Architecture, product, and visual culture — narrated.
Daily design briefing — architecture, product design, branding, and the practitioners shaping how things look and feel — narrated by the Storyflo persona desk.
Dana Design Brief — Audo House opens in NYC, ODA's chamfered Manhattan limestone, and a cemetery that powers itself with cremation
Storyflo Daily·3 minWelcome to Storyflo Daily Design.
Today's curated set
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With a new summer collection, Moncler wants to prove it’s not just about winterwear
Moncler is expanding its brand identity beyond winterwear with the launch of its new summer collection, aiming to showcase a broader range of stylish options for warmer weather. The collection features a variety of high-end pieces, including jackets, dresses, and bodysuits, with prices reflecting the luxury market. The summer lineup includes standout items such as a £1,260 jacket and a £1,155 jacket worn underneath, demonstrating the brand's commitment to versatile layering. Other notable pieces include a £1,040 dress and a £715 bodysuit, all designed to appeal to fashion-forward consumers looking for chic summer attire. Moncler's strategy highlights its desire to redefine its image, traditionally associated with cold-weather gear, and position itself as a year-round luxury brand. This shift reflects broader trends in the fashion industry, where brands are increasingly diversifying their offerings to attract a wider audience. As Moncler ventures into summer fashion, it aims to maintain its reputation for quality and style while appealing to customers seeking fashionable options for the warmer months. The collection's release is a significant step in the brand's evolution, showcasing its ability to innovate and adapt in a competitive market.
For artist and designer Talin Hazbar, every fragment of rock tells a story
__DEGRADED__ Left: research references for Talin Hazbar’s installation inspired by traditional Syrian courtyard fountains. Right, Hazbar with a model of her fountain installation for the <a href="https://designdoha.org.qa/en/biennial/">Design Doha Biennial</a>’s ‘Arab Design Now’ exhibition in November 2026
Dezeen·8 minArching motion-informed amphitheatre among projects from University of Dundee
The University of Dundee's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design is showcasing innovative projects from its Interior and Environmental Design program. Among the highlights is a creative redesign of an amphitheatre inspired by dance, alongside student housing in a renovated church and accommodations for cancer patients and their families, all emphasizing well-being. Ben McArthur's project, "Relic," is a furniture collection that repurposes construction waste into artistic pieces, exploring the value of overlooked materials. Cherie Shek's "Dreamscape" is a sleep retreat designed to promote tranquility and restorative sleep, featuring biophilic designs that enhance well-being through natural elements. Filip Lesniewski's "Re-Mind" reimagines a high-rise housing block in Dundee, utilizing principles of neurodesign to create a supportive living environment that fosters mental clarity. Other notable projects include Holly Lonie's "Forbes," a residential pod for cancer patients that focuses on creating a warm, domestic atmosphere rather than a clinical one. Kayla Adamson's "The Assembly" transforms a church into a vibrant student living space, addressing issues of loneliness and identity in urban settings. Kyle Petrie's "Re-Construct" emphasizes adaptive reuse by repurposing demolition waste into new materials, while Maria Kostova's "Time Out" lounger invites users to slow down and reflect, drawing inspiration from various cultural lounging rituals. These projects reflect a dynamic intersection of design, architecture, and social issues, showcasing the creativity and thoughtfulness of the students at DJCAD. The work will be on display at the Art and Design Undergraduate Degree Show in May 2026.
inside tilda swinton’s ‘ongoing’ world of ghosts, garments, and artistic fellowship
Tilda Swinton recently performed at the Onassis Foundation in Athens, presenting a piece called A Biographical Wardrobe alongside French fashion historian Olivier Saillard. The performance involved Swinton sharing personal stories tied to various garments, including a pink cardigan from her father and a kilt covered in her late dog’s fur. This act transformed clothing into emotional artifacts, highlighting themes of memory, grief, and collaboration. The performance is part of a larger exhibition titled Ongoing, which showcases Swinton’s artistic journey through films, installations, and collaborations with notable figures like Pedro Almodóvar and Derek Jarman. Rather than focusing on individual genius, the exhibition emphasizes collective creativity and the importance of relationships in the artistic process. Swinton describes the exhibition as a "seedbed of work," designed to evolve over time and resist closure, with many installations newly commissioned or intentionally left unfinished. Swinton's philosophy centers on the idea that the relationships formed during the creative process are more significant than the final products. She likens these relationships to a tree, where the trunk represents the connections and the branches symbolize the conversations that lead to artistic outputs. This approach challenges the contemporary culture of individual branding and isolation, which Swinton has observed among younger artists. Throughout the performance, Swinton reflects on her long-standing collaborations, especially with Jarman, who significantly influenced her career. She recalls shared moments and objects, such as a sweatshirt they both wore, emphasizing the ongoing nature of their connection even after his passing. The exhibition captures the essence of these relationships, presenting a space filled with "ghosts" of past collaborators, whose influences continue to shape Swinton’s work and creative conversations.
