Blog TSK

Sep
8

cheng tsung feng’s timber installation reimagines taiwanese architecture as a seafaring fleet

‘Sailing Castle’ installation arrives in Tainan

Taiwanese artist Cheng Tsung Feng brings his Sailing Castle installation to the historic West Central District of Tainan, where the work rises along the city’s canals near the site of a former shipyard from the Japanese colonial period. Conceived as an architectural fleet frozen at sea, the large-scale timber structure reinterprets the cityscape as a constellation of ships, reflecting on Tainan’s four centuries of Han cultural history. Through its layered wooden sails, the installation invites visitors to experience the city’s architectural heritage as a voyage that moves simultaneously across time, memory, and place.

all images courtesy of Cheng Tsung Feng

Cheng Tsung FENG shapes light, wind, and memory

With Sailing Castle, Cheng Tsung Feng crystallizes the silhouettes of city skylines into sculptural form. The Taiwanese artist reimagines architectural profiles as sails, transforming recognizable structures into components of a poetic fleet. For this Tainan edition, the artist drew inspiration from local landmarks such as Fort Zeelandia, Chihkan Tower, Confucius Temple, Nankunshen Daitian Temple, and Anping Kaitai Tianhou Temple. Rooflines, fortress walls, columns, and gables merge into the wooden structure, their outlines reinterpreted as overlapping sails that rise into a dynamic yet harmonious composition.

By day, the timber sails catch natural light and project a sense of vitality; by night, the structure shimmers with illumination, casting a glowing silhouette against the waterfront that recalls both the historic skyline and the spirit of maritime journeys. Visitors are encouraged to walk among the sails, pause on integrated seating, and feel the wind passing through the wooden lattice. This experience evokes the sensation of boarding a ship ready to depart. More than a visual statement, the work becomes a tactile and atmospheric encounter: a place of congregation, a site of transition, and a poetic reimagining of urban space.

Sailing Castle is conceived as an architectural fleet frozen at sea

the artist reimagines the ctiy’s architectural profiles as sails

rooflines, fortress walls, columns, and gables merge into the wooden structure

their outlines are reinterpreted as overlapping sails that rise into a dynamic yet harmonious composition

the work becomes a tactile and atmospheric encounter

at night, the structure shimmers with illumination

Sailing Castle serves as a poetic reimagining of urban space

visitors are encouraged to walk among the sails and pause to reflect

a glowing silhouette against the waterfront that recalls both the historic skyline and the spirit of maritime journeys

project info:

name: Sailing Castle Hai’an
artist: Cheng Tsung FENG

location: Tainan, Taiwan

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: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom

The post cheng tsung feng’s timber installation reimagines taiwanese architecture as a seafaring fleet appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Sep
8

DESIGN DISCO CLUB animates lafayette anticipations with more than forty creators in paris

Category: Design Boom

design disco club lands at lafayette anticipations in paris

For Paris Design Week 2025 (find designboom’s ultimate guide here), Design Disco Club, a week-long exhibition running until September 12th, 2025, organized by publishing house Pli office, takes over the Rem Koolhaas-renovated Lafayette Anticipations, reframing contemporary design through the energy of disco. Conceived by curator and founder of Pli office Christopher Dessus, with scenography by his design and interior architecture studio Paf atelier, the project gathers more than forty emerging designers, architects, and fashion houses to examine how creation today is driven by shifting industrial, human, and emotional rhythms.

The exhibition positions the disco theme as a structural metaphor. The reference point is the 1976 track Disco Inferno, where repetition, acceleration, and collective euphoria translate into design terms. Disco, in this reading, is a prism that reveals how labor bends under the weight of time, how repetition gives rise to both weariness and wonder, and how collective rhythms can reorder the values of creation.

image © Paf atelier

Paf atelier’s scenography as temporal experiment

Scenography by the Paris-based team at Paf atelier translates these ideas into a spatial and perceptual experiment. Visitors step into a deep-blue floor punctuated by harsh light bursts, reflective surfaces, and theatrical shadows. Objects appear isolated or clustered, illuminated like performers in a nocturnal score. The composition draws on Baudelaire’s poem The Clock, where time fractures, suspends, and multiplies, destabilizing linear perception. Here, design is not displayed as a static form but as a constellation of pulses, interruptions, and rhythms—an environment closer to a dancefloor than a gallery.

