Why The World’s Most Innovative Companies Are Stuck In 20th-Century...
And who’s getting it right. When Apple talks about its new Cupertino campus, the company almost always refers to its 2.8-million-square-foot Foster + Partners-designed ring. It speaks about the...
View ArticleThis Building Has Emoji Gargoyles, And They’re Brilliant
22 different emoji decorate the facade of this building in the Netherlands. Architecture is often perceived to be serious and reserved. But in Vathorst, a suburb about 30 miles southeast of Amsterdam,...
View ArticleThis Thin Film Is A Real-Life Cloaking Device For Your Office
A new window film from Designtex takes its cues from science fiction. Open offices are privacy nightmares, especially if you’re trying to hide sensitive data on screens. But since open offices aren’t...
View ArticleThese Beautiful Acoustic Tiles Were Inspired By Beetle Shells
Noisy coworkers? Muffle them with Mut Design’s new textile art, which borrows from an unlikely source. When Alberto Sánchez and Eduardo Villalón of Mut Design visited a science museum, they weren’t too...
View ArticleListen To The Sound Of Manhattan 400 Years Ago
Birds chirping! Frogs croaking! Leaves rustling! Lower Manhattan used to sound downright soothing, as a new virtual experience shows. Manhattan’s aural landscape is distinctly man-made–the sound of...
View ArticleThis Hackable Playhouse Turns Kids Into Architects
T-square not included. Playhouses have come a long way from ramshackle backyard forts and plastic Fisher Price cottages. From miniaturized versions of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe’s work to...
View ArticleDear Muji: Please Bring Your Tiny Houses To The U.S.
For the love of prefab, we’re begging you. Dear Muji,Read Full Story
View ArticleToday’s Architects Are Obsessed With Inflatable...
Inflatable architecture, which was wildly popular in the 1960s and ’70s, is back. Utopian architects tend to be irrationally confident that their work will make the world a better place; even if their...
View ArticleA Secret Of Gothic Architecture Could Revolutionize Buildings Today
The geometry of centuries-old architecture is being repurposed to make modern design better. Concrete is typically the default building material for tall structures, thanks to its strength and...
View ArticleThe Case For Reverse-Engineering Design Briefs
“Designers are as much problem seekers as problem solvers,” Jessica Helfand says. Here’s a typical road map for new product: An entrepreneur thinks of a business plan and gives a designer a brief about...
View ArticleIkea’s Wild New Collection Resurrects Scandinavian Design History
Forty years ago, the work of design collective 10-gruppen was considered “unsellable.” Ikea disagrees. While the Swedish furniture brand Ikea is obsessed with designing for the future, its most recent...
View ArticleProof That Design Is Good For Business, In 8 Statistics
Design is being severely underutilized by manufacturers, according to the National Endowment for the Arts. This week, the National Endowment for the Arts released a report on the importance of...
View ArticleThis Wallpaper Doubles As A Power Source
Touch away. Wallpaper’s primary function is to look pretty but in a new collaboration between the Brooklyn-based wallcovering company Flavor Paper and the design firm UM Project it’s used as a power...
View ArticleInside N.Y.C.’s Plan To Fight Climate Change Through Architecture
The city wants architects to start designing for bigger, badder weather. While Washington, D.C., is busy denying climate change, New York City, which doesn’t have the luxury of pitting politics against...
View Article10 New Designs For The “I Voted” Sticker
This is what democracy looks like. The “I Voted” sticker is one of the most surprisingly genius designs out there. It’s a token that says thanks for completing one’s civic duty–and it’s been proven as...
View ArticleSnøhetta Designs The Ultimate Vacation Cabin
Snøhetta’s three-bedroom prefab is designed to make its landscape the star. To Anne Cecilie Haug, a senior architect and project manager at Snøhetta, an ideal vacation cabin is about everything except...
View ArticleOur Obsession With Ikea Has Gone Too Far: Meet The Frakta Thong
Chafing guaranteed. Ikea’s bright-blue Frakta bag might be the Swedish furniture company’s most iconic design–and for good reason. The 99-cent tote is big enough and strong enough to haul pretty much...
View ArticleOne Man’s Lifelong Obsession With Braun
“I didn’t think Braun would be significant beyond my own compulsion.” Tom Strong’s 50-year obsession with the German electronics brand Braun began innocently enough. Soon after he got married, his wife...
View ArticleThis Camera Silently Judges Your Photos Against The World’s Best
Photography is full of clichés. In fact, this AI-powered camera was trained on them. Between all the images of Unicorn Frappuccinos, grain bowls, and scenic vistas, it doesn’t take an expert to tell...
View ArticleThis Book About Concrete Architecture Is Made From It
You can judge this book by its cover. Budapest-based photographer Gábor Kasza documents the rawness of unfinished concrete buildings. When he decided to turn his series into a book, which he’s funding...
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