Contemporary Design News
News of Contemporary Design, Architecture and Interiors
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.
[Read more…] about ICFF 202529 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.
[Read more…] about International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam 202412 – 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.
[Read more…] about Zurich Design Weeks 2024: Good News2 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.
[Read more…] about Tropical Modernism exhibition at the V&AFrom 18 July 2024 | South Kensington, LONDON
The five-acre green space around London’s Natural History Museum has been transformed by Architects Feilden Fowles in collaboration with landscape architects J & L Gibbons, into two gardens for visitors and research: the Nature Discovery Garden and the Evolution Garden.
[Read more…] about Natural History Museum’s transformed gardens7 June – 27 October 2024 | Kensington Gardens, LONDON
Archipelagic Void by Seoul-based Korean architect Minsuk Cho of Mass Studies is the 23rd Serpentine Pavillion in Kensington Gardens. The pavilion comprises a void in the centre surrounded by smaller adaptable structures, referencing the ‘madang’, or open courtyard found in traditional Korean houses.
Each structure is different in size, form, name, and purpose, providing a platform for various live events. The entry to the pavilion, The Gallery, hosts a sound installation; the artwork, ‘Library of Unread Books’ is hosted in the north of the Pavilion; the Tea House is in the east; the Auditorium in the west; along with an outdoor space, the Playtower. Five covered and five in-between spaces surround the void, integrating with the surrounding park and Pavilion activities.
[Read more…] about The 23rd Serpentine Pavilion by Mass Studies23 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.
[Read more…] about Melbourne Design Week 202412-14 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
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.
[Read more…] about RHS Chelsea Flower Show 202425 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.
[Read more…] about Serpentine Gallery unveils public sculpture by Gerhard Richter21-23 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.
[Read more…] about Clerkenwell Design Week 2024ICFF 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.
[Read more…] about International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and NYCxDESIGN Festival 20241-5 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
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.
[Read more…] about The 10th edition of Spain’s Concéntrico festival24-28 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
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’;
[Read more…] about Salone del Mobile. Milano 202423 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.
[Read more…] about Transform! Designing the Future of EnergySDW 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.
[Read more…] about Stockholm Design Week and Stockholm Furniture Fair 202429 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.
[Read more…] about Enzo Mari exhibition at the Design Museum, London21 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.
[Read more…] about Iwan Baan: Moments in Architecture, at the Vitra Design Museum14-18 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
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
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.
[Read more…] about 30th anniversary of Maison & Objet in 2024