Design Disco Club brings together design studios such as Uchronia, Soft Baroque, and Odd Matter, and figures like François Azambourg, Samy Rio, and Fabien Cappello. Textile works and objects by Petite Friture and Lambert & Fils appear alongside emblematic fashion pieces from Marine Serre, Dior (Galliano), Jean Paul Gaultier, Marie-Ève Lecavalier, and Thierry Mugler, forming a cross-disciplinary assembly.

Design Disco Club functions as both an exhibition and a forum. Alongside the displays, talks organized with Isabelle Moisy-Cobti and the Fonds de Dotation Quartus open space for reflection on architecture, design, and fashion. The event also coincides with the release of JTM – Disco Inferno, the second issue of Pli office’s magazine.

Pli office takes over Lafayette Anticipations with Design Disco Club | installation images © Florent Michel

the exhibition reframes contemporary design through the energy of disco

the project gathers more than forty emerging designers, architects, and fashion houses

examining how creation today is driven by shifting industrial, human, and emotional rhythms

the reference point is the 1976 track Disco Inferno

conceived by curator Christopher Dessus with scenography by Paf atelier,

Adrianus Kundert, Fontaine

Frédéric Pellenq, Old Oak, New Flame Sculpture

Maria Jeglinska Adamczewska, Visage vase

Julien Carretero, Ateliers Delacroix. Balises

GROOVIDO, Medium Board

Gaspard Fleury-Dugy, Disco Totem

Studio Sho Ota, Surfaced Stool

Uchronia, Flower Coachella

project info:

name: Design Disco Club

designers exhibited: Adrianus Kundert, Alain Gilles – Glass Variations, Bureau, Daniel Zamarbide, Camille Viallet & Théo Leclercq, Dirk van der Kooij, Döppel Studio, Exercice – Glass Variations, Fabien Cappello, François Azambourg, Frédéric Pellenq, Garnier Pingree Design – Petite Friture, Gaspard Fleury-Dugy, Gobezzia, Grégory Lacoua, Groovido, Haus Otto, Julien Carretero & Ateliers Delacroix, Kwangho Lee – Lambert et fils, Laurids Galée, Maria Jeglinska-Adamczewska, Odd Matter, Only Only Studio, Marie et Alexandre – Petite Friture, Pierre Charrié, Quentin Vuong, Samy Rio, Sashaxsasha, Soft Baroque, Stéven Coëffic, Studio Douze Degrés, Studio Élémentaire, Studio GGSV, Studio poirier bailay, Studio Sho Ota, Uchronia, Xavier Brisoux – Glass Variations

fashion garments: Marie-Éve Lecavalier, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marine Serre, Dior par Galliano, Thierry Mugler

location: Lafayette Anticipations | @lafayetteanticipations, Paris, France

curator: Christopher Dessus | @christopher_dessus

assistant curators: Fannie Tomas (design), Jeanne-Léopoldine Claustre (fashion)

scenography + production: Paf atelier | @paf_atelier

organization: Pli office | @pli_office

musical piece: Bureau Bruit

sound installation: Bientôt Minuit

lighting design: iiode

lighting installation: Only Light

set construction: Eotna

graphic design: Créations du Val d’Oise (CVO)

dates: September 6th – 12th, 2025

The post DESIGN DISCO CLUB animates lafayette anticipations with more than forty creators in paris appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Sep
8

Porsche Will Soon Let You Wirelessly Charge Your EV Just Like Your Phone

Category: YankoDesign

You’ve been doing it for years with your phone. You walk into your home, drop it on a little pad by your keys, and it just starts charging. No fumbling with a frayed cable in the dark, no wrestling with a plug that only fits one way. It’s a tiny, elegant convenience that has become second nature. Now, imagine that same seamless experience for the two-ton electric vehicle sitting in your garage. You pull in, park, and walk away. That’s it. The car is charging. This is not some far-off concept from a sci-fi movie; it’s the future Porsche is rolling out for its customers.

The German automaker recently confirmed it is bringing a production-ready wireless charging system to the market, set to debut as an option on the all-electric Porsche Cayenne in 2026. After a showcase at the IAA Mobility 2025 event, what was once a technological curiosity is now a tangible feature heading for consumer driveways. This move represents a significant leap in improving the daily ownership experience of an electric vehicle. It targets one of the last remaining points of friction for EV adopters: the daily ritual of plugging in. While public charging infrastructure remains a separate beast, Porsche is focused on perfecting the at-home experience, making it as effortless as parking.

