Ever wondered how salt is made? Let me give you a hint – it involves the sea, the sun, and some serious labor. Sea salt harvesting for the most part lets the sun do the job and once the water has dried up, salt crystals are harvested. And this age-old process is still practiced today. But don’t worry you no longer need to step out of your house to experience the precious moment of witnessing salt formation. Croatian firm BOIR brings this experience right to your home!

Their product, aptly named ‘SALT’, is more than just a salt container. It is a portable saltworks whose aim is to preserve the authentic tastes of the natural Mediterranean Sea salt which is extremely rich with minerals and oligo-elements – about 80 of them. ‘SALT’ comes with a bottle of – Nin 28 Bé° – which is concentrated Adriatic seawater (brine). All you have to do is pour a thin layer of this brine into the salt pan and expose it to sunlight for an hour or heat it up in the oven. When the crystal pattern appears, it can be harvested with a mini rake and is ready to be served fresh!

‘SALT’ comes in two variants – Natural and Dark. The former comes in a base of natural walnut with an oil finish and the latter, in oak with a dark oil finish. Both come with a ceramic salt pan coated in waterproof enamel, a mini hand-polished inox salt rake, and the aforementioned brine in a bottle of amber glass. They intend to add various brines from different micro-regions to their collection of offerings. On a different note, I must say I’m absolutely in love with the logo of ‘SALT’. The clever depiction of the ‘T’ as a salt rake is just superb!

This product is also an homage to the traditional and sustainable practices of sea salt harvesting that are increasingly being pushed out by industrial production processes, which they say whiten the salt just to please the eye. The disappearance of traditional saltworks threatens biodiversity and also the rich culinary culture of the Mediterranean. With ‘SALT’ they hope to mimic the human element of salt creation and I for one am in complete awe of this peaceful dining ritual!

Designers: Vlatka Leskovar – Zidar and Ivan Zidar of BOIR

BiodiverCity is a masterplan by BIG that will see three islands built off the shore of Penang Island, Malaysia, connected by an autonomous transport network.

The vast land reclamation project, which will encompass 1821 hectares, is being developed by BIG for Penang State Government in collaboration with Ramboll and local architect Hijjas.

Each island is modelled on the form of a lilypad and will be composed of mixed-use districts, 4.6 kilometres of public beaches, 242 hectares of parks and a 25-kilometre-long waterfront.

The goal of  BiodiverCity is to create a “global destination” that facilitates sustainable economic and cultural growth of Penang Island, while protecting the biodiversity of its coastal zones and natural habitats.

According to BIG, buildings throughout BiodiverCity will largely be constructed using a combination of bamboo, Malaysian timber and “green concrete” that uses recycled materials as aggregate.

The island districts are expected to each support between 15,000 to 18,000 residents and will all rely on localised water resources, renewable energy and waste management.

They will also be connected by an autonomous water-, air- and land-based transportation network to make BiodiverCity a car-free environment, prioritising bikers and pedestrians.

Around the buildings and districts will be a web of ecological corridors called buffers, which range between 50 and 100 metres and be used as nature reserves and parks to support biodiversity.

All this is in support of the state’s Penang2030 vision, for which the goal is to become “family-focused, green and smart”.

“Our masterplan proposal, BiodiverCity, supports the Penang2030 vision with a clear focus on livability, on stimulating a socially and economically inclusive development, and on environmental sustainability for future generations,” said BIG.

“BiodiverCity will be a new sustainable global destination where cultural, ecological and economic growth is secured and where people and nature coexist in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet at the southern shore of Penang Island.”

The proposal is the winning entry of a competition held by the Penang State Government for its Penang South Islands development – an existing plan for a land reclamation project off the island’s south coast.

BIG’s proposal was selected ahead of five other finalists, including Foster + Partners and MVRDV, in recognition of its ambition to “promote coexistence with nature”.

“If Penang is defined by its rich cultural diversity and its abundant biodiversity, we would like to envision the Penang South islands as an archipelago where the two can coexist in a human-made ecosystem, expanding and enhancing one another,” said BIG founder Bjarke Ingels.

