Promotion: XL Extralight showcased its manufacturing process in an exhibition designed by Italian architect Andrea Caputo as an "immersive museum itinerary" during Milan design week.

Named Industream and put together by Caputo in collaboration with artist duo Invernomuto, the exhibition demonstrated the complex industrial process behind XL Extralight's footwear and foam design technology.

Although the company's core business is soles for footwear, it said its technology is leading it to other categories where lightness, durability and water-resistant properties are valued.

The Industream exhibition was held at the recently opened architecture and design centre Dropcity, founded by Caputo and occupying a previously abandoned network of warehouse tunnels behind Milan Central Station.

"At Fuorisalone 2024 we had the idea to create something completely different from previous editions," said XL Extralight foam design product and brand manager Carlo Vecchiola.

"This is why we have started a conversation with Andrea Caputo and his team to end up at Dropcity, the place to be for those who want to experiment and implement new design codes and visual experiences," he told Dezeen.

"For the first time since we have been exhibiting at the Milan design week way back in 2014, XL Extralight is unveiling its industrial process – from compounding to injection moulding – in an immersive museum itinerary."

XL Extralight, which was founded in the 1990s by Italian industrial group Finproject, designs polyolefin-based expanded and moulded foams that are super lightweight, soft and flexible while also being resistant to bacteria, UV rays, saline and chlorine.

Caputo and Invernomuto's Industream exhibition sought to emphasise the scientific aspects of the sole-making process, as well as the historic link between material innovation and human development.

At the exhibition, XL Extralight team members wore workwear-streetwear hybrid uniforms that were tailor-made by fashion house Lardini.

Recent brand collaborations by the brand include the modular Roku footwear from Camper, which features a removable sole that can be repaired and reused at the end of the shoe's life.

For more information about XL Extralight, contact Maria Elena Barbati and Bianca Maria Bertolissi at hello@barbatibertolissi.contact.

The photography is by Invernomuto for XL Extralight.

Milan design week took place from 15 to 21 April 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for XL Extralight as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Pupils from The Piggott School in Reading, England, have won the Design Museum's Design Ventura competition with a card game that encourages children to learn about colours in their surroundings.

The Colour Countdown game came out on top in the competition, which invites secondary school students aged 13 to 16 to develop a product that can be sold in the Design Museum's gift shop.

This year's brief, set by south London textile designer Kangan Arora, called for responses to the theme of colour and community, challenging students to consider "the importance of community practices, supporting and learning from one another".

The game devised by The Piggott School pupils is based on classic card games I Spy and Uno. It aims to encourage children to put down their devices and engage with the world around them to promote positive mental health.

The playing cards feature coloured cellophane windows that can be overlapped to create a blend of colours, which players then have to search out in their environment.

"You can play anywhere at all," explained the students in their pitch to a judging panel that included Arora and Dezeen's editorial director Max Fraser. "You draw cards of different colours – red, blue, orange, green etc. – and you have to look around and find objects in that colour."

The cellophane is made from wood pulp and the cards use FSC-certified paper to lower the product's environmental footprint.

Also included in this year's judging panel were the Design Museum's senior buying manager Preena Patel and Christoph Woermann, chief marketing officer for Deutsche Bank's Corporate Bank division.

"The winning design was chosen as it responded clearly to the brief in a way which was creative, fun and appealing to a range of audiences," said the judges. "We didn't want to put the product down and we knew that customers in the Design Museum would feel the same."

Launched in 2010 by the Design Museum in partnership with Deutsche Bank, the Design Ventura contest aims to reinforce the importance of early design education and fill gaps in the current design and technology curriculum.

The contest offers pupils at UK state secondary schools the chance to respond to a real-world brief, supporting the development of skills and experiences that help them understand how to bring ideas to life.

This year's winning project by The Piggott School will now be developed with a professional agency before being manufactured and sold in the Design Museum shop, with money raised from the sales going to a charity of the pupil's choosing.

Previous winners include a portable knife designed to prevent "avocado hand" – an increasingly common injury where people cut themselves while trying to de-stone an avocado.

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Dezeen Showroom: designer Gordon Guillaumier combined solid wood and smoked glass in the Pols table, created for Italian brand Alf DaFrè.

The Pols table features a minimalist oak wood frame with a characterful smoked glass top that is available in two colours: Ambra or Bronzo.

The colours and textures of the different materials create a harmonious composition united by warm caramel-coloured tones.

The frame comes together with an unusual joint that emphasises the cylindrical shape of the wooden components.

Alf DaFrè describes the piece as having a contemporary style that recalls artisanal furniture manufacturing traditions through the textured imperfections in its glass surface.

The table comes in two size formats.

Product details:

Product: Pols
Designer: Gordon Guillaumier
Brand: Alf DaFrè
Contact: alf@alf.it

Materials: oak, glass

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Sportswear brand Nike is developing its own generative AI model to design products using its vast bank of athlete data, Dezeen can reveal.

According to Nike's chief innovation officer John Hoke, the company is seeking to take advantage of its exclusive data on athlete performance with a bespoke large language model (LLM).

LLMs are a text-based form of artificial intelligence (AI) trained to recognise language patterns. The best-known example is OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Nike building AI "private garden"

"We use all the LLMs that are out there and we do have a model that we're building in-house," Hoke told Dezeen.

"It's a little bit of thinking about developing a private garden, of looking at our own datasets that are exclusive to Nike – so performance data from an athlete, from our laboratories, et cetera. And then kind of commingling that with some things from the public garden, but making sure that that's all contained within what we're training the model on."

The name of Nike's AI model is yet to be finalised.

Hoke spoke to Dezeen at a recent Nike event in Paris, where the brand unveiled its new collection of elite sports footwear ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games, which take place in the French capital this summer.

The company also showcased Athlete Imagined Revolution (AIR), a project that saw the design team create prototype shoes for 13 of Nike's top athletes – including US sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson and French footballer Kylian Mbappé – based on their requests and personalities.

Prompts based on the athletes' preferences were inputted into generative AI models to create hundreds of images that Nike designers then rapidly honed down into single concepts using other digital fabrication techniques including 3D sketching and printing.

"I would call this a new alchemy of making product at Nike," said Hoke.

"And that is taking the athletes' dreams, going deep into their personality, understanding what they're all about, adding that with our own imagination, our own intentions and those emerging technologies – AI and computational design – and kind of converging these together."

World Athletics regulations dictate that shoes used in competitions must be widely available, so it is not clear whether this hyper-personalised approach will ever make it to the track at tournaments.

"All the sports are governed by the proper regulations, and that governance is critically important to us," said Hoke. "We're not seeking an unfair advantage."

However, he hinted that Nike will continue to pursue the potential competitive benefits afforded by customised athlete products.

"It's an extension of who they are," he said. "I think that would give them both a physical advantage, but also a psychological and emotional advantage – that this is just an extension of my anatomy, it's my movement signature, it's my body being amplified with these products."

"I think what AIR represents is a step change in the way we design and manufacture."

Technology such as AI, virtual reality (VR) and 3D printing is an important part of this shift, according to Hoke, as it drastically expedites the prototyping process.

"There's this larger idea of quantum creativity of the future, which is being able to take in vast amounts of information, and use new technologies to do things very quickly," he said.

"So you sort of balance the velocity and the fidelity right here. And what usually takes weeks or months to show an athlete now takes hours. So they're really engaged because they're either seeing it in VR or we're sending them a 3D print, we're showing them on-screen."

AI is "rocket fuel for creativity"

Generative AI refers to AI models that create different types of content – such as text, images, video and code – by extrapolating from data they have been trained on.

Nike's investment may be seen as a vote of confidence in the technology after generative AI went through a process of extreme market excitement, followed by concern about implications for the creative industries and increasing scepticism from some experts in 2023.

"I don't think in our case of designers, it ever replaces creativity," said Hoke. "I think it is certainly rocket fuel for creativity. It certainly expands my own imagination to be able to do and see things in minutes and seconds versus weeks and months."

"And I've got to come to this equilibrium, where I think it's an amazing tool guided by a human's imagination," he added. "It's idle until you engage it."

Most of the doubts around the usefulness of generative AI revolve around models' tendency to make errors, known as hallucinations.

"For me, as a designer, I'm unafraid of that," said Hoke. "I think it's part of the magic of being able to stand back and discern what's coming at you."

"Errors and hallucinations don't scare me here. I think it's a different way of looking and it opens the aperture of my own creativity."

Other notable advocates of using generative AI in design are Zaha Hadid Architects principal Patrik Schumacher and Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky.

Meanwhile, Australian design practice Studio Snoop last year unveiled Tilly Talbot, a specialised LLM that it branded "the world's first AI designer".

All imagery is courtesy of Nike.

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Dutch designer Gijs Schalkx has retrofitted an old car to run on an unusual fuel source: waste plastic that is turned back into oil.

Schalkx's DIY project, titled The Plastic Car (Is Made of Metal), consists of an old red Volvo with a roof-mounted "de-refinery" that heats plastic to obtain oil for the fuel tank.

The project began as a follow-up to the Sloot Motor motorcycle that Schalkx made as part of his product design course at the ArtEZ University of the Arts, which runs on methane harvested from local bogs.

Schalkx, who is interested in DIY as a form of responsible design and living, wanted to build a car with a similarly original energy source and chose plastic because there was a ready supply to be found in his own household recycling.

He sourced an old car from a scrapyard in Germany, fixed it up to be road-legal and fitted his "de-refinery", which he says is quite similar to a "normal oil refinery", to the top.

Plastic is loaded into this reactor and burned in an oxygen-free environment to make it evaporate into gas. When the gas condenses again, it is in the form of oil, which then drips down through a tube into a fuel tank in the back of the car, ready for use.

Schalkx used only his own household recycling to power the car, which he drove for around half a year while making a video of the work, needing around one kilogram of plastic for every seven kilometres.

The de-refinery takes roughly one hour to produce 12 litres of oil. The designer calls the process "very inefficient", but that's part of the point.

Cars "will never be efficient" as a form of transport he says, and The Plastic Car is a way of "being honest" about that fact rather than covering it up.

"In comparison to an electric car, where you do not see the pollution because it's on the other side of the world, I tried to be very transparent, very honest," Schalkx said, referencing the outsized emissions involved in manufacturing an EV and its lithium-ion battery.

In fact, his ambition was to build a car "that looks really disgusting". As well as having the rickety-looking de-refinery strapped to its roof, the Plastic Car has an uneven paint job, wooden bumpers and Schalkx's website address scrawled on its side.

When it drives, it belches black smoke – not uncommon for an old diesel car but likely heightened by the plastic, even though the oil passes through three filters on the way to the engine.

Clear, undyed plastic produces a "nice, clear oil", Schalkx pointed out, while the oil from blue or black plastic is "really dirty".

"With old diesels, you can put whatever fuel you can find in there and they will run – so sunflower oil, used motor oil – and they did always smoke already," said Schalkx. "But if it drives on plastic, it is a bit worse."

Schalkx has had people get angry with him about his work – about the pollution, about the plastic being burnt rather than recycled. But he takes issue with current ideas about what constitutes "sustainable design", a term he sees being co-opted by companies to sell more products.

Instead, Schalkx focuses on repurposing what's already available and increasing reuse and repair by building up knowledge of how things work.

He also limited himself to using only his own household waste in the project and drove only as far as that would allow him – around 100 kilometres in a month. Compared to someone buying a new car and driving it, he says his environmental footprint was small.

"If you're a designer, you're making things, producing things, but we actually already have a surplus of things," said Schalkx. "So I don't think we can ever be really sustainable."

Another young designer who has aimed to keep old cars on the road is Australian student Alexander Burton, who invented a DIY electric car conversion kit that won a James Dyson Award.

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Dezeen Showroom: bathroom design brand Roca has created a bathtub designed to look as though it is "floating in space" thanks to its stepped profile informed by cantilevers in architecture.

The Tura Oval tub has a base segment that is set back from the walls of the tub as well as an inner lip around the inside of the rim.

Curved ends create a comfortable backrest for the user, which is enhanced by a detachable pillow made from recycled quick-dry fabric that can be slung over the tub's edge.

The brand also designed a slim wooden shelf that sits across the bath to hold bathing products and refreshments. It sits flush with the rim by balancing at either end on the recessed lip.

"The Tura bathtub is at once voluminous and light, and its ergonomic design is meant for rest and relaxation," said Roca. "Its unique stacking shape is inspired by an architectural cantilever system, giving the impression that the bathtub is floating in space."

Tura Oval is made from Stonex, a material with anti-slip properties that is easy to clean, ensuring maximum hygiene.

Product details:

Product: Tura Oval
Designer: Andreu Carulla
Brand: Roca

Material: Stonex
Dimensions: 1300 x 450 millimetres

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: a collection of lights with theatrically curved bodies made from sheets of steel is among 13 new products featured on Dezeen Showroom.

Peel lighting series by Sissel Warringa for Frandsen

Danish brand Frandsen worked with designer Sissel Warringa on a collection of lights that are characterised by their dynamically curved steel materiality.

The Peel lighting series comprises a table, pendant and wall light that cast a soft, warm glow from their frosted inner bulbs.

Peel was recently featured on Dezeen Showroom, along with an oversized upholstered bed frame and a collection of characterful rugs that refer to the concept of Wabi-sabi.

Read on to see more of the latest products:

Wabisabi rugs by Nanimarquina

Home accessories brand Nanimarquina looked to the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi to create a series of synonymous rugs.

Wabisabi rugs use contrasting colours and various weaving techniques to create characterfully imperfect rugs made from New Zealand wool.

Find out more about Wabisabi ›

Pluralis tables by Kasper Salto for Fritz Hansen

The result of a collaboration between Danish brand Fritz Hansen and industrial designer Kasper Salto, the Pluralis table range aims to facilitate smooth and coherent workplace meetings.

Tables in the collection include those with trapezoidal or rectangular tops and half-size wall-mounted versions, all of which have distinctive trestle-style legs.

Find out more about Pluralis ›

Restore bed by RJ Living

An upholstered, rounded frame characterises Australian brand RJ Living's Restore bed, which has a tubular bolster-shaped headboard.

The cushioned bed aims to create a soft and overall cushioned place to rest and recharge and comes in three muted colourways to further encourage relaxation.

Find out more about Restore ›

Tradition outdoor furniture by Povl B Eskildsen for Fritz Hansen

Designer Povl B Eskildsen also worked with Fritz Hansen on a collection of outdoor seating that is comprised of reconfigurable modules.

Tradition outdoor furniture is made from tubular lengths of teak wood – a popular choice for outdoor furniture – and can be upholstered in a myriad of weatherproof fabrics.

Find out more about Tradition ›

BetteCurve and BetteLiv washbasins by Tesseraux & Partner for Bette

Tesseraux & Partner have designed a pair of bathroom sinks for German brand Bette that are both made from hard-wearing glazed titanium steel.

BetteCurve and BetteLiv have rounded forms and slim sides, culminating in either a straight edge or gently curved lip.

Find out more about BetteCurve and BetteLiv ›

Luna outdoor furniture by Ramón Esteve for Vondom

Spanish brand Vondom partnered with architect Ramón Esteve to create a collection of outdoor seating with chunky bases and curved shells designed to cradle the user.

Made from plastic and fibreglass, the pieces in the Luna outdoor furniture range reference the work of designers Verner Panton and Joe Colombo.

Find out more about Luna ›

Delia basin by Acquabella

Spanish bathroom brand Acquabella has released a bathroom basin that comes in a choice of formats and thousands of colourways.

Distinguished by its fluted front panel, the Delia basin is available as a freestanding, wall-mounted or countertop sink.

Find out more about Delia ›

Japandi tile collection by Cobsa

Spanish brand Cobsa has released a collection of ceramic tiles named Japandi, designed to recall the fusion between Japanese and Scandinavian aesthetics.

