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frank lloyd wright-inspired airstream trailer brings usonian design on the road

Airstream and Frank Lloyd Wright Launch Limited Travel Trailer

 

Airstream partners with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to release the Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer, a 28-foot mobile living space inspired by Wright’s architectural principles. Only 200 units are scheduled to be produced until 2027, each one merging Airstream’s traditional riveted aluminum shell with design elements drawn from Wright’s Usonian vision—compact, efficient homes built with a strong connection to nature. Developed collaboratively between Airstream’s design team in Jackson Center, Ohio, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation at Taliesin West in Arizona, the trailer combines mid-century modern aesthetics with adaptable interiors suited for travel, camping and everyday use.

all images courtesy of Airstream

 

 

Usonian Principles Applied to Mobile Living

 

Wright coined the term Usonian to describe a distinctly American architectural approach: modest, well-crafted homes with open layouts, built-in furniture, and a strong relationship to the surrounding environment. This design philosophy shaped the interior layout of the Usonian Limited Edition trailer, a collaboration between the Ohio-based team at Airstream and the Arizona foundation dedicated to Frank Lloyd Wright.

 

The result is a highly adaptable living space that reflects Wright’s principles and Airstream’s emphasis on efficient, mobile design. A rear sleeping area features twin beds that convert into a king-sized bed at the push of a button, with custom slipcovers and bolsters that transform the room into a daytime lounge. At the front of the trailer, a modular lounge serves as a dining area, workspace, or secondary sleeping area. Chairs and a stool collapse and stow within custom cabinetry, maximizing use of space without sacrificing comfort.

Airstream’s traditional aluminum shell meets design elements drawn from Wright’s Usonian vision

 

 

Design Details: Materials, Light, and Layout

 

The trailer interior emphasizes natural light and open views. A total of 29 windows, including two skylights and circular portholes, offer more glass surface than any other Airstream model to date. Overhead storage was reduced to make room for windows at sitting and standing height, reinforcing the indoor-outdoor connection central to Wright’s designs.

 

The color palette is based on Wright’s 1955 Martin-Senour Paint Collection, featuring earthy reds, mustard yellows, ochres, and turquoise tones drawn from the American desert. Floating shelves, open floor plans, and a custom slatted ceiling light fixture—inspired by a Taliesin West design—contribute to the trailer’s visual continuity and mid-century atmosphere.

only 200 units are scheduled to be produced until 2027

 

 

Historic Patterns and Limited Edition Features

 

Wright’s influence appears not only in the layout but also in the detailing. The Gordon Leaf Pattern, a geometric motif originally created by Wright associate Eugene Masselink, is used throughout the trailer—in lighting, cabinet panels, and doors. Each trailer is numbered and features special edition badging, including Wright’s signature Taliesin Red tile on the exterior. Interior furnishings also reflect Wright’s style, including deep, high-back lounge cushions and shelves designed for displaying books or travel keepsakes. USB charging ports are discreetly built into shelving for convenience.

 

The trailer has a GVWR of 7,600 lbs, making it towable by many full-size SUVs and trucks. It is available through Airstream dealers nationwide, with pricing starting at $184,900.

Wright’s influence appears not only in the layout but also in the detailing

the highly adaptable living space reflects Wright’s principles and Airstream’s emphasis mobile design

the trailer interior emphasizes natural light and open views

overhead storage was reduced to make room for windows

the color paletter includes earthy reds, mustard yellows, ochres, and turquoise tones

interior furnishings also reflect Wright’s style

 

project info: 

 

name: Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer
company: Airstream | @airstream_inc
in collaboration with: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation | @wrighttaliesin

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generative building facades realizes architecture renewal in hong kong

Generative Building Facades by Jianing Luo and Boyuan Yu

Hong Kong’s rapid urbanization has resulted in a complex mixture of historic and modern architectural styles, often causing visual identity discord across city blocks. Jianing Luo and Boyuan Yu’s project, Generative Building Facades with Pix2Pix GAN in Hong Kong, responds to the pressing challenge of harmonizing new development and renovation efforts with existing neighborhood character. They propose a design methodology using Pix2Pix GAN — a deep generative model — to automatically generate building facades that are contextually aligned with Hong Kong’s urban environment.

