Athens-born artist and self-taught designer Harry Rigalo works at the edge between design and sculpture, where objects hover between furniture, relic, and offering. His practice approaches materials as active systems rather than tools. ‘I stopped seeing materials as isolated objects and started understanding them as parts of a system that activates space and the body,’ he tells designboom.  

This approach is currently reflected in Forms Without Briefs, Rigalo’s exhibition at The Great Design Disaster in Milan, on view until December 30th. In recent months, clay has become central to his practice. Raw, unstable, and time-bound, it collapses drawing and building into a single gesture, forcing the maker into constant dialogue with the material. ‘Clay never gives itself completely. You don’t decide. You negotiate,’ he says. The openness of the material, until the final, irreversible moment of firing, reinforces a way of working grounded in uncertainty, correction, and presence. designboom discusses with the designer his early years on Olympic-scale construction sites, his recent immersion in clay, and his commitment to process over outcome.

all images by Luigi Fiano, unless stated otherwise

from construction sites to process-led practice

Harry Rigalo’s relationship with making was formed early and physically. At fourteen, he began working on Olympic-scale construction sites in Athens, handling concrete and steel and learning through fatigue, repetition, and failure. That ‘unglamorous’ education instilled an instinctive understanding of weight, tension, and structure that continues to guide his work today. The knowledge never became a set of rules; instead, it remained something felt. ‘The result isn’t meant only to be explained, but to be felt,’ the artist notes.

His early practice was marked by structure and composition, drawing from collage and music, where materials operated like notes within a score. Over time, however, that score loosened and process began to outweigh outcome. ‘Process is a space where participation matters more than control,’ Rigalo explains during our conversation. 

Across his work, function remains present but unsettled. Some objects behave as chairs, vessels, or holders, while others resist typology altogether. Function, for Rigalo, can clarify but also constrain. ‘Function can make an object easier to read. Removing that obligation opens a different kind of relationship,’ he reflects. Read on for our full discussion with the Greek designer.

Harry Rigalo works at the edge between design and sculpture

interview with harry rigalo

Designboom (DB): You found your first training ground at olympic-scale construction sites at the age of fourteen. How do those physical lessons, weight, tension, fatigue, failure, still shape the way you design and build today?

Harry Rigalo (HR): I didn’t start from a desire to design objects. I started from a desire to step outside the world I already knew. At fourteen, through a family connection, I found myself on construction sites preparing for the 2004 Olympic Games, a strictly structured environment based on studies, drawings, and constructional precision. It was a large-scale undertaking where theory and practice coexisted, but without room for personal narrative or expression. I worked with concrete, steel, wood, plastic, and brick.

At the time, I didn’t know what this experience would become. It was physically demanding and eventually not something I wanted to pursue professionally, but it gave me a deeply embodied understanding of materials. I learned how weight is transferred and how it translates differently depending on function, how structures behave, how materials react, how they are worked, and how different elements are combined so that something individual becomes functional within a much larger system and scale.

Years later, when I began placing materials myself, that knowledge resurfaced almost instinctively, not as technical rules, but as a physical sense. I stopped seeing materials as isolated objects and started understanding them as parts of a system that activates space and the body. Even today, whether I’m making something functional or something that resists use, I still work through these questions. How weight moves, how a form stands, how material operates in relation to scale. The result isn’t meant only to be explained, but to be felt.

objects hover between furniture, relic, and offering

DB: You found your first training ground at olympic-scale construction sites at the age of fourteen. How do those physical lessons, weight, tension, fatigue, failure, still shape the way you design and build today?

HR: I don’t think we choose materials in a neutral way. There’s always a form of attraction involved, a desire to meet a material and allow it to respond. Clay entered my practice at a moment when I was looking for immediacy, for a way to move from thought to making without filters. In my earlier work, the process was more structured. I was composing different materials through a kind of material collage, and even then the objects were never meant to be entirely comfortable. They still answered to structure. I could say, this is a chair. But the chair itself carried a question. It asked whether a chair always needs to behave like a chair, or whether discomfort could be part of its meaning.

With clay, drawing and building collapse into the same action. What you imagine begins to exist almost immediately in your hands. That directness allows instinct and improvisation to lead rather than follow. Working at larger scales intensified this relationship. As the clay body grows, difficulty and risk increase, and the dialogue between body and material becomes sharper. Clay offers freedom, but it also has limits, and those limits are learned physically. The shift wasn’t a rejection of structure, but a desire to reduce mediation. I wanted to move from inspiration to realization more directly and to build an atmosphere rather than just an object.

Forms Without Briefs, Rigalo’s exhibition at The Great Design Disaster gallery

DB: You’ve been immersed in clay these past months. What did this material teach you that other materials never managed to?

HR: In many ways, clay became synonymous with the philosophy of this body of work. At first, I approached it as a tool. Very quickly, however, it revealed something else, the quiet nature of movement and becoming. Clay never gives itself completely. It’s always in transition. It carries a dual character, addition and subtraction, building and erasing, and through that, balance emerges through form, tension, and symbolism. You don’t decide. You negotiate.

