The Lamps That Will Make Paris Melt
Lebanese designer Tarek ElKassouf unveils his new Melting Lamps in Paris this September.
From his designer’s notes, Tarek ElKassouf describes ‘Minerality II’ as an exploration of materiality and surrealism in design.
The physical properties of the design elements are transferred so that the fragile light creates the illusion of melting through a rectangular block of marble.
Light elements are dropped onto the marble to mould a liquefying effect in the solid structure. The materiel used are nero marquina with reflective stainless steel or statuario with reflective brass. The base is 150mm x 150mm x 300mm and the light is 750mm.
The Melting Lamps will be presented during Paris Design Week at the Gallery S. Bensimon in Paris.
I met Tarek back in 2016 when he was part of the Squad Design creations presented during Design Days Dubai. Based between Sydney and Beirut, Tarek goggles with both the macro and micro dimensions with either large-scale projects (such a house in Lebanon) or small corporate gifts. His attention to details and materials makes him someone, although rather discreet, with whom you can count on the beauty of the finishing.
During my last trip to Australia in 2017, he shared his passion for food and introduced me his ‘Something by Tarek’ collection. The limited edition pieces are all handmade by artisans and can also be called ‘Collectible Curiosities’.
Charles Eames drove through Nuevo León nine years before he ever met Ray, a footnote so small he barely mentioned it for decades. Now it's the opening scene of Mexico's first-ever Eames retrospective.
Uzbekistan has just become the first country in Central Asia to see its twentieth-century architecture recognised by UNESCO, and Tashkent's modernist landmarks are now, officially, the youngest buildings on the World Heritage List.
How a Brazilian modernist dropped two white volcanoes into the middle of France's most rigorously rebuilt city… and won!
Concrete convictions: how seven newly independent nations built their identity in glass and reinforced concrete — and why MoMA's latest show could not have landed at a more Instagram-ready moment.
On Noticing Things: M+'s New Exhibition Asks You to Look Again at Everything You've Stopped Seeing
The Italian who made the design world uncomfortable… and then indispensable, finally gets his Tokyo moment.
A new retrospective at the Stedelijk asks an uncomfortable question: how can the designer behind Schiphol's iconic terminal have slipped so quietly out of memory?
Verner Panton at 100: The man who declared war on beige. From the Panton Chair to the Spiegel Canteen, the Vitra Design Museum’s new retrospective argues for design’s most provocative voice.
How OMA's new mushroom pavilion at Casa Wabi is turning fungi into architecture, community, and lunch.
Hella Jongerius doesn’t just make beautiful things—she makes you think differently about them. This spring, the Vitra Design Museum argues for her as one of the most influential design minds of our era.
In Singapore, a modest apartment renovation by L Architects reimagines domestic life through red brick, greenery and the spatial logic of a park. In a Park shows how a forgotten material can bring warmth, intimacy and a quietly generous way of living back into the home.
An exhibition exploring design as a situated practice, shaped by landscape, craft and material intelligence in AlUla.
Where the human hand meets ancient ground: AlUla Design Award celebrates design shaped from within.
To close this little Advent pilgrimage I wanted a Le Corbusier landmark— but not the familiar hilltop chapel at Ronchamp. Instead one in a former mining town whose industrial grit somehow suits his concrete poetry.
Stop Four: Firminy, France.
Over fifteen years in the making, this church is completely integrated in the transformation process of a neighbourhood of 670 homes.
Third stop: San Cristobal de la Laguna, Spain.
Patricia Urquiola’s exhibition at the Centre for Innovation and Design at Grand-Hornu arrives at a moment when design can no longer ignore its own implications.
#Advent2025: With its light and organic structure, this church contrasts with other religious buildings in the same city.
Second stop: Ferrara, Italy.
This Advent I am starting a tiny ritual of my own: four Sundays, four churches with architecture that caught my eye. Think of it as a short pilgrimage from the sofa — no architectural degree required, only a soft spot for good timber or a striking silhouette.
First stop: Umphang, Thailand.
Fungi: Anarchist Designers. A refreshing exhibition that casts fungi not as trendy materials but as autonomous designers with their own unruly logic, far beyond our control at the Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam.
A contemporary interpretation of Lisbon’s most beloved bakery, where Gracinha Viterbo blends heritage, craftsmanship, and modern elegance into a timeless new space.
In its fourth edition, the AlUla Design Award invites designers from around the world to take part in an open callcelebrating “The Ingenuity of the Human Hand” across two tracks: Fashion Design and Product Design.
At the World Design Congress in London, an announcement resonated with unusual urgency: the launch of The Aral School, a bold new educational initiative in Uzbekistan that blends ecology, design, and social innovation.
Helsinki Design Week is turning 20 this year. Over ten days in September, HDW will take over Suomitalo with a multifaceted programme including exhibitions, discussions, launches, workshops, and evening events, while nearly one hundred related happenings will pop up throughout the Helsinki metropolitan area.
Designmuseum Danmark presents THE POWER OF PRINT – an exhibition that shines a spotlight on the rich and often overlooked history of Danish textile printing.
This summer, the Vitra Design Museum invites visitors to experience The Shakers: A World in the Making—a groundbreaking exhibition that examines one of history’s most distinctive design movements and its unexpected relevance in the 21st century.
Friedman Benda presents the first solo gallery exhibition in the United States by Italian design studio Formafantasma.
At this year’s 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Uzbekistan Pavilion Unveils A Matter of Radiance at Venice Architecture Biennale.
At Salone del Mobile, Lambert & Fils delves into the bold and dynamic world of South Korean designer Kwangho Lee with Bolda, an unconventional new collection.
Tucked into a quiet north Toronto neighbourhood right next to the Don Valley ravine, the West Don Ravine Passive House is a personal passion project for architect Gregory Rubin.