Harriet Thorpe

BROWSE ALL FROM THIS AUTHOR HERE

Winners Announced in Paradyż Designers Competition

 | Sponsored Content

Awards and prizes are vital to professional ecosystems in supporting talent and new ideas; for the design industry, competitions encourage creative minds to leap beyond the bounds of practicality to imagine the future, solve problems and build new communities. Expanding impact with international breadth and egalitarian opportunities, competitions often provide space for emerging talents and students, providing support, mentorship and experience to develop their careers and process.

For Polish ceramics manufacturer Ceramika Paradyż, hosting the Paradyż Designers Competition brings together all of these values, alongside an innovative way to challenge how its products can function. This year, the third edition challenged architects and designers to craft imaginative digital designs using a new series of sintered stones, TRI-D. The natural product, a baked composite of quartz, feldspars, clays or kaolins, performs as an alternative to natural stone; extraordinarily durable, tiles retain their aesthetic from the surface to the cross section, making them ideal for worktops, windowsills and fireplaces, yet in fact, the possibilities are endless.

A Flexible Collection of Indoor-Outdoor Furniture: Modular Design by Unopiù and Matteo Nunziati

 | Sponsored Content

The act of play creates a welcome escape from the demands of daily life, encouraging joy, creativity and collaboration, with tangible benefits from stress relief to improved cognitive function. So when it comes to the interiors of spaces for play—for leisure and socializing for example—how can design enhance these effects? Specifying adaptable modular furniture that can blend the boundaries between indoor and out is one method to improving the freedom and spontaneity of space, bringing agency to moments of joy, possibilities for fresh configurations and equipping interiors for shifting future dynamics.

For Italian designer Matteo Nunziati’s latest collection of outdoor furniture for Unopiù, the Davos collection, he was inspired by the geometric simplicity of children’s games as functional devices for enlightenment and to reconnect spaces to movement and expression. The generous yet lightweight modular seating system, which includes sofas, chaise longues, armchairs and coffee tables, is easy to assemble and offers infinitely adaptable scenarios to encourage play in daily life. To unlock these qualities, Nunziati was drawn in particular to the logical beauty of the abacus, with its magnetic balls connected on linear elements.

A Lighting Collection That Floats and Stands Like Soothing Totems in Space

 | Sponsored Content

It’s a paradox that as our society becomes increasingly connected through global travel and digital realms, we often feel more disoriented and disconnected than ever before. The power of interiors to ground us in the present and help us reconnect with what we value should not be underestimated. One way to bring authentic emotional depth to space is through atmospheric lighting, which, in combining illumination and form, can transcend practical function to perform a vessel for mindfulness.

A Modern Twist on a Classic Tap: BIG and Toni Copenhagen Design a Versatile Kitchen Accessory

 | Sponsored Content

For designers seeking to evoke a sartorial expression of "quiet luxury" through an interior, a necessity to a minimalist palette is the addition of a sculptural object—one that catches the eye, glints like a jewel, and nods towards understated refinement. For kitchens and bathrooms where functionality reigns, how about capturing that moment of chic tension—that je ne sais quoi—with a radical faucet?

'The Grand Tour': The Minotti Lifestyle Through Animated Cinematic Scenarios

 | Sponsored Content

The immersive medium of film appeals to our imagination through a powerful combination of virtual and real worlds. In 2023, Minotti is launching its new film, titled The Grand Tour, which promises a timeless journey through the Minotti lifestyle – drawing out narratives that thread together the social spaces that humans inhabit.

Indoor-Outdoor Synergy: Minotti's 2023 Collection

 | Sponsored Content

In a world of fast-paced change, Minotti’s pursuit of timeless design as well as its honed technical expertise result in elegant pieces that stand ready to elevate any interior with sophistication and style. The 2023 Collection demonstrates this, finding a balance between classicism and contemporaneity, organic lines and solid volumes.

A Tailored Lighting System for Dynamic Interiors

 | Sponsored Content

We are living in an era of active interiors where shifting perimeters, flexible set ups and agile activities are truly testing the limits of design; workspaces are hybrid, retail installations are ever-evolving and cultural spaces are multi-dimensional. Amidst changing scenarios, lighting is key to shaping interior spaces with just the right amount of mood, drama or practical spotlighting. To meet the demands of these cutting-edge interiors, lighting today must provide a solid framework that can embrace both changing dynamics and high quality consistency ​​– offering flexibility, precision control and a timeless aesthetic.

Interiors Colored by Natural Light: Tinted Glass Finishes by 3M

 | Sponsored Content

For total creative freedom in designing with glass, 3M has developed a diverse range of solutions for facades and interiors that change depending on the incidence of light.