What fascinated me most was its relationship to time. Until the very last moment before firing, everything remains open. A form can always return to something softer, more uncertain. Once it enters the kiln, that openness disappears. Clay becomes ceramic, a different material altogether, and a specific moment is fixed. In that sense, firing feels almost like a photograph. A single state is captured, removed from its previous flow, and carried forward. Not as an ending, but as a moment that continues to participate in movement from another position.

That relationship was intensely physical and compressed in time. My first encounter with clay, from early tests to the final exhibition, unfolded within seven to eight months of daily contact. Long hours, mistakes, repetitions. During that period, I worked through nearly 800 kilos of clay. Not as a way of mastering the material, but as a way of meeting it, while understanding how much I was still at the beginning. Those months were marked by silence and an almost ascetic rhythm. Days of repetition and concentration created a calm intensity that left a quiet afterimage. It was refreshing, and it set a tone. One I hope to return to in future work, finding that same quality of focus again.

Thili

DB: You’ve said the process matters more than the final result. What does process mean to you now?

HR: For me, a work always emerges from a process, and the process begins with desire. At its core, desire starts with attraction, the pull toward a body. Sometimes that participation becomes the act of making a body, an object, a form, a work. Process is how that impulse takes shape. It’s a space where participation matters more than control, and where intention is formed through engagement rather than imposed. What matters to me is not simply to be seen critically, but to be seen through the process itself.

Process reflects movement, flow, truth, and offering. I’m sensitive to the movement of the world around me, and my work is simply a way of taking part in that movement. Not stopping it, but standing within it. For me, flow is very close to truth. Nothing in flow is fixed, just as nothing in truth is fixed. Perhaps the greatest challenge is accepting a non fixed understanding of ourselves and allowing who we are to remain open and in motion.

Elksi

DB: While some of your works remain functional, others resist typology altogether. How do you decide when a piece should behave like furniture and when it should resist that expectation?

HR: When I work on a collection, I think of it as a scenographic condition, a spatial composition. Some pieces function as abstract forms within that landscape, while others act more like offerings. Furniture, and functionality in general, is already a form of offering, allowing a body to sit, rest, or engage. That sense of offering remains important to me. I still belong to the functional side of design, and it continues to inspire me. At the same time, I don’t feel the need to bind every object to use. For me, whatever is produced deserves space, whether it functions or simply exists.

This collection is also the first time I allowed myself to create purely non-functional works, pieces that exist solely through their sculptural presence. That came from another need, the desire not to always be understood. Function can make an object easier to read. Removing that obligation opens a different kind of relationship, one that asks less to be explained and more to be experienced.

Monk

DB: There’s a recurring description of a feminine energy in the forms, not gendered, but intuitive and insistent. Is that something you consciously guide, or something that simply happens when you work instinctively?

HR: It’s not something I consciously guide. It’s something I notice afterward. In my relationship with process, there’s always a quiet pull, a form of attraction that creates a relationship with the material and remains mostly silent.

What is often described as feminine energy, I experience more as a quality of presence. A softness that doesn’t weaken the form, but allows it to exist without imposing itself. A receptivity that holds space rather than demands attention.

I’m interested in creating forms and atmospheres that can be encountered rather than explained. Something you can stand in front of, or within, without being instructed how to feel. If there is femininity in that, it’s not symbolic. It’s experiential.

Aiwaitress

DB: Your work sits between object, relic, vessel, and offering. Do you feel closer to designers, sculptors, or neither, and why?

HR: I don’t feel a strong need to position myself strictly as one or the other. What matters to me more is existing within the act of making rather than within a definition. I’m deeply interested in the multiple sides of human expression, the structured and the abstract, the logical and the instinctive. Both continue to inspire me, and I feel active in both territories. Logic, for me, doesn’t cancel emotion. Sometimes it carries a purer one. And instinct, when observed carefully, has its own intelligence.

At the end of the day, everything is form. What feels essential is remaining open, playful, and free. I’m not interested in chasing trends. Movement exists around trends, not inside them. What I aim for instead is a language that carries motion while remaining grounded in classical foundations.

Isofagus

DB: What’s the next material, rhythm, or question calling you?

HR: My relationship with clay is definitely not finished. What’s emerging now is a new phase, one that respects the material’s qualities while opening it to new encounters. I’m interested in bringing other materials into dialogue with clay, not to overpower it, but to explore new relationships and a different kind of scenography. Working with clay has also pushed me strongly toward thinking about scale. Larger, more architectural forms feel increasingly important to me, and this interest in large scale work is something I know will continue to grow. Alongside this, I continue to design digitally, developing ideas and models that can evolve through collaborations within functional design, which remains an essential part of my practice.

I also know I will return to materials from earlier phases of my work. Marble, in particular, feels unfinished, ideas that were paused rather than completed. At the same time, I’m beginning to explore glazes and color in clay, opening it toward a more playful direction. This naturally connects to my interest in recycling, industrial elements, and even smaller scale objects, including jewelry.

