Materials

An elegant, all-glass cover with black or white serigraphy is the signature feature of Naka, the new family of step lights designed for footpaths, steps and stairs.

Leveraging its own long history of expertise in the sphere of public-space design, Swiss specialists BURRI played a major role in putting the architectural heritage of Zurich's central train station back into the spotlight…

In this monthly format, we bring you the must-see projects and articles you may have missed over the last four weeks on Architonic. Featured in September: organic shapes, interiors that reflect their surroundings and playful public spaces.

We're all in this together. Architonic's autumn kicks off with circularity and community.

Beyond mere ‘eco marketing’, Morbern continues to embrace sustainable practices in every step of its coated fabric production, all while preserving high-performance, durability, versatility and aesthetic appeal…

Capturing the essence of the classic and quaint duffle coat, Jean Louis Iratzoki’s modular sofa system for BOSC offers warmth, versatility and comfort – a hint of the past in contemporary form.

Eating outside is so in. From avoiding food wastage in the city streets to filling up modern patios, bistro furniture is spilling out of the bistro and into the home. Here’s how to work with it.

From furniture protagonists such as armchairs, tables and chairs to accessories such as lamps, rugs and vases... Kartell's latest collection brings together the most prestigious designers to add beauty and high quality to the day-to-day spaces.

Returning to Olympia London from 8 to 11 October for its 45th edition, Decorex will again show why it remains an unmissable date in the city's interior design calendar…

Continuing the merger of outdoor and indoor space in contemporary interiors, these projects match surfaces and materials inside and out, taking the lead from their own facades and further afield.

Gender inequality in architecture restricts both creativity and talent, as well as human rights. These four female-led architecture practices re-balance the scales with their work, not their gender.

Bringing the outside in isn't just one of the most prominent interior trends of the last century. For these newly opened hospitality projects, it's a way to root themselves in their local surroundings and offer guests a truly authentic stay.

Where most kitchen activities start and finish, the kitchen sink is imperative to a cohesive, effective and multifunctional kitchen. Here’s what to consider when choosing one.

Coffee tables are some of the most versatile furniture pieces in the home, changing from display cabinets to impromptu dinner tables in a matter of minutes. We take a look at different highlights from our Architonic catalogue.

By applying the agricultural practice of vertical farming to design, architects can take advantage of the natural world, to improve our most urban environments.

Climate action and actioning innovation. An Architonic summer.

The thoughtful application of textiles allows interior designers to create relaxed, haptically pleasant atmospheres. Their ability to immediately lend rooms a calming character also makes them the material of choice in these wellness and health

In our final Architonic Live Talk at FRAMING during 3daysofdesign, Danish industrial designer Christian Troels discusses his lack of patience, the magic of physical prototyping and why creation is the source of his most existential dread.

For our penultimate Architonic Live Talk during FRAMING at 3daysofdesign, Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rützou explain the reason gut feelings are crucial to their success and why they think of Scandinavian design as a processing

Good design is both practical and visually appealing, yet achieving that optimum balance is not always easy. TwelveConcept’s elegant, customisable flooring rises to the challenge, combining high-quality materials with meticulous craftsmanship...

Doors have been the preferred method of moving around separated interiors for a long time, but are they still the best? Boasting more functionality and style, there are many other ways to enter a room.

Cersaie 2023, to be held in Bologna from 25 to 29 September, will further cement the show’s status as the most important international exhibition of trends and products in the world of ceramic tiles and bathroom furnishings and as a unique

With its Signature collection of luxury vinyl tiles, British brand Amtico opens up new dimensions of colour, shape, texture and functionality for flooring design.

A recent collaboration between Falper and Foster + Partners has resulted in MA – a sculptural, minimalist and versatile bathroom collection that merges neatly with the Italian brand's Living Bathroom concept.

Falper's award-winning Small Living Kitchens™ concept was conceived to bring big design to small spaces and now, with a range of new elements added to the collection, offers more variety and flexibility than ever.

With the release of two new catalogues, Italian brand Falper serves up a feast of inspiration on how to best combine and configure its rich programme of products for bespoke bathrooms and compact kitchens.

Its carbon-neutral, super-durable Dekton surface designs may be inspired by the past but sustainable Spanish specialist Cosentino also has the future fully in focus…

Created by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, the story of the iconic PH5 pendant lamp is one of experimental science, and continues to guide both lighting and interior designers to this day.

An ingenious fusion of experimentation, artistry and functionality is embodied in Edra’s Diamante and Veronica collections, both sculpturally crafted from polycarbonate and designed to captivate.

A striking, mosaic-like mirror, the Campana brothers’ design for Edra serves as a true work of art, making a bold statement in any interior with its mesmerising textures and reflections.