the workflow from the input to the generation of output

 

 

The research behind Jianing Luo and Boyuan Yu‘s Generative Building Facades with Pix2Pix GAN in Hong Kong, begins by constructing a custom dataset of 160 facade images from old neighborhoods in the city. These images, collected via Google Maps and archival photography, were manually processed into bitmap label maps that define key architectural elements — such as windows, balconies, signs, and walls — using a simplified color-coded system. Each image was aligned, normalized, and resized to 256×256 pixels for optimal training conditions.

the color categories in the building label image

 

 

Pix2Pix Generative Adversarial Networks

 

The core of the design process utilizes conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGANs), specifically the Pix2Pix architecture, which includes a U-Net-based generation tested on 32 pairs, using data augmentation techniques to enhance robustness. Testing revealed that the AI-generated facades demonstrate high fidelity to Hong Kong’s vernacular forms. In particular, the system successfully reconstructed elements like varied window arrangements, floor divisions, and street-level shopfronts.

data augmentation

 

 

While reflections and weathering in real facades posed challenges, the generated outputs preserved core compositional logic and provided cleaner, stylized alternatives, potentially useful for early-stage design explorations and facade design in dense urban contexts. It not only aids in preserving the architectural heritage of historic districts but also reduces the subjectivity and labor intensity of traditional facade analysis. The trained model can serve as a generative design aid for architects and planners, offering a fast, scalable, and data-informed means of producing facade proposals for urban renewal and infill development. Future work will expand the dataset, refine labelling methods, and explore integration with 3D scanning technologies to enhance precision and application.

 

generator construction

testing results

training process of generator and discriminator

the generator and discriminator loss values

existing buildings and automatically generated buildings output

 

 

project info:

 

name: Generative Building Facades with Pix2Pix GAN in Hong Kong
designers: Jianing Luo and Boyuan Yu

 

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.

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MVRDV’s winy maas on kinetic sombra pavilion and biotopia installation at venice biennale

MVRDV’s winy maas at the venice architecture biennale 2025

 

MVRDV’s Winy Maas sits down with designboom to discuss the making of the kinetic Sombra Pavilion and the 3D printed Biotopia installation at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Before the exhibition’s public opening on May 9th 2025, the Dutch architect, and the M of MVRDV together with Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries, explained the making and thinking behind the SOMBRA pavilion and the Biotopia installation. ‘It’s nice that the pavilion is not solar. In this case, it’s only the air pressure. What we use is our knowledge of the sun. We work a lot on shadow and light, and create and research complex solar programs. For Biotopia, I imagine a fully recyclable, biological world that combines all the properties we need: energy, oxygen, animals, shelter, light, flexibility, and changeability,’ the architect tells designboom during the interview.

 

One project uses physics to create shade without electricity, while the other imagines a future where buildings grow like living organisms. The pavilion is at the European Cultural Centre’s Giardini Marinaressa, part of the Time Space Existence show. The installation is at the Arsenale, part of the main exhibition curated by Carlo Ratti. Both of them are on view until November 2025. For the pavilion, built in collaboration with with Metadecor, Airshade, and Alumet, the structure turns reused beams into large arches, supported by metal ribs. This frame holds triangular panels fitted with perforated metal screens. The pavilion operates without electricity or motors. It relies on physics: when direct sunlight heats small air canisters located within the structure’s ribs, the air pressure inside increases. This pressure inflates small airbags attached to the panels. As an airbag inflates, it contracts, pulling its corresponding panel closed to create shade. When the sun moves and the canisters cool, the pressure decreases, and the panels reopen.

portrait of Winy Maas | image © designboom

 

 

Progress to building a biotopic world

 

Heading to the Arsenale of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, Winy Maas and his think tank The Why Factory collaborate with visual artist Federico Díaz to sculpt and present BIOTOPIA. The installation is in two parts. First, the 3D printed sculpture made of polymer. The second is an accompanying film documenting the Dutch architect’s research and how he imagines biotopia will be, which brims with self-sustaining systems. The kind of future here makes biology the foundation for all design. It reimagines cities as forests and architecture as something that grows like a tree. The core concept is a global Sponge, or a type of dynamic biomatter architecture. This Sponge would perform functions like cooling the air, filtering water, and generating energy, all while adapting like a living thing.