Looking ahead, what matters most is continuity. Forms Without Briefs marked the beginning of a longer trajectory that will continue through my collaboration with The Great Design Disaster gallery. The trust and support of Joy Herro and Gregory Gatserelia encouraged me to move more freely toward non-functional and large-scale work, while keeping space open for functional design to evolve alongside it. The next step isn’t a single material or answer, but an expanded field where scale, materials, and collaborations continue to move together.

clay has become central to the artist’s practice

function remains present but unsettled | image by Antonis Agrido

clay collapses drawing and building into a single gesture | image by Antonis Agrido

some objects behave as chairs, vessels, or holders, while others resist typology altogether | image by Antonis Agrido

Harry Rigalo in his studio | image by Antonis Agrido

project info:

designer: Harry Rigalo | @harryrigalo

gallery: The Great Design Disaster | @thegreatdesigndisaster

location: Via della Moscova 15, Milan, Italy

dates: November 3rd – December 30th, 2025

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The Victorian Stone project by Iris Ceramica (part of Iris Ceramica Group) continues its evolution, focusing on the expressive power of three-dimensional wall surfaces. This extension introduces a line of white-body coverings, reinforcing the ceramic project’s ability to bring a sense of nature, peace, and solidity to contemporary spaces. Designed to be a chameleonic project that balances matter and light, the latest additions create a refined and cozy environment, offering boundless design possibilities.

an update for the Victorian Stone project | all images courtesy of Iris Ceramica

CERAMICS REAFFIRMED AS SENSORY ARCHITECTURAL MATERIAL

Iris Ceramica’s commitment to intertwining aesthetic research and technological innovation is central to this expansion. The evolution of Victorian Stone reaffirms ceramics as a dynamic material, able to evolve and adapt to the needs of contemporary living. By evoking the look of noble stone and bridging the past with the present, the brand offers high-end surfaces that go beyond mere cladding. This project is an invitation to experience architecture as a sensory journey, where every detail contributes to a boundless aesthetic.

Iris Ceramica expands the surface line with white-body coverings

WHITE-BODY LINE for MESMERIZING 3D EFFECTS and TEXTURAL DETAIL

Marking a first for Iris Ceramica, the white-body wall coverings are presented in a 120×40 cm format. While the line incorporates the original five stone-inspired colors (Baycliff Black, Silver Grey, Forest Green, Limestone Beige, Moon Cream), the true focus lies on the innovative decorative elements.

These elements include the neutral Total White shade and, most notably, four striking three-dimensional decors: Tide, Domino, Line, and Shade. This unique blend of technology and artistic flair is specifically designed to breathe life into walls with its mesmerizing sculptural effects. The textural relief of the Righe Structured and Natural finishes introduces dramatic depth and shadow play, thereby creating a refined narrative between the various surfaces of a project. This development pushes the project’s design potential, creating a strong visual impact that turns the wall surface into an architectural focal point.

they focus on the expressive power of three-dimensional wall surfaces

the latest additions bring a sense of nature, peace, and solidity to contemporary spaces

boundless design possibilities for refined and cozy environments

project info:

name: Victorian Stone wall coverings

brand: Iris Ceramica | @irisceramicaofficial 

material: white-body Ceramics

colors: Baycliff Black, Silver Grey, Forest Green, Limestone Beige, Moon Cream, Total White

decor tiles: Line, Domino, Tide, Shade

finishes: Righe Structured, Natural

size: 120×40 cm

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Fiandre, a brand belonging to Iris Ceramica Group, adds the Lexicon collection to its material offering, providing a foundational selection of eight ceramic surfaces designed for maximum design flexibility. Structured as an open system of complementary porcelain slabs, the collection is organized around two distinct yet converging families: Expressive and Structural surfaces. Each surface can live on its own or in dialogue with the others, creating calibrated contrasts or fluid continuity through a systematic mix-and-match method.

Fiandre Lexicon: Breccia Phoenix Maximum and White Aura surfaces | all images courtesy of Fiandre

WATER-BASED TECHNOLOGY MEETS AESTHETIC PERFORMANCE

Interweaving design, research, and responsible sustainability, Fiandre’s Lexicon collection carries a force of innovation through its production process. The Lexicon Maximum formats are produced using a revolutionary water-based technology developed by the brand’s parent company, Iris Ceramica Group. This process represents a significant step forward in the ecological transition, resulting in ceramic materials that possess enhanced texture, depth, and extraordinarily intense colors. Furthermore, compatibility with the most advanced digital printing systems guarantees unprecedented definition without altering the material’s technical performance.

Fiandre Lexicon: Breccia Phoenix Maximum and White Aura surfaces

EXPRESSIVE AND STRUCTURAL SURFACES IN LEXICON COLLECTION

The Lexicon collection is defined by its two different yet converging families, which together offer a language for designers to build a coherent syntax. The Structural family provides a selection of essential surfaces designed to define the visual framework of a space with neutral rigor. This authoritative family includes White Aura, which recalls the purity of delicate marbles; Havana Burlington, inspired by grey limestone; Roche Bleue, a deep grey enriched with blue shading; and Pietra di Fez, a beige surface dotted with light shadows.

The Expressive family brings emotion and atmosphere, turning the space into a narration with rich textures and balanced shades. This line features four distinct colors: Arabescato Grigio, with an intense, vibrant pattern; Breccia Blu, a blue background crossed by paler fragments and irregular variations; Ceppo Aragona, which delivers a highly textured impact; and Breccia Phoenix, marked by grey and white contrasts that add depth and movement.