“We proposed the creation of urban lilypads organised by a cellular structure of urban districts connected by natural patches and corridors for habitats,” he continued.

The first island in the masterplan is called Channels. This will comprise the Civic Heart, an area for government and research institutions, and the Cultural Coast district that will resemble Penang state’s capital, George Town.

As the heart of the island will be a 200-hectare digital park, which BIG says will invite locals and guests to “explore the world of technology, robotics and virtual reality”.

Mangroves is the second and central island of BiodiverCity, which will be dedicated to business-focused districts. At its centre will be the Bamboo Beacon – a facility for conferences and major events.

Here, districts will be organised around a network of urban wetlands and Mangrove forests.

The final island, named The Laguna, is described by BIG as a miniature archipelago and will be composed of eight smaller islands organised around a central marina.

It comprises floating, stilted and terraced housing for residents and will also provide spawning grounds for aquatic life to help develop new marine habitats.

BIG is the architecture practice of Danish architect Ingels, which was founded in 2005. Today it has studios in Copenhagen, New York, London and Barcelona.

Elsewhere, BIG is working a masterplan for the “city of the future” with Toyota, which will be built beside Mount Fuji in Japan.

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If you love coffee and enjoy the process of making a perfect cup, you know the importance of not only getting a good roast but also a good grind. Every coffee machine uses a different type of grind – espresso machines that give you lattes and cappuccinos use a fine grind while a drip coffee maker or french press will use a coarse grind. The wrong grind will give you a complete failure and it won’t be coffee, it’ll just be hot bean water and we don’t want that. So how can we take the guesswork out of grinding beans and not ruin our specialty roasts? Simple – just get the Ode grinder!

Ode is a powerful and precise home grinder with professional cafe grade capabilities. It was designed so that you can enjoy a perfect cup of coffee every single day no matter what brewing process you choose – pour-over, french press, cold brew, espressos, or drip! This coffee grinder is probably the only one you will ever need because it comes with 31 grind settings and a distinctive single dose load bin for maximum bean freshness. And unlike the big cafe machines, this little appliance does everything quietly. Fellow and Branch wanted to create a grinder that also looked like an appliance worthy of sitting on your countertop. The all-black grinder looks like a sleek espresso machine in itself with a large intuitive dial that allows you to easily choose the type of grind you want. I also love the magnetic base so the container will not move out of place and no coffee will be wasted!

Fellow has some of the best coffee accessories in the game and a grinder was a necessity for their range but, they wanted to do it right and make something that actually would make a difference to your coffee without requiring you to be an expert. “We were also tired of affordable grinders claiming they could do ‘everything’. But when push comes to shove, these grinders were good at brewed coffee but less than mediocre at espresso (or vice versa). After 26 months of user research, prototyping, and lab testing Ode Brew Grinder was born,” says the team. Ode makes it possible to have consistent quality and precision with your ground beans and is versatile enough to work with any brewing process. It is truly an ode to coffee grinders!

Designer: Branch Creative for Fellow Products

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One of only three Black Master Sommeliers in the world, the wine expert is ushering in a new generation of Black producers and palates

The wine world remains glaringly white—from producers to shop-owners and especially the elite group of Master Sommeliers. In fact, there are just three Black Master Sommeliers in the world. Carlton McCoy Jr, the President and CEO of Demeine Estates and Napa’s Heitz Cellar, was the second to earn the title and he’s an unwavering advocate for diversity and advancement within the industry. He has joined the Court of Master Sommeliers’ Diversity Board, the James Beard Foundation’s Board of Trustees and founded The Roots Fund with Tahiirah Habibi and Ikimi Dubose, which will assist Black and Indigenous individuals in the wine industry with financial support, scholarships, job placements, training sessions and more.

