Contemporary Design News
News of Contemporary Design, Architecture and Interiors
News of events covering contemporary, modern design including works around the world by both leading and emerging designers.
18-20 April 2025 | Copenhagen
Copenhagen's annual design festival, 3daysofdesign, returns in 2025 with the theme KEEP IT REAL, highlighting individuality, openness, and originality. Taking place across eight design districts in venues such as showrooms, shops, galleries, and public spaces, the festival showcases iconic furniture, lighting, accessories, and innovative materials.
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8-13 April 2025 | Milan
The 63rd edition of the Salone del Mobile in Milan will host over 2,000 exhibitors from 37 countries, showcasing 148 first-time and returning brands across 169,000 sq m. Additionally, the Euroluce Biennial will return, featuring more than 300 brands from 25 countries, and SaloneSatellite will highlight 700 young designers under 35 along with 20 international design schools and universities.
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7-11 May 2025 | New York
Frieze New York returns to The Shed in New York, featuring over 65 leading galleries from 25+ countries, including Gagosian, White Cube, and David Zwirner. The fair's Focus section spotlights 12 emerging galleries, each showing solo presentations from emerging or under appreicated artists.
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11 October 2024 - 29 March 2025 | RIBA, LONDON
RIBA’s new exhibition explores over 20 ambitious projects that overcame extreme site challenges across Britain. Featuring work by architects like Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Neave Brown, and Lord Norman Foster, alongside contemporary firms such as Caruso St John, Tonkin Liu and Carmody Groarke, it highlights innovation in design, materials, and engineering.
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18-25 May 2025 | Javits Center, NEW YORK
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in 2025 celebrates global design under the theme 'Designing in Harmony', which emphasizes human-centered, sustainable, and multicultural creativity. The fair introduces a refreshed floor plan, expanded international participation, and new immersive experiences, including exhibits, talks, and networking opportunities.
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Stockholm Design Week 3-9 February 2025 | Stockholm Furniture Fair 4-8 February 2025
Stockholm Design Week 2025, organized by Stockholm Furniture Fair, will feature events, exhibitions, and open showrooms across the city. Stockholm Furniture Fair, Scandinavia’s leading platform for furniture and lighting design, will host exhibitors, stage programs, and industry discussions.
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13 December 2024 - 20 April 2025 | Philadelphia Museum of Art, PHILADELPHIA
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) announces Naoto Fukasawa: Things in Themselves, the first major US exhibition celebrating the career of renowned Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa. The exhibition will coincide with Fukasawa receiving the 2024 Collab Design Excellence Award on December 12. Things in Themselves will showcase Fukasawa’s minimalist and user-centered design philosophy, presenting production designs alongside working sketches and models.
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29 June - 13 October 2024 | ROTTERDAM
The 11th edition of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam in 2024, themed 'Nature of Hope,' focuses on how architecture can restore ecological balance by prioritizing biodiversity and nature. The event will feature an exhibition at the Nieuwe Instituut, a public program, and Botanical Monuments showcasing green spaces in Rotterdam.
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12 - 29 September 2024 | ZURICH
The third edition of Zurich Design Weeks is centered on the theme of 'GOOD NEWS,' aiming to highlight positive developments in design over a three-week period. The event seeks to counteract our natural tendency to focus on negative news by showcasing progress, sustainable ideas, and innovations that inspire optimism. It emphasizes design's role as a problem-solving discipline that can create solutions to pressing global issues, making the world more sustainable, beautiful, and efficient.
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2 March - 22 September 2024 | South Kensington, LONDON
The Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London explores the architectural styles of tropical modernism in West Africa and India. In the late 1940s, British architects Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry adapted a modern aesthetic valuing function over ornament and applied this to the hot, humid conditions of West Africa.