Fiandre Lexicon: Breccia Phoenix Maximum and White Aura surfaces

The selection is completed by three high-tech finishes that showcase the personality of each surface. These include Natural, balanced and versatile; Natural Plus, offering greater tactile definition and enhanced safety in damp spaces; and Antislip, assuring outdoor performance without compromising on aesthetics. The range of formats maximizes design potential, featuring traditional sizes (8 mm thick) and large slabs, 270×120 cm and 6 mm thick. This large format is designed to extend visual perception and minimize offcuts, adapting to common architectural proportions. Special thicknesses are also available for outdoor use, offering strength and durability even in the most demanding conditions.

Fiandre Lexicon: Breccia Phoenix Maximum and White Aura surfaces

Fiandre Lexicon: Ceppo Aragona surface

Fiandre Lexicon: Ceppo Aragona surface

Fiandre Lexicon: Ceppo Aragona surface

Fiandre Lexicon: Pietra di Fez surface

Fiandre Lexicon: Havana Burlington and White Aura surfaces

Fiandre Lexicon: Havana Burlington and Roche Bleue surfaces

project info:

name: Lexicon
company: Fiandre | @fiandre_surfaces
families: Expressive (Arabescato Grigio, Breccia Blu, Ceppo Aragona, Breccia Phoenix); Structural (White Aura, Havana Burlington, Roche Bleue, Pietra di Fez)
finish: Natural, Natural Plus, Antislip
sizes: traditional sizes (8 mm), large slab (270×120 cm, 6 mm), special thicknesses for outdoor

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Dimore Surfaces has achieved international acclaim with its Red Dot Award 2025 win in Product Design for the Brillio surface finish, inspired by slate’s raw tactility. The finish is part of the Midas collection, a series of large-format sintered stone tiles designed to deliver a realistic stone look and feel, offering crucial anti-stain and scratch-resistant durability – ideal for high-traffic areas such as retail spaces, hotels, and offices. The award validates the company’s fusion of expressive, durable, and easy-care surfaces with advanced technology, highlighting the company’s achievement in functional material innovation.

Midas collection by Dimore Surfaces | all images courtesy of Dimore Surfaces

ADVANCED ITALIAN GEA PRESS AND DRY GRANULAR TECHNOLOGY

Dimore Surfaces’ commitment to material performance is enabled by pioneering technological advancements that ensure superior strength, precision, and aesthetic integrity. The Italian brand achieves this by leveraging material science and high-tech manufacturing processes. Using Italian GEA PRESS technology, their Sintered Stone surfaces undergo intense heating above 1200 °C and are compressed with 44,000 tons of pressure. Additionally, the aesthetic integrity is secured through a glazing method with Dry Granular technology, engineered to prevent light distortion. This results in a flawless, high-definition, mirror-like reflection and a remarkably durable surface, offering architects unparalleled visual clarity and performance.

a series of large-format sintered stone tiles designed to deliver a realistic stone look and feel

DIMORE SURFACES’ WABI-SABI INSPIRED MIDAS COLLECTION

The Midas Collection serves as a tactile ode to the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, drawing inspiration from the tranquil choreography of Japanese Zen gardens. Each surface within the collection is a meticulous recreation of nature’s subtle irregularities, featuring delicate ripples, soft scratches, and gentle tonal shifts. The earthy, calm palette reflects Japan’s serene landscapes, transforming the surface into a sensory journey that invites both sight and touch to linger.

The award-winning Brillio finish is inspired specifically by slate’s raw tactility. It pairs this rustic elegance with guaranteed functional excellence, offering crucial anti-stain and scratch-resistant durability. This makes the Midas Collection ideal for high-end architectural applications available in a versatile range of sizes, running from 600 × 1200 mm to 1200 × 2800 mm.

ideal for high-traffic areas such as retail spaces, hotels, and offices

the Midas Collection serves as a tactile ode to the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi

each surface within the collection is a meticulous recreation of nature’s subtle irregularities

drawing inspiration from the tranquil choreography of Japanese Zen gardens

the surface finish Brillio is a Red Dot: Product Design 2025 winner

project info:

company: Dimore Surfaces | @dimoresurfaces

collection: Midas
finish: Brillio
sizes: 600 × 1200 mm; 1200 × 1800 mm; 1200 × 2400 mm; 1200 × 2800 mm (6mm) 

award: Red Dot Award: Product Design 2025

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October 2025 marked a quiet but seismic shift in Hanoi’s public realm when Vietnamese artist Tia-Thuy Nguyen unveiled ‘A Luminous Forest’ in a central urban park. Far from another ornamental fixture, the installation turns collective memory into a living, breathing encounter. It sidesteps the frozen authority of traditional monuments and instead assembles an abstract constellation of light that pulses with the city’s own rhythm. Metal, glass, ceramics, illumination, and subtle sound weave together to enrich the urban landscape, inviting art, nature, and everyday life into a renewed conversation.

