Monocle on Design
Your essential guide to design, covering furniture, craft, and architecture. Discover fresh stories, rising talents, and the latest from top studios.
Latest Episodes
Is the materials industry changing for the better?
Materials are fundamental to any design project but in the quest for more sustainable buildings and products, they’re taking on even greater importance than ever before. From an eco-friendly sample platform to chemical-free textile fibres and an innovative new marquetry material, we explore how the industry is changing.
Extra: Capture and Weave
We hear from textile artist Anna Ray, winner of the Brookfield Properties Craft Council Collection Award 2021, and represented by House on Mars Gallery.
Back to school
It’s back to school for a look at some of the most innovative design-education projects around the globe. We hear about a collaboration between Birkenstock and Central Saint Martins in London; The School of Architecture in Arizona; and a leading glass and ceramics programme on a tranquil island in Denmark.…
Extra: Vienna’s sound identity
Vienna might be famed for its classical music but the city has also won awards for the sound identity of its public transport. Monocle’s Alexei Korolyov meets the reassuring voice of Vienna.
Braun
To celebrate Braun’s centenary, we reveal why the German company’s designs are so revered and why its future is looking just as bright. Plus: a new installation in Zürich.
Extra: No Isolation
No Isolation has developed communication tools to reduce involuntary loneliness and social isolation since 2015. We find out how their work helps young people with long-term illness to stay connected to the classroom.
Living with nature
We discuss how rewilding brings nature back into our urban environments and why the breeze-block should be Hawaii’s building material of choice. Plus: our Milan correspondent has the latest design industry news.
Extra: Galerie Philia at Walker Tower
New York’s Galerie Philia presents more than 70 works by 40 designers in Walker Tower, an art deco masterpiece in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood. The exhibition’s co-curator, Italian architect Pietro Franceschini, gives Monocle’s Henry Rees-Sheridan a tour.
Design to last – part 2
We look to Nordic woodworker Nikari for its design philosophy, and speak to architect Hugh Broughton about the challenges of designing for extreme conditions. Also in the programme: how French footwear brand Salomon combines performance with aesthetics.
Extra: A History of Arab Graphic Design
Co-authors Bahia Shehab and Haytham Nawar share the archival and geopolitical challenges involved in creating this rich volume – and why designers of the diaspora community were integral to piecing the title together.
