If you’re hosting an exhibition or event during 3 Days of Design, you can feature in Dezeen Events Guide’s digital guide to the Danish festival.
Taking place in Copenhagen from 12 to 14 June 2024, the festival includes a programme of exhibitions, product launches, open showrooms, talks and other events.
This year, the 11th iteration of the festival focuses on the theme Dare to Dream and presents furniture, accessories, textiles, surfaces, workplace design, outdoor products and material innovations.
Dezeen’s digital guide will spotlight the key events and brands taking place across the festival’s 13 design districts.
Get listed in Dezeen’s digital guide to 3 Days of Design
Get in touch with the Dezeen Events Guide team at [email protected] to book your listing or to discuss a wider partnership with Dezeen.
There are three types of listings:
Standard listings cost £100 and include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will also feature up to 50 words of text about the event.
Enhanced listings cost £175 and include all of the above plus an image at the top of the listing’s page and an image in the listing preview on the Dezeen Events Guide homepage. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.
Featured listings cost £350 and include all 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, newsletter signups etc.
For more information about partnering with us to help amplify your event, contact the team at [email protected].
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.
For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide, including in our guide to 3 Days of Design, email [email protected].
Architecture studio Rafael Viñoly Architects has unveiled designs for a terraced residential building in Uruguay, which is the last project designed by the studio’s founder.
Located outside of Montevideo on a beachfront site, the Médano El Pinar apartment complex will be comprised of approximately 120 luxury, multi-family residences of one to five bedrooms. It is the last project designed by architect Rafael Viñoly, who died last year.
Rafael Viñoly Architects has unveiled designs for a terraced residential complex in Uruguay
“The last project designed by renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, Médano El Pinar is an innovative, ultra-sustainable, luxury, multi-family residential development,” said the studio.
“The building’s long, low-slung, and sinewy shape integrates it with the organic landscape of its pristine setting to minimize its visual impact on the neighbourhood and make it completely invisible from the public beach.”
It is the last project designed by the late architect, according to the studio
Situated behind sand dunes, renderings show an undulating building with a terraced facade that mirrors the curves of its beachfront site.
Residences will be distributed along its 1,394-foot (425-metre) length and contain glazed facades that will open onto terraces.
The residences will contain glazed facades and private terraces
“Generously proportioned interiors open to large elevated private gardens with panoramic views, creating a sense of ‘conscious luxury’,” said the studio.
The building will be constructed from a locally sourced mass timber structure, according to the studio, with aims to be “the first nearly Zero-Energy Building”.
Other sustainable strategies integrated into its design will include the use of solar panels, rainwater capture, a green roof and cross ventilation.
Interior renderings show double-height living spaces with wood beams distributed throughout and capped by a wood-slated ceiling.
The building will be made of a mass timber structure
A wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors open onto the accompanying terrace, which hosts a small pool or garden and additional seating areas.
A large pool sitting in front of the building is also pictured, with ground-level entrances to the building tucked along its length.
Uruguayan architect Viñoly, who died aged 78, designed numerous buildings around the world including 432 Park Avenue in New York and the Walkie Talkie in London.
Architects and critics including Norman Foster and Michael Kimmelman paid tribute to Viñoly after his passing, and his son Román Viñoly, discussed his legacy in an interview with Dezeen.
Other recent projects in Montevideo include a stacked housing block designed by MVRDV and a prefabricated multi-storey car park by MAPA.
The images are courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects.
Spotted: Fashion design, like many other areas of design, is increasingly digital. Large fashion manufacturers now often digitise their fabrics and then use tools to design products digitally using these fabrics, making sure all measurements and seams are accurate, before manufacturing the physical garments.
However, 3D imaging technology can be very expensive, so smaller designers often have no choice but to produce many physical samples first, each with a different fabric and measurements, wasting time, money, and resources. Bandicoot Imaging Sciences is working to change this with a solution that can quickly and cheaply capture fabrics and materials digitally, without any special equipment, and create digital twins that can be used with other digital design tools.