At the heart of the work stand eighteen mirror-polished stainless-steel columns, each rising twelve meters and hand-welded into a perfect twelve-meter circle. Visitors do not merely observe; they enter, move through, and complete the piece. The steel’s severity is tempered by delicate interventions rooted in Vietnam’s craft legacy: mouth-blown glass blossoms, hand-thrown ceramic forms, stainless-steel doves, and spinning pinwheels. Rigidity meets fluidity, industrial precision meets ancestral touch, and the result is a visual cadence that shifts with sunlight, weather, and human motion. In Tia’s hands, light is never decoration; it is the vital medium, refracting through glass, skating across metal, and conjuring a forest that feels both solid and spectral.

The making of the forest spanned thousands of hours and unfolded as a deliberate act of reverence for manual skill in an age of mechanized dominance. Tia worked shoulder-to-shoulder with master welders, ceramicists, glassblowers, and floral artisans, preserving Vietnam’s artisanal patrimony while folding it into the global language of contemporary practice. Engineered to withstand Hanoi’s relentless sun, monsoon downpours, and gusting winds, the installation stands as resilient testimony to human dexterity, every weld seam and vitreous petal a signature of singular and collective labor. Building on the momentum of her earlier 2025 commission, ‘Resurrection’, completed at the end of April and featured in designboom magazine, ‘A Luminous Forest’ represents Tia’s second major public art in Hanoi this year. The two projects together signal a broader evolution in the capital’s approach to renewal: moving beyond cosmetic greening toward deeper cultural and social resonance. Public art is no longer peripheral; it has become a vital layer of the city’s civic and spiritual fabric, cultivating local identity, fostering belonging, and injecting fresh energy into Hanoi’s creative life.

all images courtesy of Tia-Thuy Nguyen

The Forest as Conceptual Anchor: Art Symbolism and Innovation

The conceptual seed of art lies in Vietnam’s primordial forests, which are places of refuge, sustenance, and communal endurance across centuries of history. The steel columns do not mimic trees; they allegorize aggregated vitality and quietly evoke the revolutionary image of a hundred banners raised in unison. Inside the circle, industrial starkness collides with handcrafted softness, opacity with gleam, producing an ever-changing visual rhythm. More than a sculpture, ‘A Luminous Forest’ is a restorative overture. It radiates shared memory through light and human proximity, proposing a fresh archetype for Vietnamese public art: anchored in historiography yet fluent in global contemporaneity. Memory here is freed from the archive; it remains luminous, vital, and continuously remade by the daily gaze of passersby.

Vietnamese artist Tia-Thuy Nguyen’s Public Art trajectory is anchored in nature, energy, and urban artistic flow. In recent years, Tia’s public work has gravitated toward nature, energy, and the fluid currents of city life. Forests recur as emblems of resilience and collective narrative; light serves as a dynamic medium to animate shared space. By collaborating with traditional artisans, she safeguards Vietnam’s craft heritage against industrial erosion while positioning art as a regenerative force, nurturing identity, reconnecting people with the natural world, and syncing with metropolitan tempo.

A Luminous Forest’ introduces a new public installation in a central Hanoi park

the project transforms collective memory into an evolving spatial experience

the installation reinforces public art as a growing part of the city’s civic landscape

visitors move through the twelve-meter ring, completing the work through their presence

eighteen mirror-polished stainless-steel columns form the circular structure

reflections shift across the steel surfaces as sunlight and weather change

hand-thrown ceramic forms are integrated into the installation’s vertical structure

stainless-steel doves and pinwheels introduce movement within the composition

the installation adapts to the natural rhythm of the city’s daily cycles

material contrasts create a dialogue between rigidity and softness

light refracts through glass components, generating a layered visual effect

mouth-blown glass elements reference Vietnam’s traditional craft techniques

the project foregrounds Vietnam’s artisanal heritage within a contemporary framework

project info:

name: A Luminous Forest
designer: Tia Thuy Nguyen | @tia.thuynguyen

location: Hanoi, Vietnam

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MIT engineers design a system that uses a vibrating ceramic ring to produce clean drinking water from humid air in several minutes. There are already existing designs of the same kind, but they rely on heat from the sun to evaporate water from the materials and condense it into droplets, so this step can take hours or even days. With the one developed by the researchers at MIT, clean water-making can take a few minutes versus the tens of minutes or hours required by thermal designs. In their system, the engineers use ultrasonic waves to shake the water out of the material that can absorb moisture from the air. 

This said material is an ultrasonic actuator made of a flat ceramic ring, which receives the electricity during vibrations. In their research, the team learned that this vibration can break the weak connection between the water molecules and the sorbent, so when the waves hit the flat ceramic ring and the system, the water inside it loosens and falls out as droplets, producing clean drinkable water in a few minutes instead of hours. Around the ceramic ring is another ring that has many small holes, which guide the water droplets into collection containers placed above and below the device. When the sorbent sits on top of the ring, the ultrasound moves through the material and forces the water downward into the holes, pooling into water that users can drink right away.

all images courtesy of Ikra Iftekhar and MIT

Small solar cell can power the water-extraction device

To test the system, the MIT engineers used small pieces of the sorbent the size of a coin. They placed each into a humidity box set at different humidity levels so the material could absorb water. When the material became full, they placed it on the ultrasonic actuator. When it was switched on, the vibrations pushed out most of the stored water within minutes, and after this test, the sorbent pieces were dry and ready to repeat the cycle. The team measured the efficiency of the new design by comparing it to the normal method of heating the sorbent with sunlight. Their calculations showed that the ultrasonic method is forty-five times more efficient than the heat method, making it possible for the material to collect water and release water many times during the day. 

