While innovative manufacturing practices and a growing movement to embrace recycled, non-toxic, and low-carbon materials have revolutionized design, environmental responsibility often comes at the expense of luxurious aesthetics and top-of-the-line performance. For Cosentino, however, the next generation of mineral surfaces is distinguished by a seamless marriage of form, function, and environmentally responsible design. Case in point? The Spanish brand’s evolving Hybriq+ technology recently marked another milestone with the launch of Silestone XM, a standout collection of hybrid mineral surfa ..read more

Paying homage to both the history and cultural heritage of Newfoundland and the historical significance of wallpaper itself, the Fogo Island Collection by Christopher Farr Cloth and Fogo Island Workshops resurrects and reinterprets four original designs that once graced the walls of the iconic Fogo Island Inn.  Cheerful and full of life, the recently launched wallpaper and textile collection is the result of a creative meeting of the minds between Zita Cobb and the Fogo Island team (Cobb is also the founder of Shorefast, the parent charity behind Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island Workshops an ..read more

Exciting news! AZURE is thrilled to announce some of our confirmed speakers for the Human/Nature conference, taking place October 24 and 25 in Toronto. Human/Nature will bring together designers, architects, urbanists, civic leaders and more for two days of conversations about how we can work together to collectively mitigate climate change through proven design solutions. The event will take place at George Brown’s Waterfront Campus and include keynotes, panels, workshops – and field trips! We are also excited to present our new website: conference.azuremagazine.com, which will be continuousl ..read more

Architecture is a vessel for cultural expression. From Douglas Cardinal’s Canadian Museum of History and Raymond Moriyama’s Science North to John and Patricia Patkau’s Audain Art Gallery, the country’s public galleries and museums claim a leading place in the national design discourse, providing a civic lens through which we understand culture, art, history, and nature. Yet, across Canada, the lens is seldom inverted; our galleries and museum programs rarely focus on architecture. Fortunately, there are notable exceptions. Last fall, I visited the elegant KPMB-designed Harrison McCain Pavilion ..read more

While in many parts of the world, outdoor furniture has a short season, that doesn’t mean that the design of al fresco spaces should take a back seat. This year’s launches prove that outdoor products can be every bit as comfortable, functional and stylish as their interior counterparts. And, thanks to manufacturing innovations, they are also durable enough to stand up to outdoor conditions — whatever the weather. Below, we’ve rounded up five standout collections that do just that: 1 ARIES Café Chair by Maglin Site Furniture Aries Café Chair Comfortable. Portable. Adaptable. These were the ..read more

Back in 2018, Flos introduced Bellhop: a small but mighty table lamp that kicked off the portable lighting boom. Defined by a rounded shade that mimics a porter’s cap, the design was an immediate hit. (In 2020, streetwear brand Supreme even released its own special edition, cementing the lamp’s place as an unlikely status symbol among sneaker heads.) The original portable Bellhop table lamp… and the Supreme special edition. For Barber Osgerby — the London team led by Ed Barber and Jay Osgerby that has envisioned everything from the 2012 Olympic torch to Apple’s task chair of choice ..read more

If two realms of work can be said to occupy opposite sides of the spectrum, they might be the industrial factory and the A.I. company. Standout examples of both types of workplace are featured in our May/June 2024 issue. WXY’s and Body Lawson’s The Peninsula bakes the factory typology into a new affordable housing community in Hunts Point, New York, where food processing is the literal bread and butter of the local economy. While the Bronx neighbourhood has long been a significant commercial zone, over the past several decades, its residents have suffered higher-than-average rates of poverty ..read more

Textiles are one of the most under-used and underappreciated tools in the designer’s tool kit. They soften the hard edges of modern materials and interiors to add comfort, intimacy, acoustic buffering and pure sensual pleasure. And every January, Frankfurt’s giant Heimtextil exposition asserts itself as one of the world’s most important bazaars for this most tactile of design elements. Along its hundreds of fabric-lined corridors, the seduction is relentless and palpable. In one section, you feel like you’re strolling through some ethereal Moroccan souk, and then, in the next hall, a jungle of ..read more

1 Brady Dining Table by Minotti Designed for Minotti, the pared-back and rational geometry of Rodolfo Dordoni’s Brady dining table puts the emphasis on the richly veined marble top (variants include Grigio Orobico, Calacatta, Marron Damasco and Nero Marquina), which is placed within a lenticular-shaped frame (in matte Moka scratchproof lacquer), similar to a precious jewel within a ring setting. Combined with the hefty yet handsome metal cylindrical base with decorative ferrule (in satin finish bronze or matte Moka), Brady makes an undeniably striking impression. 2 Palatine Dining Table by ..read more

1 Bridge by Tonone As with the piece of infrastructure that inspired it, the Bridge light by Tonone founder and designer Anton de Groof features multiple evenly distributed supports that maintain balance along the linear design. The dimmable LED is sandwiched between two lengths of transparent recycled Plexiglas — in Fog White, Toxic Green or Lava Orange (shown) — and the power is conducted by the steel-cable suspension for an ultra-clean look. The pendant is available in spans of 110, 150, 180 and 220 centimetres. 2 Echo by COR Munich-based emerging designer Lukas Heintschel describes h ..read more