McCoy Jr’s efforts are commendable at face value, and incredible given that his career spans less than 15 years. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 2006 and quickly ascended the ranks at restaurants like Per Se and Aquavit and assumed the role of wine director at Aspen’s Little Nell in 2013, where he managed a cellar containing more than 20,000 wines. He’s since shifted to managing estates and motivating younger individuals who may not see themselves represented in the industry right now, but are determined to change that. We spoke with McCoy Jr just after the launch of The Roots Fund to discuss diversity in the wine industry, his intention with Demeine Estates, drinking and more.

Can you please explain Demeine Estates and the intention behind it?

Demeine Estates is a Napa Valley-based négociant of fine wines created by the Lawrence family, owners of Heitz Cellar, and myself. Demeine Estates will represent a curated domestic and international portfolio. The aim is to encourage partnerships so that wineries may focus their efforts on continuing high-quality viticulture and wine production, while exploring innovative and sustainable winemaking and farming practices. The collective was established as a resource to add value to partners in the winemaking community with an inclusive philosophy and passion for connecting.

What are the qualities you’ll look for in the wineries you’ll represent?

We focus on historically significant estates with an emphasis on agriculture and commitment with the same core values of fine winemaking that we admired when we discovered and acquired Heitz.

Will Demeine double as a way to usher in diversity? To amplify the voices and talents of marginalized winemakers and experts?

Absolutely, Demeine Estates will be an ally to people of color and we plan to be one of the leading examples for advocacy in Napa Valley and beyond. I recently launched The Roots Fund, an organization founded to create opportunities for underrepresented minorities in the wine industry. The wine brands in the Demeine Estates portfolio have pledged to support the cause.

In partnership with The Roots Fund, Demeine Estates will aid in the fight to amplify the work of people of color and provide resources and financial support through educational scholarship, wine education, mentorship and job placement.

Is  Heitz Cellar the founding winery? It’s the first and only under Demeine Estates at launch, right?

Correct, Heitz Cellar is the founding winery but not the only winery in the portfolio. Earlier this year we acquired Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville, home of the oldest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines in the Napa Valley. We will also be launching stand-alone brands Brendel and Ink Grade in the coming months, and more brands will be added to the portfolio in the next six months.

Can you explain some of the work you’ve done at Heitz Cellar since joining as  President and CEO in 2018? What has been your focus for the winery?

My focus has been upholding the quality standards that were established very early on that make Heitz so iconic. We have shifted over to biodynamic farming techniques and more natural winemaking to further our stewardship and respect for the land. I have also moved to streamline the portfolio so we can focus on maintaining a clear image for Heitz and continue the production of outstanding quality wines. We are in the process of building a new hospitality center that will allow our guests to interact with the legacy of the brand and learn more about the terroirs of the Napa Valley and our approach to maintaining the land in a holistic way.

Change starts from within, whether you are a vintner, industry leader, sales representative or educator

What does being the second Black Master Sommelier mean to you? What does it mean for Black wine drinkers/producers/industry folks? 

Being one of three Black Master Sommelier in the world is an honor and a prestigious title to hold. Though, it was an incredibly eye-opening experience when I first noticed the lack of diversity and representation in the industry. Change starts from within, whether you are a vintner, industry leader, sales representative or educator, we have a social responsibility to not only promote inclusivity for all Americans but also become an ally to the Indigenous community and people of color.

Growing up in southeast Washington, DC, we weren’t exposed to wine and it wasn’t part of our culture. At home, my family preferred beer and whiskey—I wasn’t exposed to wine until college when I started taking a wine class at the Culinary Institute of America. It was a revelation to me and opened my eyes to a completely new world. It was after that class that I knew that the wine industry was an industry that I wanted to pursue.

How will The Roots Fund work to address the lack of diversity in the  wine industry? 

The Roots Fund will provide mentorship, education and job opportunities to Black and Indigenous communities interested in pursuing a career in the wine industry. Utilizing our connections, we have secured dozens of wineries, retailers, restaurants and distributors that have committed to hiring The Roots Fund students with the appropriate qualifications and mentoring them to achieve those qualifications.

How can wine consumers work to do the same? Is it asking to be shown wines produced by Black and Indigenous producers? Can they lobby for their placement in fine restaurants and wine stores?