The device needs a small amount of power, so the team believes that a small solar cell could power the ceramic ring. They also suggest that the same solar cell could monitor the moisture in the sorbent and could then turn on by itself when it is full, allowing continuous cycles of absorbing and releasing drinking water during the day. The researchers think that a real-life version for homes could be the size of a window: a panel of sorbent that would take in moisture and convert it into drinkable water. When this happens, the upgraded water extraction system from air could help communities that don’t have reliable access to drinking water because it does not rely on lakes, rivers, or the sea.

MIT engineers uses a vibrating ceramic ring to produce clean drinking water from humid air

the engineers use ultrasonic waves to shake the water out of the material that can absorb moisture from the air

the water inside the ceramic ring loosens and falls out as droplets, producing clean, drinkable water

the researchers think that a real-life version of the system for homes could be the size of a window

project info:

name: High-efficiency atmospheric water harvesting enabled by ultrasonic extraction

institution: MIT | @mit

researchers: Ikra Iftekhar Shuvo, Carlos D. Díaz-Marín, Marvin Christen, Michael Lherbette, Christopher Liem, Svetlana V. Boriskina

study: here

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Rinascenza marks the 2025 collaboration between Florim and Milan-based designer Nicola Gallizia. Presented as a contemporary homage to Italy’s architectural and artistic heritage, the collection reinterprets centuries of material culture through refined design and advanced manufacturing. Developed at Florim’s Italian facilities, Rinascenza merges craftsmanship, technological innovation, and sustainability, embodying a shared vision of architecture as both memory and modernity.

Florim and Nicola Gallizia celebrate italian architecture with the Rinascenza collection | all images courtesy of Florim

NICOLA GALLIZIA Design Studio is a Milan-based design atelier founded and led by Nicola Gallizia, specializing in interior design, product development, and creative direction for leading Italian and international brands. With a refined and contemporary approach, the brand blends material research, cultural references, and visual harmony to create projects rooted in emotional resonance and formal clarity.

Over the years, Gallizia has collaborated with prestigious companies including Molteni&C, Dada, Vaselli, and now with Italian surface design leader, Florim, to craft a collection where storytelling and design are perfectly balanced. 

Rinascenza explores the culture of building as both memory and modern design

Gallizia describes Rinascenza as ‘a tribute to the culture of building, a civic, aesthetic, and enduring act.’ The collection is a dialogue between past and present, exploring the expressive potential of surfaces as cultural language where each element revisits the essence of Italian architecture, from the sandstone of Roman arenas to the geometric rationalism of the twentieth century. Through this conceptual framework, the project invites reflection on proportion, harmony, and the continuity of design across time.

From Vitruvius and Palladio to Borromini and Carlo Scarpa, every surface tells a story drawn from Italy’s architectural lineage. The textures evoke monumental stone, mosaic artistry, golden reflections, and structural order, while the collection’s poetic balance of tones and proportions underlines Gallizia’s hallmark precision: essential forms, tactile depth, and a subtle dialogue between light and material.

modulo channels italian rationalism with clean lines and balanced structure

Arena recalls the sandstone of Roman amphitheaters, conveying warmth and strength, as Tesserae, inspired by cork and mosaic pavements, celebrates rhythmic pattern and craft. Meanwhile, Modulo reimagines cork in clean, rationalist geometry, while Basamento revisits ceppo lombardo, a stone synonymous with Milanese architecture, now rendered in warm, contemporary tones. Together, they form a visual anthology that bridges centuries of aesthetic evolution.

Echoing Florim’s long-standing environmental commitment, Rinascenza is produced within facilities that recycle all water and raw materials and recover fired waste. As a Benefit Corporation and B Corp–certified company, Florim generates up to 100% of its energy requirements from renewable sources. This sustainable framework ensures that the collection honors the past while contributing to a more conscious and responsible future.

basamento revisits ceppo lombardo, expressing strength in warm earthy tones

sustainability drives the surface collection, produced with full recycling of water and waste

tesserae recalls mosaic pavements, transforming cork into rhythmic geometry

the large-format slabs highlight proportion, harmony, and architectural rhythm

each surface is a narrative, where the material becomes a vessel for cultural memory

from roman arenas to modern interiors, Rinascenza bridges centuries of form

the collection’s palette centers on hazelnut hues, versatile and quietly elegant

advanced color-matched bodies ensure visual continuity and refined precision

project info:

name: Rinascenza

company: Florim | @florim_ceramiche

design: NICOLA GALLIZIA Design Studio

range: Arena; Tesserae; Modulo; Basamento 

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El Departamento, led by Marina Martín and Alberto Eltini, designs HOFF’s new flagship store on Velázquez Street in Madrid, drawing from the avenue’s 19th-century origins as a planned promenade comparable to the Champs-Élysées. Conceived during the city’s Ensanche expansion, the boulevard was intended as a space for strolling and social encounters. This historical reference becomes the basis for a contemporary interior architecture that translates the idea of the civic promenade into a 600 sqm retail environment.