 

The sculptural installation with Federico Díaz, called Propagative Structures, gives physical form to the idea of living matter, of architecture built from living organisms. The work emerges from research into biomimicry, or a field of design that takes inspiration from natural systems. The installation’s forms draw on the structure of mangrove root networks, a suggestion of a future where habitats are not built but cultivated like plants. In our interview with the architect, Winy Maas discusses the future of urbanism, our progress to a biotopic world, the use of computational designs and algorithms in architecture, and what lies ahead for MVRDV, to name a few.

all images courtesy of MVRDV | photos by Federico Vespignani, unless stated otherwise

 

 

Interview with Winy Mass at Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

 

Designboom (DB): It’s wonderful to see you here in Venice, Winy. We saw the Sombra Pavilion in the garden on our way here. We also read that it’s kinetic?

 

Winy Maas (WM): It’s a kinetic structure, yes. It doesn’t need energy. Air pressure is generated by a heat difference within the structure itself. That helps to close or open panels, cooling the building at certain corners or not. That, of course, depends on the sun. It’s good to see it in the afternoon too because they placed it next to a tree, so it stands out. The film will be made in the coming months, so we can see the functioning of this air-driven structure. It’s nice that it’s not solar. In this case, it’s only the air pressure. 

 

What we use is our knowledge of the sun. We work a lot on shadow and light. We create and research complex solar programs. After that, we can start working on the solar panel industry. Sun Rock, for example, which is our project in Taipei for the Taipower Electricity company, is a building covered with solar panels. It’s an example of how we use the sun. It’s a nice project too, and I love it. 

the project uses physics to create shade without electricity

 

 

DB: So, the Sombra Pavilion is one project of MVRDV here at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. In the Arsenale, you have another titled Biotopia under The Why Factory, which is the think tank and research institute that you lead. Here, it comes in two parts. The first a 3D printed model with the visual artist Federico Diaz that explores the idea of living matter in continuous transformation. The other is a movie that documents and visualizes this future. First off, how do you see a biotopic world?

 

WM: Biotopia is a dream. Imagine a fully recyclable, biological world that combines all the properties we need: energy, oxygen, animals, shelter, light, flexibility, and changeability. There’s a huge list of properties we demand from our materials and surroundings. Biotopia philosophizes and speculates on the idea that if we create a material or combination of materials that can facilitate these needs precisely when desired by humans, nature, or animals, that will lead to a city you can’t yet imagine. I’m pursuing a few things with my Utopia concept. 

 

First, I’m trying to paint a sketch. The seven-minute accompanying film visitors see needs improvement, so it will progress over time, to the next step. Second, I’m creating a timeline sequence of materials, an interesting research project I’ll publish in a book. This timeline will detail all the properties we need, measured in time per second, for an average population density. That’s a crucial part. We calculate what we can do with current materials and what’s possible if certain material innovations occur. 

the pavilion is at the European Cultural Centre’s Giardini Marinaressa | photo by Jaap Heemskerk

 

 

WM (continued): There are three epochs in these steps, with the current epoch of innovation per technology, like improved 3D printing. The entire MVRDV group is part of this research. A lot is already happening; we have old materials and new materials emerging. We see this more and more, with layers of wood combined with glue, like glulam and CLT. We also have more types of sandwich constructions. Materials are becoming collaborative.  But what if this collaboration becomes more intense?

 

Materials could help provide light, others energy, and perhaps they could even move. That’s what this timeline aims to explore, too: what kind of collaborations are needed. We’ll depict these in the final timeline, the Blend, where everything is so interactive and active. It could lead to a completely different type of architecture or urbanism. Finally, we’re developing prototypes. These are diverse. One is 3D printing, aiming to move beyond current prefabrication methods. While prefab is fine, 3D printing offers more flexibility.

the structure turns reused beams into large arches, supported by metal ribs | photo by Jaap Heemskerk

 

 

DB: We were told that the sculptural installation at the Arsenale was supposed to be made of living organisms instead of 3D printed from polymer. 