Bandicoot’s Shimmer View system allows designers to scan their physical fabrics with just 10 minutes of training. The photos are then uploaded to the web app where the cloud service automatically generates physically based texture maps and fabric renders. These can be used with other 3D design tools or digitally shared with customers.
Fashion is big business, and this is reflected in Bandicoot’s recent pre-seed funding round. The company raised AU$1 million (around €605,000) to boost innovation and grow the technology, including the addition of new capabilities to the cloud-based platform. Bandicoot CGO Jørgen Sevild told Springwise that “Bandicoot is the fastest growing material digitisation technology on the market, and we are constantly looking to improve the user experience and impact of our pioneering technological developments.”
From upcycling textiles into new products to delivering integrated analysis of the complete fashion supply chain, there is a wide range of innovations aimed at reducing waste in fashion.
The judging process for Architizer’s 12th Annual A+Awards is now away. Subscribe to our Awards Newsletter to receive updates about Public Voting, and stay tuned for winners announcements later this spring. Â Â
In the realm of agrarian economies, a crucial revolution is unfolding, connecting food education, production and transformative agricultural practices. Tackling hunger and malnutrition demands strategic investments in development and research, paving the way for advanced technologies to reach farmers and enlighten the wider public. Concurrently, global challenges like climate change, population growth, conflicts and resource depletion accentuate threats to food security, underscoring the need for urgent innovation and adaptation.
Within this landscape, smart agriculture technology is emerging in visionary projects. This transformative approach integrates advanced technologies into agricultural landscapes, inspiring architects to craft living laboratories rooted in precision farming. Moving beyond physical infrastructure, architects are envisioning collaborative spaces that foster research and education.
As the principles of circularity and sustainability take root in the industry, the harmonious relationship between food production and the environment is coming into sharp focus. Embarking on this journey, the convergence of innovative technologies, circular practices and community engagement is the key to a more resilient, sustainable and interconnected future.
Architectural Transformations: RIO ECO2 Venture and Smart Agriculture
RIO ECO2 Venture by KRAUSE Architecture/Interior, Phoenix, Arizona | Concept.
Smart agriculture technology in architectural design undergoes a concrete manifestation in projects like the RIO ECO2 Venture. This transformative approach integrates advanced technologies into the landscape of agricultural spaces. Architects draw inspiration from such endeavors, conceptualizing structures that embrace precision farming, serving as living laboratories. By incorporating sensors and IoT devices, these structures facilitate data-driven decision-making concerning soil conditions, crop health and climate factors.
In the spirit of the RIO ECO2 Venture, vertical farming facilities emerge as intricately designed hubs with controlled environments, utilizing automation and robotics for tasks like planting and harvesting. The visionary designs prioritize energy-efficient greenhouses, integrating renewable energy sources and smart irrigation systems, exemplifying a commitment to optimizing resource usage.
RIO ECO2 Venture by KRAUSE Architecture/Interior, Phoenix, Arizona | Concept
Architects extend their vision beyond physical infrastructure to create collaborative spaces that inspire research and education. This synthesis of architectural ingenuity and smart agriculture technologies, mirrored in projects like RIO ECO2 Venture, gives rise to environments that harmonize innovative farming practices with sustainable architectural design, fostering efficiency, productivity and environmental consciousness.
ECO2, a visionary 213-acre self-sustaining development, tackles the challenges of rising temperatures and water scarcity through sustainable food technology, serving as a beacon of innovation and underlining the critical importance of food and water security. Beyond its role as an educational center and community strengthener with a holistic Net Positive approach, ECO2 stands as a model for Arizona’s future, adeptly embracing technology, repurposing land for sustainability, and seamlessly integrating urbanity with agriculture.
