We all need to catch our breaths sometimes, whether to pause after a long walk or to give our arms a rest after carrying a lot of stuff. Sometimes, we might also want to sit a bit while waiting for someone or for some event but the area doesn’t have chairs or even enough space for such furniture. In these scenarios, sitting down might bring a bit of relief, but getting back up again can turn out to be more trouble than it’s worth. The ideal solution would be something that lets you rest your body just a little bit without actually going into a deeper resting state, something that perching seats are made for. This particular design, however, takes that idea even further by offering the bare minimum in style and comfort without taking up too much space and effort to use.

Designer: Addi

Chairs are designed to provide stability and comfort, taking you into their embrace so that you might not even want to get up anymore. That’s great if you’re at home or in a lounge and have plenty of time to really relax, not so much if you’re waiting for an appointment or taking a brief reprieve from a meeting. This specific need calls for a seat that encourages both rest and movement at the same time, a dichotomy that Lumber fully embraces in its similarly contrasting design elements, like a fallen tree trunk in a forest that you briefly sit on before the next leg of your journey.

At first glance, you might not even think that Lumber would be something you should sit on, much less comfortable to use. It is, however, truly designed for comfort and convenience, especially with its flame-proof wool upholstery that can be easily removed for cleaning, replacing, or exchanging. Each Lumber perching seat is color-matched, with powder-coated metal legs in deep burgundy, latte, forest green, dusty blue, and black. A side table rises from one leg on one side, a place for your stuff, vases, drinkware, and more.

Despite its comfortable materials and stable structure, Lumber’s form suggests movement and activity. That’s no surprise, really, considering its design is inspired by a woodworker’s sawhorse, which is also the reason behind its name. Just like that piece of work furniture, Lumber is pretty barebones, which makes it take up less space. You can try fitting quite a number of these in a room and still have plenty of space to move around. Or you can opt for the Lumber Wall design that can be mounted on a wall to free up even more floor space.

Lumber was designed for lingering and loitering, encouraging you to sit for a while without committing to resting completely. It also makes for an interesting artsy piece that inspires both conversation as well as playful interactions. All these while minimizing not just its physical footprint but also material and packaging, thanks to a design that is inherently both restful yet also dynamic, embracing a spirit of journey even in its manufacturing and product lifecycle.

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When you don’t have anything to do and want to kill time, you probably just search for random videos on Reels or YouTube that caters to your interest and curiosity. Lego build videos are some of the most popular ones out there. If you’re like me who’s more interested in watching people create Lego structures than actually building one myself, then these videos are catnip for you. It’s pretty interesting to see how they are able to create these masterpieces and also film them for the enjoyment of other people.

Designer: Brick Experiment Channel

The Brick Experiment Channel is a YouTube channel that is more on the experimental side (well, it’s in their name after all) and their latest video proves that. They wanted to try for the longest chain of LEGO technic gears but the catch is they have to retain the same gear ratio of 1:1 from the first gear to the last one. This means that from beginning to end, the gears have to rotate at the same speed. Spoiler alert: They were able to add up to reach a gear count of 111. Seeing them reach that number is pretty impressive especially if you watch from beginning to end.

The video is able to show the entire process from when they started with just a few gears until they reached their limit. The gears are in gray while “platform” is red so you get a very minimalist feel unlike with most lego builds where you get a cacophony of colors and shapes most of the time. Towards the end when they completed the 111 gears, they were even able to change direction and do 3 full rotations of backlash. If you have the same tools as they do then you can probably do some experimenting on your own.

There’s something infinitely satisfying about seeing all the gears going around as they keep adding to the build, similar to what we feel when watching those Rube Goldberg machine chain-reaction type of videos. This is actually an older video so you can explore some more of their newer experiments involving gears and LEGOs on their YouTube channel.

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Working from home might no longer be a buzzword these days, but sitting down anywhere with your laptop has always been a thing even before 2020. That is also why there will always be a thriving market for accessories that help make working anywhere more pleasant, even if you don’t have all the comforts and conveniences that your office or home desk may offer. But if you can’t be at your desk, why not bring your desk with you? That’s the proposition that this slim and minimalist laptop sleeve tries to make, allowing you to set up your personal working zone anywhere while also letting your phone and earbuds charge as you type your way to productivity.

Designer: Journey

No matter how durable laptops may be, you are undoubtedly tempting fate if you don’t put some protection around it before you stash it in your bag or carry it in your hand. That’s especially true for laptops with elegant covers and finishes that will undoubtedly get scratched one way or another. A laptop sleeve is a simple yet effective solution to that problem, but it serves no function other than to take up space once you’ve started using the laptop.

NEXA is a laptop sleeve that offers value beyond just protecting your laptop, although it also does that well with multiple layers of protection for those heart-stopping accidental drops and bumps. Even with that kind of durability, however, the sleeve remains slim and sleek, sporting a vegan leather outer skin that gives it a stylish character even when it’s doing nothing. You might even be tempted to just carry your laptop by hand instead of putting it inside your bag, just to flaunt the beautiful sleeve that holds it.

NEXA’s function, however, doesn’t stop there. Once the laptop is out of the sleeve, you can rest it on the table and put your laptop on it, transforming it into a stylish desk mat not unlike what you might have on your desk. Not only does it give added protection to your laptop’s bottom, it also helps demarcate your working area, which is especially useful in public spaces. And whether you’re at your desk or outside, you can still use the sleeve in some manner, functioning as a large mouse pad for buttery smooth movement.