 

WM: Yes, and I’m still completely open to it, but that’ll most likely be after the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. There’s this dream of using 3D printing that involves two components, or three elements, that are not currently part of 3D printing. The first is what we call the material bank. Carlo Ratti adopted this idea, which involved a machine design where you have various materials. You feed these materials into the 3D printer, which could have multiple nozzles – one for concrete, one for stone, one for glass, one for steel, one for minerals, and one for wood. 

 

This allows you to select the desired material as you print, changing nozzles along the printing line. This is part of the design. The second component is the printer itself, which is a mixed printer and an ‘un-printer.’ This allows materials to be changed and adapted. To achieve this, an analyzer scans the surface, determines its composition, and then initiates a destruction operation. This process varies depending on the material. For example, 100% glass is easy to break and can be burned in two steps. 

when direct sunlight heats small air canisters, the air pressure inside increases | photo by Jaap Heemskerk

 

 

WM (continued): You remove the material, burn it, and the burner sends it to the material bank, from which it can be returned to the printer. This applies to all types of materials. So, we have the mixer, the printer, the ‘un-printer,’ and the material bank. The final component is the monitor, where you design and input data. This input isn’t just for design; it’s also a control mechanism. During printing, you need to monitor the process to prevent cracking. 

 

This can involve adding more water because the printing material is like a pudding that needs to be as fluid as possible for adhesion. Adding more water helps with the drying period, and you can also use other polymers. I can provide the diagram, but I should patent it first. This is the dream, so far. There’ll also be these robots that would be there to help construct these. I also have a sequence of mycelium tests that I want to do with the school in Jakarta.

DB: That was our follow-up question: the use of biomaterials. It seems that you’ve already used them in your recent projects. In line with this, you’ve also had a talk discussing computational design and algorithms in architecture and design. In what ways have you and MVRDV adopted them into your workflow?

 

WM: We have our specialties as an office and research group. I cannot do everything, so we need to collaborate extensively. I’m proficient in scripting; our office was one of the first to adopt it, and now our department excels in it. Our team is well-trained in computation and computer science, which I believe is a significant asset. We are skilled in space design, like any architect, and we are also strong in visualization.

 

DB: What do you think is our progress towards a biotopic world?

 

WM: There’s a wide range of research I’m trying to gather and collect. We have the example of 3D printing and mycelium. I’m also looking into the lignification of lignin from trees to accelerate this process in the farming industry. This would make the material more fluid, more like willow. I’m also incredibly interested in the electrical changeability of materials, like electrical rubber, for instance. In short, it’s a long process, but the beauty of it is fantastic.

view of the Biotopia installation at the Arsenale | all exhibition photos by Celestia Studio

 

 

DB: Are there other materials you want to work or experiment with? What’s next for you?

 

WM: I like the lignin and the washing-stone technology. This is a new technique we’re developing with Eindhoven. You add a layer of stone, which washes away, and then it assembles into soil. So, it’s essentially accelerating soil creation through erosion and its distribution. This helps plants grow, especially in shadowy areas. We’ve already applied this concept in Dubai for a new pavilion. 

 

Let’s go back to what you said before we started the interview. We’re sitting in a park, and you asked if I have a relationship with nature. My background already explains it, and I think our architecture is involved in that, meaning nature. I think we make it possible to reconnect people with nature. I like your question about what’s next because that’s the topic of the book we’re making. My lectures are always about what’s next, and they include slides. There are many subjects. I can dream about utopia as a kind of end result, if that’s possible. 

