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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
On Design 65: Milan’s tall storeys
Recent years have seen Milan’s urban developers embrace the skyscraper. But is it genuine modernisation or simply a case of pandering to big-name architects?
Questioning modern architecture
What most books label the ‘history of architecture’ is often a celebration of a narrow and subjective canon of works. But should we think differently about how we designate the desirable from the architecturally anonymous? Plus: reports on the winners of the Africa Architecture awards and Ralph Erskine award.
On Design 64: Montevideo’s Palacio Salvo: a towering presence
With its whirling beehive-style top overlooking Montevideo’s skyline, the Palacio Salvo was the tallest building in Latin America for decades. It also happens to have played an outsized role in the life of the Uruguayan capital.
Made in North Korea
We examine how product and package design evolves free from exposure to the outside world with Nicholas Bonner’s new book, ‘Made in North Korea’. Plus: ditching the digital with Polaroid’s new instant camera and how Kohler’s flush new idea is helping people build better bathrooms.
On Design 63: The throwaway brilliance of Bic
How a French company specialising in stationery, lighters and razors became one of the most commercially successful design brands in the world.
Watch closely
Product designer and consultant Jared Mankelow on why launching a watch kept business ticking. Plus: exploring Amman Design Week and a turn at the British Ceramics Biennial.
On Design 62: Munich’s Olympic legacy
This week Monocle’s Mikaela Aitken tells us about the cocooned arenas and tasteful typography of Munich’s Olympiapark.
Past, present and Neutra
Architect Tim Campbell reveals what his restoration of Richard Neutra’s Singleton House can teach us about designs – and when renovation means leaving well alone. Plus we’re in Ljubljana to hear from the Future Architecture Festival and how the city’s Design Biennial is rethinking troubled Tito-era architecture.
On Design 61: The minarets of Istanbul
We take a closer look at the architectural history of Istanbul’s skyline-defining minarets.
It’s a sign
How much can swish signage improve the fortunes of a high street business? We’re pointed in the right direction by Vienna’s traditional sign-painters and check in with London’s Luminor Sign Co. Plus: we tour Squire and Partners, a masterfully renovated department-store-turned-office, and talk cork with Portuguese designer Hugo Passos.