Available in four different shapes, the tile collection comes in conventional and metallic colourways and finishes, suited for use in a wide range of applications.

Find out more about Japandi ›

Painted Garden flooring by Milliken

Flooring company Milliken has created a rectangular carpet tile that has a mottled pattern reminiscent of verdant gardens and bouquets of flowers.

Painted Garden flooring can be laid in various arrangements and comes in various bright and neutral colourways.

Find out more about Painted Garden ›

Selenite Maximum tile collection by Fiandre

Italian brand Fiandre Architectural Surfaces has released a ceramic tile that has a crystalline pattern reminiscent of selenite, a naturally occurring mineral.

Named Selenite Maximum, the tile collection comes in three neutral colourways and can be applied to floors and walls.

Find out more about Selenite Maximum ›

BOB Split sofa by Thomas Bernstrand and Stefan Borselius for Blå Station

A diverging segment has been created by designers Thomas Bernstrand and Stefan Borselius to expand Swedish furniture brand Blå Station's modular seating system.

Y-shaped BOB Split joins the sofa's existing central and corner modules, facilitating more dynamic and space-efficient seating solutions in public spaces.

Find out more about BOB Split ›

Faneeri folding chair by Jonas Forsman for Nikari

Finnish brand Nikari worked with designer Jonas Forsman on the wooden Faneeri folding chair, which folds up flat when not in use.

The simple chair is made from warm-toned oak and can be used in either private or public spaces to provide understated extra seating that can be easily stored.

Find out more about Faneeri ›

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Electronics brand Bang & Olufsen has collected and restored several hundred units of its 1990s-era Beosound 9000 CD player, giving them a second life as a limited-edition product for fans of physical media.

Released under the name Beosystem 9000c, the offering pairs the classic CD player – instantly recognisable for its linear display of six CDs – with the brand's new Beolab 28 speakers.

Bang & Olufsen sourced 200 units of the CD player for the project, returning them to its factory in Struer, Denmark, where they were disassembled and inspected and had their components cleaned and repaired.

The factory is the same one where the machines were first created in 1996 and some of the technicians that worked on the restorations had also worked on the original products.

Bang & Olufsen gave the units a reimagined look, inverting the colours on the original design so that the CD display panel is deep black and the overlapping control bar is aluminium.

According to head of design Tiina Kierysch, this has the effect of enhancing the machine's "graphic edge" and helps the CDs to stand out even more as artworks.

"The result is timeless and showcases that even though the two products were designed in different decades, they become closely related through the application of colours, materials and finishes," said Kierysch.

Bang & Olufsen is positioning the release of the Beosystem 9000c as an example of how circularity can work within the electronics industry. The brand took a similar approach in 2020 with the Beogram 4000c turntable.

"With our Recreated Classics series, we are showcasing how Bang & Olufsen's unique capabilities within sound, design and craftsmanship are creating long-lasting, circular products," said head of product circularity and portfolio planning Mads Kogsgaard Hansen.

"We want to demonstrate that a second-life product can be just as attractive as a new product and that a high-quality item such as the Beosound 9000 doesn't need to have an end date."

Kogsgaard Hansen said the company also wanted to "celebrate" the revival of physical media that had been seen in recent years.

"Vinyls and CDs have returned to being something special, where people invest time and energy to connect with the music and artists they love," said Kogsgaard Hansen.

"Longevity in design and the passion for music listening are essentially what we are celebrating with the launch of Beosystem 9000c," he added. "It is all about keeping listening choices alive."

The Beosound 9000 CD player was designed for Bang & Olufsen by British industrial designer David Lewis, a frequent collaborator who passed away in 2011.

As well as its six-CD linear layout – apparently inspired by the window of a record store Lewis passed – the Beosound 9000 was known for some of its mechanical features, which Bang & Olufsen said were designed to "surprise and delight".

This included the "CD clamper" mechanism, which housed the laser to read the discs and could shift between them notably quickly. There was also an "auto-positioning" feature that always returned played CDs to face their original direction, so the text on their front faces would be readable.

As part of the re-release, each Beosound 9000 unit had to have its aluminium elements re-machined and re-anodised so that they would match the appearance of the new Beolab 28 speakers.

The system also showcases a number of different aluminium finishes, including hairline brushing, etching and pearl blasting.

Released in a limited edition of 200 at £45,000 a piece, each CD player has been individually tested and fine-tuned to meet Bang & Olufsen's contemporary specifications.

More often, it is classic turntables that become collectible pieces. A recent example is the Linn's Sondek LP12, which was rereleased with a design by Jony Ive and his studio LoveFrom.

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Electronics brand LG OLED is exhibiting works by the late Korean artist Kim Whanki at Frieze art fair in New York, as captured in this exclusive video produced for the brand by Dezeen.

Called We Meet Again in New York, the installation features five animated versions of original works by Whanki, a pioneer of 20th-century Korean abstract art.

LG OLED is exhibiting digitally reimagined works at this year's Frieze New York

LG OLED Art translated Whanki's work into digital form, aiming to accurately reproduce details and colours in the original work by harnessing LG's self-lit OLED technology.

The brand designed the exhibition to showcase the level of detail Whanki put into his work, which involved hand-painting mosaic-like dots on canvas with a thin inkbrush.

The five works shown at Frieze were originally created by Whanki during his time in New York between 1963 and 1974.

Whanki referenced memories of his homeland of Korea in the pieces, as well as the New York art scene that he was surrounded by at the time.

During his stay in New York, Whanki experimented with different materials and techniques, including his signature "all-over dot" style, which can be seen in the works on display at Frieze.

While in New York, Whanki hosted a total of six solo exhibitions, with the last one being presented the year before his passing in 1974.

Exhibited works include a digitally reimagined version of Whanki's final painting, which is composed of hundreds of thousands of blue-black dots.

A separate concurrent exhibition called Whanki in New York is being held at the Korean Cultural Center in New York.

The exhibition will feature the five digital versions of Whanki's work shown at Frieze, alongside twenty-seven original works by the artist on loan from the Whanki Museum in Seoul.

Frieze New York takes place from 1 to 5 May 2024 at The Shed. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen as part of a partnership with LG OLED. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: a bathroom suite made out of wood chips and a kitchen informed by the Shaker movement are among 10 recent kitchen and bathroom products listed on Dezeen Showroom.

With the spring cleaning season well underway, we've selected a broad range of cooking appliances, sanitaryware, finishes and furnishings that help to enhance the aesthetics and functionality of kitchens and bathrooms.

Included in the selection below is a tap-based plumbing system that helps to make efficient use of wastewater and an extra-wide oven that allows users to cook large-scale dishes or multiple items at once.

Dezeen Showroom spotlights products, homeware and furniture designed and created by a spectrum of globally-recognised designers, companies and brands.

Orbital Tap by Orbital Systems

Swedish company Orbital Systems has pioneered a plumbing system that catches waste water from basins and reuses it when the toilet is flushed, stopping clean water from being wasted for flushing.

The Orbital Tap prevents clean water from being wasted for flushing. It manifests as a slimline sink-mounted faucet and control dial that is available in a selection of neutral colourways and finishes.

Find out more about Orbital Tap ›

Shaker kitchen by Reform

Danish brand Reform has created a pared-back kitchen design that references the key tenets of the Shaker movement – functionality, lack of excess ornament and a focus on quality craftsmanship.

The Shaker kitchen has wooden cupboard fronts available in various natural and coloured finishes and is broken up by dainty handles and embossed edge details.

Find out more about Shaker ›

Alma Slate shower tray by Acquabella

A slate-like textured finish defines Spanish bathroom brand Acquabella's newly-released shower tray, which has a continuous surface that hides a slimline drain opening.

The Alma Slate shower tray comes in a wide array of colourways, all of which enhance its dappled, tactile finish.

Find out more about Alma Slate ›

Mira furniture system by Scavolini

Italian brand Scavolini has unveiled a modular system designed for installation in kitchens that is characterised by continuous surfaces that come in a spectrum of materials and finishes.

The Mira furniture system contains under-counter and full-height cabinets as well as shelving and storage, designed to create a cohesive, efficient and minimalistic interior.

Find out more about Mira ›

Woodio Blossom bathroom collection by Woodio

Finnish company Woodio's bathroom suites now come in Blossom, a rosy pink shade that shares the rest of the collection's wood-based composite materiality.

The Woodio Blossom bathroom collection is joined by Mud and Linen, two new neutral colourways.

Find out more about Woodio Blossom ›

CombiSteamer V6000 45L Grand oven by V-Zug

Swiss brand V-Zug's newly released oven has an extra-wide design that facilitates the cooking of restaurant-grade meals in the comfort of a residential kitchen.

The CombiSteamer V6000 45L Grand oven has a handleless design that creates a smooth, unfussy frontage that contains several advanced settings that use the latest culinary technologies.

Find out more about CombiSteamer V6000 45L Grand ›

Aquahalo shower by Michael Neumayr for Dornbracht

German brand Dornbracht has released a unique shower created in collaboration with designer Michael Neumayr that references the appearance of crystal chandeliers.

The Aquahalo shower creates this decorative effect by propelling water up and out of a ceiling-mounted ring-shaped fixture, which comes in a selection of metallic finished to blend into a range of bathroom schemes.

Find out more about Aquahalo ›

Spoon XL bathtub by Benedini Associati for Agape

Designer Benedini Associati and Italian bathroom company Agape have launched a version of its Spoon XL bathtub made from solid travertine.

Patches of mottling and striations on the inside and outside of the tub honour its materiality, and a spacious, smooth design is intended to provide a comfortable bathing experience.

Find out more about Spoon XL ›

Silver Root tiles by Marazzi

Italian manufacturer Marazzi employed 3D printing technology to create a collection of stone-effect tiles made from porcelain that reference the classic aesthetic of Turkish marble.

Silver Root tiles have a neutral appearance broken up by brown, grey and cream bands and can be used on walls, floors and countertops in kitchens and bathrooms.

Find out more about Silver Root ›

BetteCurve and BetteLiv washbasins by Tesseraux & Partner for Bette

A duo of minimalistic washbasins are the result of a collaboration between German brand Bette and Tesseraux & Partner.

Both sinks are made from the brand's own glazed titanium steel material – BetteCurve has an inward-leaning lip while BetteLiv has straight, slim edges.

Find out more about BetteCurve and BetteLiv ›

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

The post Ten products for cutting-edge kitchens and streamlined bathrooms appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen Showroom: designed by Jonas Forsman for Finnish brand Nikari, the ultra-slim Faneeri chair is meant to look as elegant when folded flat as it does in use.

The Faneeri folding chair is made of lacquered oak, with thin cross-laminated veneers forming the seat and backrest, which are attached to a solid wood frame.

Forsman aimed to combine comfortable seating with a lightweight structure in the design, creating a minimalist furniture piece stripped of excess elements.

"Unfolding the chair creates a naturally curved backrest; fold it back, and it becomes flat," said Forsman.

"This construction enhances strength and comfort, eliminating the need for stretchers between the legs, creating a simple silhouette," the designer continued.

Nikari designed the Faneeri folding chair to provide spare seating within small homes, but it can also be used in larger contract spaces.

Product details:

Product: Faneeri
Designer: Jonas Forsman
Brand: Nikari
Contact: sales@nikari.fi

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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German designer Sebastian Herkner believes there are fewer opportunities for young designers to work with furniture brands today than when he was first starting out in the industry.

Herkner told Dezeen that brands are less willing to take a chance on an unproven talent than in the past, making it harder than ever for younger designers to get a foot in the door.

"I wouldn't want to be a young designer today," he said.

"When I was young, brands like Cappellini and Moroso were always looking for young talents," he continued. "But now, a lot of brands are only working with established names or designers already in their portfolio."

Herkner spoke to Dezeen during an event hosted by Italian brand Poltrona Frau. He has just launched his first products with the brand – the Stock'n Roll bedside tables and the Nymph table lamps.

The designer said that brands typically reach out to him to initiate a collaboration, based on his existing reputation.

Based in Offenbach, near Frankfurt, Herkner's studio has developed furniture, lighting and homeware products for producers including &Tradition, La Manufacture, Thonet and Pulpo.

"It has been more than 15 years since I started my business," he said. "Now I'm established, brands know me. So the starting point for a conversation is much easier."

Brands are "not really looking for new ideas"

One of the biggest challenges for unestablished designers, according to Herkner, is that global political and economic uncertainty has led design brands to become less averse to taking risks.

"Because of the unique situation at the moment, first with Covid, then everything else going on in the world, a lot of companies think it's better to put their efforts and belief in established designers rather than young designers," he suggested.

"They are not really looking for new ideas and I think that's a problem for the young generation."

Herkner believes that Salone Satellite – the section of the Salone del Mobile furniture fair dedicated to young designers – is still one of the best ways for new talent to gain recognition.

He exhibited at Satellite three times, in 2009, 2010 and 2011. This led to a collaboration with De Vorm, which put his Clip Chair into production in 2011, but most notably caught the attention of Moroso creative director, Patrizia Moroso.

Moroso launched its first collection designed by Herkner, the woven Bask baskets, bowls and tables, in 2012. The woven Banjooli furniture was launched the following year, followed by the Pipe collection in 2015.

Salone Satellite "still one of the best platforms"

"Salone Satellite is still one of the best platforms for young designers, but they still need the trust from brands to start a conversation," Herkner said.

"Brands need to be brave enough to start with someone who is not known at all."

Herkner believes there is another option available to young designers today that was less viable in the past – many are launching their own brands and producing products themselves.

This can be a good way to gain exposure, said the designer, but it comes with challenges.

"It's great to see these new brands popping up, but you need to have the finances to develop prototypes," he said. "Maybe that's the only way forward that young designers see at the moment."

Herkner's studio launched several new products in Milan this year. Others included the Petal pendants for Rakumba Lighting, the Sinya and Stolac tables for Zanat, and a new straw marquetry version of his Bell Table for Classicon.

The designer was also recently a mentor for the second RIMOWA Design Prize, a competition championing student designers in Germany.

His advice to young designers is to look for opportunities for repeat exposure, either by participating in exhibitions like Satellite several times or by getting your work published on platforms like Dezeen.

"You need companies to keep seeing your name, your face, so they start to follow you," he added.

The portrait of Sebastian Herkner is courtesy of Studio Sebastian Herkner.

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Dezeen Showroom: Swedish furniture brand Blå Station has added a diverging segment to its modular BOB sofa range, created by designers Thomas Bernstrand and Stefan Borselius.

Named BOB Split, the Y-shaped segment has a central backrest that allows users to sit back-to-back, maximising the use of the seating system.

The piece also acts as a connector for other modules in Blå Station's BOB sofa system, which includes straight and corner segments.

Users can now create longer, more space-efficient seating systems that can be configured according to the spatial constraints of any interior.

"BOB is an easy-to-understand and extremely flexible sofa system," said Blå Station. "Where ordinary sofas are usually rectangular, square and predictable, BOB offers the architectonic freedom to either challenge or adhere to all types of spaces."

As is the case with the rest of the system, BOB Split comes in a selection of fabrics and colourways for upholstering its moulded foam cushioned seats and is supported by a sturdy plywood frame.

Product: BOB Split
Designer: Thomas Bernstrand and Stefan Borselius
Brand: Blå Station
Contact: info@blastation.se

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Dezeen teamed up with kitchen appliances brand Gaggenau to host and film a talk about reduction in design with representatives from Zaha Hadid Architects, SOM and Industrial Facility during Milan design week 2024.

Moderated by Dezeen's editorial director Max Fraser, the talk explored how principles of reduction and essentialism in architecture and design can be employed to improve our lives.

Titled Design by Reduction, the panel gathered contributors from different industries, with Zaha Hadid Architects associate director Johannes Schafelner representing architecture, Industrial Facility founder Kim Colin discussing industrial and product design, and SOM interiors lead Francesca Portesine representing interior design.

