#materiality

#materiality

Light, for instance, is not only a technical requirement but also an architectural material in its own right. It can structure space, animate surfaces, define textures, and shape atmosphere while influencing well-being. At the same time, the characteristics between minimalism and maximalism shape how atmospheres are perceived, prompting reflection on how approaches to simplicity or exuberance might influence mood. Rather than existing as opposing aesthetics, these tendencies explore how interiors interact with mental states, reflect personal identity.

THE MAGARIGAWA CLUB Clubhouse is nestled into the forested hills of Chiba, Japan as a study in managed contradiction - a private driving club's hospitality venue where Joyce Wang Studio choreographed the psychological arc of high-performance driving into architectural form. Automotive culture demands contradictions that few spaces manage to resolve - the heightened alertness required for performance driving exists in direct opposition to the restoration needed afterward.

Over time, shelters began to be made from materials found in nature, such as branches, leaves, and animal skins, evolving into more permanent and complex homes, with walls made of stone, bricks or wood, roofs to protect against rain and sun, and doors to control access. As we developed more advanced building skills, we used materials such as wood, stone, and clay and architecture evolved significantly, with the construction of temples, palaces, and fortifications.

The project translates the Spanish brand's concept into architecture through a physical vocabulary of texture and reflective materials. The design is anchored by a system of soft modules - foam-filled cushions wrapped in sustainable metallic Italian fabric - referred to as 'rellenos,' the Spanish word for 'fillings.' These elements line the space in a geometric grid, shaping an interior that is both tactile and immersive. Each piece reflects the product's essence: the act of filling, of enclosing something within.

There is no recipe, there is no formula, there is no direction. I never know if and when a painting is going to feel real, or if it is going to feel like it is alive...The materials themselves have to guide the painting. The materials have to present an image or an idea that did not come from me.

On Prince Street in SoHo, New York, artist Cj Hendry transforms her popular Flower Market installation into a permanent Flower Shop. The small storefront, unveiled on November 10th, 2025, is the artist's first fixed space - a brick-and-mortar expression of her long fascination with turning ephemeral subjects into tactile and enduring experiences. From the sidewalk, Flower Shop presents as a white pavilion framed by polished metal and a scalloped awning. Behind clear panels, hundreds of vividly colored plush flowers line the walls in ordered rows, evoking the dense, chromatic rhythm of a typical New York bodega.

The editorial explores the connection and symbiosis between the material of the clothing and the human body. Material once worn becomes a vital part of the living mechanism of the body, becoming not only its decoration, but also its continuation. The material is not only a means for the realisation of one's project of themselves, but also a vital element of such a project.

Few commissions allow architects to focus on non-human users, and fewer still involve horses. While domestic pets like cats and dogs are common muses, the particular needs of horses present a unique challenge when designing stables. Since the horses, who are the stable's primary inhabitants, cannot articulate their needs, design relies on the rigorous requirements dictated by human caretakers, requiring a balance between streamlined human operations and maximized horse comfort and safety.

The design is organized around a sequence of covered spaces supported by evenly spaced columns, forming a balanced geometric composition. This spatial rhythm establishes continuity between interior and exterior areas, emphasizing openness and measured scale. Material selection plays a central role in the architectural expression. White plaster, metal columns, rammed earth, and travertine are combined to create a unified palette of textures and tones.

In the world of interior architecture, where creativity and culture intersect, Tola Ojuolape stands as a designer whose work is a testament to personal narrative. From her early studies in art and construction to her degree in interior architecture, Tola's career has been shaped by a deep connection to her Nigerian heritage, discovered during her travels back to the African continent. This journey has profoundly influenced her design philosophy, creating a process tightly woven with history, culture, and a sense of place.

The relationship between Adebunmi Gbadebo and her material, clay, is one of supplication-on the part of Gbadebo. The churched among us consider a potter something of an autocrat; they find masochistic affinity with the idea of clay as the humble, dumb stuff of life of which they are made. But clay will give its protest. In certain environmental situations, clay will choose catastrophe.

