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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
Are Antwerp’s best days still ahead of it?
Nestled in the heart of Flanders – Belgium’s Dutch-speaking northern region – Antwerp has garnered a reputation in recent years as a regional city with a global reach. Today we bring you interviews with some of its brightest design talents.
On Design 31: Dutch courage – who was Hendrik Petrus Berlage?
Hendrik Petrus Berlage’s architecture was more than just an aesthetic triumph. His socialist principles literally and figuratively shaped Amsterdam and still influences Dutch designers to this day.
Design at the Rio Carnival
We wander through the Oscar Niemeyer-designed sambadrome and get a taste of the design that underpins the colour of the Rio Carnival. Plus: a design-minded new workspace in Brooklyn and a closer look at Canadian architecture and its relationship with the environment.
On Design 30: Will LA lose its iconic palm trees?
Palm trees have been one of the most recognisable symbols of Los Angeles for decades. But as many of the city’s trees near the end of their lives and the city opts to plant native flora the future is uncertain. Josh Fehnert gets to the root of the matter.
Fixing Madrid Fashion Week
We report from Madrid Fashion Week and meet its recently installed director, Charo Izquierdo, and ask if the Spanish capital can ever rival London, Paris or New York. Meanwhile, architecture critic Michael Webb on why we need more apartment buildings and a closer look at a boundary-blurring project from Chilean…
On Design 29: What is metabolic architecture?
This week Monocle’s Tokyo bureau chief Fiona Wilson tells us about Metabolism, an obscure and futuristic Japanese architectural movement from the 1960s that drew on influences ranging from living organisms to communism.
Meeting Santiago Calatrava
A sit-down with the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, plus a digest of what you might have missed from Stockholm Design Week.
On Design 28: How did Portugal fall in love with azulejos?
Monocle’s Lisbon correspondent Trish Lorenz explores the enduring appeal of azulejos — the decorative tiles that have been a mainstay of Portuguese craftsmanship and design since the 16th century.
Stockholm syndrome
We report from Stockholm Design Week, including emerging talents and design at the Norwegian Embassy. Meanwhile, as Netflix releases a new documentary series about design, we speak to one of its producers, former ‘Wired’ editor in chief Scott Dadich.
On Design 27: Will Rome warm to its new congress centre?
The building has recently opened after a 16-year wait. Designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas, it is an aesthetic triumph – but a fraught political climate has made for a mixed reception.
