995 and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1997.

Published from the art book house’s headquarters in Cologne, the volume gathers over 750 sketches, models, and technical drawings that reveal how Tadao Ando translates fleeting impressions into built spaces that are at once iconic and monumental. While the edition is currently up for preorder, it will be available for purchase in November 2025.

images courtesy Taschen

Tadao Ando’s Sketches and Drawings

Taschen’s book, Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture, tracks the progression of the architect’s design method through the tactile act of drawing. Quick pencil lines, dense shading, colored pencil drawings, and technical plans show how ideas first surface as instinctive gestures before becoming the structures that stand today. Readers can follow the development of key projects, especially the Row House in Sumiyoshi, the Rokko Housing complex, and the Chichu Art Museum, and can track how each evolved through layers of hand-rendered detail.

His own reflections accompany these drawings, illustrating his early travel experiences across Europe, Africa, and Asia, to the architectural decisions that came later. Memories of light in a stone monastery in France or the resonant geometry of an Indian stepwell emerge as formative influences. The book illustrates how these impressions, filtered through memory and craft, inform the quiet drama of concrete and light that defines his buildings.

Tadao Ando. Sketches, and Drawings trace over five decades of work

honoring the fragility of the hand-drawn line

For Tadao Ando, drawing remains a direct and irreplaceable means of shaping space. He views sketching as an act that captures the urgency of imagination, something no digital model can replicate. Taschen’s upcoming edition preserves that immediacy, presenting each drawing as both documentation and meditation, a celebration of the enduring value of the hand-drawn line.

In Ando’s own words: ‘Our imaginations may expand endlessly, shaping the invisible scenes in our minds — this is the never-ending story of architecture.’

The book includes a detailed appendix cataloging both built and unbuilt projects. The comprehensive list reinforces its role as an archival resource for architects and students studying the Japanese architect’s influential practice.

the book presents more than 750 sketches, models, and technical drawings

Ando reflects on early travels through Europe, Africa, and Asia as formative experiences

Taschen’s edition captures the evolution from quick pencil marks to precise technical plans

an appendix lists all built and unbuilt projects for comprehensive reference

project info:

name: Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture

publisher: TASCHEN | @taschen

architect: Tadao Ando

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