In this episode of Dezeen Weekly, we reflect on the major trends from this year's Milan design week, and discuss whether the festival has reached peak "brandification". More about What's so bad about brands taking over Milan design week?
Architectural designer John Pawson described how teaching, taking photographs and travelling the world led him to architecture during a talk at Gaggenau's installation at this year's Milan design week, hosted and filmed by Dezeen. More about "I never set out to be an architect" says John Pawson at Gaggenau talk
American artist Theaster Gates has transformed a dedicated Prada Home retail space in Milan into an earthen sanctuary for his exhibition Chawan Cabinet, dedicated to Japanese pottery. More about Theaster Gates focuses on "human kindness" with ceramics exhibition for Prada Home
Design festivals NYCxDesign, Global Design Forum Istanbul and London Craft Week are among the architecture and design events featured in Dezeen Events Guide this May. More about Seven architecture and design events in May from Dezeen Events Guide
Appliance brand Fisher & Paykel evoked its New Zealand roots at this year's Salone del Mobile, juxtaposing large video screens that showcased wild forests with wooden displays and tactile pottery. More about Aotearoan forests frame Fisher & Paykel appliances at Nature – Ritual showcase in Milan
Check out Dezeen Events Guide's digital guide to NYCxDesign 2026 – the annual festival that brings installations, exhibitions, showrooms, talks, and product launches to New York City. More about Dezeen Events Guide launches digital guide to NYCxDesign 2026
The latest edition of our weekly Dezeen Agenda newsletter features the longest bridge in Finland. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda now. More about Dezeen Agenda features Finland's longest bridge
US studio Faulkner Architects has clad a low-profile mountain house in corrugated Corten steel for wildfire resilience in Northern California. More about Faulkner Architects designs California house around fire and water
Dezeen School Shows: wooden play apparatus combining traditional and contemporary timber techniques is among the projects from the Architectural Association. More about Sculptural wooden play apparatus among projects from the Architectural Association
A monochrome palette of wood and metal marks out this low-lying house in Britain's only desert, designed by architecture practice Hollaway Studio as an evolution of its dilapidated predecessor. More about Hollaway Studio continues "story of Dungeness" with Westview Cottage
Designer Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad and architect Farrokh Aman drew on their Iranian heritage when creating the playful interior for a cafe in east London that evokes traditional Middle Eastern bistros. More about Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad and Farrokh Aman bring "sense of home" to Iranian-Iraqi cafe
Milan design week might have reached peak brandification this year, but there were still plenty of outstanding independent exhibitions to be found in the margins. Below, the Dezeen team shares nine of its favourites. More about Dezeen's pick of the best grassroots shows from Milan design week
British designer Bethan Laura Wood has created a modular version of a 175-year-old crystal-glass chandelier, described as "somewhere between a science-fiction wormhole and the interlacing of Elizabethan garters". More about Bethan Laura Wood reinvents Baccarat chandelier as modular "vortex" of jewelled flowers
Architects Amanda Levete and Ole Scheeren, alongside interior designers Wu Bin and Zoe Lowres, have joined the judging panel for Dezeen Awards 2026. More about Amanda Levete and Ole Scheeren revealed as Dezeen Awards 2026 judges
Door handles made from human hair, soap and climbing grips featured in a nomadic Milan design week exhibition curated by Zaccaria Slater as an affordable platform for emerging design talent. More about Eclectic door knobs feature in guerrilla Milan design week exhibition
Arizona-based studio Benjamin Hall Design completed an addition to a Phoenix house that hides in the landscaping to create a treehouse-like effect. More about Benjamin Hall expands Phoenix home with treehouse-like addition
Designers at automotive brands GM and Cadillac have created a cast-bronze trophy that combines the form of a golf swing and the curves of a vehicle for the 2026 Cadillac Championship golf tournament in Miami. More about GM Industrial Design "communicates gesture of the swing" for golf tournament trophy
Dezeen School Shows: a checkered glass stand influenced by chessboard aesthetics is among the projects from Häme University of Applied Sciences. More about Chessboard-informed glassware among projects from Häme University of Applied Sciences
Arched openings punctuate the contemporary entrance of Angers Cathedral in France, recently completed by the studio of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. More about Kengo Kuma adds arched entrance to Angers Cathedral in France
Global studio SOM has renewed Corso Italia 23, a 1960s office complex in Milan, retrofitting its modernist structure and fractured interiors to align with modern standards. More about SOM "preserves the soul" of 1960s modernist office complex in Milan