Soft and elegant, timeless and universal, classic yet contemporary… Edra’s Standway sofa designed by Francesco Binfaré has it all, taking the classic sofa archetype to unprecedented heights.

Every change needs pioneers to prove that it represents a step forward – even if at first glance it entails extra effort. For part three of the PALMBERG Intelligence Series – a series presented by office furniture manufacturer PALMBERG – we

Rugs give us firm yet moveable walking surfaces, soft yet expansive seating and, as accessories, provide the creative injection our interiors need. Here are the deciding factors on rug choice.

Sustainably replicating the colours and tactile features of rock salt crystals, the porcelain stoneware tiles from Casalgrande Padana's new Supreme collection take interiors on a fascinating journey to the centre of the Earth.

With far more certainty than the average weather forecast, these all-climate outdoor seating solutions predict a sweeping front of comfort, whatever the weatherman says.

Smooth like marble and durable like concrete, terrazzo’s crack-free surface and fully customisable pattern and colour options make it the sustainable material of the moment. Here’s how and where to use it.

Transforming surfaces with captivating visuals, Tecnografica’s Super Preziosi wall panel collection – now with four new designs – consists of high-resolution scans of gemstones and minerals found in nature.

The floors we stand, walk and arrange furniture on are a constant presence. By contrasting colour, texture and material we can improve the comfort, navigation and usability of our most in-contact surface.

UK home fashion brand Buster + Punch's unique metal-driven interior collections reflect the drive and passion of its founder – a custom motorcycle-loving architect… 

Adaptability and timelessness are key factors in contemporary interior design. From floor-to-ceiling glass to statement lighting, we take a look at six of the style's defining elements.

The unheard tales from Clerkenwell’s cobbled streets represent the steep path of innovation in new materials, surfaces and technologies hitting the marketplace.

Dutch furniture brand De Vorm is a pioneer in the use of PET Felt and committed to the creation of customisable, sustainable furniture and lighting products that enhance wellbeing in the workplace.

Janine Marshall, General Manager of the independent luxury hotel in Covent Garden, discusses what sustainability looks like at a granular level and why official accreditations can't cover every aspect of the climate responsibility complex.

Handmade yet with a modern, stylish look, cbdesign’s new Daisy Umbrella has earned its place under the sun, serving as the ideal companion for poolside lounging and beachfront adventures.

Our new System One. Giving you even more room to dream. To make something better does not necessarily mean ‘go bigger’. At FritsJurgens, we care about details. About refinement. This is why we have designed a new, better System One. The product

Wood-based material specialist EGGER produces durable laminates, near-limitless in shape, form and finish, and perfectly suited to the demanding criteria found in hospitality or retail markets. Watch the video to find out more…

Sofas can be more than just a place to sit – they can shape behaviour, spark conversations and provide unparalleled comfort and flexibility. Edra elevates the sofa experience through material research and innovation, pushing boundaries without

Laminates show their real value in situations where there is increased demand in terms of both design and functionality, making them an ideal solution for surfaces that are exposed to high levels of stress...

Collecting samples for a project can present a huge time loss for design professionals. To solve this, Swatchbox is out on a mission to help design professionals around the world, by offering a curated selection of interior and exterior samples from

Discover Richemont’s lavishly restored and refurnished Canal Houses in Amsterdam, featuring selected pieces from Zeitraum that correspond with the luxury retail group’s craftsmanship and quality.

It’s opening night for Zeitraum’s Curtain family of solid-wood furniture. Joining tradition and innovation together with a timeless flowing substructure, Curtain turns a space into a stage.

Using traditional Alpine materials and craftsmanship, Zeitraum turns a love for solid wood into sustainable, continuously repairable furniture made to last through the generations.

Rescuing tradition while adapting to contemporary demands, the small-sized ceramic tiles that comprise Marca Corona’s new ‘Miniature’ line are characterised by their durability, versatility and timeless style.

A collaboration with Italian design icon Piero Lissoni, Atlas Concorde’s ‘Fuoriscala’, unveiled at this year’s Salone, takes oversized ceramic formats to the extreme. Architonic spoke with Lissoni about the creative process, reflecting on

In the ultimate quest for verticality, the new Skydoors aluminium cladding line by Oikos adds minimalism, unparalleled elegance and clean lines to contemporary entrance design.

Bare feet welcome: a fully recyclable indoor/outdoor carpet collection that feels surprisingly soft to the touch. Nature-inspired design for OBJECT CARPET.

In designing Ola Tub, the newest addition to Boss Design's Ola family, its German designer Wolfgang C.R. Mezger was again on a mission to create not just another chair but rather another future heirloom.

In time for al fresco dining season, these kitchens from around the globe offer design inspiration that will help make the most out of every meal during the long summer days to come.