El Departamento organizes the store as a series of connected spatial atmospheres, each tied to varying degrees of activity and program. The entrance opens into the SNEAKS café, defined by pink olivillo marble and hand-crafted clay tiles selected for their material depth and chromatic warmth. The café can be reconfigured to accommodate events or music sessions, reflecting the project’s emphasis on adaptable layouts.

all images by Javier Bravo

a sequence of Artisanal Display Systems shapes HOFF’s flagship

At the center of the store, creative studio El Departamento organizes The Stage area, displaying HOFF’s collections on three elongated travertine shelves. A custom terrazzo flooring, designed specifically for the brand, establishes a visual and chromatic continuity throughout the interior. Adjustable lighting calibrates the ambience in response to natural light and program requirements. Sculptural works by Sara Regal, Casa Antillón, and Elisabeth Blumen introduce additional layers of material and spatial dialogue.

Beyond this zone, The Sneaker Lab functions as a workshop dedicated to restoration and customization, foregrounding craft and product care. The Gallery, conceived as a contemporary amphitheater, integrates a sculptural piece made of wicker and metal produced by artisans from Alicante. On the upper level, The Work–Shop provides a multipurpose space for cultural programming, while a mirrored wall leads to The Attic, a private, apartment-like setting for meetings and smaller gatherings.

HOFF’s Velázquez flagship reinterprets the 19th-century boulevard as a contemporary retail space

El Departamento Uses Material Contrast to Define Interior Zones

Materiality forms a key structural and experiential framework for the project. Natural lime mortar, local stone, and solid wood establish a connection to traditional craftsmanship, while stainless steel components and technical lighting introduce a more contemporary dimension. Together, these materials create a balanced palette that allows each zone to maintain its own identity within a coherent overall system.

With the Velázquez flagship, HOFF presents a retail model that integrates hospitality, cultural activity, and product display. For El Departamento, the project extends an ongoing exploration of design’s relationship to the urban context and its capacity to shape daily experience.

the store layout follows a sequence of connected spatial atmospheres

natural lime mortar, local stone, and solid wood connect the store to traditional craftsmanship

custom terrazzo flooring unifies the store’s chromatic identity

stainless steel and technical lighting introduce contemporary architectural elements

the material palette balances historical and modern references across the store

each zone maintains its own identity within a coherent spatial system

the flagship integrates retail, hospitality, and cultural activity

diverse materials and textures converse within the interior

HOFF’s new flagship store organizes a private apartment-like meeting space

architectural design emphasizes adaptability and interaction between spaces

El Departamento translates Madrid’s historic promenade into a 600 sqm interior environment

project info:

name: HOFF Flagship Store Velázquez

architect: El Departamento | @eldepartamento.estudio

location: 37 Velázquez Street, 28001 Madrid, Spain

area: 600 sqm

lead architects: Alberto Eltini & Marina Martín

client: HOFF | @thehoffbrand

construction: All Projects

furniture design: El Departamento
furniture manufacturing: Moinsa

textiles: Deco & You

flooring: Maora, Mosaic Factory

lighting: Ilumisa

decorative lighting: Santa & Cole

speakers: Light Sound

rugs: Habana Home, Nordic Knots, Ege

tiles: La Pietra Compattata

palm tree: Cestería Marcilla
photographer: Javier Bravo | @javierbravofotografia

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Ariostea, part of the Iris Ceramica Group, brings the raw visual language of concrete to ceramic surfaces with Mūra,  a porcelain stoneware project for contemporary architecture. The surfaces are conceptually rooted in a tribute to the mid-20th-century artistic current — a movement that recognized and utilized basic construction elements like cement and iron rods as key sculptural components. Offering complete aesthetic and functional continuity, Mūra provides versatile solutions for both high-end residential and demanding commercial spaces. The project unites three technical format lines, from expansive Ultra slabs and traditional Classics sizes through to robust CM2 Outdoor, creating a monolithic system across any scale.

Mūra perfectly fits the mid-century style with raw aesthetics | all images courtesy of Ariostea

ARIOSTEA MASTERING MATERIAL AUTHENTICITY

Ariostea has mastered the process of translating raw material authenticity into durable technical ceramic surfaces. The three deep tones — Lunara, Sankira, and Ramia — avoid superficial artifice, instead intensifying the subtle tactile details honed by the brand over three decades of experience. The surface features fine veining that precisely mimics the characteristic bubbles that emerge and burst during the natural concrete drying cycle. This technical precision results in a vital quality that offers an honest, unfiltered engagement with the material’s aesthetic.

the project translates the raw visual language of concrete into ceramic surfaces

MŪRA OFFERS DESIGN FLEXIBILITY IN THREE DIMENSIONS 

The versatility of the Mūra project is reflected in its three main formats, designed to ensure a flawless transition between different architectural applications, indoors and out. The Ultra line, with a minimal 6 mm thickness, is expressed through large slabs up to 270×120 cm in the Natural Plus finish. These grand dimensions are crucial for spaces demanding visual continuity and minimal disruption, and are particularly well-suited for creating custom furniture such as counters, tables, and vanity tops in the hospitality and retail sectors.

