Stories
A View from the Magpie’s Nest
Tiiu Meiner goes behind the scenes at the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam to find out how museums are coping with increasing costs for collection-preserving climate control during the energy crisis.
Vacation, All I Never Wanted
For Design Reviewed #1, Oli Stratford swelters through the heat in Bali to review The Desa Potato Head resort’s zero waste strategy.
A Radical Reduction
Swedish design studio Form Us With Love has developed a powder-to-liquid soap to cut down on plastic waste.
Fibre to Form
Disegno reveals the secrets of Forward, Nike’s years-long confidential research project culminating in a new material made from plastic bottles.
The Crit #26: Beltless
The Crit is back in 2023! Join hosts Oli Stratford and India Block as they unpack on January’s design news and reflect upon their progress (or lack thereof) with their New Year’s resolutions.
The Crit #25: The 2022 Review
Our annual round-up episode of The Crit is here, looking back on some of the design stories that tickled us or made us go “hmmm” in 2022.
What Drives Us Together
Seven prototypes for living through the climate crisis get taken for a test drive at Driving the Human’s festival in Berlin.
Formafantasma’s Findings
Alice Twemlow visits Formafantasma at their home studio to discuss research, raw materials, and walking the line between climate crisis and commercial design.
Traditional Futures
A rewilded crater where Japanese knotweed is being turned into paper, traditional mushroom hats, and firewood exhibition furniture feature at BIO27 in Ljubljana.
After Plastic
Sony’s Hirotaka Tako and Philip Rose tell Disegno how industrial design is moving beyond plastic with the help of rice husks, bamboo and glowing digital fungi.
Circular Design, Two Ways
Odd Matter’s Afterlife crate for Supernovas is a durable and multipurpose home accessory made from recycled plastic that offers an alternative to fast furniture.
Town House Triumphant
Grafton Architects’ Town House for Kingston University has won the Stirling Prize, but does its concrete construction justify itself in an era of climate collapse?
Fostering Dissent
Norman Foster has explained his logic behind continuing to design airports during the climate crisis, citing the potential of geoengineering technologies.
Counter Measures
How can we measure time in a way that centres long-term environmental change rather than human industry?