1. V&A East Storehouse by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, London
In a case of contents outshining the container, the V&A’s national museum of everything takes the public up close and personal to a gallimaufry of precious things, from porcelain to poison darts, textiles to tiaras. Elegantly shoehorned into the gargantuan hangar that was originally the broadcasting centre for the 2012 Olympics, it’s an Amazon warehouse crammed with global treasures, setting visitors off on an odyssey of “curated transgression” through an immersive cabinet of curiosities.
2. Ismaili Centre by Farshid Moussavi, Houston, US
Subtly abstracting Islamic architectural precepts for the current age, a new social and cultural centre for Houston’s Ismaili community, which will also be enjoyed by the wider public, evokes an experiential serenity that recalls the laconic simplicity of minimalist art. Beautifully built and characterised by an inviting sense of openness, it’s “a renewal rather than a reproduction”, says its architect Farshid Moussavi; a nuanced distillation of geometric and spatial possibilities set within a luxuriant garden landscape.
3. Hans Hollein Transforms, Pompidou Centre, Paris
As the Pompidou Centre bids adieu for a five-year long renovation, its final architecture show was devoted to the work of Austrian architect Hans Hollein, a postmodernist provocateur who navigated the currents of the avant garde for five decades while designing everything from exquisite jewellery shops to pneumatic structures. Infamously, he proposed reducing architecture to a series of pills contrived to conjure spatial and sensorial experiences without going to the bother of actually constructing a building.
4. Space House: Squire & Partners, London
Something of an architectural bogeyman in his day, Richard “Colonel” Seifert specialised in monumental office developments, such as London’s Centre Point and Tower 42 in the City, once the UK’s tallest building. But he is now coming in from the cold, with renewed interest in his unapologetically modernist oeuvre. The remodelling of Space House in Kingsway breathes bold new life into one of his distinctive “corncob” towers, with 90% of the original structure retained and restored.
5. The Craft of Carpentry, Japan House, London
The tools and techniques of the exacting and beautiful craft of Japanese carpentry temporarily transformed the basement gallery of London’s Japan House into a woody wonderland of chisels and saws, mortises and tenons, and brackets of infinite intricacy. Jointing techniques rejoice in esoteric appellations, such as ant’s head, shell mouth and scarfed gooseneck. Celebrating master carpenters with the reverence of a high priesthood, it was a dazzling exposition of the skills behind centuries of timber architecture and joinery.
6. Gradel Quadrangles, New College, Oxford, by David Kohn
Love it or hate it (and apparently the students love it), David Kohn’s gorgeously eclectic housing for venerable New College channels Tolkien, Gaudí and the Teletubbies in a fruity melange of rhubarb-and-custard coloured stonework, a serpentine roof clad in polygonal scales, and a chubby tower embellished with carvings of pangolins, moles and moths. Not merely picturesque decoration, it calls attention to their plight as endangered species while pepping up the Oxford skyline.
7. Design and Disability at the V&A, London
V&A, London, until 15 February
In asserting that disability-led culture and design is much more than just ramps, this exuberant assemblage features self-tightening shoes and a hands-free vibrator, among other ingenious and pleasure-seeking devices. Designing for disabled people tends to be treated as a monolithic, tick-box exercise, but this thoughtful show explores its multifaceted expansiveness, with a welcome and overdue focus on design by disabled people, who could teach us all a thing or two.
8. Kharkiv Architectural Guide by Ievgeniia Gubkina
From Cossack military fortress to legendary modernist city, Kharkiv is now in Russia’s firing line in its attritional war against Ukraine, with 8,000 of its buildings damaged or destroyed in the last three years. Completed two months before the invasion and combining poignant personal reflection with analytic rigour, this “anti-guide book” keeps Kharkiv’s architectural riches, including the constructivist gem of the Derzhprom building, intact and alive in people’s minds as a model for the city’s postwar future.
9. Khudi Bari prototype housing, Bangladesh, by Marina Tabassum
In response to climate-driven displacement in Bangladesh, Marina Tabassum worked with affected communities to devise a practical and affordable modular housing system. A rigid and highly resilient frame of bamboo with steel connectors is designed to withstand the impact of wind and water, while corrugated sheet metal roofs simplify transport and maintenance. Facades can be made from any locally sourced material and the entire module can be rapidly assembled and dismantled by three people using basic tools.