For interiors, the Classics sizes including 100×100 cm and 120×60 cm are available in 6 mm and 8 mm thicknesses. The Natural Plus finish gives the surface a tactile softness, recalling a polished concrete style. This line is enriched by the unique Tessura decoration, a discrete graphic element that mimics the footprint left by formwork, generating a refined, metallic-grey texture.

avoiding superficial imitation, the Lunara, Sankira, and Ramia tones intensify the authentic character of cement

Finally, the CM2 Outdoor solution features an increased 20 mm thickness and an Antislip finish to guarantee maximum safety and durability in external environments. Suitable for terraces, poolsides, and walkways, the 100×100 cm size is designed to withstand continuous stresses and can be installed dry on gravel, sand, or as raised flooring, ensuring high-performance continuity in any outdoor space. Mūra’s flexibility ensures it is perfectly compatible with the other references in the Ariostea catalogue, offering designers endless possibilities in composition.

details of fine veining that mimic the characteristic air bubbles of the natural concrete drying cycle

the Ultra line is suited for executing custom-crafted fittings, such as integrated staircases and bespoke counters

the Classics sizes, featuring the Natural Plus finish, introduce a tactile softness for high-end interiors

with its expansive Ultra slabs, Mūra addresses any architectural scale

Mūra represents Ariostea’s expertise in translating material authenticity into durable technical ceramic surfaces

project info:

name: Mūra

brand: Ariostea | @ariosteahightech

tones: Lunara, Sankira, and Ramia

sizes: 270×120 cm, 120×120 cm, 100×100 cm, 120×60 cm, 60×60 cm

thicknesses: 6 mm, 8 mm, 20 mm

finishes: Natural Plus and Antislip

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At Cersaie 2025, Iris Ceramica Group introduced a revolutionary water-based printing technology applied to its high-end ceramic surfaces. This technological advancement, utilizing water-based inks and materials for both creating and decorating the ceramic surface structures, achieves superior aesthetic and structural performance. Not only is the development an industry novelty, but it also marks a significant step in the Group’s ecological transition while exalting textures, colors, and depth to create ceramic surfaces with extraordinary visual intensity. It is already applied to two product lines of the brands Ariostea, Fiandre, FMG, and Sapienstone in thicknesses of 6, 12, and 20 mm.

Iris Ceramica Group at Cersaie 2025 | all images courtesy of Iris Ceramica Group

BLENDING SUSTAINABLE CERAMIC SURFACES  WITH TECHNOLOGY

Driven by a strong pioneering spirit and constant attention to environmental sustainability, Iris Ceramica Group acts as a trailblazer in the ceramic world. Sustainable innovation is one of the pillars of their applied technological research, applying to both the re-engineering of the production process and the materials used to manufacture ceramic surfaces. Further expanding this material-meets-technology approach is the integration of Alchimia. 

Through an exclusive collaboration with VBH, this cutting-edge technology is flawlessly integrated with the Group’s ceramic surfaces. Alchimia conceals screens and audio-video systems beneath a continuous ceramic surface, allowing them to appear and disappear on command. The metamorphosis transforms surfaces into invisible displays and speakers, transmitting visuals and sound while preserving the elegance and continuous aesthetic of the ceramics, bridging the worlds of high-end technology and timeless design.

Alchimia conceals screens and audio-video systems beneath a continuous ceramic surface

IRIS CERAMICA GROUP’S IMMERSIVE JOURNEY AT CERSAIE 2025

The powerful synthesis of technical innovation and environmental commitment forms the material core of Iris Ceramica Group’s immersive exhibition space at Cersaie 2025. Titled ‘The Magical Journey,’ the exhibition guided visitors through various stages that interpret the transformation of ceramics as an alchemical process. The work of visual artist Lorenza Liguori, specialized in 3D graphics, demonstrated how the ceramic surfaces become an active, dynamic part of the architectural display, using light, texture, and indefinite forms to fully immerse the spectator.

The transformative journey was conceptualized through the exhibition space — a step-by-step exploration divided into three stages. The first stage, Breaking, represents the moment that triggers growth and transformation. The second stage, Glowing, marks a shift in perspective — a process of renewal that distances itself from conventional concepts. The journey culminates in Revealing: the moment of awareness, when we recognize the transformation we have undergone and discover a new way of perceiving and interpreting matter — and, more broadly, reality itself. This evolution was brought to life through the digital morphing of visual artist Lorenza Liguori, who interpreted the first two stages — Breaking and Glowing. The final stage, Revealing, took shape through the ‘ceramic skin’ (classical architectural elements turned upside down), the installations, and the applied technologies such as Alchimia, which together created the unexpected space of revelation.

Iris Ceramica Group’s immersive exhibition, titled ‘The Magical Journey’

advanced technology is used to elevate the aesthetic and functional value of the ceramic surfaces

the work of visual artist Lorenza Liguori demonstrated how the ceramic surfaces become alive

the immersive journey revealed a powerful synthesis of technical innovation and environmental commitment

the exhibition space was designed to interpret ceramics as an alchemical process

project info:

name: The Magical Journey

company: Iris Ceramica Group | @irisceramicagroup
event: Cersaie 2025

location: Bologna, Italy

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