inside vollebak’s sonic jacket, an emotional resonance chamber for the body
Vollebak's Sonic Jacket represents a shift in wearable technology, focusing on emotional resonance rather than performance metrics. Unlike conventional devices that optimize the body through data collection, this innovative jacket prioritizes sensory awareness and feeling. It features 180 inward-facing speakers that create an immersive experience by transmitting sound frequencies directly into the body, altering the wearer’s emotional and physiological states. The concept emerged from co-founder Nick Tidball's interest in how sound affects the body, inspired by the soothing frequency of a cat's purr. This led to a broader exploration of sound as a force for good, contrasting with the idea of sonic weaponry. The Sonic Jacket aims to foster a more intimate relationship between technology and the body, emphasizing emotional immediacy over productivity. The jacket's design allows wearers to experience sound as vibration rather than through traditional auditory means. This unique approach transforms the experience of sound into a bodily sensation, with frequencies ranging from 4Hz to 20kHz. Early experiments with prototype speaker panels revealed profound emotional reactions, suggesting that the technology could evoke feelings of joy and connection. Tidball also draws from historical practices, positing that ancient cultures understood the effects of sound on the body more intuitively than modern society does. The Sonic Jacket aims to reconnect users with these sensory experiences, creating an immersive environment where listening becomes a holistic bodily experience. The jacket's design balances the need for wearability with the desire for deep sensory engagement, ultimately redefining the role of wearable technology in our lives.
La Biennale di Venezia Inaugurates New Home for Its Historical Archive at the Arsenale
La Biennale di Venezia just opened a brand‑new home for its Historical Archive right inside the Arsenale, and it feels like a big step for the whole institution. They’ve taken the archive’s collections and research hub and settled them in a freshly restored part of the Arsenale, turning it into a permanent headquarters that blends conservation labs, research rooms, public consultation spaces, and a program of cultural events—all under one historic roof. The move isn’t just about storage; it’s meant to weave the archive into the everyday life of the Biennale. By placing the research centre where the exhibitions happen, they’re making it easier for curators, artists, and visitors to dip into the past while they’re looking at contemporary work. It also gives scholars a more accessible spot to study the rich history of the Biennale’s own legacy. To celebrate, they ran a three‑day program that felt more like a festival than a formal opening. There were performances, talks, and conversations that invited the public to explore the archive’s treasures, and guided tours let people see how the old and new coexist in the Arsenale’s stone walls. All in all, the new International Centre for Research on Contemporary Arts is set to become a lively hub, linking the Biennale’s historic records with its future shows, and giving everyone—from students to seasoned curators—a chance to engage with the archive in a more hands‑on, public way.
How Buildner’s Concrete Pavilion Winners Are Rethinking Architecture's Most Common Material
The Concrete Pavilion competition just wrapped up, and the winners are doing something surprisingly fresh with a material most of us picture as plain gray slabs. Instead of treating concrete as a boring, static thing, these designers turned it into a playground for light, texture, and even sound. One of the projects uses thin, rippled panels that catch the sun at different angles, creating a shifting pattern of shadows that makes the whole pavilion feel alive as the day moves on. It’s a reminder that concrete can be as dynamic as any glass or steel structure if you think about how it interacts with its environment. Another winner went the opposite direction, embracing the heft of concrete but softening its presence with a series of recessed niches that double as acoustic chambers. When you step inside, the space feels surprisingly intimate, and the walls actually help mellow the noise of the surrounding city. It’s a clever way to show that concrete isn’t just about brute strength—it can also shape the way we hear and feel a place. The third standout design plays with the material’s tactile side. The team poured concrete into molds that leave a subtle, almost fabric‑like imprint on the surface, giving the walls a gentle, warm texture you’d never expect from stone. They paired that with a low‑tech ventilation system that pulls fresh air through hidden channels, proving that sustainability can be built right into the material itself. All three projects share a common thread: they treat concrete not as a finished product but as a starting point for experimentation. By bending, carving, and layering the material, they open up new possibilities for how we occupy and experience built spaces. It’s a reminder that even the most familiar materials still have secrets waiting to be uncovered.