10. Intelligens: 19th Architecture Biennale
Always a curate’s egg, this iteration of the Venice Architecture Biennale was curated by Italian architect and aspiring tech bro Carlo Ratti, better known for his robotic bartending experiments. Amid an incoherent cacophony of ideas and installations – 3D printing with bacteria, the future of space suits – highlights were hard to discern. Nonetheless, Estonia’s naff cladding exposé, Poland’s take on superstition and buildings, and Bahrain’s proposition that climate comfort is a form of social equity all stood out. Catherine Slessor
The best design of the year, as chosen by designers
Kusheda Mensah x Hem: Palma pouf
Chosen by Shawn Adams, co-founder of POoR Collective
During the 3daysofdesign festival in Copenhagen, Hem debuted a highly anticipated pouf created by designer Kusheda Mensah, marking an important milestone for the Swedish furniture brand. The launch is Hem’s first partnership with a Black designer, underscoring both Mensah’s growing influence and the brand’s commitment to broader representation in contemporary design. The pouf had already generated considerable excitement for its thoughtful form and cultural relevance, making the debut one of the festival’s most widely discussed moments.
Wuka wearable hot-water bottle
Chosen by Anoushka Rodda, co-founder of Templo branding agency
I’d love to put the new Wuka wearable hot-water bottle into the mix because it says so much about how things are shifting in women’s health. These days there are more practical products that actually make our lives easier. I remember back when I first got my period wearing the biggest, most itchy pads and being in so much pain. That’s a world away from the thoughtfully designed purposeful products which are available now.
Frances Priest’s ceramics collection Motif | Line | Colour
Chosen by Adam Nathaniel Furman, designer and author
Frances Priest’s new collection of vessels, on show in her solo exhibition at Blackwell House in Cumbria, is a set of ethereal columns, pinched inwards at their tops and bottoms. They are dusted in dense but limpid motifs that flutter over the ceramic surfaces like the autumnal ghosts of a leaf fall. They seem to be moving yet so delicate as to almost fade into translucency. I have been enamoured with Priest’s oeuvre for some time. I promise that anyone who encounters her vessels in person will fall deeply in love …
Noah Davis exhibition at the Barbican, London
Chosen by Lewis Dalton Gilbert, curator and creative director of A Vibe Called Tec
I was lucky enough to see Noah Davis’s paintings at the gallery he created, The Underground Museum in LA. What I wasn’t prepared for was the thoughtful design of this exhibition (by studios Freehaus and A Practice for Everyday Life). It brought Davis’s practice to life and delicately portrayed his ideas, adventures and artwork. I will always sing about his work to the rooftops, but less is said about the power of great exhibition design.
Showtown museum, Blackpool
Chosen by Amber Butchart, curator and fashion historian
I am a huge fan of the seaside and Blackpool is one of my favourite places. This year I visited Showtown – the museum that celebrates the entertainment heritage of this razzle-dazzle-loving town. It’s a great visit for anyone interested in Blackpool’s rich history of magic, circus, illuminations and dance, and is especially good for family visits. The museum’s design allows visitors a glimpse behind the scenes at everything from Punch and Judy puppet shows to the town’s famed drag cabaret Funny Girls. I am in love with their collection of clown costumes, which includes examples by renowned French costumier Gérard Vicaire.
Alice Gomme’s textile archive at Twos, London
Chosen by Tamsin Clark, director of Tenderbooks, bookshop and event space
For three days in April the tiny shop space Twos on Hackney Road showed a selection of extraordinary clothing from Alice Gomme’s textile archive for sale. Her collection of rare garments and repaired textiles were found in European rag yards, and to view these salvaged clothes up close was remarkable. I found myself noticing small details in the wear of a collar or the fade of a pattern. This was an opportunity to look at the overlooked. As Gomme explained in an accompanying publication: “Looking at these pieces helps us connect to the past. Each piece, each repair holds a memory.”