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23 May - 2 June 2024 | Melbourne, Australia
The eighth edition of the National Gallery of Victoria's Melbourn Design Week explores the theme 'Design the world you want', focusing on energy, ethics, and ecology. The event includes over 300 exhibitions, displays, symposiums and talks throughout Melbourne and Victoria. Highlights include keynotes from Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo and design critic Alice Rawsthorn, the One-Stop Bug-Shop vending machine and the tenth Melbourne Art Book Fair.
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12-14 June 2024 | Copenhagen
This year 3daysofdesign, with the theme DARE TO DREAM, will host over 350 exhibitions, in the streets, showrooms, galleries and event spaces across Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 2013 the show has been inviting architects, design enthusiasts as well as the general public to experience new concepts from a curated selection of brands from Denmark and around the world. 3daysofdesign
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21-25 May 2024 | Chelsea, LONDON
The Royal Horticultural Society holds the Chelsea Flower Show annually in May on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. The event features garden designs and planting ideas by leading horticulturalists, with trends this year including edible food forests, naturalistic planting, flood-resilient design and drought-tolerant planting schemes.
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25 April - 27 October 2024 | Serpentine South, Kensington Gardens, LONDON
The Serpentine Gallery and The Royal Parks present a large-scale sculpture by the German artist Gerhart Richter. The sculpture, STRIP-TOWER, continues six decades of the artist's work.
Richter began a series of works titled Strip Painting in 2010, inspired by an earlier 'squeegee painting' titled Abstract Painting 724/4 from 1990. The paintings were photographed, scanned, and divided into two strips, then four, eight, sixteen and thirty-two. The vertical strips of the painting were stretched horizontally, laminated onto aluminium and covered with perspex.
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21-23 May 2024 | Clerkenwell EC1, LONDON
Clerkenwell Design Week 2024 marks its 15th year as a global design festival and follows on from last year's record of 37,00 visitors. This year, there will be over 600 curated events throughout Clerkenwell, 160 local design showrooms, and 300 exhibitors across 12+ venues.
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ICFF 19-21 May 2024 | NYCxDESIGN 16-23 May 2023 | New York
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) 2024 takes place at the Javits Centre during the NYCxDESIGN citywide design festival. Aiming to connect the global design community, the 35th edition of ICFF hosts 350 exhibitors from 35 countries. Highlights include the second edition of Crossroads, the collaboration between the brand directors of ICFF, with the theme of sustainability in the context of craft traditions.
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1-5 May 2024 | The Shed, NEW YORK
The 2024 edition of Frieze New York will feature more than 60 galleries spanning 25 countries, alongside collaborative projects with the city's non-profit arts organizations. The 'Focus' section of the exhibition will showcase 11 exhibitors presenting works by emerging and underrepresented artists. Additionally, during Frieze week, various activities and events will take place across New York's art spaces. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh, courtesy of Frieze and CKA. Frieze New York
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25 April - 1 May 2024 | Logroño, SPAIN.
Concéntico is the annual Logroño (Spain) International Festival of Architecture and Design, featuring installations, exhibitions, and activities throughout the streets of Logroño. Since 2015 Concéntrico has brought together national and international architects, along with designers, to create more than 100 urban installations, with the aim of reflecting on the urban environment and the city.
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24-28 April 2024 | Reykjavik, ICELAND
DesignMarch 2024 is the 16th edition of the annual design festival in Iceland. The theme this year is 'Where chaos is the norm and the balancing act is art'. The festival includes over 100 exhibitions, 200 events including workshops and guided tours, and 400 participants, bringing together designers, architects, and creative thinkers. The opening ceremony is at Hafnarhúsið, with the international conference DesignTalks at Harpa. DesignMarch
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16-21 April 2024 | Triennale, MILAN
As part of Milan Design Week 2024, an exhibition by Jasper Morrison traces the 80-year history of Amercian furniture manufacturer Emeco and its iconic 1006 Navy Chair. Designed in 1944 for the US Navy, the 1006 Navy Chair was to be lightweight, non-corrosive, and fire-resistant. The chair was made from 80% salvaged aluminium and tested to last 150 years.
