Disegno #39
The cover of Disegno #39 features illustrations from a research project exploring ideas of survival based on psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (image: Leonhard Rothmoser and Björn-Achim Schmidt).
Playing non-hierarchical sports, petting indigenous cows, and trading at a Bolivian market all form part of the new spring 2025 edition of Disegno.
Disegno #39 launches during Milan Design Week on 7 April, but it is already available to pre-order through our online shop.
Our second themed issue looks at the role of survival in design, told through short stories about adaptation, preservation and endurance.
‘Jach’a Qhatu’, Disegno #39 (image: Santos Miranda Ramos and Noemi Gonzales).
Tin Ayala honours indigenous traditions and survival strategies while trading at a Bolivian market with El Alto Aesthetics.
Rupal Rathore visits Studio Saar’s gaushala which houses indigenous cows and that are better adapted to India’s climate.
Architect Jonathan Hagos, director of Freehaus, embarks on a family odyssey to reclaim a forgotten Dutch designer and reflect on how they shaped Hagos’s own career.
‘In Search of the Long-Armed Chair’, Disegno #39 (image: Hugo Revollet).
Sarita Sundar and Rachel Lee take field notes on the planter’s chair, tracing the typology from its colonial origins to modern deconstructions by SĀR Studio and Yassine Ben Abdallah and Mileno Guillorel-Obregón.
Helen Gonzalez Brown explores Samy Rio’s plan to protect the forest by revitalising its economy, and also locks eyes with Studiomama’s face castings that take advantage of an evolutionary phenomenon.
‘Competition and Compassion’, Disegno #39 (image: Iris Rijskamp).
Tiiu Meiner plays Gabriel Fontana’s non-hierarchical game Multiform, and reflects on the lessons we learn about competition and compassion through sports.
Michael David Mitchell surveys attempts at cryonic preservation captured by photographer Murray Ballard and ruminates on the urge to survive death.
Marianna Janowicz delves into designs for childbirth, including Stiliyana Minkovska’s alternative birthing suite, and reflects on the link between comfort and survival.
‘Through a Glass Darkly’, Disegno #39 (image: Studio Brynjar & Veronika).
Disegno’s editor-in-chief Oli Stratford tours Mudac’s preppers exhibition and contemplates the movement’s critique of consumerism, and also delves into the history of glassmaking to learn more about Studio Brynjar & Veronika’s murky windows.
Eleanor Watson investigates Arrhov Frick’s redesign of ArkDes, which gives the museum’s permanent collections a starring role.
‘Threading History’, Disegno #39 (image: Djibril Drame).
Bisila Noha travels to Dakar to see Aissa Dione’s work to preserve Senegal’s weaving traditions and revitalise the country’s textile industry.
Ama Benewaa Tawiah imagines possibilities for Ghana’s abandoned spaces, inspired by the opening of Accra’s new Limbo Museum.
Disegno #39 comes out in print on 7 April 2025, and is available to order now.
Disegno #39 includes:
Jach’a Qhatu
Trading at a Bolivian market
Tin Ayala, Santos Miranda Ramos, Noemi Gonzalez and El Alto Aesthetics
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Where’s Your Cow From?
Studio Saar’s gaushala houses an indigenous breed
Rupal Rathore and Eshwarya Grover
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Opa
A family odyssey to reclaim a forgotten designer
Jonathan Hagos
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Nature Does Not Exist
Samy Rio designs for human life and sylvan health
Helen Gonzalez Brown and Samy Rio
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The Return to the Collection
Permanent collections take centre stage at ArkDes
Eleanor Watson and Marco Cappelletti
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Through a Glass Darkly
Studio Brynjar & Veronika make glass windows into translucent nebulae
Oli Statford and Studio Brynjar & Veronika
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Incomplete
Dreaming up alternative uses for abandoned spaces with Ghana’s Limbo Museum
Ama Benewaa Tawiah and Alfred Quartey
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To Survive Death
Attempts at cryonic preservation, captured by Murray Ballard
Michael David Mitchell and Murray Ballard
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Surviving What?
Mudac’s preppers exhibition critiques consumer culture
Oli Stratford, Etienne Malapert and Danielle Caputo
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Competition and Compassion
Playing non-hierarchical sports with Gabriel Fontana’s Multiform
Tiiu Meiner
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All Eyes
Studiomama’s face castings stare back
Helen Gonzalez Brown and Richard Davies
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Hard Work, Soft Spaces
Comfort and survival in design for childbirth
Marianna Janowicz, Stiliyana Minkovska and Felix Speller
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Threading History
Aissa Dione preserves Senegal’s weaving traditions
Bisila Noha and Djibril Drame
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In Search of the Long-Armed Chair
Tracing a shapeshifting chair from its colonial origins to modern deconstructions
Sarita Sundar, Rachel Lee and Hugo Revollet
Order your copy of Disegno #39 from our online shop. Or why not subscribe?