RIO ECO2 Venture by KRAUSE Architecture/Interior, Phoenix, Arizona | Concept
The community-driven GrowHaus 2.0 within ECO2 is a testament to this foresight, fostering distribution, production and education while addressing climate change and enhancing food access. As ECO2’s comprehensive plan champions the coexistence of agriculture and development, emphasizing sustainability, water reuse, and acknowledging the impact of increasing heat, it harmoniously integrates smart agriculture technologies. ECO2 stands at the forefront, symbolizing the convergence of innovation and circular food supply chains, pursuing a more resilient, sustainable and interconnected food system.
Agrotopia: Pioneering Circular Food Systems and Sustainable Architecture
Designing modern agricultural facilities with a focus on circular food supply chains is a visionary pursuit that harmonizes sustainable principles with innovative technologies. Architects and planners create closed-loop systems in these facilities, turning waste into valuable resources to prioritize resource efficiency. These designs prioritize community-supported agriculture and regional resilience, embracing local sourcing and distribution networks. The integration of precision agriculture technologies ensures optimal resource utilization, minimizing waste and environmental impact. In the quest for sustainability, the incorporation of urban farming and vertical agriculture maximizes land efficiency and shortens supply chains.
These facilities are conceived as modular, adaptable spaces constructed with sustainable materials and powered by renewable energy sources. Water recycling systems and efficient irrigation practices are seamlessly woven into the designs, while smart packaging solutions aim to reduce excess waste. Engaging communities through educational spaces within the facility fosters awareness and understanding of the circular food supply chain model.
As the principles of circularity and sustainability take root in the conceptualization of modern agricultural facilities, tangible exemplars like Agrotopia, Europe’s largest rooftop greenhouse, showcase the transformative marriage of visionary design and sustainable urban agriculture.
Agrotopia is a cutting-edge research center for urban food production, situated on the roof of the REO vegetable and fruit auction in Roeselare, Belgium. The innovative 102,257 square foot (9,500 square meters) building features striking faceted glass façades, a monumental entrance staircase and multifunctional spaces, exemplifying the future of sustainable urban agriculture. With a focus on intensive space utilization, circular energy and water use, Agrotopia serves as a transparent sculpture of glass and steel, standing out against the city skyline. The building houses high-tech research facilities for cultivating fruits and vegetables, with an educational route for the public. The building’s unique design includes a double-height façade conservatory for innovative vertical cultivation, utilizing rainwater from the roof for irrigation.
Agrotopia embraces circular practices, utilizing rainwater for irrigation, cleaning and reusing residual water, and incorporating municipal residual heat from a nearby waste incinerator. The greenhouse is a model of circular symbiosis with the city, representing the forefront of sustainable urban food production and architecture.
Innovation in Design: Architectural Solutions for Smart Agriculture’s Impact on Food Production
The harmonious integration of smart agriculture into architectural design, exemplified by projects like RIO ECO2 Venture, is a testament to the synergy between technological advancement and environmental consciousness. Beyond physical structures, visionary designs such as RIO ECO2 Venture are catalysts for collaboration, research and education, engendering efficiency and heightened environmental awareness.
In the realm of circular food supply chains, exemplified by Agrotopia, the marriage of visionary design and sustainable urban agriculture takes center stage. Agrotopia’s circular practices and space efficiency position it as a leading model in sustainable urban food production.
This symphony of innovation and circularity concludes with a resonant echo, championing resilience, sustainability and interconnectedness. The aspiration is to achieve a harmonious equilibrium between food production and the environment, recognizing the crucial need to transform agriculture for sustained productivity and address issues of hunger and malnutrition. Investing in development and research plays a pivotal role in making new technologies accessible to farmers, contributing to a broader goal of educating the wider public and ensuring a more sustainable and equitable future.
The judging process for Architizer’s 12th Annual A+Awards is now away. Subscribe to our Awards Newsletter to receive updates about Public Voting, and stay tuned for winners announcements later this spring. Â Â
This lookbook compiles seven living spaces where swings show they have a place beyond children’s playgrounds by providing a gleeful alternative to static seating.