Whether it is possible to work in a creative, concentrated and productive way in an office depends on a variety of factors. To kick off the Palmberg Intelligence Series – a three-part series presented by office furniture manufacturer Palmberg –

For over five decades, Bavarian outdoor brand Weishäupl has been producing ‘quality for the beautiful moments in life’. With its commitment to handcraft, the family business, now in its second generation, brings high-end, durable living out into

Using blockchain technology, Ruckstuhl’s Fellow project presents consumers with an NFT of their digital rug design to use as a production voucher, and to keep as a digital product diary. Watch the video to find out more…

Outdoor teaching creates positive learning experiences. The prerequisite for this are suitably equipped outdoor spaces of kindergartens and schools, also called "green classrooms".

As trade fairs are forced to adapt to stay relevant in a fast-changing industry, Architonic invites leading German architect Peter Ippolito to share his thoughts on the meaning and and opportunities of the physical design exhibition. Watch the video

In the third installment of the Bette Intelligence Series – a series of three articles sponsored by the German manufacturer of premium glazed titanium steel – we ask Belgian interior designer Nathalie Deboel how we can transform residential

With a whole host of customisable options, Maxalto's latest 2023 furniture range ignores the temporary interior trends of the moment, in favour of a more timeless individual style.

More than just the styled decor and quirky cocktail names of a themed bar, these games-loving bars, cafés and restaurants appeal to both drinkers and non-drinkers by asking them out to play.

Natural leather has a rich history in tradition and luxury, and is ever-present in both fashion and design. But with rising questions over the environmental impact of leather, what is its future?

These multi-purpose, residential, retail and cultural buildings use open and approachable facades to stay on speaking terms with the neighbours.

With its Pantone collaboration, premium producer of high-tech performance materials Ultrafabrics is helping the design industry to comfortably connect with the chromatic zeitgeist.

Once again, our painstakingly produced DAAily guides to Milan – for both fair and city – navigate you through the crowds, saving you precious time on the ground. We help you find the best products, people, and, of course, parties.

We take a look at five different interior typologies to illustrate the effectiveness of clever lighting design in all kinds of spaces.

In collaboration with a variety of creative forces, Leolux will present a multi-sensory immersive installation called Rhythms during Milan Design Week, featuring pulsating volumes, a breathing ceiling – and don't forget the Dutch waffles!

At the Alcova exhibition during Salone del Mobile, Leolux will present its inviting new Lunetta sofa developed in collaboration with its design partner Studio Truly Truly and Milan-based Studiopepe.

Dutch furniture brand Leolux may have 90 years of history behind it, but close collaboration with contemporary creative studios and designers means its focus is firmly fixed on the future.

Often taken for granted but never missed, the light switch is a small but important element of interior design. Here’s how to make the material and design choices that push all the right buttons.

Dutch brand Satelliet Originals' characterful collections result from decades of craft experience and a rich array of design partners – offering the bespoke and robust solutions demanded by modern hospitality spaces.

Just in time for the upcoming Milan Design Week, outdoor furniture expert FAST opens its new flagship store - with the premise of providing the best possible advice to (interior) architects in search of the best furniture in Italy...

With quality raw materials nearby, a temperate climate for creative freedom and decades of investment and innovation, Portuguese ceramics is world-renowned. This is its story, and its future.

In their first-ever collaboration, Kasthall and David Chipperfield Design unveil ‘Tegel’, an architecturally inspired rug collection that offers a fresh, modern take on textile craftsmanship.

Boss Design's SIA task chair is the British brand's most sustainable to date. Its impressive eco-credentials span the whole lifecycle, from raw-material sourcing to end-of-life disposal.

By employing glass doors, skylights, and frameless windows, these four projects dissolve the boundary between indoor and outdoor spaces and allow the visual beauty of their courtyards to radiate throughout the home.

Atlas Concorde is an expert in ceramic-tile solutions that are at once sustainable and luxurious. Architonic spoke with HBA partner Paula O’Callaghan about the hospitality-design firm's collaboration with the Italian brand on its Marvel Travertine

Nine examples of contemporary designer kitchen taps that not only look the part but act it too, combining sleek design with hidden abilities and functionality.

These four bathrooms use natural materials, open-air surfaces and visual connections to ensure relaxing, spa-like experiences, inside and out. Featuring: Foomann Architects, Studio 126 Arquitetura, Replus Design Bureau and Bloot Architecture.

The inaugural edition of Design Shenzhen wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, having happily hosted 40,000 visitors and over 250 brands in China's first city of design. Here we share a few of the highlights of the event…

DRAENERT is known for its expertise in natural stone –but there’s much, much more to the furniture company than that. 

Sustainable certifications allow brands to parade their green credentials like celebrity endorsements. More than just marketing tools, however, they help to distinguish fact from greenwashing fiction.

