used london tea leaves and coffee waste recast as large-scale 3D printed sculptural objects
after the last sip explores how discarded tea leaves and spent coffee grounds can be processed into composite materials for large-scale robotic 3D printing.
updates
stay up to date with all the latest topics to be featured on designboom with our dedicated tag overview. we've collated the most recent themes in the worlds of art, architecture, design and technology for your easy reading: from emerging architecture studios to new design trends to relevant events from around the globe.
hundreds of suspended mirrors turn iranian pavilion into a shifting light machine
reflections shift with movement and changing light conditions.
3D printed concrete and cork shape 36 student homes in denmark
six low-rise clusters form the student housing development arranged around shared courtyards and gardens.
CNC-cut timber modules shape SAGA's compact summerhouse in denmark
with EcoNeo, SAGA space architects brings space-habitat thinking back to earth, where every surface has a job.
sharp kayak folds aluminum sheet into unsinkable hull with cork seat
born beside the lakes of france’s morvan region, the metallic kayak turns a newly acquired press brake into an excuse to get on the water.
cork, canvas, and lunar rover cues shape this electric beach buggy 'amble one'
designed by apple and audi alumni, amble one strips the EV down to a lightweight, street legal buggy for beachy, short-range travel.
MVRDV to stack colorful WOMA housing around fornasetti mosaic plaza in miami
textile-inspired facades by MVRDV break a 163-home miami development into stacked blocks around a mosaic public plaza.
phillipe starck's tapering tower sprouts in ecuador for YOO GYE residential project
spanning 46 floors. YOO GYE seamlessly connects with the surrounding landscape.
gridded peach residential facade rethinks affordable housing in miami
the project proposes incremental density within a limited urban footprint.
pilar zeta brings iridescent postmodernist shapes to miami beach with 'the observer effect'
the chromatic colonnade of pilar zeta's 'the observer effect' now stands at the shelborne, and will be on view throughout miami art week 2025.
MVRDV to stack colorful WOMA housing around fornasetti mosaic plaza in miami
textile-inspired facades by MVRDV break a 163-home miami development into stacked blocks around a mosaic public plaza.
MVRDV brings its vertical village concept to shenzhen with mixed-use cultural hub
the mixed-use cultural center revisits a fifteen-year-old urban idea, breaking a conventional commercial complex into a stack of individually scaled volumes.
how architecture has made space for animals across history
rom pigeon towers and silkworm lofts to aristocratic stables and industrial farms, architecture has long organized space around nonhuman life.
sculptural birdhouses emerge from children’s intuitive drawings and imagination
the workshop-based project expands children’s intuitive visual expression.
dark timber A&A house reinterprets traditional barn form within polish pine forest
shaped by the existing trees, terrain, and changing seasons, the home is designed to feel less like an object in the landscape and more like a natural part of it.
black asphalt and birch plywood shape compact retreat within czech barn
the box in the barn creates a seasonal retreat within a rural family homestead.
beads, crystals, and steel visualize cloud formations within exhibition in china
fields of resonance transforms shifting skies into tactile paintings, sculptures, and spatial installations at almine rech shanghai.
mineral stone wall enclosure frames tectoniques’ cultural center in france
stone, timber, and planted courtyards support the center’s mediterranean climate strategy.
a 1970s relic revived: tectoniques renovates maryse bastié school in france
tectoniques sees the maryse bastié school as emblematic of the often-criticized architectural legacy from the 1970s.
ADN FÓRUM turns madrid pink with art, design and a temporary ‘dry port’
ADN FÓRUM brings installation art, architecture and design to plaza de colón from september 24 to 27.
art paris 2026 returns to grand palais exploring language and reparation in modern art
from april 9-12, art paris 2026 reclaims the grand palais with a curated mix of contemporary design, emerging talent, and major art prizes.
homo faber 2026 brings 500 craft artists to venice in es devlin's 'island of light'
es devlin’s 15 installations use light, water, mirrors, movement, and sound to reshape how visitors encounter contemporary craft.
what we learned: crafting the future
we look back at how designboom's latest chapter presents craft as an approach to the world that values attentiveness over speed, collaboration over isolation, and long-term stewardship over short-term production.
manifesta 16 and the past, present, and future of ruhr’s churches
twelve churches across four cities in germany come alive with contemporary art, performances, and community events.
‘impossible to ignore’ by SICIS unites fine jewelry, interior design and artistic mosaics in milan
SICIS joins milan design week 2026 with ‘impossible to ignore’ environments, envisioned to unite artistic mosaics, furniture, and fine jewelry.
the art of the miniature staircases at cooper hewitt design museum
somewhere between utilitarian model and artistic statuette, these small steps display a mastery of miniature making.
deliberately uncomfortable stainless steel chair turns sitting into social commentary
polished, reflective and resolutely unsympathetic to lounging, the chair turns the simple act of sitting into something rather more loaded.
ICON uses one construction system to 3D-print radically different ideas of home
ICON employs large-scale 3D-printing to build affordable housing, suburban communities, private homes and desert retreats.
ICON to build more 3D printed homes for homeless residents in austin, texas
the construction technology company has already served the unhoused community in the village over the past four years with 17 homes and facilities.
helen & hard revives viking boatbuilding with whole-tree cabin on norway’s atlantic coast
helen & hard pairs viking-era boatbuilding logic with robotic milling to shape cabin sande’s expressive timber frame.
PAX embeds cavernous museum into norway’s fjord landscape
the danish studio proposes 'the cave' museum to appear as a narrow crevice in the sloping landscape.
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competitions 
Portugal Long Table Restaurant $ 11,635.00 USD deadline: january 11th, 2027 2026 NY Architectural & Interior Design Awards Season 2 deadline: november 5th, 2026 Kinderspace: Architecture for Children's Development competition / Edition #4 $ 11,773.00 USD deadline: november 30th, 2026 New York High Falls Riverfront Market $ 10,000.00 USD deadline: january 18th, 2027 2026 NY Product Design Awards Season 2 deadline: november 5th, 2026 Call for Entries: UX Design Awards - Spring 2027 deadline: november 15th, 2026 The Architect’s Chair Stockholm Furniture Fair Edition $ 9,120.00 USD deadline: january 5th, 2027 Buildner’s Unbuilt Award 2027 $ 56,305.00 USD deadline: october 18th, 2027 Buildner’s Unbuilt Award 2026 $ 115,875.00 USD deadline: october 20th, 2026 WDC 2028 Busan Pavilion International Design Competition $ 46,666.00 USD deadline: october 26th, 2026 all competitions
Portugal Long Table Restaurant $ 11,635.00 USD deadline: january 11th, 2027 
2026 NY Architectural & Interior Design Awards Season 2 deadline: november 5th, 2026 
Kinderspace: Architecture for Children's Development competition / Edition #4 $ 11,773.00 USD deadline: november 30th, 2026 
New York High Falls Riverfront Market $ 10,000.00 USD deadline: january 18th, 2027 
2026 NY Product Design Awards Season 2 deadline: november 5th, 2026 
Call for Entries: UX Design Awards - Spring 2027 deadline: november 15th, 2026 
The Architect’s Chair Stockholm Furniture Fair Edition $ 9,120.00 USD deadline: january 5th, 2027 
Buildner’s Unbuilt Award 2027 $ 56,305.00 USD deadline: october 18th, 2027 
Buildner’s Unbuilt Award 2026 $ 115,875.00 USD deadline: october 20th, 2026 
WDC 2028 Busan Pavilion International Design Competition $ 46,666.00 USD deadline: october 26th, 2026 