Swings typically consist of a seat made from a flat piece of metal, plastic, wood or canvas, but can also be made from found materials such as tyres and sometimes feature a wraparound design for added safety.
This seat is then suspended by sturdy lengths of rope or chain from a frame, ceiling or tree.
Swings have been used for hundreds of years by cultures across the world for both leisure and ritual-related purposes, and are enjoyed by people of all ages, from children in play areas to older people who might have swinging benches in their gardens.
From basic playground swings transplanted into grown-up interiors to intricately crafted bench swing seats that look out over lush courtyards, read on to view a selection of interiors on Dezeen that feature suspended seating.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring interiors animated by indoor slides, living spaces featuring metal furniture and spaces with oversized windows.
Photo by Ishita Sitwala
Gujarat house, India, by Design ni Dukaan
A wooden swing seat covered in pillows is suspended from the concrete ceiling of this house in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The swing is situated in one of the house’s covered walkways and was positioned to allow the sitter to enjoy views of its open-air courtyard.
Find out more about Gujarat house ›
Photo by Jack Hobhouse
Kenwood Lee House, UK, by Cousins & Cousins
A cantilevered floating stair anchors a swing inside the hallway of this house in north London by local studio Cousins & Cousins.
The wooden seat is suspended by softly frayed rope, creating a subtly rustic composition that compliments both the poured-concrete finish of the walls and the wood used on the ceiling, cabinets and front door.
Find out more about Kenwood Lee House ›
Photo by Yash R Jain
Karai, India, by Rain Studio
Local office Rain Studio hung a polished wooden swing seat overlooking a verdant courtyard in this house near the city of Chennai in southern India.
The seat is suspended from all four corners by ornately cast metal hooks and links, some of which feature animals such as elephants.
Find out more about Karai ›
Photo by Chase Daniel
Austin House, USA, by Melanie Raines
Rustic Californian barns provided reference points for this house in Austin, Texas, which features a lofty double-height living space complete with multiple seating options.
A metal-framed lounge chair flanked by integrated side tables is suspended from the ceiling’s wooden rafters by two long lengths of rope, adding to the interior’s whimsical atmosphere.
Find out more about Austin house ›
Photo by The Fishy Project
Thane apartment, India, by The Act of Quad
Rigid metal uprights, each threaded with a cobalt-blue sphere, tie this swing seat in with the rest of the apartment’s blue-themed interior scheme, created by design studio Act of Quad.
The seat is softened by a slim cushioned pad and has been attached to the ceiling with metal hardware.
Find out more about Thane apartment ›
Photo by Kevin Scott
The Perch, USA, by Chadbourne + Doss
A pair of swings are strung up on the boundary between a covered entryway and a courtyard pond in this house in Seattle.
The seats themselves were made from sheets of walnut timber and intended to provide the sitter with the experience of floating above the water.
Find out more about The Perch ›
Photo by BCDF studio
Parisian loft, France, by Isabelle Heilmann
Hooks, carabiners and thick, knotted ropes affix this swing to the tall ceilings of this Parisian apartment’s living room.
The suspended seat slots in comfortably with the rest of the eclectically-chosen furniture, including a mid-century cantilevered chair and a slouchy, ribbed sofa.
Find out more about Parisian loft ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring interiors animated by indoor slides, living spaces featuring metal furniture and spaces with oversized windows.
Spotted: The UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s latest report calls global drought resilience “a necessity.” Given that in the three years between 2016 and 2018, 70 per cent of cereal crops in the Mediterranean were damaged, and droughts continue to grow in severity and length, the outlook is challenging for the world’s agriculture systems.