From Sacred to Public: 5 Disused Churches Reimagined as Cultural Spaces
__DEGRADED__ The conversion of disused religious temples through cultural programs constitutes one of the most compelling adaptive reuse strategies in contemporary urban planning. This functional compatibility seems to be rooted in the specific characteristics of churches: their central naves offer large-scale, clear floor plans and monumental cross-sections that easily accommodate the volumetric requirements of museums, theaters, or community hubs. Furthermore, the acoustic properties inherent to their vaulted ceilings, combined with intentional natural lighting filtered through stained glass windows or domes, create the spatial conditions for activities ranging from the performing arts to the exhibition of cultural artifacts. By assuming a public and cultural role, these buildings not only avoid demolition or physical abandonment but also preserve their status as urban and identity landmarks within the city fabric, revitalizing their immediate surroundings without altering their historical significance.
Lebanon's World Heritage Sites Endangered Amid Ongoing War
__DEGRADED__ Following over two years of systematic destruction of life, habitat, and essential facilities in the Gaza Strip, a new front of war in Southwest Asia was announced on February 28th, 2026. Since then, US-Israeli military attacks have had a human and infrastructural impact on Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan. In the months since, the attacks have only intensified, reaching the deepest ground advance into Lebanese territory in 26 years and leading to mass displacement in the southern part of the country. This latest stage of the conflict marks the sixth Israeli invasion of Lebanon since 1978, resuming a nearly 50-year history of Israeli military interventions in the country. While a ceasefire agreement was supposed to take effect on 27 November 2024 and expire on 2 March 2026, evidence of the destruction of towns and World Heritage Sites shows that it was never truly respected. UNESCO has consistently issued condemnations of "unlawful attacks against cultural property," the latest one responding to the "ongoing escalation of hostilities" on May 29th, 2026.
Coronette by Sara Schoenberger Animates Static Space
__DEGRADED__ Our world is defined by movement. Atoms, microbes, leaves in the wind – everything moves, even if we cannot always perceive it. Infusing static space with a sense of motion and style, Sara Schoenberger presents Coronette, a lighting collection that feels very distinctly like it is going places. Having made their debut at this year’s Afternoon Light, these pieces present a compelling dialogue between trajectory, modernity, ornament, and fantasy. As if ribbons were flickering through the air and carving their own lithe pathways, the Coronette collection features thick brass bars coaxed into fluid, sweeping curves. The gesture draws from a long decorative lineage: in Roman marble reliefs, garlands and ribbons frequently appeared as symbols of coronation ceremonies. Here, however, Schoenberger reimagines those ribbons not as embellishment, but as the primary structure of the design. Each flick of metal sends a new bulb into the ether, regularized around a central axis and grounded by precise symmetry. In Coronette 1, that axis is the bulb itself, casting a soft, almost theatrical glow onto the interior below. The hand-blown, mushroom-shaped glass is available in three colors: Opal, a light cream; Pistachio, a warm green that lifts toward yellow when illuminated; and Apricot, a warm, sunset orange. Three hand-applied metal finishes are also available: Waxed Brass, Pewter, and Verdigris. Together, the gradient glass and patinated metal lend the petite pendant warmth, richness, and a subtle sense of ceremony. Coronette 3 focuses on the relationship between motion and stillness, extending outward from a central point in a compact burst of action. A lovely dichotomy between softness and steel, the patina built upon the metal frame gives the piece a sense of place, as if it has always been there. Its sweeping curves feel light and a bit “extra,” but never untethered. Coronette 7 amps this playful exchange up to eleven, with six smaller globes surrounding the central, larger light. Two globes seem to flutter away above, lending the grand chandelier a vivid sense of liveliness. The result is ornamental without feeling fussy, theatrical without losing its structural clarity. Growing up with a historic preservationist architect as a mother, Schoenberger developed a sensitivity to architectural ornament, ironwork, and ancient sculpture–references that remain central to her work. Balancing traditional techniques with modern manufacturing sensibilities, she brings each project forward with a considered approach, working across residences, galleries, and commercial spaces to help bring distinct visions to life. What’s more, each iteration bolsters a broader argument for the merit of ornament as it has influenced technical and aesthetic function throughout history. To learn more about the Coronette Collection by Sara Schoenberger, visit saraschoenberger.com. Photography by Aaron Joel Santos and Karen Dias.