Amongst the topics discussed by the panel was how the process and aesthetics of reduction in design can improve well-being through fostering simplicity in people's day-to-day lives.

Explaining the role of reduction in interior design, Portesine stated: "Generally, it is a very good thing that there is less rather than more to look at, to feel, to concentrate, to give importance to one element at a time."

"The balance of a space is created by simplicity, by reduction of materials," she continued.

These comments were mirrored by Colin, who suggested that the role of the designer is to counter the complexity of the world by making a complicated world simple.

"I don't think we need to build in complexity – complexity is there in everything," she said. "We really try hard to simplify things and make things easier. We deserve for things to be made more easily and more easily accessible."

She went on to describe how, in the field of industrial design, reduction can be used as a means to create products that fit holistically into the lives of users.

"Often we try to quiet the noise. You can imagine a room full of products that are in the marketplace, shouting for your attention for you to buy them," she explained.

"They want you to buy them," she continued. "But then what happens when you live with them? You're living with a bunch of things that are shouting at you."

Schafelner described how reduction in architecture allows architects to design and build more efficiently, mitigating both the cost and environmental impact of buildings.

"When we talk about reduction, it's all about efficiency," he said. "It's really minimising the design, minimising the structure to have a better product."

He went on to describe how artificial intelligence (AI) can assist the architect in working more efficiently.

"AI will also help us," he stated. "There are now new tools which automatically give you realistic images in one second."

"It's a much more intuitive workflow. And in the future, this will definitely help us to be more efficient."

Addressing the question of how principles of reduction can help to build a more sustainable future, Colin posited the return of the principle of "less is more."

"Using less material, less time, less effort, less shipping – less is more is back," she claimed.

"It should be easy to make as well as easy to live with. They should go hand in hand."

The talk took place in the conservatory of Milan's historic Villa Necchi Campiglio, where the brand created an immersive installation called Elevation of Gravity to showcase its appliances.

Amongst the brand's new launches was the Essential Induction cooktop, which has been designed to integrate into a kitchen worktop seamlessly.

Covertly integrated induction hobs are integrated into a conductive Dekton stone countertop, indicated by a small LED light. The only other visible element of the cooktop is a performance dial located on the side of the countertop.

The Essential Induction cooktop was designed to break down barriers between spaces used for cooking and living in the kitchen, and the principle of reduction at play in its design informed the topic of Dezeen's talk.

The photography is by Giovanni Franchellucci.

Partnership content

This video was produced by Dezeen as part of a partnership with Bentley. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Furniture brand Takt has begun using a new kind of lifecycle assessment for its products that was devised by the European Commission and considers a product's full impact on nature and human health.

The company claims its Cross Chair is the "first furniture product" to receive the European Commission's Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) single score – a single number based on how the product scores in 16 different environmental impact categories.

This scoring system will now be rolled out for the brand's entire catalogue, replacing the carbon footprint that sustainability-focused furniture companies like Takt and Vestre have started listing alongside their products.

"PEF analysis is rigorous in its scope and process," said Takt founder Henrik Taudorf Lorensen. "And, I believe, it is currently the best standard we have for holding companies to their stated environmental commitments."

"Just because carbon is low, it doesn't mean impact is low — materials boasting minimal carbon footprints could leave a devastating trail of toxins or excessive water usage in their wake."

Based on a method set out by the European Commission, the PEF score evaluates 16 categories that go beyond the narrow focus on climate change to include global and local impacts such as water use, particulate matter, resource and land use, ozone depletion and human toxicity.

The categories are converted into a common reference unit based on the environmental impacts of an average global person over one year.

Weighted according to their urgency and impact, the results are combined to achieve a comparable PEF single score that reflects the product's overall environmental performance.

"We are pioneering the use of PEF reporting because we believe the bigger picture of environmental impact it provides is a fairer, more transparent way of sharing information with customers and a better roadmap for achieving our low-impact ambitions," said Taudorf Lorensen.

Takt worked with Danish lifecycle screening company Målbar to create a "product screening tool" to calculate the PEF score for its products, before having the results independently verified by certification body Bureau Veritas.

In the case of the Cross Chair, designed by British studio Pearson Lloyd, this analysis took into account its use of FSC-certified wood, a fully certified supply chain and a design that allows for carbon-efficient flatpack delivery and simple disassembly so parts can be replaced, earning a PEF score of 0.0025.

"The total derived from adding these all together provides a consistent measurement across all categories of product, from microchips to cargo ships, allowing for more meaningful comparisons," said Taudorf Lorensen.

It will also enable the company to identify areas where its environmental performance could be improved and take necessary actions.

The use of PEF reporting is in line with Takt's commitment to "radical transparency", which ensures users have as much information as possible about a product's environmental impact.

In 2021, Henrik Taudorf Lorensen told Dezeen Takt was on track to achieve net-zero emissions 20 years ahead of targets set out in the Paris climate change agreement.

At that time, it claimed to be the only design brand to consistently have all of its products certified with the EU Ecolabel.

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Rental platform Airbnb has announced the addition of its Icons program, a category that provides a range of experiences including a stay in the house from Pixar's Up and an overnight stay in the Musee D'Orsay in Paris.

The first 11 Icons experiences include recreations of houses from popular culture, such as the floating house from Pixar's film Up, and visits with celebrities, such as a night out with comic Kevin Hart.

The 11 Icons include a full-scale model of the house from Pixar's Up, which will be suspended by a crane – though not when guests are inside it – to a stay in the clock tower of Paris's Musee D' Orsay.

This was transformed into a bedroom by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and will be available for the opening of the upcoming summer Olympics.

The experiences will be awarded to guests through a selection process, with approximately eight additional Icon experiences being rolled out throughout the year to join the first batch. Each Icon is free or under $100 (£80).

"Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination – until now," said Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky. "As life becomes increasingly digital, we're focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we've created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth."

The launch follows the platform's release of recreations of Barbie's Malibu Dreamhouse and Shrek's swampland cottage, as well as previous overnight experiences in an Ikea showroom and the last remaining Blockbuster.

"These experiences captured people's imagination and they allowed people to step into someone else's world," said Chesky. "And at its best, this is what Airbnb does. And what it's always been about."

To create the spaces, the brand employed a variety of strategies. In the case of the Up house, it was built from scratch, while other properties were renovated or outfitted with a particular theme such as the X-Mansion from the X-Men movie series or Prince's Purple Rain house.

"The Up house is one of the most iconic homes in any film ever," said Chesky. "You're gonna be able to stay in Carl and Ellie's home and it will feel like you're stepping inside the movie."

"This is a real house we built from scratch. We had to literally paint every detail in the home to match the exact Pantone colours used in the film, from the roof tiles to the siding," he continued.

For the X-Mansion, the team searched for a home in Upstate New York that looked like an approximation of the house from the movie series and then covered the interior in comic-strip style illustrations by artist Joshua Vides.

According to Airbnb VP of design Teo Connor, it took approximately two weeks for Vides and his team to hand-paint each room.

"Each Icon has a different timeline because they're all so unique, so different," Connor told Dezeen. "[There was] a huge amount of effort to bring these things to life and I think it really shows."

"With these types of things, we're really wanting to immerse you in a world and for it to feel authentic," she continued.

Other Icons include a stay at the Ferrari museum in a custom-made circular bed that is surrounded by various Ferrari models and a visit to Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor's "childhood oasis" in India.

To visit the various experiences, travellers must submit a written entry through Airbnb during a timed submission period. 4,000 guests will be selected and awarded a "golden ticket" to attend the experiences over the coming year.

The brand also released several updates in order to make booking and organizing group trips easier for travellers, including multiple users being able to message the host and a ranking system when selecting a rental together.

Last year, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky warned against designers failing to embrace AI and announced a program that called to designers and creatives to rent out their spaces for supplemental income.

The photography is courtesy of Airbnb.

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Dezeen Showroom: named after a crystalline mineral, the Selenite Maximum surface collection by Italian brand Fiandre Architectural Surfaces brings an iridescent quality to interiors.

The Selenite Maximum collection references selenite, a variety of gypsum known for its transparent crystals, which led the ancient Greeks to dub it 'moon stone'.

In Fiandre's interpretation, crafted in high-performance porcelain stoneware, these rich internal structures are rendered in three colours: black, white and greige.

The brand says the surfaces bring a "prestigious touch" to walls, floors and structures while generating "a sense of spatial and spiritual renewal".

The range comes in several formats as well as a new Jewel finish that Fiandre describes as combining glassiness and iridescence to create a luxuriant stone effect with silvery reflections.

The Selenite Maximum collection also delivers on the high-performance qualities of ceramic surfaces, boasting durability, mechanical strength, resistance to chemicals and ease of cleaning.

Product details: Selenite Maximum
Brand: Fiandre
Contact: info@granitifiandre.it

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Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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Dezeen Showroom: flooring company Milliken has created dappled carpet tiles that take cues from both gardening and flower displays seen at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The Painted Garden flooring range manifests as single plank-shaped tiles that can be installed in a range of patterns – including a herringbone format – to create dynamic carpeted floors.

The planks have an undulating, lustrous appearance due to the varying height of the tufts  – this effect is achieved by using cutting-edge tufting technology during the design and manufacturing process.

Econyl yarn is used to create the Painted Garden range and uses 100 per cent regenerated material, according to the brand.

"[The Painted Garden flooring collection] reflects a renewed passion for horticulture and appreciation of the garden in all its different forms," said Milliken. "From more structured 'architectural' gardens to the wild and untamed, the garden provides countless pattern and design motifs ripe for experimentation."

Tiles come in a selection of colourways that contain both strongly pigmented areas and neutral patches, creating an ombre effect across floors. All colourways can be overlaid with subtle patterns depicting stems or seed heads for added dimension.

Product details:

Product: Painted Garden flooring
Brand: Milliken
Contact: carpetenquiries@milliken.com

Material: Econyl yarn
Colours/finishes: orange, green, grey, teal, aqua, pink
Dimensions: 250 x 12.1 x 1000 millimetres

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Milan design week seemed to show that the industry has given up on reducing its planetary impact and creating products for regular people, writes Max Fraser.

If last year's Milan design week felt like a return to a version of pre-pandemic editions, this year's felt like a hyped-up mega-festival.

It's difficult to attain reliable figures for the number of individual events that took place across the city (reports range from several hundred to more than 1,000), as well as the main commercial trade event, Salone del Mobile. But whatever the actual figure is, this year the visitor experience had certainly intensified.

There were many times when I felt I had been brazenly "data-captured"

One visible sign of this was the queues. They felt particularly acute this year, presumably off the back of a surge of attendees. According to figures published by Salone del Mobile, visitor numbers increased by 17.1 per cent this year, with 361,417 people recorded through the trade fair's turnstiles.

Has Milan design week become a victim of its own popularity? I heard reports of design revellers waiting for up to three hours to enter some of the shows. Queues were often slowed by the requirement to register. One's details are now commonly harvested by brands and there were many times when I felt I had been brazenly "data-captured".

Once inside, one often slots into a human conveyor formation, shuffling hurriedly through the venue surrounded by people who seem principally concerned with capturing the whole thing on their phones.

Meanwhile, organisers boasted to me about their queues and record attendance, seemingly judging success by popularity, without much concern for how much of people's time they were cannibalising.

But for punters, time is precious. For many, it's expensive too; international visitors must increasingly spend a fortune on travel and accommodation, an annual problem that seems to only be getting worse.

On the positive side, many Milanese inhabitants also attend. It would seem this globally important design extravaganza provides one moment in the year for mass inspiration coupled with an outpouring of Milanese glam.

Design is increasingly moving away from providing solutions for the needs of regular people

In its purest form, Milan design week has always acted as an annual window into humanity's desire for creative expression. It is the primary event for ideas exchange and that is one of the lures that keeps us returning year-on-year, with the added bonus of seeing old friends and making new ones.

However, my concern this year (and in recent editions) is that design is increasingly moving away from providing solutions for the needs of regular people and is instead churning out a disproportionate amount of decorative objects for the wealthy.

My discomfort comes with how willingly the rest of us have fallen into the role of bot-like communicators, inadvertently giving our precious time, attention and data to what often turn out to be superfluous marketing displays.

I attended one showcase by a tech brand and rapidly had the impression that I had been dragged into an internal strategy presentation; I felt nauseous observing the excessive use of virgin materials to build an expensive display of corporate hyperbole. If only the millions spent there could have been spent on something that mattered – housing the men sleeping rough in the tunnel around the corner would be a valiant place to start.

At a different venue, overwhelmed by the enormous use of sheet material to build the temporary walls in the space, I asked about the display's afterlife. "It'll mostly be scrapped due to the way it's assembled," said a senior staff member. Oh well, never mind, this is someone else's problem, right?

I had to reassure myself that this approach was surely outnumbered by the week's many displays of material innovation and sustainable thinking.

For all the talk about sustainability in design, this year the topic felt woefully missing or, at best, tokenistic

For example, industrial manufacturer Hydro's small-but-perfectly-formed 100R exhibition of extruded aluminium furniture demonstrated the possibility of working with 100 per cent post-consumer scrap; design studio Niceworkshop developed furniture made from redundant formwork previously used for skyscraper construction; and at Salone del Mobile, furniture brand Knoll revived its stand design from last year.

But for all the talk about sustainability in design, this year the topic felt woefully missing or, at best, tokenistic. It still feels like we're tinkering at the edges when it comes to reducing our planetary impact. My inner mood throughout the week flicked between deep feelings of pessimism to moments of optimism when sharing these concerns with kindred spirits.

In case anyone has forgotten, humanity is careering towards an uncertain future with climate breakdown and inequality regularly surfacing around us. Perhaps Milan design week provides us with a few days of respite from this existential dark cloud, its energy an opportunity for us to collectively recharge.

But do we really want to be remembered for creating more nice stuff for wealthy people to occasionally use?

As a high-end manufacturer once admitted to me: "I am in the business of catching the crumbs that the rich brush off the table." Is the part of the design industry that is so prevalent in Milan mostly in service to the one per cent and, if so, are we OK with that?

Do we need to make more enormous sofas that are too big (and expensive) for most people's homes? Could we bear not to launch new stuff on this annual treadmill?

It's worth acknowledging that we're currently all complicit – including the marketing, PR and media worlds – for stirring up the hype. For the most part, many of us operate in the capitalist trap of needing to continually feed the machine. In many instances, sizeable investment has been put into energy-intensive materials and manufacturing processes, from which it is costly to rapidly pivot.

The tempering of Milan-fever is overdue

And it's important to recognise that many businesses are valiantly working to provide employment and preserve crafts that have been perfected by talented individuals. Invariably, the results don't come cheap.

For as long as there is a market for this, and during this period of economic uncertainty, why consciously bite off the hand that feeds us? Therein lies the predicament.

As the biggest and most influential global gathering of its kind, Milan design week always provides a barometer of the health of the design industry. You might think it's unfair to point the finger at Milan and I'm sorry if I sound like a party-pooper but, at this urgent juncture in history, the majority of the industry is still focused on the wrong prize.

For all of the spectacle of the week, the fun cocktail parties and industry-wide comradery, the tempering of Milan-fever is overdue and the urgency for meaningful change is now. We need to stop acting as if someone else is going to make the changes to production and consumption that we so desperately need to enact.

The photography is by Kuan Chi Hau.

Max Fraser is editorial director of Dezeen.

Milan design week took place from 15 to 21 April 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Swiss studio Kosmos Architects has designed Dice, a multifaceted piece of oak furniture that can be used as a stool, a coffee table, a lamp or a footrest.

The five-pronged furniture piece weighs 10.5 kilograms and has a "warm" oak wood frame characterised by subtle chequerboard patterns.

"Throw the dice, and this project will take a new shape depending on how the user rotates it," said Kosmos Architects, which named Dice after the numbered cube often used in games of chance.