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16-21 April 2024 | Milan, ITALY
The 62nd Edition of the Milan Furniture Fair (Salone del Mobile. Milano) will showcase furniture and designs from over 1,900 international exhibitors, including 600 young talents. The exhibition this year features: EuroCucina presenting 'All You Ever Wanted to Know About Food Design In Six Performances';
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23 March - 1 September 2024 | Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, GERMANY
The exhibition, 'Transform! Designing for the Future of Energy' focuses on how design plays a key role in the transition to renewable energy. It covers the design of everyday products that use renewable energy, from the design of solar houses to wind power stations, and smart mobility systems to self-sufficient cities.
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29 February - 3 March 2024 | Santa Monica Airport, LOS ANGELES
In 2024, the fifth edition of Frieze Los Angeles will feature 95 galleries from around the world, alongside collaborations with non-profit art organisations. Additionally, there will be pop-up restaurants from Los Angeles. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh, courtesy Casey Kelbaugh and Frieze. Frieze Los Angeles
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17 November 2023 - 3 March 2024 | Danish Architecture Center, Copenhagen, DENMARK
The Changing our Footprint exhibition, organized by Henning Larsen Architects and hosted at the Danish Architecture Center, showcases innovative approaches to carbon-friendly construction, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable architecture in the face of the climate crisis.
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8 July 2023 - 10 March 2024 | Design Museum, LONDON.
'How to Build a Low-Carbon Home', an exhibition at London's Design Museum, explores how we can design homes to respond to the climate emergency, given that almost 30% of global carbon emissions are caused by construction and the running of buildings.
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SDW 5-11 February 2024 | SFF 6-10 February 2024 at Stockholmsmässan | STOCKHOLM
Stockholm Design Week 2024 features events, exhibitions and open showrooms, coinciding with Stockholm Furniture Fair 2024, welcoming design professionals and the public from around the world.
This year, the Stockholm Furniture Fair presents a series of exhibitions addressing shifts in design and architecture.
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29 March - 8 September 2024 | Design Museum, LONDON
The Design Museum will host the first solo UK exhibition of Italian designer Enzo Mari. Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Francesca Giacomelli, the retrospective spans Mari's 60-year career, featuring over 300 objects, including furniture, art, and conceptual installations. Mari, a pioneer in post-war Italian design, emphasized sustainability, in both their materiality and aesthetics, along with accessibility.
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2 September 2023 - 7 July 2024 | The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition, 'Life Cycles: the Materials of Contemporary Design', exhibits 80 projects by 40 designers, examining the full life cycle of materials - from extraction to recycling, upscaling, or disposal. Featuring projects from MoMA's collection, the exhibition explores the role design can play in addressing current environmental issues. It highlights examples of ingenious reuse, upscaling, and the use of waste as a new material.
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21 October 2023 to 3 March 2024 | Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rein, GERMANY.
The Vitra Design Museum will host the first major retrospective showcasing the work of leading architecture and built environment photographer Ivan Baan, who is responsible for many iconic images of the last two decades. The exhibition, 'Iwan Baan: Moments in Architecture', covers Baan's images of works by prominent contemporary architects in the early 21st century, including Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, Kazuyo Sejima, and Tatiana Bilbao.
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14 December 2023 to 26 May 2024 | Rome, ITALY.
The exhibition, 'AALTO - Aino Alvar Elissa. The Human Dimension of Design' is curated by architecture and research studio Space Caviar, and hosted at the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, Italy. Studio Aalto was founded in Finland in 1923 during a time of rapid change as Finland was establishing itself as a free nation.
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14-18 January 2024 | Köln, GERMANY.
imm Cologne 2024 is Germany's largest interiors trade fair. The theme this year is 'Connecting Communities', encouraging visitors to discover new products, exchange ideas, discuss trends and make new contacts. The exhibition will highlight trends, including sustainability and the shift to flexible living spaces, which also need to function as workspaces. © Koelnmesse / imm cologne. imm Cologne
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5 December 2023.