Rising sea levels are affecting the quality of the water that is available to farmers, which, when combined with the stress of high heat, severely impacts crop yields. Heat and salty soil are two of the main stressors for a variety of plants, many of which are crucial parts of the global diet. Seeking ways to increase growing resilience without using toxins and chemical treatments, agritech startup SaliCrop has created a method that uses a seed’s natural response to stressors to make it possible to grow crops in arid, salty soil.
The company uses a combination of organic and physiological compounds to mimic environmental stressors. That then boosts a seed’s natural biochemical reactions and strengthens the plant’s ability to survive in more arid conditions. The treatments also increase the size of the fruits and vegetables grown and improve the plants’ resilience to pests.
SaliCrop is working with commercial growers of alfalfa, onion, and tomatoes, and their crop yields have increased between 16 and 40 per cent. In Europe, Africa, and India, the company is completing field trials with crops that include rice, wheat, corn, peppers, and broccoli and is seeing yields increase by between 7 and 15 per cent. Those results are particularly important in light of various climate projections that predict decreases in wheat yields of up to six per cent due to increased severity of weather events and overall conditions.
Improving the health of degraded soil is an essential aspect of reducing the carbon emissions from agriculture. Innovations in Springwise’s library helping make that change include using sound to enhance soil microbe growth and using microalgae to make desert soil arable.
Architizerâs Tech Directory is a database of tech tools for architects â from the latest generative design and AI to rendering and visualization, 3D modeling, project management and many more. Explore the complete library of categories here.
As I opened the OpenAI website, the phrase “Creating video from text” immediately caught my attention. A video of colorful paper planes soaring like birds through the air made me pause momentarily. Could this be real? Is it truly possible to transform text into videos? Instantly, a flood of thoughts rushed through my mind.
What does this mean for the movie industry?
Could filmmakers simply submit scripts to OpenAI and produce movies without actors or sets?
Could a single prompt revolutionize television shows, commercials, and the work of videographers and photographers?
Is there potential for such technology to be exploited during election season?
The recent launch of Sora by OpenAI showcases a groundbreaking advancement in the field of artificial intelligence and its versatile application across various domains. At the rate of development, this AI tool is heading in the direction of becoming an indispensable asset that could offer architects unprecedented capabilities, potentially revolutionizing their approach to design.
With a background in architecture, I’m particularly intrigued by its potential to transform the day-to-day creative processes intrinsic to the work in the field. In the ever-evolving landscape of design and architecture, technological advancements continuously emerge, challenging conventional boundaries and fundamentally reshaping the essence of creativity. This piece will delve into how Sora could trigger transformative shifts in the world of architecture and design.
Sora as Design Partner
I don’t perceive Sora as a replacement for designers or architects; instead, I see it as a tool that could enhance their work by enriching the design process and serving as a collaborative design partner to amplify human creativity. Sora works by dissecting, compressing and assembling video segments, similar to solving a puzzle, to create realistic videos. It also excels at generating dynamic animations from text and animating still or extracted images from videos.
Architects could leverage Sora’s vast knowledge base and computational powers to explore a multitude of design possibilities. Similar to Midjourney, in generating imagery from prompts, Sora could provide an immediate and immersive representation of specific objects, designs and project sites, offering a highly realistic experience. For architects, this could mean no longer having to wait until the design process concludes for realistic renderings, VR video walkthroughs and virtual tours. Instead, it can provide realistic imagery that enhances the project as designs evolve during the process.
From Concept to Reality: Streamlining Design Processes
Traditionally, architects dedicate significant time and resources to conceptualizing and refining their design ideas. However, with Sora’s advanced generative design capabilities, this paradigm is set to change. By harnessing machine learning algorithms and predictive modeling, Sora could empower architects to generate complex design solutions tailored to specific requirements and constraints swiftly. Imagine how different the concept design phase will be when you can prompt Sora with precise materialities and construction techniques tailored to your building’s requirements. This capability could enable optimization of building performance, maximization of spatial efficiency and enhancement of sustainability instantaneously — all with a single prompt.