Oríkì: Material Affirmations in Three Acts monograph by Nifemi Marcus-Bello
Chosen by Andu Masebo, product designer
Named Oríkì after the Yoruba practice of praise poetry, the first monograph of Nigerian-born artist Nifemi Marcus-Bello coincided with his solo exhibition at Tiwani Contemporary, Nigeria. The canon of the mainstream design world has long centred on “the West” – its movements, its narratives and its influence on our collective imagination. In Nifemi’s practice, I find a profound significance in his directing of his work toward his country of birth. To me, his work signals a shift in the culture: a moment when the eyes of the world are turning toward new centres of creativity, expanding the very idea of where design leadership can emerge, changing how the history of design will be written in the future.
Le Corbusier executive desk in The Electric Kiln show, London
Chosen by Emma Glynn, creative director, Wedgwood
This lived-in exhibition occupied a building which was once British potter Emmanuel Cooper’s studio and home, now restored, owned and lived in by curator Rajan Bijlani. Every piece had its own quiet brilliance, from Lucie Rie to Frank Auerbach, but Le Corbusier’s executive desk stayed with me long after. The engineering is so perfectly judged that it grounds the entire space; its calm authority, precision and purity of purpose are a true feat of design. The remarkable works in this show were so purposefully curated they felt like part of the living space. The whole experience was a privilege – an immersive, quietly meditative dialogue of material, technique and memory.
Ibraaz cultural institution, London
Chosen by Eva Langret, director of Frieze art fair
Ibraaz opened this autumn to great acclaim. Created by Kamel Lazaar Foundation – a non-profit cultural organisation rooted in Tunisia and across the Middle East and north Africa – it brings a much-needed space for art and ideas from the Global Majority to the city. Set in a Grade II–listed building in Fitzrovia and redesigned by architect Sumayya Vally, it draws inspiration from diasporic spaces in London. Built in the early 20th century, the building has transformed from a synagogue to a residence, a club, and now a cultural centre. It’s a place for artists and thinkers to meet, exchange ideas and build new connections. Ibraaz launched with work by artist Ibrahim Mahama based on his research into Ghana’s post-independence history, and its upcoming programme spans talks, screenings, music, and residencies.
Loewe teapots
Chosen by TF Chan, director of Collect art fair
At this year’s Milan Design Week, Loewe stole the show with an exhibition of 25 teapots commissioned from the world’s leading artists. One, by Japanese ceramicist Takayuki Sakiyama, looked as though it was poured from soft-serve ice-cream. Another, by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola, resembled a lumpy squirrel, meant to be held by its tail. A third, from Pritzker Architecture prize laureate Wang Shu, was a mint-green cuboid with a sliced-off corner in place of a spout. These vessels were whimsical and puzzling, but consistently brilliant – a testament to erstwhile creative director Jonathan Anderson’s knack for convening contemporary craft talent. It also offered proof, amid an arms race of ambitiously scaled installations at design weeks around the world, of the value of small objects of exceptional quality.
Mary Woolaston statue by Marcia Bennett-Male
Chosen by Sumitra Upham, associate director of curatorial and public practice at Wellcome Institute
This remarkable public statue, handcrafted by British artist and stonemason Marcia Bennett-Male, honours Mary Woolaston. As legend has it, Mary was a Black woman and keeper of a well in 17th-century King’s Cross known for its chalybeate waters that she supplied to people as a form of healing. The absence of Black working-class histories has left her story overlooked, but this statue can now be seen at Calthorpe Community Garden in Camden – the former site of the well. It has been designed to inspire communal healing and remind us of our shared humanity. The work forms part of the Black Mary Project, an initiative to honour Mary and her well.
Seat for Surrender by Carlos H Matos
Chosen by Ingrid Schroder, director of Architectural Association School
Architect and sculptor Carlos H Matos’s Seat for Surrender was produced for the group exhibition A Stubborn Man and a Hermit Walk Into a Bar, which was shown at Mexican architect and muralist Juan O’Gorman’s iconic 1940s Nancarrow House in Mexico City. Made from plywood boards, the chair manages to capture the socialist and nationalist political spirit of O’Gorman’s architecture. The strength and quiet humour of the piece is typical of Matos’s creative work. Compiled by Alice Fisher
