Design
The second edition of our ‘Design Directory’ is a reminder that there is more to the sector than meets the eye
The latest edition of our annual Design Directory is packed with smart reportage and fresh takes. Executive editor Nic Monisse introduces an issue about how design shapes communities and cultures.
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How Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius built modernist Baghdad – and what remains today
In the mid-20th century, the Iraqi capital set out to become the Middle East’s modernist hub, drawing major names in architecture. What has become of their legacy today?
Amid pilgrimages to the now-complete Sagrada Família, ‘God’s architect’ Antoni Gaudí’s path to sainthood feels set
A century after his death, Gaudí was declared ‘venerable’ by the Pope, putting him on the track toward canonisation. Whether or not the Vatican accepts him, there’s no doubt about his devotion to architecture.
Pillar of the community: Inside Finca Roja, a Valencia housing complex with a timeless allure
Completed in the 1930s, the iconic housing block continues to evolve to meet the needs of its residents. We meet the people living inside the city’s red-brick landmark.
Objects to soothe your space: The best interior-design pieces that bring nature into your home
From a Japanese birch plywood stool to a leather-covered night table from Italy, we present a selection of pieces that make the most of natural materials.
‘German industry is not agile enough.’ Designer Konstantin Grcic on the Deutsch design crisis
The Berlin-based industrial designer talks us through his archive of abandoned prototypes, the Italian manufacturers who shaped him and what is going wrong in German industry.
Jeanne Autran-Edorh is making the case for a West African architecture rooted in craft, not imports
The co-founder of Studio Neida on celebrating non-Western design roots, working with local artisans and why craft is at risk of disappearing.
Rotor is on a mission to rescue the building industry from its throwaway habit
Why demolish and discard when you can dismantle and reuse? We meet the team behind the Brussels firm salvaging materials from old buildings and giving them a second life.
‘Most have lost touch with the reality of the built world.’ Australian designer Henry Wilson on why working with independent makers matters
In a market overrun by banal mass production, the Sydney industrial designer talks sand-casting, working with small foundries and why he would rather live with an object than simply admire it.
The beige-toned winner of the Stirling Prize is proof that architecture needs a new pop of colour
The world of architecture was once brimming with radical ideas and cutting-edge design. Are the homogeneous projects that now win awards a sign of the times?
Beirut has planted a design scene that takes pride in its roots
Lebanon’s capital is home to a design scene that has built itself back up from the rubble, viewing its history as a source of creative inspiration rather than something to be erased.