During the early stages of conceptual design, this tool could facilitate rapid exploration of fundamental design concepts, commonly known as “massing studies.” It could enable the creation of initial design studies directly from conversations, streamlining the ideation process significantly. This could be a valuable source of inspiration for the design team during the brainstorming phases, where all imaginative ideas are welcomed.
Here is an example of how I would approach using Sora by OpenAI:
Image generated by Architizer via Midjourney
Prompt #1 (Highly unspecific, beginning to brainstorm):
“Sora, generate video clips exploring different building massing options for the site in downtown Los Angeles. Experiment with a series of heights, configurations, and styles to convey spatial qualities and design ideas. Incorporate contextual elements like landscaping and surrounding buildings. Provide animated transitions between iterations for visual clarity and to facilitate early design discussions.”
Prompt #2 (Slightly more specific, beginning the concept design phase):
“Sora, illustrate three distinct massing options for a mixed-use development on a 1-acre urban site in downtown Los Angeles. Include variations in building height, orientation, and architectural style, with animated transitions between iterations. Implement a design where the building progressively lowers its height towards the street level, fostering a pedestrian-friendly environment. Incorporate street-level retail, public plazas, and green spaces to provide contextual understanding. Ensure high-resolution rendering and clear annotations for stakeholder feedback.”
Prompt #3 (Highly specific, design development):
“Sora, showcase Massing Option 3 for the downtown Los Angeles development. Implement a design where the 10-story building progressively lowers its height towards the street level at both corners of the site, fostering a pedestrian-friendly environment. Emphasize a modernist architectural style with circular perforated metal panels in copper and warm-toned wood cladding. Use animated transitions to highlight the interplay of light and shadow on the façades, showcasing dynamic reflections and textures.
Detail street-level retail entrances with polished stainless steel finishes and large glass storefronts. Enhance upper-floor terraces with seamless indoor-outdoor transitions and integrated planters. Highlight the rooftop garden with lush greenery and contemporary seating. Ensure the video conveys sophistication and urban elegance with attention to materiality, colors and façade detailing.”
Image generated by Architizer via Midjourney
This design approach would not only speed up the creative iteration process but could also streamline interdisciplinary collaboration. Architects would be able to integrate input from various consultants, including engineers, urban planners, and environmental experts in later project phases, bringing architectural visions to life with striking realism.
Designing for Human Experience
At the heart of every architectural endeavor lies the goal of creating spaces that enrich the human experience. With Sora, architects could gain access to powerful tools for analyzing user behavior, preferences, and spatial interactions. By synthesizing vast amounts of data, including user feedback, environmental factors, and cultural influences, this technology could enable architects to design spaces that resonate with occupants on a profound level. Integrating Sora as a plugin within the commonly used Rhino 3D modeling software could empower architects to create detailed models with enhanced design capabilities. Whether helping craft immersive environments that foster creativity and well-being or optimizing building layouts for accessibility and inclusivity, Sora could be a tool to help architects prioritize human-centric design principles, ultimately enhancing the quality of the built environment and enriching the lives of those who inhabit it.
Design development
As concepts materialize and visions evolve, architects transition to refining details and perfecting the finer aspects of their creations, presenting an opportunity for Sora to emerge as a valued design partner. Client meetings could evolve into interactive sessions, leveraging Sora to promptly incorporate client feedback on the fly. With its ability to simulate materials, construction methods, and building performance, Sora could enable architects to refine every aspect of their designs with precision and efficiency, enabling clients to visualize the ongoing work and decision-making process in real-time.
Pushing the Boundaries of Sustainability
Image generated by Architizer via Midjourney
In an era defined by pressing environmental challenges, sustainability has emerged as a central concern in architectural practice. Here too, Sora stands to make a significant impact. An architect versed in sustainability could guide the integration of a passive solar design strategy and the optimization of material usage, facilitating the creation of eco-friendly buildings without compromising design integrity through data-driven energy performance simulation.
