Highlights From Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne

In its 10th year, the festival explores the ever-changing state of technology, work and society

Located in the south east of France, the coal mining city of Saint-Etienne launched the Biennale Internationale Design 20 years ago. The 10th iteration recently opened (and will run through early April). Within, one will find an exploration of the concept of change. This theme, officially “Shifting Work Paradigms” was chosen by Olivier Peyricot, Scientific Director of the Biennale and Director of the Research Department …

Design Indaba 2017: Nelly Ben Hayoun’s University of the Underground

The multidisciplinary designer is calling for contemporary Willy Wonkas, Robert Rauschenbergs and Marie Curies to disrupt the current educative system

The soon-to-open University of the Underground is taking on today’s institutions and power structures by redesigning the way in which a post-graduate course operates. Helmed by the palpably ambitious multidisciplinary designer Nelly Ben Hayoun, University of the Underground is “bold, unapologetic and impolite” in its quest to disrupt and democratize the educational system while empowering the next generation of designers. We learned about Ben Hayoun’s …

The Flying Monks of Mailītis Architects’ Wind Tunnel Amphitheater

The Shaolin Flying Monks Theatre, built by Latvia’s Mailītis Architects in the Songshan Mountains of central China, incorporates a branch-like wind tunnel at its center which is used by the monks for levitation. The amphitheater itself plays homage to the region, matching the nearby mountains and hills, while the wind tunnel structure references the cypress trees surrounding it all. The area happens to be the …