Two of the furniture's legs are wide enough to support it, while two others are slimmer and rounded. The fifth leg features a triangular lamp at its tip made of plastic and protected frosted glass, which can be removed via a small button and charged using a USB socket.

When tipped on its various sides, Dice can function as a stool, a coffee table or a footrest.

The furniture can be attached to a rope or similar hanging material and suspended from the ceiling to provide lighting or simply positioned as a floor lamp.

Kosmos Architects chose this asymmetric design to "unite the qualities of four different basic furniture typologies".

"We made the lamp removable so that there are no electrical cords and to make the object independent," architect Leonid Slonimskiy told Dezeen.

Dice was CNC-milled from a stack of solid oak pieces with a multi-axis milling machine.

"The robotic arm cut away pieces of wood with a rotating drill until the shape got smoother, and then we manually sanded and oiled the piece," he explained.

"Dice combines new technologies and handcraft."

"The furniture has a clear purpose but is supposed to be interpreted by the owner," continued Kosmos Architects.

"It is a sculpture and at the same time a pragmatic piece of furniture."

Kosmos Architects has also created a silver "carry-on bag" for Dice, which mimics the shape of the furniture and helps to make it portable.

Dice was unveiled during last month's Milan design week at Fake/Authentic Gallery. Dezeen has rounded up 10 other projects presented at the festival that explored the future of furniture design.

Previously, Japanese studio Torafu Architects created multifunctional furniture – also called Dice – for both children and adults.

The photography is by Maxim Cherepanov. 

Milan design week took place from 15 to 21 April 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma aimed to rebrand linoleum and establish a new visual language for the misunderstood material with the Flaxwood tiles she has created for manufacturer Dzek.

Much like traditional linoleum, the tiles unveiled as part of an installation at Milan design week are made of linseed oil, pine resin, wood dust and chalk.

But in this case, all the pigments, coatings and backings that normally disguise its natural composition are stripped away, creating tiles with a warm honey colour and the mottled texture of MDF.

"Flaxwood is an honest expression of the ingredients that are in linoleum," Dzek founder Brent Dzekciorius told Dezeen. "Linoleum has never been content to be itself, so we wanted to define what it actually looks like."

For the Milan design week installation, the tiles were used to clad a monumental staircase leading to nowhere, designed by Barcelona firm Arquitectura-G.

By showing off the material's unexpected aesthetics and architectural applications, the hope is that the project can help reframe linoleum as a material of the future rather than just a holdover from the 1970s, which it is often perceived as.

Linoleum, unlike plastic-based vinyl and PVC, can be made entirely from renewable and reclaimed materials, as well as being biodegradable and endlessly remoldable.

"It's like playdough or like a bread dough that lasts forever," Meindertsma told Dezeen. "It cures just enough to become something solid but then you can always decide for it to become something new if you need."

"For me, that's really the ultimate thing as a product designer," she added. "I don't know any other material that can do that."

Flaxwood is the result of an ongoing research project from Meindertsma that started in 2010 when she purchased a Dutch farmer's entire harvest of flax – roughly 10,000 kilograms – before it could be exported to China where 90 per cent of European flax goes to be turned into products.

Testing the limits of local production, the designer turned the fibres into yarn, rope, cloths and even a chair, while the seeds were used to make linseed oil and with that an entirely traceable, locally sourced version of linoleum.

The collaboration with Dzek presented an opportunity to resuscitate this research and turn it into an actual sellable product in the form of Flaxwood.

While traditional linoleum is applied to a jute fabric lining and hung up to cure in giant strips, Meindertsma's version is formed using a mould and a pressure press, with no need for a backing.

Also gone are the fossil-derived coatings and pigments that are traditionally used to help linoleum take on different colours and patterns.

"Our process is much more streamlined," Dzekciorius said. "We use a lot less energy."

Still, the current version of Flaxwood is more of a starting point than a finished product, since the raw materials are syphoned off from the industrial production of flooring manufacturer Forbo.

The ultimate aim is instead to create a linoleum that is made entirely using local materials and thus fully traceable.

This would allow the recipe to be customised with different ingredients, using more rapidly renewable plants such as cattail and reed from Dutch peatlands or wood dust from different trees to subtly change the colour of the tiles.

"Linoleum is inherently an incredibly sustainable material," Dzekciorius said. "But there's room for improvement on it."

"Using more fast-growth renewables as material sources is better. And it also leads to other aesthetic outcomes, which makes it really interesting."

Several of Meindertsma's previous tinkerings with the recipe were on show as part of the installation.

One sample was coloured with ground-up old roof tiles and another was made using waste calcium carbonate, which was filtered out by a local water treatment plant, instead of mined chalk.

"So you don't actually have to mine it, you can use a waste stream," the designer explained. "And it's already industrially taken out of the water. So it's really no problem to use that."

There's also the potential to experiment with greater thickness, which gives the material more rigidity and allows the linoleum to be sanded, cut and milled much like a piece of timber.

"It can have this dimensionality, which I think is really antithetical to what people associate with it today," Dzekciorius said.

"It can have a density that is kind of similar to MDF," he added. "It could potentially be a huge improvement over something like that because there aren't any glues."

But, to reach its full potential, Meindertsma argues the material needs to be accompanied by an efficient closed-loop recycling system, so it can stay endlessly in use.

"An object that keeps changing form – that would be my ultimate dream," she said.

A number of other designers have started reappraising linolem for its sustainable credientials in recent years. Among them is Don Kwaning who adapted the material to form a vegan leather alternative and Eindhoven graduate Lina Chi, who made a series of self-supporting furniture pieces from a single sheet of linoleum.

Milan design week took place from 15 to 21 April 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Dezeen Showroom: four different-shaped tiles in twelve different colours make up Japandi, a range of ceramic tiles by Spanish brand Cobsa.

Named after the style that combines Scandinavian and Japanese design, Japandi is designed as a versatile collection that offers designers "endless combinations and arrangements", said Cobsa.

The four tile shapes available are named Circle, Mini Picket, Scale and Union Piece. The latter two are designed as complementary pieces for the Circle tiles.

The 12 available colours are predominantly matte and neutral in tone, including mocha, latte white and velvet rose, but there are also four metallic versions available for a bolder aesthetic.

"Whether creating subtle harmonies or bold contrasts, the Japandi Collection empowers designers to explore and express their unique vision," said Cobsa.

"The array of colours and pieces allows for boundless creativity, enabling designers to craft bespoke layouts that infuse personality into any space or project."

Product details:

Product: Japandi
Brand: Cobsa
Contact: export2@alttoglass.com

Material: ceramic
Colours/finishes: Mocha, Latte White, Savanna, Silver, Gold Beige, Rosewood, Moss Green, Steel Blue, Prusian Blue, Seaweed, Velvet Rose, Oakley Apricot
Dimensions: 160 x 160 millimetres (Circle), 140 x 160 millimetres (Scale), 90 x 90 millimetres (Union Piece), 55 x 150 millimetres (Mini Picket)

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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Design thinking should be substituted for "food thinking" to enable humans to create properly holistic systems that no longer cause ecological chaos, writes Sophie Lovell.

Design has become unfit for purpose. Humanity shares one small planet with a large number of other lifeforms and catastrophes happen to everything and everyone on it. From the destruction of ecosystems and climate to the chronic effects of the exploitation of people and resources, design has been complicit in creating the state the world now finds itself in.

The majority of what passes for design doesn't so much solve problems as cause a whole load of new ones. Can it be that the universal model of design thinking, so embraced by capitalism, is not the right approach at this watershed moment in the planet's history?

What if there was another, more relational way of approaching the design process?

Taking a problem-solving approach, as designers are mostly taught to do, implies something is "wrong" and that the designer's job is to fix or improve it. The difficulty with looking at the world like this is it puts the designer and the user on a closed-loop binary seesaw. It is not contextually aware.

A human-centred, iterative approach like design thinking heavily echoes the traditional Western science model: empirical observation, systematic experimentation and the formulation of hypotheses and theories based on evidence. It's all about conquering a "problem" through a mindset of experimentation and rational discussion until the "right" answer is arrived at.

What if there was another, more relational way of approaching the design process? One that is based not on things or problems but on building and maintaining healthy relationships instead? A non-binary approach that is adaptive, and embraces context, equity and equality, allowing for even contradictory interests of myriad stakeholders. One that is less causal, more entangled.

Spatial practitioners radically rethinking "architecture after architecture" have been working in this direction for some time. Spatial Agency, for example, is founded by architects who have shifted their focus from "matter of fact" to "matter of concern" and "making stuff to making policy". And the collaborative design studio Forty Five Degrees considers the built environment "across multiple scales, analysing its physical, social, and economic entanglements".

Both practices, however, predominantly use the (human) built environment and (human) social interactions and spatial use and occupation as the framework for their endeavours. In other words, they still, as architects, tend to put communities of humans and their structures at the centre of their focus. Human-centred approaches to design, no matter how inspiring, still carry vestigial baggage from the mindset of (human) dominion over every other life form (resource) – and look where that has got us.

What about everything else – the vast realm of the "non-human", on which humans are utterly dependent and connected to, from climate and soils to flora and fauna, minerals, macro- and microorganisms? Where does one find a more planet-conscious design approach that is human-related but with a stronger emphasis on the non-human and flexible enough to incorporate the enormous complexity such a holistic perspective would involve?

The diversity of non-extractive agriculture and food-related practices should make ideal learning tools for designers

The answer could be surprisingly simple: food. "Food is everything," says chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen. "Food is national security. Food is economy. It is employment, energy, history… If we approached many of today's issues understanding this importance, we'd be making much better decisions."

Food production and agriculture are the oldest industries known to humankind. They are filled with knowledge stemming from millennia of experimentation, adaptation and cohabitation with all the world's constantly changing ecologies.

I'm not talking about the majority of extractive industrial agriculture and food production monocultures that belong to the "them and us" system of dominion and ownership. I'm talking about the many thousands of other, niche-specific forms of agriculture and food production that are not – the practices and practitioners that modern industrial industries have mostly ignored when they weren't trying to exploit or eradicate them.

Chef Andrés is right: the perspectives and values of all human cultures are deeply embedded in their food production practices, which means this embodied knowledge is per se contextual and holistic. Therefore, the diversity of non-extractive agriculture and food-related practices (from seasonal dishes to fermentation, crop diversity, community/ecology-appropriate planting and so on) should make ideal learning tools for designers addressing the many failing and dated human-generated systems that need to change.

Please note: I am not advocating yet more cultural exploitation of indigenous knowledge here, I am advocating respect for non-material value, learning how to ask better questions and really, properly, listen.

Back in 1962, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring tried to remind the world that all living things are part of a web of life and if you touch, change or move anything you should do so with care, not just for the obvious consequences but for the unforeseen ones as well. The world may have heard, but it did not listen.

Designers should not be working within manufacturing environments

In 2015, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing argued in her book The Mushroom at the End of the World that "staying alive – for every species – requires livable collaborations. Collaboration means working across difference, which leads to contamination. Without collaborations, we all die."

Is the world going to continue making the same mistake? We need to disentangle ourselves from notions of "progress" and fully embrace existing entanglements with nature, with other living beings, with cultural wisdom, our bodies, our technologies and our planet.

Investigative, cross-disciplinary practice in design is, of course, not new, but the increasing focus on food systems has been noticeable. Another set of spatial practitioners, Cooking Sections, for example, have been working in an investigative manner on food-related topics for the past decade as part of their ongoing Climavore project.

This is a research platform working with marine biologists, botanists, farmers, chefs, herders, fisherfolk, anthropologists, geneticists and many others to ask "how to eat as humans change climates." The Cooking Sections collaborative completely gets that asking better, more inclusive questions and striving for an extensively collaborative practice is the way forward. And it is no accident that they chose food systems to work with.

Agricultural and food-production practices are an ideal place to start rethinking how we design because they are the result of people working in partnership with their contexts. To establish environments where enough nourishing food can be produced regeneratively, people need to work within their ecosystems.

Likewise, designers should not be working within manufacturing environments but within multidisciplinary and multi-representative knowledge environments.

Humans need to stop treating the planet as a for-profit industrial farm owned by a handful of people

In a bleak recent lecture, the highly respected Dark Matter Labs architect Indy Johar pointed out that the extent of land under food production is now so vast that Earth is now essentially "a global farm with a small zoo for wild animals." The ramifications are terrifying when put into the context (as he goes on to do) of the current dramatically accelerated level of planetary destruction.

Humans need to stop treating the planet as a for-profit industrial farm owned by a handful of people – not at some speculative time in the future, but right now.

Stepping away from the toxic system in which design has hitherto been complicit by embracing food thinking not only facilitates an accessible, inclusive path for designers to help nurture thriving ecologies by building and maintaining healthy relationships, it is essential to survival.

Sophie Lovell is a design and architecture writer and the co-founder of The Common Table, a platform for food thinking and systemic change, together with her daughter Orlando Lovell. She has written and edited several books on design and architecture, including David Thulstrup: A Sense of Place and Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible (Phaidon).

The photo is by Nick Fewings via Unsplash.

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Dezeen Events Guide has launched its guide to NYCxDesign 2024, highlighting the key events in New York City from 16 to 23 May.

The festival celebrates its 12th anniversary with a programme of exhibitions, open showrooms, tours, talks, design fairs and product launches.

Located across neighbourhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, around 200 events are taking place across eight days, spanning architecture, design, art, fashion and technology.

Use our interactive map

This year's guide also features a curated map with the key events of the festival, helping you navigate your way around the city.

There is still the opportunity to feature in the guide

There are three types of listings still available:

Standard listings cost £125 ($160) and include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will feature up to 50 words of text about the event.

Enhanced listings cost £175 ($225) and include all of the above, plus an image at the top of the listing's page and a preview image on the Dezeen Events Guide homepage. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.

Featured listings cost £350 ($450) and include the elements of an enhanced listing plus a post on Dezeen's Threads channel, inclusion in the featured events carousel on the right hand of the homepage for up to two weeks and 150 words of text about the event. This text can include commercial information such as ticket prices and offers and can feature additional links to website pages such as ticket sales and newsletter signups.

For more details about partnering with us to help amplify your event, contact the team at eventsguide@dezeen.com.

About Dezeen Events Guide

Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.

The guide is updated weekly and includes events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.

The illustration is by Justyna Green.

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Work by Lina Bo Bardi and José Zanine Caldas was on view at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in New York City as part of an exhibition on modernist Brazilian furniture.

Called Turning Tides: Designing a Modern Brazil exhibition, the show highlighted 75 years of design from the South American country.

It was launched to survey the impact of influential objects and furniture on daily life in the country and elsewhere, according to Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

The exhibit included works by post-war designers from Brazil such as Joaquim Tenreiro, Jorge Zalszupin and Sergio Rodrigues but also contemporary talents, such as Studio Campana, who have been influenced by these historical figures' experimental use of colour, texture, material, form and traditional crafts.

"Turning Tides honours a diverse cadre of artists who navigated and shaped their creations in the crucible of Brazil's culturally rich history, reflecting significant social, cultural, and political changes that influenced various aspects of society," said Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

Produced using a single Pequi tree trunk, sourced in the Região Centro-Oeste region, the Dining Table by Caldas demonstrates these designers' interpretation of modernism and contribution to the development of a distinctive Latin American style.

Caldas led the Móveis Denúncia movement which aimed to preserve local forests and often used materials from fallen trees.

"The exhibition presents the fabric for modern living in Brazil," said Maria Cecilia Loschiavo, associate professor of Design at the School of Architecture and Urbanism, University of São Paulo.

"The public saw the various trends, the avant-garde and the diversity of materials] used, but also the sovereign presence of wood, which established the designers' link with vernacular culture and the beginnings of Brazilian furniture."

Many of the furniture pieces were designed by architects who also created furniture, such as Italy-born Lina Bo Bardi.

Her 1950s Writing Desk was produced using Caviuna wood and includes Z-shaped legs, which, according to the gallery, was a major part of Brazil's contribution to modernism.