For instance, a key part of an architect’s job involves meticulously studying how light interacts with buildings, observing where the light hits and where shadows fall. Understanding the sun’s patterns and its influence on a design is essential. One might request simulations to optimize building orientation, window placement, and shading devices, with the aim of maximizing natural daylight, minimizing reliance on artificial lighting, and reducing energy consumption. Even wind simulations could be conducted, exploring various scenarios to understand how wind direction and intensity might impact the building on the site. Sora could empower architects to explore and assess sustainable design options, resulting in energy-efficient buildings that effectively harmonize with their surroundings.
Looking Toward the Future
The way I envision Sora is as a valuable addition to a team of talented designers, capable of delivering high quality results at high speed. While not all ideas or solutions may be optimal, Sora could undoubtedly spark new conversations and introduce novel concepts that others may not have considered, serving as a foundation for future design iterations.
As it continues to evolve, Sora’s data-driven approach could help architects push the boundaries, rethink design norms, and aide in designing spaces that inspire and last. It could facilitate informed decisions, streamline workflows, and even accelerate project timelines. With its boundless creative potential, Sora could serve as a catalyst for groundbreaking innovations in the creative world. Unlocking limitless possibilities, it has the potential to enhance and streamline the design process across all stages, revolutionizing future approaches and practices in design.
Architizerâs Tech Directory is a database of tech tools for architects â from the latest generative design and AI to rendering and visualization, 3D modeling, project management and many more. Explore the complete library of categories here.
Los Angeles studio 22RE has used pale-green stucco informed by Miami’s colours and golf courses for the interiors of a golf clothing boutique in the city.
A few blocks from the ocean, the Malbon store in Coconut Grove serves a large customer base for the brand in South Florida – a popular golfing destination thanks to year-round warm weather.
The Malbon Miami store revolves around a central area, from which handmade tiles emanate in a radial pattern across the floor
The verdant neighbourhood and Miami’s distinct architecture provided 22RE with a starting point to build upon, aiming to create a tranquil space amongst such vibrancy.
“We intended to create an oasis within the city, one that invoked stillness – a feeling that Malbon customers are accustomed to while they’re out on the green,” 22RE founding principal Dean Levin told Dezeen.
Pale green stucco covers the walls, columns and ceiling beams
The store’s most striking feature is the pale green stucco that covers the majority of vertical surfaces and ceiling beams that form square archways overhead.
“The shade of green used throughout the space was inspired by the studio’s first visit to the location, and inspired by the vibrant hues associated with Miami as a city,” said Levin.
Merchandise is kept to the perimeter of the store, displayed on stainless steel rails and shelves
The placid hue is contrasted with stainless steel elements including the sales counter and a doorway to the stock room.
From the centre of the space, mid-grey handmade Mexican tiles are laid across the floor in a radial pattern, emanating from a circular plaque that displays the brand’s monogram.
Filleted stucco surfaces contrast the aluminium open-cell grid ceiling
A ring-shaped installation above, suspended from an aluminium open-cell grid ceiling, also bears the Malbon logo scribed repeatedly in white neon.
Four columns and a pair of stainless steel benches define this central area, which is intentionally devoid of merchandise to create a moment for pause and conversation between customers.
Clothing and accessories are kept to the perimeter, displayed in illuminated niches on stainless steel rails or shelves.
“In retail stores, there is a predominantly unchanging relationship between salesperson and customer,” Levin said. “We wanted to consider and account for the things we could – foot traffic, merchandising and general flow.”
A pair of stainless steel benches offer a place for pause and conversation in the middle of the boutique
Behind the street-facing windows, white stones cover the floors and plants so that the store “feels like a natural extension of the vegetation and foliage” in the surrounding area, said Levin.
