Design

Design

Woodstock by BC architects is a self-sufficient private residence built exclusively from materials extracted, processed, and assembled within a 30-kilometer radius from its site, located above a riverbank in the Belgian Ardennes. Conceived as a home and a prototype for regenerative construction, the 650-square-meter dwelling translates the studio's philosophy of 'architecture as a form of learning' into a tangible built form.

Part sculpture, part bar tool, this colorful totemic design by Joe Doucet for Areaware is proof that everyday objects can be art. It's sleek, satisfying to hold, and opens bottles like a champ. Available in three colorways, the abacus-inspired opener will always be at home on your kitchen counter or bar - ready whenever it's time to crack open a bottle. A minimalist gift that pops in more ways than one.

When I began designing my own house in the center of Amami Island, I never imagined it would eventually be disconnected from the power grid. Yet, as environmental degradation accelerates and extreme weather becomes the norm, that choice became inevitable. The decision was catalyzed by a mountain I purchased three years earliera place where I began developing my own micro-infrastructure to live independently, preparing for unforeseen crises while envisioning new forms of resilience in aging, depopulated regions.

Picture a building wrapped in ceramic tiles, but not the flat, uniform squares you're used to. CeraShingle modules are 3D-printed clay shingles with intricate textures, delicate perforations, and color gradients that flow across the surface like watercolor on paper. Each piece measures roughly 400 by 130 millimeters and weighs just over a kilogram, light enough to handle but substantial enough to feel real.

Nearing completion, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) emerges on the banks of Jinji Lake. Designed in collaboration with ARTS Group and Front Inc., and commissioned by Suzhou Harmony Development Group, the 60,000-square-meter complex (find designboom's previous coverage here) is envisioned as a contemporary reinterpretation of Suzhou's historic gardens. The structure unfolds as a village of twelve interconnected pavilions unified beneath a flowing, ribbon-like roof whose gentle undulations echo tiled eaves.

Facing the main square of the neighborhood, the school complex presents itself as the landmark of a new centrality. Its strategic position makes this facility a real urban and architectural challenge for the city and its future development. The volumes create a landscape of roofs and vertical elements reminiscent of a village. This universe stands out from the surrounding residential buildings and highlights the programmatic richness of the facility, making it a unique architectural event.

Within the broader context of Rural Revitalization, a triangular plot next to ChunYangTai Arts and Cultural Centre was selected for the Langtou Gengxue+ Education Centre.

"Union Square's history as New York's literary heart made it the perfect setting for Recess: Reads. The sculpture is inspired by the simple, transformative act of opening a book-an invitation to pause, reflect, and discover new perspectives,"

In collaboration with Milan-based artist Arisha, this editorial explores the contrast between spiritual depth and urban surface. The series presents cleaner, dreamlike visuals that resist melancholy while reaching toward a heightened sense of presence, creating tension between sacred motifs and the everyday surroundings of Milan. The cinematic postproduction process included 3D sculpture creation and particle simulations in TouchDesigner and After Effects, with carefully crafted transitions using distortion and glitch techniques.

When a National Geographic photographer designs his sanctuary, the lens doesn't disappear. John Dessarzin's Brutalist compound in Atenas, Costa Rica, frames the jungle like a permanent viewfinder: all concrete, steel, and calculated sightlines. Perched on a cliff bordering a protected bird sanctuary in the Central Valley, the 2017 residence rejects the neoclassical templates that dominate the region in favor of raw materiality and seismic resilience.

The designers behind this clever piece, Fenna van der Klei and Patricio Nusselder, drew inspiration from the traditional craft of textile pleating, where fabric is carefully folded to create different shapes and volumes. It's the same technique that gives your favorite pleated skirt its structure or adds dimension to fancy curtains. But here, pleating isn't just decorative. It's doing all the heavy lifting, quite literally.

A courtyard house in Lome's Adakpame district built with compressed earth blocks.

For years, we've preached the gospel of the design system as the "single source of truth." We built libraries, evangelised tokens, and perfected our handoffs. However, despite all our efforts, the system often remained just that: a library. It was a meticulously organised collection of design assets that lived next to the real product, a reference file that designers owned and everyone else chased.

Located in Fengcheng Town, Fengxian District, approximately 30 kilometers from central , Joyful Community by GN Architects reimagines the typology of retirement in . Occupying 120,000 sqm on a former industrial site, the project transforms the area into a mixed-use urban hub integrating residential, , cultural, and recreational programs. Rather than creating an isolated senior community, the design positions the development as an inclusive environment for multiple generations, encouraging interaction between residents and the surrounding neighborhood.