Designer: Porsche

So why has this taken so long? The core technology, inductive charging, is straightforward, but the real trick has been scaling it up efficiently. Early attempts were lossy, generating excessive waste heat and delivering power too slowly to be practical for a massive car battery. Porsche’s breakthrough is achieving over 90 percent efficiency at a respectable 11 kW charging rate. This high efficiency is crucial. Anyone who has picked up a phone from a wireless charger knows it can get a bit toasty. Now imagine that heat applied to a six-figure battery pack. Porsche’s system requires robust thermal management, and minimizing energy loss is the first and most important step to prevent cooking the very expensive heart of the vehicle.

The system is built for real-world conditions, designed to operate flawlessly from a frigid -40 degrees to a scorching 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The driver simply uses the car’s infotainment screen to align the vehicle perfectly over the pad, and charging begins. But this convenience naturally raises a critical question: does this technology scale outside the home? It is one thing to install a dedicated pad in a private garage, but it is another challenge entirely to embed thousands of these in public parking lots. Standardization would be required across brands, and the installation costs would be immense. For now, this remains a purely personal, at-home luxury.

Of course, the convenience comes at a price. While final U.S. pricing is unconfirmed, early reports suggest the onboard hardware and ground pad could cost around $8,000. For that kind of money, a discerning owner will have questions. How does this affect my electricity bill? With over 90 percent efficiency, it will be slightly less efficient than a cable, but the impact on your monthly bill should be minimal. More importantly, what are the long-term effects on battery health? Any charging cycle causes some degradation, but we have to trust that Porsche has engineered this to have no more impact than a conventional wired charger. It’s a valid concern for any early adopter of a technology that interfaces so directly with the car’s most vital component.

Porsche’s entry could be the catalyst the industry needs to push wireless charging into the mainstream. As more luxury brands adopt it, the innovation will trickle down, costs will decrease, and standards will hopefully emerge. The immediate impact is about offering ultimate convenience to a select group of owners, removing a small but persistent chore from their daily lives. The long-term potential, however, is what is truly exciting… and no, I’m not talking about MagSafe battery packs for your car!

The post Porsche Will Soon Let You Wirelessly Charge Your EV Just Like Your Phone first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sep
8

“A practical guide to harnessing AI for design work”

Category: Design Week

The creative industry stands at a crossroads. Generative AI has crashed onto the design desk with promises of instant solutions and creative acceleration, yet many brands risk mistaking that initial lift-off for a finished flight.

What really happens after the first prompt? The reality is relentless iteration, sharp art direction, and the disciplined craft that keeps brand stories authentic.

This isn’t another piece about AI replacing designers. It’s about what happens when the technology meets the messy, nuanced world of brand building.

How do we harness machine velocity without abandoning the soul of our work? How do we distinguish between AI as a creative multiplier versus a creative crutch?

The answer lies not in avoiding these tools, but in learning to wield them with the same intentionality we bring to every other aspect of our craft.

The reality check

Generative AI has landed like a jet-pack, launching us from blank canvas to visuals in seconds. But treating that first barrage of images as campaign-ready art trades hard-earned equity for a fleeting gimmick. Anyone who has driven Midjourney or Runway knows the dirty secret – good results are easy; the right results are hard.

The promise of instant output is seductive, especially under time and budget pressure. Yet prompt after prompt, you tweak perspective, palette, focal length, iterating with the same patience you once spent retouching and sketching storyboards.

Craft has merely moved upstream into language.

Think of these models as the fastest intern you’ve ever hired: brilliant at churning variations, clueless about nuance.

Your value lies in knowing when to brief, when to redirect, and when to say, “Thanks, I’ll take it from here.” The danger is treating AI imagery as a cheap replacement for discipline – polished at a glance, generic on inspection, eroding the authenticity that is modern branding’s currency.

Introducing the EDEN Loop

Explore: Wild ideation – hundreds of frames in minutes to map the creative landscape.
Diagnose: Force a critical eye. Do these images capture the brand’s emotional territory? Are they culturally sensitive?
Elevate: Bring human hands back to the controls, retouching anatomy, integrating brand elements, building in craft.
Nurture: Put work in front of real people, iterating until it triggers the intended feeling.

Knowing when not to use it

AI excels at texture, atmosphere, and rapid iteration. It struggles with precise storytelling beats – authenticity, empathy and subtle cultural references. If the narrative hinges on a single expression or mandated element, bespoke illustration or traditional photography may still be safer, and ultimately more authentic.