 

Then, I also have to study mobility. I need to consider when I move and what makes sense, so we’re doing a new study on velocity with different industries. We’re checking how the city would look with a certain kind of mobility: if I walk only, or if I have horses, or if I have three types of mobility. I also want to add properties to drones. It’s not about sending packages, which we can already do. We have a drone skycar in Shenzhen, and surveying is another use. But you can also construct. So I ask my collaborators and clients, ‘What can I do if I want to build a house in the sky?’ Just as a hypothesis. We’ll see.

the installation comes with an accompanying film documenting the building of Biotopia

the first part of the installation is the 3D printed sculpture made of polymer

Winy Maas and his think tank The Why Factory collaborate with visual artist Federico Díaz for the sculpture

 

project info:

 

architect: Winy Maas

firm: MVRDV | @mvrdv

 

Biotopia

think tank: The Why Factory

artist: Federico Díaz | @federico_diaz_hands

location: Arsenale

event: Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

dates: May 10th to November 23rd, 2025

photography: Celestia Studio, The Why Factory | @celestiastudio

 

SOMBRA Pavilion

collaboration: Metadecor, Airshade Technologies, MVRDV, Alumet, Van Rossum Raadgevend Ingenieurs, Arup, Kersten Europe, the AMOLF Institute | @metadecor, @airshadetechnologies, @mvrdv, @alumet_nl, @vanrossumbv, @arupgroup 

exhibition: Time Space Existence

location: Giardini Marinaressa

address: Riva dei Sette Martiri, 30122 Venice, Italy

photography: Federico Vespignani, Jaap Heemskerk | @federico_vespignani

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meet AIR-0, the inflatable work boots for astronauts who work outside of a spaceship

inflatable work boots for astronauts in space

 

AIR-0 is a pair of inflatable work boots for astronauts who work outside of a spaceship when they’re out of Earth. Designers Gert Duvenhage, Orr Kalati, Yuying Lin, and Jacob Payne develop the techy footwear at MIT, keeping in mind the astronauts floating around the Low Earth Orbit, or LEO. Since there’s no gravity in LEO, it’s hard for the space cadets to stay in one place. It’s also challenging for them to push and pull objects. The designers say that their inflatable work boots for astronauts can help with this issue.

 

The footwear has two main parts. One part is a lock, while the other part is air support. The bottom of the shoes is 3D printed soles that can rotate. The footwear also connects to a part on the outside of the spaceship. Because of this, tied using a transparent tube, the bags retain their air, and the astronauts can keep feeling as if they were standing firmly even if they were actually floating in space. 

all images courtesy of Gert Duvenhage, Orr Kalati, Yuying Lin, Jacob Payne

 

 

two soft airbags fill with air around the ankle

 

The work boots for astronauts are inflatable, built at MIT as part of the Space Architecture Studio. When the boot locks, two soft airbags fill with air around the ankle. These bags are called pneumatic cushions, and when the air filling is complete, they become firm. This gives support to the ankle, which helps the astronauts find their footing. They use it when they need to move tools or build things outside a space shop. The designers say that the footwear is made from different materials. Some parts are 3D printed hard plastic, while others come from soft plastic. 

 

There’s also light foam and soft cloth inside the inflatable work boots for astronauts to cushion their feet. The designers also make the airbags from TPU, and they bear parts that let the air in and out. These valves allow the user to fill and expel the air from the footwear. AIR-0 then uses soft robotics and 3D printing to create designs that can support researchers in space when they need to maintain their vessels or make them feel as if they were walking on solid ground. So far, there’s no news yet on the availability of the inflatable work boots for astronauts.

AIR-0 is a pair of inflatable work boots for astronauts who work outside of a spaceship

these boots have 3D printing rotating soles

the footwear has two main parts: one is a lock, while the other part is air support

the shoes connect to a part on the outside of the spaceship

 

video of the air filling the bags around the footwear

when the air filling is complete, the footwear becomes firm

there’s also light foam and soft cloth inside the shoes

project info:

 

name: AIR-0

design: Gert Duvenhage, Orr Kalati, Yuying Lin, Jacob Payne | @gpjduvenhage, @orrkalati, @cjacobpayne

institution: MIT | @mit

 

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sónar+D discusses quantum science in art, music by AI & future of creatives in series of talks

sónar+D 2025 talks about art, music and creative industries

 

Sónar+D addresses the use of quantum science in art, making music with AI, experimental video games in performances, and what the future looks like in the creative industries in a series of talks at Sónar 2025. The event runs from June 12th to 14th, 2025, at Fira Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the annual electronic music and digital art festival. On these days, over 100 lectures, exhibitions, workshops, and performances take place at once. designboom also hosts discussions during the festival, interviewing artists Yolanda Uriz, Dmitry Morozov aka ::vtol::, and George Moraitis on their practice and the making of their modern art, sound performances, and stage designs.