I find them so alluring, almost like perfume bottles or snow globes, but so grotesque, she explains as we handle the etched and sculpted objects, which each have a precious drop of crude oil at their centre. They have these shiny, dazzling exteriors, but when you get close you see the death mulch inside. All presentations of power are fragile; they collapse once you get close enough.

In southern Mexico City, within a double-height house designed by OW Arquitectos, two pieces by Omar Wade, Banca Tres (Bench Three) and Silla Cuatro (Chair Four), investigate the relationship between space, materiality, and light. The , characterized by skylights and large windows, provides the setting for this dialogue, framing the interaction of furniture and architecture. Together, the two wooden pieces present an exploration of scale and construction.

Contemporary architecture often references ideals from modernism - canonical elements like clean lines, open plans, and material honesty - further tempered to suit current tastes and needs. This Highland Park residence, designed by SmithArc with interiors by Joshua Rice, belongs firmly in that lineage. While expressing its modernist DNA, the home reconsiders what it means to be a "machine for living," with an emphasis on how color, material, and built-in conveniences will impact a growing family.

"A study in contrast, materiality and craftsmanship." That was how Cos described its Autumn/Winter 2025 collection at New York Fashion Week, the fourth consecutive September the London-based brand has crossed the Atlantic. For a house steeped in urban minimalism, the city is a natural stage - its architecture and relentless movement a mirror of Cos's own design philosophy, a refined quiet cutting through the bustle.

Nathaniel Mary Quinn has never shied away from confronting the most difficult corners of the human condition. With ECHOES FROM COPELAND, his fifth solo exhibition with Gagosian, the acclaimed American artist channels fear, grief, and redemption into a deeply visceral body of work. The exhibition, currently on view at Gagosian's West 24th Street gallery through October 25, draws inspiration from literature and figurative abstraction to create an emotional terrain as fractured as it is full of possibility.

Focusing on this difference, the artist has, since 2016, continued a practice of dynamically forming characters using springs, strings, bands, and chains, and is now working with "needles." In Japanese, the same character 針 is used for both the hand of a clock and a sewing needle, as both are sharp, linear objects. The act of using them is also expressed with the same word sasu: one "points" to time and "pierces" fabric.

Electric Bowery's renovation of a historic Pasadena, California residence began not with demolition or dramatic gestures, but with careful attention to what already existed. The challenge was determining how to respect its American Craftsman roots while shaping spaces that could coexist with contemporary life. The solution emerged through a dialogue between eras, where new additions spoke to original structures without mimicking their accent.

Glass already has a mesmerizing quality fragile yet enduring, transparent yet expressive but scaled up into furniture, it becomes almost hypnotic. In his debut collection, designer Clive Lonstein pushes the material beyond its expected forms, transforming it into sculptural tables that feel all at once grounded and ephemeral. Made in collaboration with art and design gallery STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN, the limited-edition Glass by Clive Lonstein collection highlights the powerful qualities of this material, elevating glass as the main attraction in any room. While many contemporary designs lean heavily into aesthetics at the expense of usability, Lonstein takes a stand for both.

Constructed from antique paper and the thorns of wild roses, Owen's sculptures suggest fortresses, reliquaries, and dreamlike towers. Their tapering forms strain upward, yet their surfaces are creased, stitched, and scarred, holding a quiet gravity. In Owen's hands, stability feels precarious, and foundations seem half-remembered, the scarred surfaces of her forms suggesting both skin and structure. Hidden recesses suggest stories of touch, damage, and sacred encounter.

In architecture, the effect of color is rarely neutral. It has the power to calm or energize, to expand or compress space, to unify or divide. Far from solely being a decorative layer, color is a tool that architects, interior designers, and designers use to structure atmosphere and perception. Alongside light, material, and proportion, it is one of the most precise instruments available for guiding spatial experience.

The womenswear store is defined by a serene and intimate atmosphere with neutral-toned textured walls, a warm rattan ceiling, and a modular bookshelf showcasing curated artworks.