Part of professional judgment is scanning the brief, and deciding whether velocity will compromise veracity.

Safeguarding emerging talent

My biggest concern is the graduate who masters the prompt before design theory. We risk breeding a generation fluent in generating “cool” images, yet unaware of kerning, hierarchy, or brand narrative.

Design leaders must insist juniors sketch, ideate, and art-direct alongside experimenting with AI tools. Dual fluency is where the magic, and future employability, lies.

Essential guidelines

Write prompts like a director. Think lens, lighting, emotion, era, texture. The richer the brief, the fewer wasted iterations.
Layer your tools. Use AI to get partway there, then add finesse from Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects. Make it work across touchpoints.
Budget for craft. Allow for post-AI refinement – that’s where distinctiveness is forged.
Define an ethical ‘no-AI’ zone. Reserve sensitive roles – diverse human models, authentic voice talent, culturally rooted illustrators – for real people. Use AI to accelerate ideation, not erase lived experience.

The choice ahead

The generative revolution isn’t coming, it’s here. The question isn’t whether to engage with these tools, but how to engage thoughtfully. Agencies and marketers who embrace the EDEN loop, budget for craft, and resist the shortcut temptation will find significant competitive advantage.

As models evolve, the gap between raw AI output and finished craftsmanship will shrink, but not disappear.

Brand storytelling lives or dies on subtleties algorithms can’t yet intuit – context, irony, and cultural undercurrents. Designers who learn to wield AI as a multiplier of imagination, rather than substitute, will set the pace for the next creative decade.

The brands that thrive will use AI to amplify human creativity, not replace it. They’ll understand that while machines can generate infinite variations, only humans can choose the right one.

In an increasingly automated world, human judgment becomes not just valuable, it becomes irreplaceable.

The jet-pack is powerful, but the destination still requires a pilot. Make sure you’re the one holding the controls.

Matt Sanders is head of design at House 337.

Source

Sep
8

How is OHMY using AI?

Category: Design Week

OHMY is a design and technology studio based in Leamington Spa. It works with clients like Sonder, RCA Records, and The Emory hotel. We spoke with Joe Burke, OHMY’s co-founder and creative director, about how the studio uses AI, and how he feels about it.

You can see all the articles in this series here.

Broadly speaking, are you excited for how AI will change the design industry, or nervous?

I’m excited and nervous in equal measure.

It’s good to be a little nervous; it keeps you on your toes. It’s definitely an exciting time, but things are moving fast. I’ve never really experienced a shift quite like it.

I’m hoping AI dusts off the heart of what we do and human input becomes more and more valuable over time. I’m nervous for people in roles where they could lose big parts of their hard-earned careers.

Do you have an agreed policy around AI as a business?

We’re careful about the legal side. Client materials don’t get thrown into just any tool, as most of them use data for training. We pay for subscriptions to make sure client content isn’t used that way.

Anyone at the studio can use AI – we encourage it. The simple rule is – use it as much as you want, as long as you’re happy to admit it. If you’d be embarrassed to say you used AI on something, you probably shouldn’t.

We’ve also updated our statements of work and contracts to remove liability related to generative AI tools. That was done with AI and a solicitor.

When did you realise AI was going to have an impact on design?

I think it was when the latest version of ChatGPT started rendering things in chat. Things were moving fast, even though it was still pretty flaky.

At first, it was almost laughable – a tool that couldn’t even draw a straight line or create decent typography was never going to be a threat. But then, all of a sudden, it could do it well. It’s wild how quickly things changed.

The next step is exciting – linking these tools into the ones we already use. The idea that AI can sit inside the systems where you’re designing, sketching, and exploring, and then help expand those ideas, is going to be powerful.

But it was that major ChatGPT release that made me think, “OK, this is here now, and it’s not going away”

Have you undergone any AI training, either as a studio or individuals?

No training, just a lot of research and experimentation.

How do you use AI in the studio’s creative process?

We use AI at different levels, from deep research to fleshing out concepts, reviewing, and spotting holes in our work. It’s genuinely useful having more “eyes” on things – it helps us find gaps in strategies that might have been missed.

As for shortcomings, it’s still only as good as what you put in. You need a strong strategic head, a sharp creative eye, and bags of taste. Otherwise, you’ll just get trash out the back. You can’t outsource those things.

Do you think clients care if/how you use AI in your work?