 

Yolanda Uriz uses physical phenomena, vibration, electromagnetic waves, and chemical molecules to decode sound, light, and smells in her installations and performances. This adoption of sound is also present in Dmitry Morozov aka ::vtol::’s robotics and installation, placing emphasis on the link between emergent systems and new kinds of technological synthesis. Even George Moraitis works with sound to narrate memory, experience, and a sense of history through sound art, audiovisual installations, and two-dimensional works and performance. Designboom’s talks take place on June 12th from 5:30pm. Historically, Sónar+D was established in 2013 as a platform for creatives to examine the ways technology, and now AI, influences art, music, and even society. This edition’s conferences focus on three main thematic areas: AI + Creativity, Futuring the Creative Industries, and Worlds to Come.

 

Meet us at Sónar+D – tickets here!

images courtesy of Sónar, unless stated otherwise | photo by Cecilia Diaz Betz

 

 

AI + Creativity explores the politics of the new technology

 

For the AI + Creativity during Sónar+D (tickets are available here), the section explores how creatives can use AI production, music, and audiovisual design. The talks also dive into the ethical and political aspects of artificial intelligence. It starts with Introducing AI & Music powered by S+T+ARTS, a forum that leads the discussion of AI and sonic creativity. In another room, Libby Heaney performs Eat my Multiverse performance using quantum computing for visuals, sounds, and music development in a way typical composition doesn’t use. Jordi Pons’ Artistic Trends, Music & AI discusses new musical genres and sonic structures from AI algorithms, while Rebecca Fiebrink hosts Design your dream music AI tool, a session on AI tool design accessible to users without programming knowledge. Joanne Armitage’s Automating Bodies: Power, Music and AI explores the power dynamics when users adopt AI for creative production. The talk includes examining gender bias in algorithmic music, too. 

 

It’s about machine learning and treating it as ‘resonant entities’ in Marije Baalman’s A Musical Understanding of AI as Resonance, while there’s also a masterclass on using real-time audio machine learning for culturally specific sound with Lamtharn (Hanoi) Hantrakul, known as ญาบอยฮานอย (yaboihanoi). In his lesson, he covers integrating AI with traditional Thai music. The viewers can, or should, participate in AI Performance Playground, an AI & Music Hacklab that allows visitors to use AI as an actual instrument. In this section, +RAIN Film Festival also shows films produced with AI models, and AudioStellar’s Territorios sonoros emergentes demonstrates how motion tracking and AI can power dance for visual and sonic performances. At the same time, Maria Arna premieres Ama, a live musical performance using AI with the human voice.

Sónar+D addresses the impact of AI in music, art and more through a series of talks during Sónar 2025

 

 

Discussions on present and future of creative industries

 

Inside the Futuring the Creative Industries section, conversations spotlight the changes and opportunities within the creative sector amidst new technologies including, but not limited to, AI in music, art and performances. The discussions center on how audiences, instead of the creatives, shape the curation, the way people create, and what they’ve produced. The forum How to future the creative industries is an example which examines cultural organizations’ roles in a changing online world. This forum – participated by the New Museum in Manhattan, Serpentine Galleries in London, and the Onassis Foundation – touches on economic, technical, and administrative support for new forms of art.