The winner of the RIBA House of the Year 2023 is Green House, designed by London-based architectural studio Hayhurst & Co. Established in 2004 by Nick Hayhurst and Jonathan Nicholls, the studio created Green House to replace an existing house in a conservation area located on a confined urban plot in an alleyway in Tottenham, London. Historically the backland site of Green House comprised greenhouses, market gardens and orchards.
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19-28 January 2024, Toronto, CANADA.
Canada's largest annual design festival, the DesignTO Festival, celebrates its 14th year. It features the work of artists and designers with over 100 free exhibitions, installations, and events across the city of Toronto. The non-profit event aims to bring 'people together to design a better future, one that is more sustainable, just, and joyful'. DesignTO
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14 December 2023.
This year marks the 187th year of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) President's Medals, which are presented to architecture students for outstanding design projects and dissertations. The winning projects focus on the needs of people and their communities.
The RIBA Silver Medal was awarded to Ellie Harding at the London School of Architecture, for 'Nobody Wants to Live in a Care Home', which seeks to improve the lives of people living with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
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1 December 2023 | Marina Bay Sands, SINGAPORE.
Awards have been announced at the 2023 World Architecture Festival (WAF), the annual international architectural event organised by EMAP.
Landscape of the Year went to Benjakitti Forest Park: Transforming a Brownfield into an Urban Ecological Sanctuary by TURENSCAPE, Arsomsilp Community and Environmental Architect in Thailand. The project transforms a former tobacco factory into downtown Bangkok's largest public recreational space.
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18-22 January 2024 | Paris, FRANCE.
The interior design trade fair Maison & Objet 2024 celebrates its 30th anniversary with the theme TECH EDEN.
The fair highlights three trends in retail: sustainable minimalism, responsible brutalism (re-use and recycling of materials), and organic fluidity.
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20 May - 26 November 2023, VENICE.
The 6th edition of the Time Space Existence biennale architecture exhibition in 2023 takes place in parallel with the Venice Biennale and is hosted by the European Culture Centre. This year, the exhibition focuses on sustainability, showcasing projects that investigate new technologies and construction methods aimed at reducing energy consumption through circular design, as well as projects that explore organic and recycled building materials.
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11-15 October 2023, REGENTS PARK, LONDON.
Contemporary art fair Frieze London returns to Regents Park to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2023. Frieze London focuses on contemporary art and living artists, featuring emerging to iconic artists. Over the past few years, it has attracted around 60,000 visitors annually.
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30 September - 1 October 2023, ZURICH.
This is the 8th year of Open House Zurich and over 130 buildings and outdoor spaces, that are normally closed to the public, will be accessible with guided tours by architects, curators, building users and volunteers. Buildings include the extension to the Landesmuseum Zurich by architects Christ and Gantenbein, Casa Zentner by Italian architects Carlo Alberto Scarpa and the apartment building on Forsterstrasse by architects Christian Kerez.
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15-24 September 2023, Sydney, AUSTRALIA.
Powerhouse, the largest museum group in Australia, launches the 27th edition of Sydney Design Week with over 60 events including tours, workshops and public architecture across the city. With reference to the work of French philosopher Bruno Latour, the theme this year is Amodern. This is explored via six 'fields of enquiry', namely Eco-Systems, Material Cultures, Communal Cities, Micro Cycles, Connected Threads and Photofields. Powerhouse / Sydney Design Week 2023
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The RIBA Stirling Prize awards have been presented since 1996 to 'the architect of the building thought to be the most significant of the year for the evolution of architecture and the built environment'. The award is 'judged on a range of criteria including design vision, innovation and originality, capacity to stimulate engage and delight occupants and visitors, accessibility and sustainability, how fit the building is for its purpose and the level of client satisfaction'. The winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2023 will be announced live in Manchester at the Stirling Prize ceremony on 19 October 2023.
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