Weekendpaper* | Design hot from Paris

Hiroshima’s name is etched into global consciousness as the site of the world’s first atomic bombing – yet long rooted in the DNA of this south-western region of Japan is also architectural innovation. It was from the ashes of its wartime devastation that a canvas emerged for a new era of modernist architecture, as the city was reborn through the vision of masters such as Kenzo Tange and Togo Murano.

Today, 80 years after the bombing, Hiroshima not only remains a place of post-war architectural pilgrimage: it’s also an evolving contemporary hub, with a constellation of experimental structures by leading architects. This month, its creative credentials are deepened further with the launch of a new three-yearly architecture festival. ‘The Hiroshima Architecture Exhibition 2025’ aims to spark revitalisation through architecture, with eight exhibitions, featuring 23 architects and artist groups – among them Sou Fujimoto, Junya Ishigami and Jo Nagasaka, plus nine Pritzker winners, from Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa to Toyo Ito.

For Ito, there is no doubting the imprint of Hiroshima on many creatives – himself included. ‘Many foreigners already visit the island Naoshima for contemporary art,’ Ito tells Danielle Demetriou, referring to the popular ‘art island’, on the far side of Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. ‘We need to tell people that they should visit Hiroshima for architecture.’ Demetriou does just that as she explores highlights of the festival and the city.

The route to Gee’s Bend, Alabama winds through forests of young longleaf pine and oak trees, and past acres of cotton planted in red earth. Buildings few and far between dot the road: low-slung homes, a brick church with a crisp white steeple, a two-pump gas station with a small grocery attached. And occasionally, a 10ft-tall freestanding mural of a quilt appears.

Quilts helped to put Gee’s Bend, a remote enclave in Alabama’s Black Belt, on the map. These extraordinary textiles, a matrilineal tradition that began during slavery and has continued ever since, are prized around the world for their abstract patchwork and distinctive colours. And among Benders, as folks who hail from the region are known, they’re tangible representations of history, memory and kinship.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, hundreds of vibrantly hued and exquisitely patterned quilts were proudly displayed by their makers and the families that cherish them. Pinned on clotheslines and slung over porch railings, they fluttered in the breeze, drawing over 2,000 admirers from around the world for the fourth annual Airing of the Quilts Festival. It’s an homage to a yearly tradition in Gee’s Bend when quilts would be taken from storage and aired before being used in winter. It’s also part of a new strategy to build a sustainable, equitable economy around Gee’s Bend quilts and deepen appreciation and understanding of the artistry and tradition they embody. Diana Budds was there, speaking to quilters across the generations about the stitches that bind their community.

You can visit many homes of modernist architects; this is not nearly so easy for the postmodernists. There are the Charles Moore houses in Austin and Santa Monica, and Charles Jencks’ Cosmic House in London and... that's about it. Except for one that’s nearly unknown. The long-time home of Michael Graves (1934-2015), the postmodernist with perhaps the greatest reach – from his Portland Building in Oregon City, now an object of preservation attention, to homeware for Target – remains in pristine condition in Princeton, New Jersey. It’s owned and preserved by Kean University, and you can visit (if you can find who to ask there).

Many architects seek tabula rasa conditions in designing their homes. Graves was different, building his house gradually within what had been a self-storage warehouse. Where others once stored surplus belongings in cubes, he saw possibility. The warehouse had been constructed by Italian stonemasons of hollow clay tile, brick and stucco; Graves, enamoured of all things Italian, was taken with its look. Says Karen Nichols, principal at Michael Graves the firm, and an employee since 1977, ‘When Michael found the [property], in around 1974, he was dumbfounded that it was a Tuscan vernacular building in terms of both construction type and its formal characteristics.’ What would a postmodernist pioneer do with the place? Anthony Paletta had a look around to find out.

Sabine Marcelis has redesigned the lava lamp and it’s 3m tall. This ‘Column’ version is one of two new takes on the 1960s icon by the Dutch designer to go on sale this week, and is one way to elevate a classic. Available from Mathmos.