 

There’s also a related panel named Cracks in the foundation: Curation in 2025, presented in collaboration with the TIMES project. It features directors from different museums and creative spaces who share their experiences and insights about the current challenges and changes in the field of curation. Salome Asega, the director of NEW INC, the New Museum’s digital arts incubator, gives a talk exploring institutional role, while Spanish cultural analyst Julieta Wibel and technologist Mike Fernandez lead a discussion with artists Samantha Hudson and YESSi PERSE. The remaining sessions include Berta Segura and Francesca Tur’s Hacking the world and Aquelarre Futurista, both of which explore how geopolitics, technology, and digital culture shape the interactions between artists and audiences.

the event runs from June 12th to 14th, 2025, at Fira Montjuïc in Barcelona | photo by Nerea Coll

 

 

The last is the Worlds to Come, a thematic area that explores speculative futures and human-technology interfaces. It examines the relationship of today’s technology with culture and society. It begins with the audiovisual lectures of Xin Liu’s Cosmic Metabolism, a dive into technology affecting planetary metabolism and individual development. Albert.DATA’s SYNAPTICON even involves neurohacking via a Brain Computer Interface (BCI), transforming brain signals into public audiovisual content as a way to address neural rights and surveillance. There’s also Tega Brain’s Questions of Automation, which suggests intermittency in technology. Her projects, such as a Wi-Fi router linked to moon phases, can demonstrate environmentally conscious design.

 

In this section, Operator (Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti) also presents Human Unreadable, a generative choreography project that showcases on-chain method to explore human presence within technical systems. Danielle Braithwaite-Shirley’s WE CAN’T PRETEND ANYMORE combines video game and live performance to test digital identity limits all the while focusing on the Black trans experience. The Lux Mundi Installation reinterprets Sant Climent de Taüll’s apse using projection mapping and generative visuals. Each of these talks and forums contributes to the overall purpose of Sónar+D, which is to create a space for knowledge exchange between different professional fields. These programs coincide with the Sónar 2025 festival, which runs between June 12th and 14th.

Actress & Suzanne Ciani present ‘Concrète Waves’ during Sónar by Day at Stage Complex+D

Stage+D by MEDIAPRO, Playmodes, UPC-Telecos present Astres | photo by Nerea Coll

Lux Mundi installation by by Alba G.Corral, Massó, Desilence & Hamill Industries with Tarta Relena at Sónar+D

Yolanda Uriz’s Chemical Calls of Care | image courtesy of Yolanda Uriz

Chemical Calls of Care (2024), an installation on audio-olfactory communication | image courtesy of Yolanda Uriz

iPot is a device for performing a digital tea ceremony | image courtesy of ::vtol::

Schematic by George Moraitis | image courtesy of George Moraitis

 

project info:

 

event: Sónar 2025 | @sonarfestival

program: Sónar+D

location: Palau de Congressos de Fira Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain

dates: June 12th to 14th, 2025

photography: Cecilia Diaz Betz, Nerea Coll | @ceciliadiazbetz, @nereacoll

entry: tickets here

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takuto ohta slices into japanese cedar to create sculptural tension for asymptotic wood series

asymptotic wood sculptures carved from raw cedar

 

As timber becomes increasingly standardized in global construction, its material richness and irregularities are often stripped away. Japanese designer Takuto Ohta’s Asymptotic Wood series responds to this flattening of material character with a set of sculptural interventions that reawaken the expressive potential of wood — specifically cedar, a species abundant in Japan and commonly used in traditional architecture, yet largely overlooked in modern building.

 

At the center of each piece, the wood is treated as an asymptote, a mathematical curve that approaches a limit but never quite touches it. A deep cut is carved into the timber to represent this limit, forming an incision that sways inward at a 45° angle, as if being pulled into the core of the material. The result is a striking visual tension: the standardized timber appears to fold or rupture under invisible pressure, drawing attention to what lies beneath its surface uniformity.

all images courtesy of Takuto Ohta

 

 

takuto ohta revitalizes locally-ready natural materials

 

For all the pieces in the Asymptotic Wood series, Takuto Ohta uses raw cedar as the primary material. While globally many regions face wood shortages, Japan faces a paradoxical surplus of cedar despite its historic importance. Soft and flexible, cedar was once essential in the construction of homes, shrines, and public buildings. But with the rise of urbanization, apartment living, and industrialized building methods, it has fallen out of favor in contemporary practice. The increasing use of engineered wood products like MDF and plywood has also contributed to a disconnect between people and the materiality of solid wood.