Clients have budgets and want the most for their money. If the studio can deliver more for that budget, they’ll be happier.

We’ve had clients include prompts in briefs asking if we can push things using AI. No-one’s asked us not to yet.

Do you use AI for any non-creative aspects of running your business?

It helps with some of the coding work and day-to-day formatting. We’ve also built a few internal tools using it to help with costing and estimating.

What’s one AI tool you’d recommend to other design studios?

I use a little tool called Talktastic multiple times a day. It lets me dictate to the computer in a much more natural way. It listens, tightens everything up, and uses AI to make sense of it.

Traditional dictation tools can be pretty basic. This one lets me throw three or four times more context into prompts I use in tools

Source

Sep
8

hakusen revitalizes modernist city hall into boutique hotel and public library in japan

Category: Design Boom

JUNZO SAKAKURA’S FORMER CITY HALL TURNS INTO BOUTIQUE HOTEL

Located in Iga, Japan, the Hakusen Hotel offered designboom a first-hand look at the former Ueno City Hall, embodying a striking example of architectural revitalization. Completed in 1964, this modernist masterpiece was the work of Junzo Sakakura, a pioneering figure in post-war Japanese architecture and a direct protégé of Le Corbusier. What was once a public building has been reinvented as a stayable cultural complex, merging a 19-room boutique hotel with an upcoming public library to create a unique destination where architectural heritage, contemporary design, and intellectual discovery converge.

all images courtesy of designboom unless stated otherwise

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP SAVES CITY HALL FROM DEMOLITION

While many old Japanese buildings are repurposed for tourism, the Ueno City Hall was saved from demolition by a citizens’ preservation movement and transformed into the Hakusen Hotel through a public-private partnership. This approach, driven by Funatani Holdings, was sparked by the former mayor’s vision to make the building a landmark for Iga, establishing a new cultural hub that could serve as a creative catalyst for the rural region. The hotel‘s concept of ‘floating on a sea of words’ embodies this ambition, offering a stay that is both a physical rest and an intellectual journey, fostering a deeper connection to the local culture beyond its well-known ninja heritage.

HOTEL HAKUSEN INTEGRATES PUBLIC LIBRARY

The revitalization design by MARU。architecture pays deep homage to Sakakura’s original vision while weaving in modern comfort. Their approach centers on a continuously transitioning flow from outdoor to progressively calmer indoor spaces, maintaining low sightlines to encourage a settled, contemplative mood. The existing concrete walls and preserved wooden formwork are combined with ash wood and plaster to reveal a delicate texture. This pattern gently unites the atmosphere throughout the building.

For designboom’s stay, the Hakusen Hotel provided a suite room, styled by NOTA&design. The interiors resonate with a wabi-sabi-inspired simplicity, finished with warm materials and a serene atmosphere. Furniture by Tendo Mokko, originally designed by Sakakura Junzo Architects & Engineers, harmonizes with the minimalist spaces to create intimate guest rooms.

Each room is further enriched by the carefully curated art, chosen to bring a tactile feel and emotional depth to Sakakura’s sharp lines and concrete textures. Ceramic works by local artist Taro Tsubota and abstract paintings by Rena Fujimoto adorn each room, while a unique mosaic mural by ceramist Masaomi Yasunaga greets visitors, transforming the hotel into a living gallery where art and architecture engage in quiet conversation.

Iga’s former city hall transformed into a designer boutique hotel with 19 rooms

Even the branding, conceived by UMA/design farm, contributes to this immersive narrative. The Hakusen logo itself is an abstract and poetic distillation of Sakakura’s architecture, evoking images of a boat, moonlight, or a reader lost in thought. Adopting navy blue — a color restored from the building’s original second floor — the logo and signage ensure that every visual element respects and enhances the architectural memory. Documentary photographs of the old city hall, taken by Yuma Harada before the renovation, are also exhibited, silently weaving the building’s past journey into the guest experience. This encapsulates how a stay at Hakusen is a profound journey through time, culture, and design.

the suite room, styled by NOTA&design

all rooms resonate with a wabi-sabi inspired simplicity

the rooms are finished with a warm material feel and a serene atmosphere

project info:

name: Hakusen Hotel | @hakusen_iga

architect: Junzo Sakakura

location: Iga, Japan

revitalization: MARU。architecture
interior styling: NOTA&design

branding: UMA/design farm | @umadesignfarm

The post hakusen revitalizes modernist city hall into boutique hotel and public library in japan appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Sep
8