Other European designers who moved to the country during this time period include Carlo Hauner and Martin Eisler, who developed the organic, tubular metal frame Reversible Armchair.

The concave steel-and-glass-topped Side Tables by architect Oscar Niemeyer, who was responsible for the master plan of the country's capital Brasilia, was also on view.

"Turning Tides pays tribute to Brazil's design legacy, highlighting the historical impact of Modernism, local craftsmanship, and innovation," said Carpenters Workshop Gallery co-founder Loic Le Gaillard.

"Every piece – from Joaquim Tenreiro to Sergio Rodrigues and Lina Bo Bardi, tells a story of resilience, ingenuity, and the unwavering pursuit of beauty."

Brazilian design has featured in a number of recent shows in the American city, including a recent solo show by Estúdio Campana, the first since the passing of studio co-founder Fernando Campana.

The Photography is by Matt Harrington.

The Turning Tides: Designing a Modern Brazil exhibition is on view from 7 March to 31 May at Carpenters Workshop Gallery. For more architecture and design exhibitions visit Dezeen Events Guide.

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Dezeen Showroom: a semi-totem design, a pleated relief pattern and a wide choice of colours meet in the Delia Zero washbasin by Spanish bathroom brand Acquabella.

The Delia sink features a deep basin with a wave-like relief on the lower half of its outer structure, creating a contemporary statement in bathroom design schemes.

Acquabella describes the relief as adding movement "without weighing down the shape" and says the smooth finish created by its Zero texture makes it pleasant to touch.

The Delia basin is available in more than 2,000 colours and a choice of three styles: either wall-mounted, countertop or a freestanding design, which has slender legs and a low shelf for storing towels and other bathroom products.

Both the shelf and basin are made of Akron, Acquabella's signature high-performance material, which is made of polyurethane with silica-free mineral fillers, and promises enhanced hygienic properties and resistance to impact.

"Delia is the perfect choice for those who prefer a contemporary and trendy bathroom ambience," said Acquabella.

Product details:

Product: Delia
Brand: Acquabella
Contact: comunicaciones@construplas.com

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: Spanish brand Vondom has launched a collection of outdoor furniture pieces called Luna, designed by architect Ramón Esteve with chunky, curving forms.

Luna comprises a sofa, armchair, coffee table and a daybed, united by their exaggerated, rounded forms that Esteve has crafted from a mix of plastic and fibreglass.

According to Vondom, Esteve's design takes visual cues from the aesthetic of iconic designers such as Verner Panton and Joe Colombo.

Meanwhile, the choice of materials was the result of striving to create forms "that are both functional and aesthetically stunning", the brand said.

"With soft lines and organic curves, the Luna collection evokes serenity and harmony, while its robust structure ensures durability and strength in any environment," said Vondom.

"These elements combine to offer a unique and elegant experience that elevates any space to new heights of sophistication and beauty."

Product details:

Product: Luna
Designer: Ramón Esteve
Brand: Vondom
Contact: marketing@vondom.com

Material: Polyethylene, high-density polyurethane foam and synthetic fibre

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: teak frames support the Tradition collection of modular outdoor seating, conceived by designer Povl B Eskildsen for Danish furniture company Fritz Hansen.

According to Fritz Hansen, the Tradition seats are designed by Eskildsen as "an invitation to unwind" and can be used as individual furniture pieces or combined in various arrangements, catering to different garden setups.

The collection comprises four seats, made with and without armrests. There is also a matching pouf and two table modules available in different heights.

Each is finished with the same teak structure, which Eskildsen modelled on traditional Danish spindle furniture, while the cushions are upholstered with textiles suitable for outdoor use.

"Fritz Hansen proudly presents Tradition outdoor lounge series by Povl B Eskildsen," said the brand.

"Whether savouring the golden hues of a sun-kissed afternoon or gathering under the starlit sky, Tradition elevates outdoor experiences to new heights in comfort and beauty, making it truly the last word in outdoor lounging," it continued.

Product details:

Product: Tradition
Designer: Povl B Eskildsen
Brand: Fritz Hansen
Contact: siro@fritzhansen.com

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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An aluminium alloy made from 100 per cent recycled waste will be a game-changer for the furniture industry, according to Norwegian designer Lars Beller Fjetland.

Beller Fjetland was the artistic director for 100R, a Milan design week exhibition staged by industrial manufacturer Hydro featuring extruded aluminium objects created by seven different designers.

The exhibition marked the launch of Hydro Circal 100R, a newly developed alloy billed as "the world's first industrial-scale aluminium product made entirely of post-consumer scrap".

Speaking to Dezeen at the exhibition, Beller Fjetland said this type of aluminium could play a pivotal role in the transition towards a zero-carbon, circular future.

"As a designer, you constantly ask yourself: Am I part of the problem or part of the solution? With this project, we are definitely part of the solution," said the designer.

"This is a material we'll be using for the next 100 years at least," he told Dezeen.

Hydro Circal 100R is the first product of its type on the market.

It was highly challenging to develop, due to the difficulty in removing paint, plastics and other contaminants from post-consumer aluminium, but could offer huge benefits for decarbonisation, according to the brand.

With a reported 0.5 kilograms of CO2 produced for every kilogram of aluminium, Hydro claims the carbon footprint of this material is 97 per cent lower than the global average for aluminium.

It also boasts the same benefits as other aluminium alloys; it is lightweight, easy to shape, resistant to corrosion and can be infinitely recycled without degrading in quality.

An anodising process makes it possible to apply a colour finish to the metal without affecting the material's recyclability.

The 100R exhibition represents an ambition for Hydro to expand outside its core business – primarily in sectors such as aviation and construction – by branching into the design industry.

"I'm convinced that there is a huge market for extruded aluminium in this sector," Beller Fjetland said.

Extruded aluminium is made in a process that involves pressing a heated aluminium billet through a die, resulting in long, continuous lengths with a specific cross-sectional profile.

The process of cooling determines the strength and quality of the material.

The seven designers participating in 100R were tasked with designing furniture and homeware objects that could be produced using nothing but extruded aluminium.

The brief called for mono-material designs with no additional fixings – components simply slot together, with joints integrated into the extruded aluminium profiles.

Among the most ambitious examples are designer John Tree's Billet Chair, which was cleverly produced from a 200-millimetre press, and Paris-based Inga Sempé's Grotte table lamp, which sees two highly intricate profiles slot together perfectly.

French designer Philippe Malouin devised a modular shelving system that can be produced in lengths of up to six metres, while Earnest Studio founder Rachel Griffin developed a flexible partition screen made of interlocking elements.

A table lamp by British designer Max Lamb, a coat stand by Norwegian designer Andreas Engesvik and vases by US-based Shane Schneck complete the collection.

"This project is challenging perceptions about what extruded aluminium is, what it can do and what it can be," said Beller Fjetland.

None of the designs are yet being produced commercially, but Beller Fjetland believes it's only a matter of time.

"These could all be commercial products," he said. "Even an intricate design like Max's can be simple to produce; the cost is almost entirely determined by the weight and the amount of material you use."

Beller Fjetland has been collaborating with Hydro for some time. At the previous Milan design week, they jointly exhibited a bench made from 90 per cent recycled aluminium.

He believes this material will increasingly attract the interest of other designers and furniture manufacturers.

"This is a place where dreams can come true," he said. "It's mouthwatering for a designer; you can do just about anything."

In the context of Milan design week, where many brands claim to be producing sustainable products, the designer believes this project offers an alternative to the concept of "new for new's sake".

"If a design is future-ready, because it's easier to dismantle, or because it can be produced using less carbon and less water, then new is good," he concluded.

Dezeen produced a video about the 100R exhibition, which was published earlier this month.

It shows the objects displayed in a scenography formed of blocks of recycled aluminium sourced from a pipe factory, revealing the material in its raw state.

"They really tell people the story about this material," added Beller Fjetland.

Milan design week took place from 15 to 21 April 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Lisbon, Melbourne and Clerkenwell's design weeks are among the architecture and design events featured in Dezeen Events Guide this May.

Other events taking place during the month include NYCxDesign, London Craft Week and Design Miami Los Angeles.

London Craft Week
13 to 19 May, UK

London Craft Week is a festival showcasing the work of designers and makers, exploring disciplines such as art, ceramics, embroidery, candle making, material innovation, glassblowing, metalwork and fashion.

The programme includes talks, workshops, exhibitions, installations, fairs, performances, tours and parties dotted across the city.

2024 marks the event's 10th anniversary with expectations of around 250,000 attendees across the seven days.

Dezeen is a media partner for London Craft Week 2024.

Design Miami Los Angeles
16 to 20 May, USA

For the first time, design fair Design Miami expands its events to Los Angeles, located at a private estate designed by architect Paul R. Williams in the city's Holmby Hills.

The showcase includes vintage and contemporary furniture, lighting and design objects from global galleries, with the exhibition following the theme Master Works: Important Design, 1938–Present.

The creative director for this year's Design Miami Los Angeles, Basel, Paris and Miami fairs are led by artist and founder of Mirage Magazine Henrik Purienne.

NYCxDesign
16 to 23 May, USA

Annual design festival NYCxDesign returns to New York City for eight days, hosting around 200 events across Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.

The festival's programme features exhibitions, fairs, tours, talks, open showrooms and product launches led by brands in the graphic, urban, product and landscape design fields, as well as art, technology and architecture.

Among the events is the ICFF and Wanted 2024 fair, located in the Javits Center from 19 to 21 May.

Dezeen is a media partner for ICFF and Wanted 2024.

Clerkenwell Design Week
21 to 23 May, UK

London's Clerkenwell Design Week celebrates its 15th edition, presenting furniture, lighting, flooring, kitchen and ceramics in exhibitions and open showrooms.

Among the displays, events include talks and workshops, which are situated across more than 130 venues in the Clerkenwell district of the city.

Dezeen is a media partner for Clerkenwell Design Week 2024.

Lisbon Design Week
22 to 26 May, Portugal

Launching last year, Lisbon Design Week hosts its second event, with parties, exhibitions, talks, tours and open showrooms over five days.

Events are located at various venues across Portugal's capital city, focusing on contemporary fashion, textiles, sculpture, furniture, art and lighting.

Melbourne Design Week
23 May to 2 June, Australia

More than 100 exhibitions are taking place at this year's Melbourne Design Week, alongside a series of talks, tours and workshops.

Each year, the festival asks participants to respond to the concept of Design the World You Want. Additionally for 2024, the programme follows three key themes: Ecology, Ethics and Energy.

Located in Melbourne and the surrounding Victoria area, the events expect to see 70,000 attendees across 11 days.

About Dezeen Events Guide

Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year. The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.

Inclusion in the guide is free for basic listings, with events selected at Dezeen's discretion. Organisers can get standard, enhanced or featured listings for their events, including images, additional text and links, by paying a modest fee.

In addition, events can ensure inclusion by partnering with Dezeen. For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide and media partnerships with Dezeen, email eventsguide@dezeen.com.

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Local studio Hemingway Design collaborated with designer James Shaw to transform a London store interior for charity retailer Traid, which features colourful furniture created from leftover second-hand clothes.

Hemingway Design renovated Traid's Shepherd's Bush branch as part of a wider rebrand for the retailer to mark its 25th anniversary, including its visual identity.

Traid sells donated clothing and accessories in 12 stores across London to fund global projects that tackle the issues caused by producing, consuming and wasting textiles.

As part of the Shepherd's Bush store refurbishment, Hemingway Design worked with Shaw to create furniture out of poor-quality clothes salvaged from the Traid sorting warehouse that the retailer deemed unsellable.

Shaw, whose practice centres on repurposing waste materials, created curved pendant lighting from the leftover clothes, which were shredded back to fibres and combined with a plant-based binder.

The designer applied this method to make the rest of the furniture. One piece is a low-slung bench for trying on shoes, upholstered with a yellow, green and blue patchwork of old denim jeans and corduroy trousers.

Shaw designed the bench's lumpy legs in his trademark extruded HDPE plastic, finished in the same colours as the patchwork seat.

Elsewhere in the store, boxy pinewood changing room doors feature multicoloured handles created from the leftover clothes, defined by a speckled appearance thanks to the combination of shredded fibres.

Silver scaffolding previously used for a different purpose in the original shop layout was used to create a "staff picks" clothes rail positioned at the front of the store.

"To align with Traid's manifesto of reducing waste and prolonging the lifespan of items, a fundamental objective of the refurb was to reuse and repurpose existing fixtures and fittings within the store where possible," explained Hemingway Design.

British designer Charlie Boyden created chunky pastel-hued plinths from other offcuts and materials salvaged from the strip-out. They display merchandise in the shop window illuminated by more of Shaw's clothing-based pendant lighting.

Swirly linseed-based oil-stained pine also characterises the geometric cash desk, fitted with an accessible counter and positioned in front of an existing timber stud wall painted in bold pink.

Next to the counter, bespoke bright green Unistrut shelving creates additional space for hanging clothes and displaying shoes.

According to Hemingway Design, Traid has put 228 million garments back into use to date, saving 622,059 tonnes of carbon dioxide and 105.3 million cubic metres of water.

"The charity retailer maximises the potential of the clothes you no longer wear, demanding change from a throwaway, fast fashion culture that continues to destroy this planet," said the studio.

Shaw recently applied his extruded plastic designs to another store renovation in central London for shoe brand Camper, which includes a jumbo foot sculpture.

Hemingway Design previously created a minimalist but colourful logo to celebrate 100 years of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, Kent.

The photography is by French & Tye unless stated otherwise. 

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Dezeen and Forbo Flooring's Marmoleum Design Challenge closes for entries at midnight CEST (Central European Summer Time) tonight. Enter before the deadline for the chance to win up to £5,000.

The competition invites architects and designers to create an interior space that promotes wellbeing using the brand's Marmoleum material.

The space should be designed for installation in interior environments such as hospitals, schools or offices – anywhere you can play, learn, work or heal. However, residential applications are excluded.

Entrants are tasked with designing a 10-square-metre space that can enhance wellbeing by providing a space for relaxation and rejuvenation.

Designs must use Forbo Flooring's Marmoleum material as flooring, and the design should be realistic and feasible to construct.

Competition entries will be judged by an expert panel comprising Dezeen editors and design professionals, including interior designer Ilse Crawford, HOK senior interior designer Christine Vandover and Studiopepe co-founders Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto.

The panel will be joined by Dezeen editorial director Max Fraser and Forbo Flooring linoleum senior designer Tamar Gaylord.

The judges will be looking for innovative but buildable ideas for a wellbeing space.

Prize money up for grabs

A shortlist of the best ideas will be published on Dezeen in May, with the winner announced and published on Dezeen in June 2024.

The winner will receive a cash prize of £5,000 and have their design realised in collaboration with Forbo and installed in the Forbo Flooring showroom in the Netherlands.

The winner (one representative only) will also be invited to attend a launch event in the Netherlands.

How to enter

To enter the competition, participants must register on the Forbo Flooring website.

The Marmoleum Design Challenge closes for entries at 23:59 CEST (Central European Summer Time) time on 30 April 2024.

Entrants must produce a mood board of materials used and three-dimensional visualisations depicting their concepts, along with supporting text to describe their idea explaining how it meets the brief.

For more information about how to enter, including the full brief and rules, visit www.dezeen.com/forbo-flooring-marmoleum-design-challenge.

Partnership content

The Marmoleum Design Challenge is a partnership between Dezeen and Forbo Flooring. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: designed by Tesseraux & Partner for German brand Bette, the BetteCurve and BetteLiv washbasins combine a delicate thinness with the strength of titanium steel.

The BetteCurve and BetteLiv are both slim-rimmed designs, the BetteLiv delivering a minimalist take on the classic washbowl and the BetteCurve featuring a more curved shape with an inward slope at the top.