ARTA Architects just bottled that magic into something you can hold in your hands. Meet Clover Collective, a modular stool that's basically the Swiss Army knife of seating, and it's turning heads from Milan to Hong Kong. Here's the thing about good design: it shouldn't just look pretty sitting in a museum. It needs to work for real life, adapt to your moods, and ideally, not destroy the planet in the process.

Chen Jun's stainless steel firewood stove isn't just another pretty appliance trying to look good in your Instagram feed. This is serious engineering wrapped in sleek design, tackling real problems that have plagued wood-burning stoves for generations. The secret? A sophisticated modular system that completely rethinks how we approach portable heating and cooking. Here's what makes it clever: the entire stove can be disassembled and reassembled without needing a PhD in engineering.

Anyone with even the slightest interest in trends can see that Ralph Lauren Christmas is blowing up all over your social media this holiday season. And while it's definitely having a moment, there's something about it that feels less trendy and more like nostalgic, classic Christmas, which is probably why it has such staying power on the feeds. If you're looking for an easy way into this year's top theme, consider adding a little extra tartan, a mainstay RL fabric, into your space.

Bookmarker addresses this by treating reading as an activity worth designing for specifically. The table's form creates a clear place for books in progress, making them visible rather than buried. Japanese cypress construction gives it a warm, tactile presence that reads as furniture first, while its cutouts and slots serve the practical needs of someone settling in with a novel and a drink.

If you're not familiar with Joe Colombo, let me paint you a picture. This Italian designer was basically the poster child for optimistic, forward-thinking mid-century design. He created bold, colorful furniture and objects that perfectly captured the era's "the future is bright" energy. Colombo sadly passed away in 1971 at just 41, but his work continues to influence designers today. The KD28 lamp is a perfect example of why his pieces remain relevant decades later.

Located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, , at the end of a mango tree-lined street, Teen Vaults is a defined by its interplay of , , and light. Originally conceived by Vaissnavi Shukl as a weekend home with a pool and pavilion, the project evolved into a full-time residence for a family of four. The house is organized around three parallel exposed RCC vaults, each serving a distinct function: one accommodates the kitchen and dining area, another contains the formal living space, and the third houses a study and reading lounge.

The Gingerbread City is bringing its winter magic and sweetness back to the Seaport for a free display from December 5-28 at 19 Fulton Street. It's created by over 100 New York-based architects, engineers and designers, so you know these gingerbread creations are going to be immaculate. Expect to see city parks, brownstones and skyscrapers created out of cookies, icing and candy. Plus, there's a chance to learn how to make your own gingerbread creations.

At the heart of the Historic Jeddah Waterfront Regeneration Initiative, the Culture Square stands as a bold statement of renewal, an intersection where memory, art, and urban transformation converge.

The Moiré Clock is a kinetic timepiece that turns the passage of time into a visual illusion worth watching throughout your day. Using overlapping patterns and continuous motion behind a striped filter, it animates each hour through optical phenomena, making time feel less like a number on a dial and more like a moment to savor. The design explores how perception and movement can create meaning beyond simple functionality.

The Vision Chair by Levitask and designer Klaus Kummer represents the outcome of over forty years of research into posture and ergonomics. The chair challenges the conventional 90-degree seating position by proposing a dynamic alternative defined as Elevated Seating, a posture concept that distributes body weight more evenly and supports natural spinal alignment. Kummer, originally trained as a cabinet maker before moving into industrial design in Germany and Scandinavia, combines traditional craftsmanship with ergonomic engineering.

The scalloped brick ceiling in the kitchen of this Moab, Utah residence reveals itself through layers. First, one will notice the warm terracotta hue - an echo of the red rock formations visible through nearly every window. After, the rhythmic pattern of curves comes into focus, creating a rippling effect across the space. This ceiling is not simply decorative - it embodies the central tension that animates the entire 5,000-square-foot home; how to create a dialogue between contemporary domestic life and an ancient landscape.

Jonathan Adler has always treated glamour like oxygennecessary, intoxicating, and freely available to anyone bold enough to breathe deeply. His work doesn't sit politely on a coffee table; it shimmies. It sparkles with a bit of naughtiness, intelligence, and a delicious refusal to take the world too seriously. Clay in his hands becomes personality, attitude, a wink disguised as form.