“Through juxtaposing a variety of different materials both organic and industrial, the Malbon Miami storefront is an accurate reflection of the values we celebrate and preserve as an architecture and design firm,” he added.
The storefront contains greenery to create a natural extension of the verdant surroundings of Coconut Grove
Miami has grown significantly as a retail destination over the past decade, with a large concentration of new luxury stores in the city’s Design District.
Brands including Louis Vuitton, Off-White and Christian Louboutin all have distinctly designed outposts in the neighbourhood.
Spotted: The volatility of weather is increasing as climate change affects all regions around the world. The International Energy Agency reports that “the temperature today is around 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre‑industrial levels, and global emissions have not yet peaked.” More changes are likely, making it even more challenging for businesses to plan for and predict future scenarios.
A new AI-powered forecasting engine has a solution to the volatility of weather and its impact on business cycles. Designed explicitly for the commonly used quarterly reporting format of businesses across many industries, Planette AI’s climate intelligence provides mid-range forecasts up to five years in the future. Reports are available seasonally, quarterly, annually, and by the decade.
The precision of the forecasts is made possible by Earth system models that incorporate ice, oceans, and land surfaces, as well as the traditional review of the atmosphere. The Planette team then adds artificial intelligence to the process to produce rapid, timely forecasts. Without the use of the AI, forecasts based on such detailed physics data would take hundreds of hours to create.
The workflow is patent-pending, and each forecast includes an analysis of 14 variables, including flood, fire, and hurricane risk, along with the potential for hail and tornadoes and the strength of the electromagnetic radiation from the sun (solar irradiance). Each forecast covers 25 square kilometres, and companies can request analysis for as many areas as needed.
Planette AI integrates its forecasts into each company’s own API and automatically updates forecasts quarterly. Each forecast also comes with a hindcast, where Planette AI reviews its predictions against actual events and measurements. Doing this helps strengthen the AI and provides businesses with insight into the system’s accuracy. So far, hindcasts for one-year forecasts have proven to be more than 80 per cent accurate worldwide, with up to 90 per cent accuracy in some locations.
As global weather patterns change, innovators are creating new methods of making what feels like constant change somewhat predictable. Examples in Springwise’s library include micro-climate forecasting for the energy sector and hyperlocal rain predictions for the tropics.
Tens Atelier designs VeVelte Yintai Center Store’s interior
VeVelte Yintai Center Store by Tens Atelier focuses on curating a collection of quality brands, including those from emerging Chinese fashion designers, with the aim of showcasing Chinese design globally. Tens Atelier took on the task of redesigning the VeVelte store in Hefei‘s Yintai Center, emphasizing its role not just as a brand showcase but also as a salon for VIP members, fostering interaction between the brand and consumers.
The site presented challenges, such as a large smoke pipe near the entrance and irregularly arranged structural columns. The design concept introduced the idea of a ‘boulder’ to guide customer flow and views, strategically minimizing the impact of columns. The ‘boulder’ form also serves to delineate distinct brand display and functional areas, optimizing the use of space.
all images by MRC
Tens Atelier draws from abstract geometrical stone forms
The symbolic character of stone is incorporated into the space, not by directly introducing natural stone but by refining an abstract geometrical form inspired by the concept of a stone. Tens Atelier’s approach integrates the abstract concept of stone with the identity of VeVelte, conveying the symbolic meaning through the overall spatial experience.
Considering the seasonal theme changes for each brand, the designers opted for a uniform warm yellow overall color, while maintaining flexibility with white walls for display and posters, allowing for easy adaptation to evolving brand themes.
VeVelte Yintai Center Store by Tens Atelier showcases quality brands, promoting Chinese design
the redesign of VeVelte in Hefei’s Yintai Center creates a VIP salon to enhance brand-consumer interaction
site challenges prompted the design of a ‘boulder’ concept to guide customer flow and views
the ‘boulder’ form minimizes the impact of columns and optimizes space by delineating distinct display areas