Bette likens the look of the BetteCurve as recalling a pebble that has been smoothed and hollowed by water. Both designs are made in Bette’s signature glazed titanium steel, with its scratch-resistant, easy-to-clean enamel surface that comes in a range of 30 colours.

The durability of this material combination is such that Bette issues a 30-year warranty for the washbasins, and recommends the product for bars and restaurants as well as private residences.

The basins' waste covers are also enamelled, so their colour can be matched to the rest of the unit, and an optional BetteGlaze Plus finish can be added to reduce the amount of cleaning required.

Made in Germany, Bette's washbasins are fully recyclable and made without chemical additives, thinners and solvents.

Product details:

Product: BetteCurve and BetteLiv
Designer: Tesseraux & Partner
Brand: Bette
Contact: info@bette.co.uk

Material: glazed titanium-steel

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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Dezeen Showroom: created by Australian brand RJ Living, the Restore bed has an oversized form that is meant to deliver both style statement and ultimate comfort.

The work of RJ Living product and design manager Milly McEwan, the Restore bed features a cushioned and upholstered bed frame that makes the bed the centrepiece of any room and cocoons the sleeper in soft, rounded forms.

It includes an integrated bedhead that curves around the bed for cosy reading or sitting, while the plump frame can also double as a comfortable bench from which to pull on shoes in the morning.

"An incredible centrepiece for any bedroom, Restore channels the revitalising energy we find from organic forms," said RJ Living.

"Crafted purely from curves, and plenty of them, Restore showcases an oversized form," the brand continued.

The Restore bed is available in a choice of three fabrics. There are two velvets – one green and one beige – which give off a lustre in the light, and one off-white bouclé, which RJ Living says perfectly combines with the bed's curves.

Product details:

Product: Restore
Designer: Milly McEwan
Brand: RJ Living
Contact: sales@rjliving.com.au

Material: plywood frame, webbing support, high-density PU foam, fibre and feather cushion insert
Colours/finishes: Copenhagen Off White, Opal Forest, Opal Beige
Dimensions: 2150mm W x 2650mm D x 640mm H

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: Italian furniture company Scavolini has listed a selection of its recently-released furnishing systems on Dezeen Showroom.

Scavolini specialises in designing and manufacturing built-in systems that create storage and surfaces throughout a range of interior spaces, from kitchens and bathrooms to living areas.

The sleek appearance of the Mira system is the stand out feature in the company's catalogue, with cabinets and surfaces broken up by slim lines that define corners and doors.

It comes in various finishes including glass, aluminium and solid colours. Like all other furniture systems by Scavolini, it is modular and can be tailored according to the dimensions of individual spaces.

The brand's Stilo system is the result of a collaboration between the brand and industrial design studio Spalvieri and Del Ciotto.

It contains slimline components that include shelving, open- and closed-fronted storage solutions and cabinets that all come in a range of metallic and coloured finishes.

Designed specifically for bathrooms, the Miko system can be combined with vanity units, basins and mirrors to create sleek, continuous bathroom interiors.

Concealed grips along the top of the doors allow a seamless and tactile frontage and, like Scavolini's other systems, users can choose from a selection of colours, materials and finishes.

The work of artist Ellsworth Kelly, designer Donald Judd and architect Gio Ponti formed the basis for the Jeometrica system, which has a multitude of storage and display options.

It has a tidy, wall-mounted appearance that can be finished in an array of colourways and materials.

The brand aimed for its Poetica furniture system to create a sense of familiarity and homeliness through its use of wooden textures.

Like all of Scavolini's furniture systems, Poetica has both base and wall units that can be configured according to the constraints of any given space.

Scavolini was established in 1961 by brothers Valter and Elvino Scavolini, originally specialising in artisanal kitchen design.

The company now manufactures furniture and storage systems for various spaces within the home.

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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Dezeen Showroom: Danish brand Frandsen has launched Peel, a range of lights by designer Sissel Warringa crafted from single sheets of steel.

Warringa has designed three different Peel lights for Frandsen – a pendant light, a table lamp and a wall-mounted fixture.

Each light has a shade formed from a continuous sheet of curved steel, doubling as a base and mounting plate for the table and wall-mounted iterations respectively.

The sheets of metal direct light outwards from an opal glass inner shade, designed by Warringa to fit a typical GU9 LED, ensuring that they can be easily replaced when required.

"Warringa's latest design, Peel, represents the culmination of years of research into metals and metal forms," said Frandsen.

"Meticulously crafted from a single sheet of metal and skillfully cut into a circular shape with a precise slit, Warringa's innovative design seamlessly melds form and function, creating a softer, rounded feel not usually associated with metals."

Product details:

Product: Peel
Designer: Sissel Warringa
Brand: Frandsen
Contact: pr.frandsen@nineunited.com

Material: steel
Dimensions: 280 x 265 x 275 millimetres

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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British furniture retailer Habitat has revealed its 60th-anniversary collection, which features collaborations with emerging designers alongside revived archive pieces like the chicken brick.

Furniture and homeware by established designers including Sebastian Conran, Margo Selby and Tord Boontje populate Habitat's colourful 60 Years of Design collection, as well as work by newer talent such as furnituremaker Planq, ceramicist Silvia Kamodyová and artist Simone Brewster.

Novel designs rub shoulders with re-released classics in the collection from Habitat, which is an icon of British affordable design but has had a tumultuous recent history of buy-outs and store closures.

Among the revived archive products is the chicken brick from 1964 –  a ceramic oven dish for steam cooking and a classic from Habitat's first year in business – updated with a matte black glaze.

Also back on the roster are the modernist-inspired 1970s Scoop chair and 2004's Ribbon light – a table lamp made of folded and powder-coated sheet steel, which according to Habitat has become a collectible.

Some of the new designs also nod to Habitat's past.

Kamodyová referenced the 1980s Graffiti sofa in the colourful markings of her ceramics while the Lattice wire chair by Habitat designer Will Hudson is based on the wicker cone chairs of the 1970s and his bright red Akari four-poster bed was inspired by early Habitat catalogues.

Other highlights include the metal Lucinda garden furniture, which has precise cut-outs intended to cast captivating shadows, and Planq's XY60 coffee and side tables with surfaces made from recycled denim waste and legs in bright pops of blue or yellow.

Habitat designer D'arby Mawson's Cayan salt and pepper grinders look like a sculptural version of a wooden stacking game, while Brewster's bold-hued rugs are based on her own hand-paintings of the female form.

Sebastian Conran's contribution is a series of four lighting designs – including one inspired by the bulbous shapes of the Michelin Man – while Felix Conran designed mirrors with the gently contoured lines of river stones and Selby applied her graphic pattern designs to a range of textiles and bedding.

Habitat's head of design Andrew Tanner said that the brand's 60th anniversary offered an opportunity for the team to "look back and celebrate the last sixty years of Habitat's rich heritage".

"It's allowed us to reimagine classics from decades past for how we live now, as well as conceive new and thoughtful pieces that we hope will become collectables and represent the next generation of design," he said.

Habitat was founded in 1964 by Terence Conran, the highly influential British designer and retailer who also founded The Conran Shop, Benchmark Furniture and London's Design Museum.

In its first three decades, it helped to revolutionise British home decor tastes with its modern, clean-lined and European-inspired furniture and homewares.

But since then, the company has struggled and was sold three times over – first to IKEA in 1992, then to restructuring company Hilco in 2009 and finally to the Home Retail Group in 2011, which now largely sells the brand's products through its Sainsbury's and Argos stores and online.

However, contrary to Elle Decoration editor Michelle Ogundehin's proclamation that the brand was "as good as dead" after the last sale and Conran's own observation that his "love child, Habitat, appears to be dying", the company has persevered.

Tanner expressed optimism for Habitat's future and said that the company is in a better position now than ever before to create products that are true to its vision.

"Habitat has always championed great design and was founded on the concept of quality homeware that turns heads," Tanner told Dezeen. "We want to continue to be known for this moving forward. We are able, like never before, to create design-led products that are accessible and affordable to all."

Other highlights from Habitat's past include the first collection of former creative director Polly Dickens in 2012, which aimed to take the brand back to its "original Conran days" after the takeovers, and a VIP for Kids range that touted designs by the likes of actors Kate Winslet and Daniel Radcliffe.

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Dezeen Showroom: industrial designer Kasper Salto and Danish brand Fritz Hansen have expanded their collection of office tables, which are designed "to ensure every person in a meeting room can see and be seen".

Intended for use in contemporary offices, the Pluralis tables are characterised by their sculptural trestle legs and angular tabletops developed by Salto to enhance sightlines.

"Characterised by understated design, elegance and uncompromising quality, the Pluralis table series brings whole new levels of functionality to the modern workspace," said Fritz Hansen.

"The series' latest additions introduce angular forms to ensure every person in a meeting room can see and be seen," the brand continued.

Pluralis comprises tables with trapezoidal or rectangular tops, tailored to meeting rooms of varying sizes. There are also wall-mounted versions designed specifically for use alongside screens for offices where people join meetings both in person and virtually.

"The different sizes available across the series are made to accommodate different needs. From smaller meeting rooms and hybrid-ready environments to larger board rooms, the series' design enhances interactive meetings," the company continued.

Product details:

Product: Pluralis
Designer: Kasper Salto
Brand: Fritz Hansen
Contact: siro@fritzhansen.com

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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Blond founder James Melia explains how the Blond Laboratory exhibition at Milan design week drew attention to the processes of industrial design in this video produced by Dezeen for the strategic design agency.

The Blond Laboratory exhibition tasked designers with creating designs in response to a collection of found everyday objects, curated by the Blond team.

The final designs were exhibited alongside the objects that inspired them in a historic carpentry warehouse in Milan's Brera district. Objects and media that illustrated the design process were also on display.

According to Melia, the exhibition was created to illuminate the process of industrial design and encourage designers to find inspiration in the physical rather than digital realm.

"Often in exhibitions you see lots of final polished objects", said Melia in the exclusive video interview, which was shot by Dezeen in Milan.

"Very rarely the process of creating these objects is celebrated," he continued. "In essence, Blond Laboratory is a celebration of process."

Seven designers, including Melia, chose objects from a selection curated by Blond to use as a basis for a new piece.

Other participants included John Tree, Pentagram's Jon Marshall, Julie Richoz, Sony Europe's Hirotaka Tako, Maddalena Casadei, and Form Us With Love.

Melia chose to reinterpret a wooden bag for the exhibition, creating a pendant light. The original object has large visible stitches that hold its elements together, reflected in the way that the lamp's wire has been woven across the top of its casing to hold the light source in place.

"We've created a pendant light that translates the aesthetic of the bag into a very modern piece of lighting," said Melia.

Casadei, a Milan-based designer, created a hangable torch for the exhibition, basing its form on a homemade mallet with a hook at the base of its handle.

Swiss-French designer Richoz contributed a lighter that magnetically attaches to a spherical base. When attached, the piece can be wobbled back and forth on its base but is eventually restored by gravity to an upright position. She based her design on a plastic bird toy that balances on a surface at the point of its beak.

Tako, who is creative director and head of Design Centre Europe at Sony Europe, designed a lamp with a wooden base, long plastic arms and colourful circular controls, taking as its cue a wooden marking gauge with a headstock that slides up and down the implement.

British designer John Tree based the design of his aluminium turntable with an infrared needle on the form of a wooden Japanese ladle with a long handle that bisects its scoop.

Stockholm-based design studio Form Us With Love chose a corkscrew made of a single bent wire as the basis for the design of a minimal bottle opener made from a crushed pipe.

Pentagram's Jon Marshall contributed a candle holder with a base made of a golden spring wound into a conical form, closely mimicking the form of an old whisk.

Reflecting on the aims of the exhibition, Melia emphasised the importance of physical experimentation in the process of industrial design.

"I would like people to come away from the exhibition with a sense of joy for the industrial design process," he said.

"You're hammering, twisting, bending, cutting, and understanding how materials react. And it's within those moments that you can really fine-tune details and learn about the design that you're creating."

Blond Laboratory took place during Milan design week from 15 to 21 April 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Partnership content

This video was produced by Dezeen as part of a partnership with Blond. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: an outdoor chair made from metal that is informed by the shape of woven baskets is among 16 new products featured on Dezeen Showroom.

Cesto chair by Pablo Regaño for Artu

Polish furniture company Artu collaborated with Spanish designer Pablo Regaño on a metal outdoor chair with a slatted seat and backrest.

The Cesto chair is designed for use outdoors and comes in a range of playful colours.

Cesto was recently featured on Dezeen Showroom alongside a tap system that repurposes waste water from the sink to flush the toilet and a lamp with a removable and rechargeable bulb.

Read on to see more of the latest products:

Round Multipurpose table by Narbutas

Office furniture design brand Narbutas has created a series of modular tables that are flanked by A-frames at either end, which create opportunities for add-on functionality and decoration.

Round Multipurpose tables come in two depths and three heights that can be joined together to create long table systems for both work and leisure purposes.

Find out more about Round Multipurpose ›

Encanto upholstery fabric by Skopos Fabrics

British brand Skopos has released a collection of fabrics that aim to create tactile focal points in commercial spaces.

Materials in the Encanto upholstery fabric range are sturdy enough for use in high-traffic interiors and come in a selection of neutral and colourful shades.

Find out more about Encanto ›

Stiks chair by Gordon Guillaumier for Alf DaFrè

Supported by a frame comprised of tube-shaped wooden dowels, the Stiks chair was designed for furniture company Alf DaFrè by designer Gordon Guillaumier.

A padded seat and wraparound combined arm and backrest cradle the user and can be upholstered in a selection of fabrics to suit a range of interior schemes.

Find out more about Stiks ›

Silver Root tiles by Marazzi

Italian surface manufacturer Marazzi has released a tile made using 3D printing technology that recalls the striking patterns found in Turkish marble.

Silver Root tiles are made from porcelain and come in a selection of size formats, allowing them to be used for walls and floors as well as for cladding the sides and tops of furniture.

Find out more about Silver Root ›

Cenote basin by Patricia Urquiola for Agape

Designer Patricia Urquiola referenced the properties of natural waterholes in the design of this basin for Italian brand Agape,

The Cenote basin comes in two versions – one made from clay and the other from lava rock – that share the same glossy, glazed bowl and contrastingly rough exterior.

Find out more about Cenote ›

Grasp portable lamp by Thomas Albertsen for Frandsen

Designer Thomas Albertsen created a lamp with a removable, rechargeable lightbulb as part of a design-related television programme, which is now being produced by Danish brand Frandsen.

The Grasp portable lamp comprises a conical base and shade connected by an arcing stem and comes in a series of colourways and two sizes.

Find out more about Grasp ›

Parabel table by Eero Arnio Originals

Finland-based manufacturer Eero Aarnio Originals has reissued a wooden version of a statuesque side table originally designed in 1993 by Finnish designer Eero Aarnio in 1993.

The Parabel table comprises two characterfully sculptural segments – a slightly diagonal base and a bowl-shaped tabletop with a flat top – both carved from maple wood.

Find out more about Parabel ›

Miko bathroom collection by Scavolini

Italian furniture company Scavolini has designed a furniture system specifically for installation in bathrooms, that carries the brand's trademark clean lines and minimalist composition.

The Miko bathroom collection can be configured to suit the layout of any bathroom and can be paired with corresponding mirrors, washbasins and other useful accessories.

Find out more about Miko ›

Kelp chair by Interesting Times Gang

Swedish design studio Interesting Times Gang has released a new version of its Kelp chair made from Nordic sugar kelp in homage to its name.

The chair has a biomorphic shape and is made by 3D printing a bioplastic made from seaweed, which is brown in colour.

Find out more about Kelp ›

HIMACS undermounted basins by LX Hausys

Solid surface brand HIMACS by LX Hausys has released a collection of accessible sinks that come in newly released colourways.

HIMACS undermounted basins include sinks that are designed with wheelchair users in mind that come in neutral tones as well as bright, bold colourways.

