Paper pins to replace traditional Remembrance Day poppies
Looking to reduce the waste produced by a commemorative day celebrated across the UK, the Royal British Legion embarked upon a three-year journey to replace the traditionally plastic poppies with upcycled paper pins. Every year in November, 45 million poppy pins are sold in Britain as the nation prepares to...
Current in Design
NEOM provides fresh updates on its latest luxury island project
The Saudi-based architecture firm NEOM has gotten to work on a handful of futuristic projects in recent years. Now, it’s announced new details of its plan for Shushah Island. Those involved with urban planning are now faced with major challenges in light of our mounting environmental and resource crises. Experimentation, innovation,...
Saudi Arabia is set to build another super skyscraper
The latest futuristic design coming out of Saudi Arabia is a 19 sq km structure to be based in Riyadh named The Mukaab. In recent months, Saudi Arabia’s abundance of oil money has sparked the design of some absolutely insane architectural projects. First was The Line, put forward by the design...
How discarded cocoa beans are turned into eco-friendly materials
Only half of every cocoa bean harvested is utilised to make food products, with the rest going to waste. A team of Italian-Ecuadorian designers saw this as an opportunity to generate a material that would transform the traditionally linear and wasteful commercial cocoa industry into a circular one. We’re suckers...
The female golden resistance takes centre stage in Manhattan
Across New York City’s Flatiron district, a rare and long overdue golden resistance is taking place. Havah…to breathe, air, life is a new public project showcasing a duo of female-figured sculptures. Created by Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander, Havah…to breathe, air, life aims to address recent ‘setbacks to women’s constitutional progress’...
Copenhagen’s eco-village meets all 17 Sustainable Development Goals
An eco-village under construction in Copenhagen is redefining what sustainability means within architecture. Instead of focusing on purely renewable energy or green building materials, it consciously addresses all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. South of the city centre in Copenhagen, a residential area called Ørestad is being constructed...
New York’s notorious prison could be transformed into a green hub
The local council has planned to close New York’s most notorious prison by 2027. In efforts to decarbonise the state, designers have put forward ideas to turn Riker’s Island into a green energy hub. Over the years, Riker’s Island – a 400-acre piece of land located between the Bronx and Queens – has gained a reputation for being home to one of the world’s most brutal prisons. Most people know about...
Designers are utilizing discarded seashells as a building material
Learning to work with natural materials will be vital in shaping our sustainable future. From drinking glasses to hard hats and more – designers are getting creative by testing the limits of seashells. ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ has been ingrained into most of us from a young age. But for innovative designers, the biggest mission of the 21st century is to find durable materials that facilitate the easiness of this process. As...
Dementia villages are changing the future of elderly care
Specially designed to look like the towns where residents are from, dementia villages are giving elderly people the freedom to live normally within a close community – even as their recent memory begins to fade. Growing old is a fact of life whether we like it or not. While beauty companies love to convince us that the scariest things about ageing are the physical manifestations of it – wrinkles, grey hairs,...
David Hockney’s new exhibition is a celebration of art’s future
Beloved British artist David Hockney may be 85, but he is still pushing the boundaries of what art can do. Known for his bold use of colour, astute portraiture, and intrepid depictions of queerness, David Hockney is a national treasure. His work has pushed boundaries in every way that art can; politically, socially, aesthetically. And, in recent years, his use of the iPad has raised new questions about the capabilities of...