That’s not the end of its bag of tricks, though. The flap discreetly hides two wireless chargers, a 15W MagSafe-compatible one for phones and a 5W charger for earbuds like the Apple AirPods. All of these features come at no expense to the product’s simple and lightweight design, making the NEXA laptop sleeve a dream for laptop users who always find themselves settling down in coffee shops and public places to get work done.

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A fiesta and siesta concept overlooking the splendors of Palmanova Beach

At Zel Mallorca, the sun rises quite literally in front of your bedroom window as your gaze passes rows of sail boats and yachts docked overnight to watch the same spectacle. It’s autumn so the sun rises at eight o’clock, the perfect time to head out on a morning run or to slowly sip coffee from your balcony while everything turns golden. 

Mallorca is the first of the Zel Hotels portfolio, fruit of a collaboration between tennis superstar and two-time Olympic gold medalist Rafael Nadal and Melía International. This hideaway on Palmanova Beach embraces a “fiesta and siesta” concept essential to the slow, Mediterranean lifestyle while highlighting the importance of health and wellbeing. This has been translated into various aspects throughout the hotel both visually and experientially. 

The look and feel of Zel Mallorca is very warm, organic, comforting, almost as if you’re a guest in a friend’s home. It was Álvaro and Adriana Sans of ASAH Studio who took to heart the project in renovating and redesigning the space. “Our culture and our Mediterranean roots inspired us,” says Adriana. “The space is filled with wood, natural fabrics and soft colors related to water: this is how we make the sea present in all spaces, which is what guests look for in the Mediterranean.” 

The downstairs lounge was conceived as a convivial patio made up of various seating areas and large wooden tables to socialise, work, browse around the concept store or a matcha latte or coffee paired with a slice of carrot cake from the café. This space was inspired by the open floor plan of Mediterranean homes, present in their culture since the ancient Greeks. 

Recurring elements such as water, nature and Majorcan craftsmanship are the fil rouge that unite all the spaces at Zel, starting with the Patio, continuing to the rooms and suites, passing through the spa and ending Beso Beach Restaurant. This is a breezy, beachfront chiringuito initially born in Formentera and adopted here at Zel. The epitome of beachside relaxation among banana palms, rattan lighting and wooden tables combined with a great km0 gastronomic proposal: Mediterranean flair on Basque recipes. Don’t miss the firewood octopus or the josper grilled aubergine, best enjoyed with a glass of Cava. 

Besides cozying up on the sofas and eating, which tend to be a big part of the slow-travel agenda, there is an underlying dedication to fitness and wellbeing. A twenty-four hour gym with a stack of protein bars and high-end equipment, a pop-up space that hosts pilates (almost daily) and weekly barré classes with Casa Barré, running clubs followed by healthy brunches and occasional retreats curated by Health Coach Candela Perez. 

In addition, Zel Mallorca houses a spa, beautifully designed with a neutral palette providing the ultimate white canvas for relaxation. Treatments and massages are accompanied by the sound of soft tunes and invigorating scents of essential oils, all the while you indulge in 50 minutes of calm.  If you seek sandy, barefoot tranquility where you open your curtains to find shimmering waters, that is precisely what you get find here.

Architects from the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design used a cable membrane structure and bricks of river ice to create this installation in Qinhuangdao, China, which has been shortlisted for a 2023 Dezeen Award.

A team from BIAD, led by architects Xiyan Yang, Guanjia Li and Chenzhi Yan, designed and built the Falling Hours pavilion to offer visitors a ceremonial way of marking the turn of the year.

During 2022’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, passersby were invited to collect sand from the beach in the coastal community of Aranya, where the installation was constructed.

This sand was poured through a hole on top of the structure, accumulating in its conical membrane roof, which effectively functioned as a huge hourglass.

At midnight, participants pulled on a ribbon to open this funnel, prompting the sand to rain onto the floor, while visitors wrote their wishes for the new year on the hourglass membrane.

The project drew on a similar roofing system to the one that BIAD helped to engineer for Foster + Partners’ Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

But in this case, it consisted of a circular steel structure with a diameter of six metres and a height of three metres, supported by a tensioned cable and membrane roof designed to bear the weight of two tonnes of sand.

The cable membrane structure resembled a conical hourglass, with its forces anchored in a ring beam around the perimeter and a pressurised spar at the centre.

“The centre of the hourglass is a pressurised gusset that holds up the roof and at the same time holds up the membrane at the lower end of the spokes,” said the project team.

The lower part of the membrane consisted of a semi-transparent PTFE mesh laminate, while the roof covering the upper part of the spokes was made using an ETFE plastic that allowed light to enter the interior.

Expert ice sculptors from the Harbin Ice Festival in Heilongjiang province created an outer wall around the steel framework using river ice that was clear enough to be partially see-through.

The installation’s timing coincided with Qinhuangdao’s coldest season and the ice wall was designed to last for around a month before gradually melting in the warming sun.

Sand from the beach was used to fill the hourglass and was returned to the beach as part of the ceremony. BIAD says the steel structure was recycled and the membrane was used as an exhibit to preserve the memory of this one-off event.

Falling Hours has been shortlisted in the installation design category of this year’s Dezeen Awards alongside the French pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale and a showcase of repaired objects at London’s V&A.

All photographs are courtesy of BIAD.

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