Find out more about HIMACS undermounted basins ›

Stonetech tile collection by Casalgrande Padana

Italian brand Casalgrande Padana's Stonetech tile collection was informed by the rocky landscape of the Alps.

The tiles have a full-body design, meaning that they retain their characteristic marks and patternings despite the results of normal wear and tear.

Find out more about Stonetech ›

Artcore flooring by Modulyss

Belgian flooring brand Modulyss collaborated with designer Joris Peutz on a carpet tile that draws on the way in which landscapes gradually merge into one another in the natural world.

Artcore flooring is made from 100 per cent Econyl recycled yarn and comes in a selection of colours and gradients to help zone interior spaces.

Find out more about Artcore ›

Cristallo Vitrum tableware by Alessandro La Spada for Antolini

Italian stone brand Antolini has expanded its Cristallo Vitrum tableware collection to include a spectrum of functional pieces, from lamps and candleholders to serving stands and a caviar and butter set.

All elements in the Cristallo Vitrum tableware range are united by their distinctive stone materiality, which has a similar appearance to cloudy, glacial ice.

Find out more about Cristallo Vitrum ›

Plenum cabin by Jaime Hayon for Fritz Hansen

Designer Jaime Hayon worked with Danish brand Fritz Hansen on an enclosed seating for informal workplace meetings.

The Plenum cabin can seat up to four people and contains a table and screen for enhanced productivity, with the cabin itself acting as a sculptural presence in open-plan offices.

Find out more about Plenum ›

Orbital Tap by Orbital Systems

Swedish company Orbital Systems has created a plumbing system that directs water from the sink to the toilet, avoiding using clean drinking water to flush.

The Orbital Tap manifests as a minimalistic faucet and control dial that are mounted on the edge of the sink, which come in various neutral and metallic finishes.

Find out more about Orbital Tap ›

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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An exhibition at Hamburg's MK&G museum examines the global water crisis and what architects and designers can do to help. Here, curator Jane Withers selects five highlights from the show and explains the stories behind them.

Water Pressure: Designing for the Future is the result of several years of research by Jane Withers Studio, which involved compiling a broad range of ideas on how to confront water scarcity from the fields of design, science and activism.

"The current water crisis is largely the result of mismanagement and overconsumption, so there is potential to rethink the systems," Withers told Dezeen. "A multidisciplinary approach is required and architecture and design are strong components within this."

The exhibition, on show at MK&G until 13 October, is organised around five themes: Water Stories, Bodily Waters, Invisible Water – Agriculture and Industry, Thirsty Cities, and Ecosystems – Land and Ocean.

Each theme explores water as a life force and a common medium that unites humans, plants, animals and the landscape.

"We take water for granted in every way and we need to rekindle our psychological, physiological and spiritual understanding of it," Withers said.

The projects on show range from the CloudFisher system, which harvests water from fog or clouds, to a proposal for low-cost floating schools by architecture studio NLÉ and a mural by Slovenian architect Marjetica Potrč calling for the recognition of water as a living being.

While some reflect on water's poetic and mythical associations, others offer more scientifically-led solutions to specific problems associated with water scarcity, human-induced climate change and water justice.

Withers said she hopes visitors to the exhibition will leave with a better understanding of water and the challenges we face, as well as recognising that there are things we can all do to help shape a different future.

"We need policy change but also individual changes of mindset and a new water consciousness," she added. "We're very keen that the exhibition is a starting point for conversations and for campaigning about water culture."

Below, Withers outlines five key projects featured in Water Pressure:

Time on the Lachlan River by Marjetica Potrč

"The first room in the exhibition is framed by two wonderful works by artist and activist Marjetica Potrč. The mural Time on The Lachlan River illustrates the campaign by Australia's Aboriginal Wijaduri people to prevent the enlargement of a damn that could have deprived the land downriver of water.

"On the other side, the visual essay The Rights of a River tells the story of a water referendum in Slovenia in 2021, when an overwhelming majority of people voted against a law that would have allowed private businesses to exploit the country's rivers for profit.

"This shift in thinking about rivers and how we view them not as objects to be exploited but as subjects with their own rights is fundamental to creating a more equitable water culture and sets the tone for the exhibition."

Makoko Floating System by NLÉ

"Architectural practice NLÉ has been researching the potential for floating architecture in African cities affected by rising sea levels for over a decade. Their prototype floating building was a low-cost school for the Makoko community in Lagos inspired by their vernacular floating structures.

"The Makoko School became something of a poster project for floating architecture through photographer Iwan Baan's alluring images of kids clambering over an ark-like wooden building. It could have stopped there but NLÉ has gone on to develop a scalable prefabricated floating building system for the development of waterfronts amid the challenges of climate resilience.

"The studio is currently working on a regeneration plan for the Makoko area based on this technology, and recently published the book African Water Cities that examines the potential for waterborne living in other African cities."

Death to the Flushing Toilet by The Dry Collective

"Death to the Flushing Toilet is a campaign by The Dry Collective that provokes a rethink of the waterborne sewage systems we take for granted. It's madness that wealthier regions of the world use vast quantities of freshwater to flush away human waste, while two billion people still lack basic sanitation.

"In urban areas, as much as 30 per cent of freshwater is used to flush toilets and often this is drinking quality water. The Dry Collective aims to persuade architects and designers to use alternative systems.

"Taking the traditional Finnish huussi – a composting dry toilet used in rural areas – as a model, they produced a film set in 2043 that imagines a global shift where water is no longer wasted on flushing and human waste is recycled as fertiliser. The technology for circular sanitation systems already exists so the real issue is overcoming prejudices and the 'yuck factor'."

Eden in Iraq

"Eden in Iraq is an incredibly inspiring project that has gotten off the ground against the odds in Iraq's Mesopotamian Marshes, where the discharge of untreated sewage has polluted the fragile marsh ecosystem and led to disease.

"The wetland garden is designed to use plants to clean the local community's wastewater. The garden's ornate symmetrical design takes inspiration from the embroidered wedding blankets of Marsh Arab tribes and their tradition of reed construction for buildings.

"The first construction phase, completed in 2023, demonstrates the potential for nature-based wastewater systems to work at a community level."

Re-imagine Water Flows by Ooze Architects

"Re-imagine Water Flows is a special commission for the Water Pressure exhibition using the MK&G Museum as a case study to understand the water challenges Hamburg faces and how the building's water ecosystem could be made more resilient.

"A mural by Ooze Architects shows two versions of the museum – one with its current situation marooned between massive roads and Hamburg's main railway station and the other illustrating how it could be transformed into a shady green oasis.

"In the studio's proposal, rainwater and wastewater are recycled to be reused for non-drinking water use inside the building, as well as for irrigating the landscape and recharging the Hamburg aquifer.

"The mural expands to show how Hamburg is threatened by drought and increased risk of flooding that could also affect the river Elbe watershed. It invites us to think about the importance of these common water flows linking countries and cities."

The top image is by Henning Rogge and the image of the Newlands municipal swimming pool in Cape Town is by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Water Pressure is on show at MK&G Hamburg from 15 March to 13 October 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Biodegradable stools and a dining table that discretely turns into a desk are among Dezeen editor-at-large Amy Frearson's picks of the most progressive furniture launches at this year's Milan design week.

Furniture brands were launching new products and collections all over Milan, with some exhibiting at the Salone del Mobile furniture fair and others in showrooms and venues dotted around the city.

A few stood out for how they addressed sustainability challenges, with newly developed materials and innovative assembly methods resulting in products with a reduced carbon footprint.

Some addressed challenges relating to diversity within the design industry, while others explored how advances in technology are changing our relationships with objects.

Read on to discover 10 key examples:

A discretely height-adjustable table
Nastro by Daniel Rybakken for Alias

With remote working still the norm for many, Norwegian designer Daniel Rybakken has devised a dining table that can be easily adjusted to instead function as a seated or standing desk.

Launched at the Salone del Mobile by Italian brand Alias, the Nastro table features a concealed belt-and-pulley mechanism that allows the surface to be raised or lowered by hand without any need for electricity.

A video posted on Instagram by Rybakken reveals how easy it is to adjust.

"At the lowest height, the table's unique features are not revealed at all, making it ideal for the home – from dining at the lowest height, to cooking food and drinks at medium height, to working with a laptop at the highest height," said the designer.

Biodegradable furniture in an array of colours
Alder by Patricia Urquiola for Mater

Danish brand Mater has become known for its patented material, Matek, which combines waste plastic with biomaterials such as sawdust and coffee bean shells.

The brand has now developed a biodegradable blend of this heat-pressed material, thanks to the use of a bioplastic made from sugarcane. Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola has turned this into a collection of tables and stools that come in colours including terracotta and sandy yellow.

"Biodegradable plastic, in this case sugar cane, is a rapidly renewable source that can be harvested 1-2 times a year," said Ketil Årdal, CEO of Mater.

"It naturally absorbs carbon dioxide while growing and can be decomposed by living organisms in the same way as wood or any other natural material."

Rugs that embrace female identity
Rude Collection by Faye Toogood for CC-Tapis

Of the many products that British designer Faye Toogood unveiled in Milan, the most provocative was a range of rugs she unveiled with Italian brand CC-Tapis in her Rude Arts Club exhibition.

Featuring abstract images of male and female body parts, alongside blood-red blobs, these multi-textural carpets celebrate sex and the human form from a female perspective.

Toogood told Dezeen that she wanted to celebrate female energy and womanhood in a way that is seldom seen in the design industry.

"It's a kind of expression of the human body – male, female, everyone – but also the sexual energy that is a big part of being human," she said.

Lamps containing an innovative LED strip
Superwire by Formafantasma for Flos

Italian lighting brand Flos has developed a new type of LED light source, a thin and flexible strip that emits warm and homogeneous light across lengths of up to one metre.

By encasing this strip inside hexagonal glass tubes, Italian design duo Formafantasma has produced a collection of lamps featuring flawless light stripes of different widths.

Andea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Formafantasma said the project "represents a change of pace in LED lighting".

"The filament obtained is, to all intents and purposes, a new light source with great potential which we will certainly use in the future," said the pair.

A stool referencing West African culture
Euclid Stool by Limbo Accra

At a time when diversity is still sorely lacking in the design industry, New York- and Ghana-based studio Limbo Accra brought a West African perspective to Milan as part of the Prada Frames symposium.

The polished and lacquered plywood Euclid Stool combines references to unfinished architecture with Euclidean geometry, exploring notions of what it means to be "in limbo". Limbo Accra is self-producing the stool in a limited edition.

"We are always searching, pushing forward towards the unknown and the unseen," said studio founders Dominique Petit-Frère and Emil Grip.

"The stool represents explorations that allow us to think about the realm of limbo in new ways and inspire us to continue searching."

Seating that explores a new approach to radical design
Morphologica by Misha Kahn for Meritalia

American artist Misha Kahn has pushed furniture manufacturing to the limit with this design for Meritalia, an Italian brand best known for producing the irreverent designs of figures such as Gaetano Pesce and Mario Bellini.

Exploring what it means to be radical today, Kahn developed a sofa and armchair combining an assortment of irregular bulbous shapes, all based on forms found inside the human body.

Kahn describes it as a "shocking coach", while Meritalia calls it "sexy more than playful".

Furniture produced with a fabric-first approach
Hana-arashi by Nendo for Paola Lenti

Leftover fabrics and offcuts from Paola Lenti's outdoor furniture products provided the starting point for this range of furniture designed by Japanese studio Nendo.

The project represents a departure for Nendo founder Oki Sato, who is more used to working with an object brief than experimenting with a recycled material.

The resulting collection is more colourful than Nendo's typically pared-back, monochromatic aesthetic. The recyclable polypropylene textiles are steam-bent to create objects with playful curves, colours and overlap details.

"We sandwiched the material in wax paper and then ironed it," Sato told Dezeen. "By controlling the pressure and heat, we noticed that it became a semi-solid fabric. That was the 'aha'-moment."

A sofa that nods to 1990s streetwear
Parka by Draga & Aurel for Poltrona Frau

While many designs in Milan this year paid tribute to the glamour and excess of the 1970s, Italian studio Draga & Aurel showed how furniture could lean into the casual-cool aesthetic of the 1990s.

Produced by Italian manufacturer Poltrona Frau, the sofa reinterprets the squishy padding and hooded shape of the ubiquitous jacket in soft cushion-like leather upholstery.

"The unusual elliptical shape of the backrest, which inclines to become an armrest and then a seamless seat, creates a concave or convex space that is both audacious and welcoming," said the brand.

An intuitive table lamp made from aluminium
Set Lamp by Jamie Wolfond for Muuto

There were many examples of aluminium products on show in Milan this year, as the material becomes increasingly popular as a more recycle-friendly alternative to plastic. One of the most well-resolved was a table lamp by emerging Toronto-based designer Jamie Wolfond, for Danish homeware brand Muuto.

Designed as a giant screw, the lamp effectively communicates how to adjust the height of its shade. You simply spin this circular element to move it up or down.

"I think you need recognisable elements to communicate with people in the same way that if you’re verbalising something to someone, you have to use language they can understand," said Wolfond.

Furniture stuffed with recycled plastic
ZA:ZA by Zaven for Zanotta

Italian brand Zanotta is one of many furniture producers exploring ways of manufacturing sofas without upholstery foam or glue, to make them more eco-friendly.

This solution, developed with Venetian studio Zaven, is instead formed of cushions that are stuffed with recycled polyester balls and strapped in place over a metal frame.

Following the launch of the initial ZA:ZA sofa in 2023, Zanotta has expanded the range with modular elements that allow for multiple configurations. A ZA:ZA bed was also introduced.

Milan Design Week took place from 16 to 21 April. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.

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This month's Dezeen In Depth newsletter delves into the debate surrounding the future of plastics and features an exclusive interview with interior designer Kelly Wearstler.

To mark Earth Day, which has the theme of "Planet vs Plastics" and is campaigning for "the end" of the material, we investigated whether it's time to bid farewell to the 20th century's wonder material.

The newsletter also features an interview with interior designer Wearstler and a piece by interiors columnist Michelle Ogundehin on the increasing difficulty of navigating design trends in the social-media era.

Dezeen In Depth

Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design. Each edition includes an original feature article on a key topic or trend, an interview with a prominent industry figure and an opinion piece from a leading critic. Read the latest edition of Dezeen In Depth or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday featuring a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories and Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours on Dezeen.

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Dezeen Showroom: home accessories brand Nanimarquina drew on the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-sabi to inform the appearance of this collection of rugs, which celebrate visual imperfections.

The Wabisabi rug – designed by Nanimarquina founder Nani Marquina – shares the philosophy's key view of accepting transience and irregularities.

To create a rug that encapsulated this way of thinking, the designer instructed the company's artisans to adjust the warp and weft as they worked, to create a wavy pattern with subtle irregularities.

Two contrasting colours were used together to further emphasise the differences within the weave.

"We assert that true beauty lies not in perfection but in embracing imperfection," said Nanimarquina. "Making mistakes is a pathway to the learning process and adds value to the journey."

Wabisabi rugs are handcrafted through the handloom dhurrie technique using 100 per cent New Zealand wool, and are available in a range of colour combinations.

Product details:

Product: Wabisabi
Brand: Nanimarquina
Contact: info@nanimarquina.com

Material: New Zealand wool

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Danish furniture brand Fritz Hansen has debuted pieces from its first Skagerak Outdoor furniture collection as a permanent "installation" at Piaule hotel in Upstate New York.

The furniture collection follows Fritz Hansen's purchase of fellow Danish furniture brand Skagerak in 2021 as a growth strategy to produce outdoor furniture and expand across Asia, central Europe and North America.

The Skagerak Outdoor furniture collection includes 43 product series designed in collaboration with architects and designers including outdoor lounge furniture by Bjarke Ingels Group.