 

‘In a society where globalization is accelerating, the standardization of information is inevitable,’ Ohta reflects. ‘But the connection to the materials and land that are physically related is inseparable.’ In response to this, the designer calls for a renewed relationship between people and place — an ethos of ‘local production for local consumption’ — urging people to reengage with the raw and irregular, the local and overlooked. ‘I shaped such a connection into a thorn and took a photo. I also painted the edges black to emphasize them,’ he shares.

Takuto Ohta completes the Asymptotic Wood series

the sculptural interventions reawaken the expressive potential of wood

made from cedar, abundant in Japan yet largely overlooked in modern architecture

interlocked volumes

the project follows the ethos of ‘local production for local consumption’

the Japanese designer calls for a renewed relationship between people, materials, and place

 

 

project info:

 

name: Asymptotic Wood
designer: Takuto Ohta | @ohtatakuto

 

 

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: ravail khan | designboom

The post takuto ohta slices into japanese cedar to create sculptural tension for asymptotic wood series appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

undulating roof crowns 50-year-old farmhouse renovation by drawing works in korea

DRAWING WORKS reimagines 50-year-old farmhouse in korea

 

On the former site of Gorami Village, now called Goam-dong in Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do, architect Youngbae Kim of DRAWING WORKS renovates a 50-year-old farmhouse as Gorami House. Embracing the irregularity of the original timber structure, Kim transforms the aging home with subtle spatial recalibrations and a new undulating roofline that echoes the mountain ridges behind the site. The project respectfully layers material, memory, and light to preserve a deeply personal relationship to the space.

all images ©Yoon, Joonhwan

 

 

plywood and white walls finish Gorami House

 

Instead of erasing the past, Youngbae Kim, founder of Korean architecture studio DRAWING WORKS, amplifies it by framing, preserving, and, in some cases, patching crooked pine rafters, thick layers of daub, slanted mud walls, and mismatched construction methods with discreet interventions. The architect opts for a traditional L layout in the main building. One of the three rooms became part of a new living area, and the kitchen was reorganized into a linear arrangement, retaining existing rafters beneath newly insulated ceilings. Smooth white walls and plywood finishes enhance spatial clarity.

 

The original property — composed of a main house and adjacent servants’ quarters arranged around a yard—had belonged to the family for decades. When the current owners, a couple who lived in a Bundang apartment, returned to care for an elderly parent and tend an 8,250-square-meter plot of land, they chose not to demolish the house but to restore it. The design began with a conversation over sweet potatoes and omija tea in the winter sun, in a meeting of generations that set the tone for what would follow.

architect Youngbae Kim of DRAWING WORKS renovates a 50-year-old farmhouse

 

 

original elements reused for landscaping

 

The adjacent linear arrangement of servants’ quarters — now used as a guesthouse—was treated as a facade to the street, providing privacy while preserving their function as a threshold to the yard. Despite the changes, DRAWING WORKS maintains original elements like the timber doors and flat foundation stones and reuses them as landscape elements. A metal-framed ceiling flows like a wave between old beams, while the new roof, clad in natural slate, ties the two volumes together, its form echoing the slope of the nearby mountains.

 

Gorami House aims to demonstrate how structure, memory, and material can be composed like a folk song—simple, layered, and full of texture. What began as a disorderly farmhouse is now a grounded living environment that celebrates the site’s deep familial history.

embracing the irregularity of the original timber structure

a new undulating roofline that echoes the mountain ridges behind the site

 

the project respectfully layers material, memory, and light

DRAWING WORKS frames, preserves, and, in some cases, patches original elements

the architect opts for a traditional L layout in the main building

smooth white walls and plywood finishes enhance spatial clarity

DRAWING WORKS maintains original elements like the timber doors and flat foundation stones

the new roof, clad in natural slate, ties the two volumes together

what began as a disorderly farmhouse is now a grounded living environment

 

 

project info:

 

name: Gorami House
architect: DRAWING WORKS | @drawingworks_architects

location: 93-1 Goam-dong, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea

area: 105 square meters

 

principal architect: Youngbae Kim
photographer: ©Yoon, Joonhwan | @yoon_joonhwan

 

 

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: thomai tsimpou | designboom

The post undulating roof crowns 50-year-old farmhouse renovation by drawing works in korea appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.