Monocle Weekend
Edition: Saturday

Communal living is on the rise in Europe and Austria’s Vorarlberger Architecture Institute in Dornbirn has dedicated a whole exhibition to it. Building and Living in Communities explores how residents are shaping their environment by planning, developing and self-funding life “in their own flat but under one roof” in response to changing social and financial circumstances, where extended families or the state are not able to lend a hand. “We found it to be an extremely robust model that can be adapted to countless different wishes and settings, which is why we believe it will be the future norm in residential living,” says Laura Kienbaum, co-curator of the exhibition. Cities will need to find a way to adapt as demographics change. An embrace of communal living and a return to co-habiting on friendlier terms is not a bad place to start.

Dutch Design Week kicks off in Eindhoven today. Spread across more than 100 venues citywide and featuring 2,500 designers, northern Europe’s largest design fair prides itself on focusing on cutting-edge concepts. There’s so much to take in but thankfully organisers have prepared themed routes targeting everyone from the first timer to the seasoned veteran. If you only have time for one exhibition, head to the Veemgebouw where works by the finalists in the Dutch Design Awards are exhibited. It’s the perfect place to catch a glimpse of where the nation’s design scene is headed.

Construction has begun on a new Foster + Partners building in the changing neighbourhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn. The construction on this tip of Brooklyn will be a new technology complex that will replace the neighbourhood’s former sugar factory. Thor Equities purchased the land in 2005, when Red Hook was still a sleepy and isolated neighbourhood. When complete it will house the largest new heavy-timber structure in North America. The project, dubbed Red Hoek Point, encompasses office spaces and has plenty of room for retail too. It’s the latest major development that marks a huge shift in this once quiet area.

Today Taiwan kicks off the third annual International Queer Film Festival. Not only will the week-long event showcase more than 30 international film screenings but it will also host the inaugural Queermosa Awards on Friday in recognition of influential figures and organisations dedicated to equality in the country. The following day the city is expecting more than 100,000 people to join one of the biggest Pride parades in Asia. Launched in 2003, it has quickly become the most significant event to advocate LGBT rights as well as other neglected social-inequality issues, including indigenous and elderly rights. Many voters have not forgotten president Tsai Ing-wen’s positive stance towards marriage equality during her campaign and this festival will further promote the cause.

British film-maker Ken Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty discuss their Palme d’Or winner ‘I, Daniel Blake’. Plus: Christopher Guest, the man behind ‘This is Spinal Tap’ and ‘Best in Show’, returns with his new film ‘Mascots’.

Canada, eh? In our latest issue we examine what it means to be from this fine country and why it’s a nation to watch, from aviation to branding (with a bit of ice hockey thrown in for good measure). You can also enjoy part two of our Design Directory; buy your copy today from The Monocle Shop.