Piaule owners Nolan McHugh and Trevor Briggs worked with the brand to distribute pieces throughout the hotel's property, which includes a main lodge with a spa and 24 individual cabins designed by Garrison Architects.

"Fritz Hansen's contemporary wooden collection quietly complements and enhances the modernist retreat through thoughtful placement of furniture to create unexpected spaces for relaxation and appreciation of nature," said the combined team of Piaule and Fritz Hansen.

Pieces such as the minimalist Between Lines Deck Chair designed by Danish furniture designer Stine Weigelt and the subtly curved Selandia tables and chairs by designers Anders and Lars Hegelund were distributed across the lodge's patio.

Wooden benches and chairs from the Plank series by Parisian-born designer Aurélien Barbry were distributed along the property's walking paths, which incorporate a long thin armrest along their back.

Lastly, the Rivera Sunbed designed by Danish designer Povl B Eskildsen was placed in front of the pool, doubling as a bench or table when compacted.

The pieces are all made of teak wood and according to the team "without harmful chemicals", allowing for a natural silver-grey patina as they age.

"Perhaps most impactful of all is Piaule's ability to provide guests with new connections to nature, and Fritz Hansen enhances those connections with furniture installations that blend art and function, creating even more spaces for reflection and relaxation," said the team.

The collection will remain a permanent fixture on the Piaule property, which opened in 2021 in New York's Catskill region.

Recently, Danish architecture studio Henning Larsen built a wooden pavilion to mark Fritz Hansen's 150th anniversary at 3 Days of Design and the brand built its first showroom in China in 2021.

The photography is by Sean Davidson.

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Dutch studio OMA has designed Loewe's Crafted World exhibition, currently on show in Shanghai, which aims to celebrate the brand's craftsmanship.

Crafted World, the Spanish fashion brand's first public exhibition, has launched at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre where it is taking over an entire wing of the 1950s building.

Designed by Ellen van Loon and Giulio Margheri from OMA, the exhibition is organised into a series of thematic spaces that aim to highlight the brand's history of craftsmanship.

This is the first time OMA has worked with Loewe, and van Loon believes the outsider view it brought helped uncover elements for the exhibition that the brand hadn't thought of.

"When we start working with a brand, we always start research first, we do interviews and archive research, we look at the history of the company and what they are doing now," van Loon told Dezeen.

"This is the first brand that we do an exhibition with on day one, so in this case, the research became the exhibition. It's sometimes easier for someone from outside to define who you are," she continued.

The exhibition was curated by Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson as "a homage to all the craftspeople around the world that have dedicated their lives to the handmade."

It features pieces from Loewe's archive and catwalk collections, as well as objects made by finalists for the Loewe Foundation's Craft Prize and works by artists who have inspired the brand's designs.

A room called Born from the Hand greets visitors at the start of the exhibition, presenting key leather pieces from the brand's history. This is followed by Welcome to Spain, which aims to transport visitors to Loewe's home country.

A "pronunciation tunnel" connects the two rooms through a stairway, which was directly inspired by OMA's research.

It features a series of video screens on the ocean-blue walls showing how people from around the world pronounce the brand's name.

"When we started doing the research, we found a lot of videos on YouTube about how people pronounce the name of the brand, this is something that the brand has embraced," Margheri told Dezeen.

"We decided to transform one space to push the concept further and make it fun."

As architects, van Loon and Margheri felt the urge to incorporate the venue – a historic example of Sino-Soviet architecture – into the exhibition, while avoiding a drastic contrast.

"The building has a strong character and we somehow have to deal with that. But we don't want to make the exhibition without revealing the building," said Margheri.

In the first room, two rectangular openings were carved out of the higher walls of the exhibition space, revealing the building's original columns and metal details.

A similar approach was applied to the room United in Craft, where a square opening in the ceiling showcases an original chandelier.

Showcasing the existing space helps create new design opportunities, according to Van Loon.

"We are interested in bringing in the context of where it's gonna be and transform some of the limitations and possibilities that might become design opportunities to give another angle or character to the exhibition," she said.

The architect believes designing beyond a physical building is "a normal evolution of being an architect".

"In our mind, architecture is quite rich, it's unlimited. You can design a building for a fixed configuration, but people start using it over time, it's an ever-changing thing," van Loon said.

"It feels very strange when someone asks you to design a building, then in the contract, it says the building needs to be designed for 50 years," she added.

"Imagine how society changes in 50 years. Architecture sometimes makes space less defined, in order to allow for ever-changing adaptation."

Another of the exhibition spaces, Unexpected Dialogues, features artworks that have inspired Loewe's collaborations from the past decade.

These include a suspended garden set within a mirrored room informed by the work of English architect, furniture and textile designer CFA Voysey, as well as a recreation of Studio Ghibli's dreamworld.

A series of knee-high playful mini exhibits for children to interact with can be found at various locations of the exhibition, which Loewe and OMA hope will be enjoyed by different age groups.

Van Loon has recently led the completion of OMA's first major public building in the UK Aviva Studios, and also previously created a pop-up shop for Tiffany & Co in Paris.

The photography is by Marco Cappelletti unless stated otherwise.

Crafted World runs from 22 March to 5 May 2024 before travelling worldwide. The exhibition is open to the public, and entrance is free. For more events, talks and exhibitions in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.

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Promotion: the Rimowa Design Prize has announced seven finalists for its second annual award, with a winner set to be crowned at a ceremony during Berlin Design Week later this month.

Awarded by the German brand Rimowa, the annual student competition aims to "define a new voice for the German design industry".

Rimowa has announced the shortlist for its design prize

The selected submissions for the award which has a prize pot of €50,000, include an adaptable floating platform, a participatory waste collection trolley and a wearable safety device.

A winner will be announced on 29 April during a ceremony at the David Chipperfield-designed James Simon Galerie in central Berlin. The overall winner will receive €20,000, with a special mention receiving €10,000 and the remaining finalists receiving €5,000 each.

For the second edition of the Rimowa Design Prize, the students were challenged to consider the future of mobility in line with the brand's ethos.

Each project was created specifically for the competition and was judged on their creativity, ingenuity, timelessness and impact.

"Mobility is underpinned by values of freedom and support, while acknowledging Rimowa's tenets of resilience, excellence and quality which assure that all designs are created to provide a fulfilling purpose," explained the prize.

"Capable of being interpreted and reconfigured in a seemingly endless number of ways, it is important to consider what mobility means to everyone, and not just those who are able."

The seven finalists were selected from a shortlist of 21 who have been mentored by leading experts in the world of design since the start of the year.

Ahead of the winner's announcement later this month, the finalists are now engaged in a period of hands-on learning.

While each student, or partnership, focused on mobility, the finalists produced an extremely broad range of interpretations of the theme.

Many of the finalists' projects focus on inclusivity in design including Saar College of Fine Arts students Luise Kempf and Dean Weigand, who created Unnorm which is described as "an inclusive and adaptable environment where individuals of all abilities can come together".

Several of the finalists created wearable devices including SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences student Daniela Lindenberga who designed the IXO, a wearable safety device that contains tools including a torch, camera, microphone, speaker and GPS tracker.

Finalist Janne Kreimer from Anhalt University made the Ro waistcoat from TPU-coated nylon fabric, which incorporates soft robots and aims to combat anxiety.

Also from Anhalt University, Angelicka Barbie and Sarah Eckerlein designed the Epilepsense head mesh, which measures brain waves to help those who live with epilepsy.

The remaining projects include the Strollect rental trolley, which was designed by Pascal Schwientek and Jasmin Kappler from the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences to encourage participatory waste collection.

Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Design students Dominic Hahn and Franziska Dehm created Float Mobility as an alternative to current water vehicles.

Fengfan Yang from the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart's finalist project was Hang On, a piece of furniture for public spaces that aims to reconsider the table.

The judging panel consisted of Alexandre Arnault, Rimowa's chairman; Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert, Rimowa's CEO; Susanne Graner, head of collection and archive at Vitra Design Museum; Sebastian Herkner, designer at Sebastian Herkner Studio; Matthias Kulla, director design management sports cars at Porsche; Regine Leibinger, co-founder of Barkow Leibinger; Andreas Murkudis, founder of Andreas Murkudis; Nina Sieverding and Anton Rahlwes, founders and editors at The Thing magazine; and Benjamin Wilson, communications director at Braun.

Discover more info on the finalists' projects and find out the winner on 29 April here.

Photography is by CNP for Rimowa.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Rimowa as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: Swedish company Orbital Systems has launched a tap system that recycles water from the sink for flushing the toilet.

The Orbital Tap saves up to 100 per cent of washbasin water and redirects it to the toilet, meaning that clean drinking water is no longer used for flushing.

By saving water, Orbital Systems says that this approach produces a return on investment for users on average within five years.

The smart system is easy to install and mostly wall-mounted, with just a faucet and control dial with touchpad mounted on the sink.

Users can adjust the flow either by turning the dial or using the touchpad, and the touchpad also allows for the selection of water temperature and various other settings.

The Orbital Tap comes in a range of finishes, including black, white, brass, brushed stainless steel and chrome.

Product details:

Product: Orbital Tap
Brand: Orbital Systems
Contact: elena@orbital-systems.com

Colours/finishes: powder-coated brass in black, powder-coated brass in white, brass, brushed stainless steel, chrome
Dimensions: 440 x 270 x 65 millimetres

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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Dezeen Showroom: designer Jaime Hayon has created a series of enclosed seats for Danish brand Fritz Hansen that provide comfortable spaces within the workplace.

The Plenum cabin aims to facilitate productive, informal meetings in office environments, while acting as focal points in open-plan interiors.

"With Plenum Cabin, my aim was to craft a space within a space – a haven for intimate conversations and informal gatherings," said Hayon. "It's not just a cabin – it's an invitation to connect, to share and to experience the best of human interaction in the workplace."

The seats have high backs for privacy and foam cushions for optimal comfort, which can be upholstered in a range of recycled textiles.

The booth is equipped with a table, an integrated screen and an internal cable management system to create a productive working environment.

Product details:

Product: Plenum cabin
Designer: Jaime Hayon
Brand: Fritz Hansen
Contact: siro@fritzhansen.com

Materials: HR foam, steel and plywood
Dimensions: 2435 x 720 x 1790 millimetres

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Mono-material metal furniture was one of the most prominent trends at Milan design week, where designers created striking pieces from aluminium and stainless steel. Here, we round up eight of the best.

This year's edition of Milan design week showcased not just interesting individual installations and projects, but also gave an insight into wider trends within the industry.

Mono-material pieces – designed using just one type of material – were seen everywhere this year, with mono-material metal furniture especially popular.

Designers used aluminium and stainless steel to create sculptural lights, playful storage furniture and practical seating.

Below, we've rounded up eight of the most innovative and fun mono-material metal pieces from the annual design festival:

Moment table lamp by Kotaro Usugami

The Salone Satellite showcase of designers under the age of 35 had numerous fun metal designs on display, with Japanese designer Kotaro Usugami providing some of the most eye-catching examples.

His stand showcased four mono-material metal pieces – three lights and a stool – all with different surface finishes that create a variety of impressions, despite all being made from stainless steel and aluminium.

"This project is called Ordinary Material / Extraordinary Pieces, and it aims to shed new light on ordinary materials using industrial products such as aluminium and stainless steel," Usugami told Dezeen via translator Yuto Ogihara.

Usugami's background as a watch designer made him interested in working with stainless steel.

"Stainless steel is a highly durable material, and that's connected with the theme of sustainability," Usugami said. "It's also not difficult to manage; it's easy to produce. The finishes are all created by Japanese artisans."

Chair by Kiki Goti

The historical modernist Villa Borsani in Varedo, north of Milan, provided the backdrop for some of the most interesting products at Milan design week as part of the nomadic Alcova showcase.

Among them was designer Kiki Goti's sculptural chair made entirely out of aluminium, which contrasts a sharp angular back with a curved, rounded seat.

"What I love about aluminium is the concept of it being the softest of the metals; it has a kind of contradiction in itself," Goti, who created the piece for Vetralia Collectible, told Dezeen.

"My work works with a lot of contrast and I like the inherent duality that exists in aluminium," she added. "I find it pretty poetic, this kind of soft metal. It's stiff, it's soft; it's matt and shiny, it has a little bit of roughness and a bit of luxury. "

Cabinet and watering can by Dirk Duif

At Spazio Rossana Orlandi, a number of emerging designers were showcasing their works in the design gallery's labyrinthine spaces.

Dutch designer Dirk Duif's oversized cabinet and watering can, both made from stainless steel, could be found on the lower-ground floor.

Working with a single material is preferable because it makes it easier to recycle the furniture at the end of its life, the designer said.

"If it ever needs to be recycled, it's just one thing," Duif told Dezeen. "Metal is a very nice material to work with because you can make every shape that you want with it, and it's very durable and strong."

Tube collection by Tim Teven

Also at Rossana Orlandi, Dutch designer Tim Teven who comes from a family of blacksmiths used a hydraulic press machine to create the shapes of his furniture pieces.

"I'm always fascinated by the deformation of material, and I mostly use metal and aluminium," he told Dezeen.

By "deforming" his pieces, Teven aims to create useable, functional details, as seen in the steel-tube furniture he showed at Rossana Orlandi, where the metal is bent to form armrests and table legs.

"It's all about knowing what the material does when you process it in that way," Teven said. "You find out tricks to influence how the material bends and how you can do this assembly from it."

SPC Chair by Thomas Serruys

Belgian designer Thomas Serruys showed his SPC furniture as part of the Baranzate Ateliers exhibition in Milan. Made from hot-dipped galvanized steel, his outdoor furniture has a simple, sculptural shape.

"We love to work in metal, that's the core material we use in our atelier," Serruys told Dezeen. "We love to work with this material and finish because the pieces become very resistant and can remain outside year in, year out."

"Also, the galvanised finish patinates lovely over time. In our opinion, the chair only gets more beautiful over time and use."

Hako Cabinet by 56 Hours

Among the pieces presented by Rotterdam design studio 56 Hours at Salone Satellite was the Hako Cabinet, which marked the studio's first time working with aluminium.

Its clever design features clothes hanger-shaped cutouts that ended up forming the hangers themselves.

"We didn't use any finishing on it, so it's very easy to repair or recycle if necessary in the future," 56 Hours co-founder Viki Nagy told Dezeen. "And it's a really durable material."

The studio aims to make conscious decisions on materials, co-founder Mate Olah added, saying they always question the source of the material used.

"It's our responsibility to go a bit further and collect this information," he added.

Stedelijk Chair by Sabine Marcelis

Created by designer Sabine Marcelis for the contemporary Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Stedelijk Chair was produced by furniture brand BD Barcelona in aluminium – a material chosen by Marcelis because of its recyclability.

Shown as part of the Capsule Plaza showcase at Spazio Maiocchi, it's the first-ever chair from Marcelis, who says she wanted to use just one material to create a timeless design.

"I feel that stripping a design down to the essentials and working with a single material creates a simplicity that allows the design to be implemented in many different settings throughout different eras hopefully," Marcelis told Dezeen.

"The challenge was to create something with a strong identity yet complimentary to the surroundings it will inhabit," she added. "The chair needed to be functional, of course, comfortable, stackable, lightweight, responsibly produced, durable and recyclable – aluminium proved to be the perfect material to meet these demands."

Aluminium Formwork by Niceworkshop

An exhibition of steel pieces created by South Korean design studio Niceworkshop for recycling brand Format was one of the most interesting things on show as part of the Capsule Plaza exhibition at 10 Corso Como.

The studio creates furniture from salvaged metal formwork used to pour concrete in the construction of skyscrapers as well as from more conventional recycled aluminium. The resulting mono-material pieces were bolted together for an industrial feel.

"My family has been making formwork in Korea for more than 50 years," Format co-founder Phillip Lee told Dezeen. "And instead of throwing it away, I thought we should recreate it into something else."

Milan design week took place from 15 to 21 April 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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