I think merely the support of Black wineries and wine brands goes a long way. Requesting them at your local restaurants and bottle shops gives confidence to those buyers that there is demand.

Images courtesy of Heitz Cellar

Graduate collective Soup International has designed eight community kitchens that would allow refugees and asylum seekers to enjoy “the normalcy of domestic activities”.

The kitchens were designed for the Migrant Living/Nomadic Domesticities project by Soup International – a group of eight graduates that met whilst studying the MA Interior Design course at the University of East London.

Led by course tutor Claudia Palma Romao, the eight graduates developed portable and multifunctional kitchen designs that would benefit the Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers (SDCAS).

The non-profit organisation has three day centres which provide a range of services that support asylum seekers and refugees in the London borough of Southwark, including weekly communal lunches.

After a fire destroyed the kitchen of SDCAS’ centre in ​St Mary Newington church, the organisation was in need of cooking facilities that could easily be set up within the main body of the church and, if necessary, packed up and transported for use in the other day centres when they’re hosting large-scale workshops or talks.

“Asylum seekers are often devoid of the normalcy of domestic activities and shared experiences, such as access to basic kitchens and cooking time,” said Soup International member, Aysha Farhana.

“In order to engender a sense of neutralisation in the process of belonging, in a new place, it was required to design an open kitchen, a space for sharing, collaboration and interaction.”

Farhana’s design, titled Cellule Kitchen, largely takes cues from the vaulted form of apses that surround organs in a church. It would consist of two arched, plywood-frame modules set on caster wheels – one would be dedicated to cooking and preparing food, while the other would contain cleaning appliances.

The exterior of both modules would be fitted with fold-out benches and box planters where people could grow their own produce.

The Ciborium Kitchen by Soup International’s Himani Harikrishna Ravuri is similarly informed by the aesthetic of churches.

Her stand-alone kitchen unit would come with modular dining seats that can be slotted together to form pews for St Mary Newington’s choir. When not in use, the kitchen would also be concealed by an ornamental screen, much like how an altar is sometimes covered by a four-pillared canopy called a ciborium.

“A kitchen is the heart of any home, it is a place for gatherings, a place where people feel nurtured, healed and comforted – many traditions treat the kitchen as a sacred place,” she explained.

Senuri Peththawadu’s also specifically designed her Shift.Halt.Eat kitchen to stand parallel to the linear brickwork that features on St Mary Newington’s walls.

Other members of Soup International focused on materiality when designing their kitchens. Ed Chelsea Rimando’s Eco-Kitchen would be crafted from recyclable materials such as cork and steel, while Ayca M Aydin’s Foldable Kitchen would be composed from lightweight birch-ply panels that can easily be assembled or pulled apart.

The tessellating triangular dining tables that accompany Beth Hooper’s kitchen – which she has called (Don’t) Play With Your Food! – would be made out of standard off-the-shelf elements.

“The parts included are designed to be easily accessible should anyone want to expand on the kit in the future or if any parts need replacing. This means the scope of this project is completely unlimited,” added Hooper.

Others in Soup International referenced more abstract topics – Tatiana Garcia’s reconfigurable 8-Gon kitchen design is based on the Japanese paper-folding art of origami, specifically the complex Ninja Star shape.

The gridded structure of Yuan Shiqi’s Memories Decorator kitchen, where those using SDCAS’ services would be encouraged to hang photos or mementoes, is inspired by her time spent renting different flats as a student.

“When I decorated flats with my photos and souvenirs I collected, I started to feel a sense of belonging,” Shiqi explained. “The concept of my design is to provide a sense of belonging for the people who are leaving their home country and come to the UK.”

Soup International are currently fundraising to buy materials so that one of the kitchen designs can be fully realised.

Much like the collective, London-based practice Merrett Houmøller Architects designed a mobile kitchen and pop-up dining space for asylum seekers and refugees in 2018.

Named the Befriending Kitchen, the brightly coloured unit incorporated prep and cooking facilities, as well as storage space for fold-up tables and chairs.

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