New is coming! The Boucle version of IKER’s Cheri chair is proof that European designers and manufacturers are implementing the principles of the New European Bauhaus. It is a concept that leaves ample space for creativity and eco-friendly design.

Not just for tiles and toilets, ceramic surfaces have sparkling, sculptural and hardwearing qualities that make them suitable to sit on and sit with, outside the kitchen and bathroom.

Part five of our ISH Innovation Preview puts the innovative 3D-printed washbasins from ceramic design expert RAK Ceramics in the spotlight...

Organic wellness sculpture: For the third part of our ISH new product preview, we climb into a bathtub designed by Diez Office for KALDEWEI that combines pure bathing pleasure with a compact shape and recyclable material use.

Not just for keeping wine in its place, cork is a truly circular and sustainable material that could be a solution to help keep humanity afloat, too.

A natural phenomenon: the ceramic facade system of Agrob Buchtal.

Together with circular economy pioneer Niaga, Object Carpet has developed the world's first endless circular carpet – the first step into a circular future...

After finding inspiration in the world of high-speed car racing, Cassina has created an outdoor chair that is durable while losing none of its original charm.

Cassina adds adapted modernist icons to its already substantial portfolio of contemporary pieces, marrying established comfort with sophisticated flair.

By specifying its new outdoor furniture to a wide variety of environments, the manufacturer provides design icons that can create a refuge in any natural setting, be it rural or urban.

For COR, it’s inner values that count – not just in the production of its furniture but in the way it treats the environment too.

With a number of complementary components to combine, the shower enclosure is almost a room in itself. By asking these questions, shower designers can make sure everything fits together cleanly.

As the first product in Steelcase's portfolio with certified carbon neutrality, the Steelcase Series 1 with CarbonNeutral® product certification underscores the manufacturer's goal of reducing 50% of its own absolute emissions by 2023. 

We are pleased to welcome you to the Stockholm Furniture Fair. As the world’s largest platform for Scandinavian design, we attract professional visitors from over 100 countries, making the fair an attractive playground for exhibitors.

With a huge range of creative materials, colours and application techniques to choose from, the kitchen’s backsplash is a perfect way to add a little more flavour.

Iconic Italian brand Minotti is spreading its trademark elegance out into the fresh air.

These epically emotional historical environments utilise technology and innovative lighting design to enhance what’s already there, while preserving their influential architecture.

With its new Metropole design, Silent Gliss reinterprets the tried and tested curtain pole as a highly flexible track with a patented, ultra-quiet running mechanism.

BOMMA, the Czech producer of design lighting, introduces the new MUSSELS Collection designed by Václav Mlynář, BOMMA Art Director. This new collection showcases elegance, variability and an organic aesthetic.

These office interiors use partitioning curtains of varying colour, texture and transparency to draw flexible workspaces together, and keep them apart.

‘Functionality and poetry are not a contradiction,’ says Milan-based Toan Nguyen, designer of the beautifully balanced bathroom collection LUA for Laufen.

2022 was the year that life returned. Over the next 12 months, however, architects and designers will combine individuality and wellness with sustainability to create a ‘new and improved’ normal.

From 3 to 7 February 2023, Messe Frankfurt will once again shine the spotlight on the world of consumer goods. And with an expected 4,500 exhibitors, the new combined format of Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld, promises to be an event not

In the latest in our series of Architonic interviews with leading sustainability experts globally, we pose a focused set of no-nonsense questions to Marloes Fischer, founder and managing director of Swiss-based Circular Hub. The call goes out to

In early December, the global winners of the International VELUX Award 2022 were announced, a competition for architecture students that celebrates the innovative and creative use of daylight in a broad range of different projects.

Heimtextil in 2023 will not only continue its tradition as the sector's most important trend barometer, it's also going full circle. Under the 'Textiles Matter' banner, Heimtextil Trends 23/24 will revolve around the themes of the circular economy

How can aesthetics, functionality and sustainability be interwoven? What innovations and visions are on the horizon? And what do sustainable hospitality trends look like? The Interior.Architecture.Hospitality programme provides tailor-made insights.

In thematic terms, the overarching meta-theme of sustainability will also be clearly visible at Heimtextil 2023, with its holistic concept providing innovative answers to pressing questions about the future.

With its curved, handcrafted shapes inspired by Japanese culture, the Zencha bathroom collection by Sebastian Herkner soothes its users in a meditative way.

Trends 23/24 at January's Heimtextil in Frankfurt will focus on material cycles and sustainability strategies for textiles – and use the analogue fair platform to promote exchange, present new products and bring experts together.

Suitable for outdoor as well as indoor use, Mirage's new Reflet tile collection offers architects a new material palette that reflects and interacts with its surroundings.

Resource conservation, renovation of building stock, circular construction. Maximum design freedom is already built in with Drytile.