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
Manifestos: architecture of the future
Can a manifesto change the world? In truth there are probably quicker ways but that didn’t stop the London Festival of Architecture and the Design Museum commissioning 10 young London-based practices to compose one each. We hear them out.
Extra: Design on the Rhine
As the mercury rises, we shine a spotlight on the growing urban-river movement and head to Swim City, a new exhibition at Basel’s Swiss Architecture Museum, to see how the residents of Basel unwind by the river.
What’s next for Notre Dame?
Tears fell as the spire of Paris’s most famous cathedral crumbled – but should Notre Dame be rebuilt as it was? Josh Fehnert asks professor Alan Dunlop whether it’s best to reuse or redo. Plus: our verdict on the TWA hotel in New York and a word with Maruni art…
Extra: In with the old
From the redevelopment of King’s Cross to breathing new life into old industrial buildings in Hackney Wick, London is a city that’s hitting its stride when it comes to reviving its old buildings. Here’s what Monocle’s Design editor Nolan Giles had to say about the matter.
Restoring Cuba
Havana celebrates its 500th birthday this year and some of its buildings are beginning to show their age. Restoration and reuse are proving challenging – but also rewarding, as Lucinda Elliott reports. Plus a word with the CEO of Rapt Studio and a Victorian renovation project in London.
Extra: Pick a pocket
A new book released this week called ‘The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives 1660 – 1900’, traces the history of pockets and what they reveal about women’s role in society.
Book covers: turning the page
We find out from our favourite designers what makes a book fly off the shelves and Josh Fehnert and Chiara Rimella ask if it’s okay to judge books by their covers. Plus: EU election logos and how design influences the ballots.
Extra: Warsaw’s graphic past
Can you understand a country by looking at its graphic-design industry? Warsaw underwent a dramatic swing from communism in the 1980s to a fascination with capitalism in the 1990s. Today the city’s identity is striking more of a balance and new graphic-design styles are emerging.
Cities of the future
What will our cities look like in 2050? We ask an architect and urban planner to answer just that. Plus: a listed building comes of age in London, and part one of our series on office furniture and the changing world of the workplace.
Extra: Modernist Metroland
London’s grade II-listed Arnos Grove underground station is a classic example of modernist influences in the UK capital’s Metroland.
