| Hugo Macdonald, acting global design director
How have you been enjoying Weekendpaper*? Our new Saturday newsletter from the Wallpaper* editors brings the best need-to-know stories, intriguing events and tempting purchases of the week, direct to your inbox.
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Happy Midsummer/Midwinter to you all, depending on which hemisphere you happen to be reading this from. Wallpaper’s design team has been in Copenhagen this week for 3 Days of Design, making the most of the endless daylight to hoover up as many of the 500-odd events on show as our eyes and feet allowed (above is the ‘Palma Pouf’ by London-based designer Kusheda Mensah, part of the 'Unpacking Hem' exhibition). We recorded our findings as we went, in a live feed format, which gives you a helpful taste of proceedings. And what did we take away? There’s a distinct air of romance in design at present – a certain softening of materials and details with elements of narrative whimsy. Archival works are re-emerging in ever-greater numbers. The amplification of craft and comfort was prevalent. Modernist principles of efficiency and improvement endure, but it was interesting to note that the dominant discourse in Copenhagen was about design as a care-filled and careful practice – a stabilising, reassuring force to succour and soothe our existential intensity. Cushions are functional too. |
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How to use AI in architecture? A practical guide with Tim Fu |
Love it or loathe it, AI is here to stay. For a practical guide to working with it, we asked an early adopter. ‘The most exciting thing is the potential to democratise and de-limit design,’ says architect Tim Fu, who regularly uses new technologies in his practice and recently launched the ‘world’s first fully AI-driven architectural project’ – a residential scheme in Slovenia's Lake Bled. ‘AI can help young studios punch above their weight, empower underserved communities to visualise their own futures, and offer architects entirely new typologies that were previously inconceivable. It’s a generative force that – when guided ethically – can lead to a renaissance in how we imagine and build.’ Architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki asked Fu how architects can get the most out of AI, while overcoming its many challenges and pitfalls. |
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Received wisdom and thousands of Reddit threads tell us that jet lag is the scourge of the long-distance traveller; something to be mastered with supplements and cashmere eye-masks or beaten with week-long pre-planning and earth-centring magnets on our pulse points. From sudden waves of nausea to midnight bowel movements, crossing time zones at speed undeniably wreaks havoc on body and mind. Let’s cut to the chase, argues Hugo Macdonald; there is no cure for jet lag, and perhaps it’s time we pulled ourselves together and sucked up the short-term human discomfort for our wanton, jet-fuelled habits.
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The best of Pitti Uomo 108, from guest stars to gelato |
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Despite temperatures tipping 35 degrees, Florentine menswear fair Pitti Uomo – a twice-yearly showcase around the city’s Fortezza da Basso which took place this week – nonetheless attracted its usual throngs of press, buyers and aficionados who are on the search for what’s new in men’s fashion (true to sartorial form, even in the searing midday heat, blazers remained on). It is in the converted 16th-century fortress where brands from around the world come to show their latest wares in a series of stands and specially erected pavilions (early estimates have over 730 brands showing at the event, with around 43 per cent coming from outside of Italy). And, even if the scale is initially overwhelming, it gives a rare chance to speak to designers and CEOs in the presence of their clothing. This season, there were plenty of highlights – from a dramatic dinner party in the baroque gardens of Villa Bardini, to an outing from Homme Plissé Issey Miyake which paid ode to the colours and textures of Italy. Here, selected by Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss, are the best bits of the week.
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