#BeOpenDESIGN
The Press Stool by Jaehyun Bae reimagines furniture through the logic of folded paper. Inspired by the way creases create strength in otherwise flat materials, the stool transforms from a compact, lightweight form into a fully functional seat without hinges, hardware, or assembly. Its crinkled metallic surface and fold-generated structure make it both a design experiment and a compelling demonstration of how geometry alone can create stability, challenging conventional ideas about how furniture is built.
The Press Stool by Jaehyun Bae reimagines furniture through the logic of folded paper. Inspired by the way creases create strength in otherwise flat materials, the stool transforms from a compact, lightweight form into a fully functional seat without hinges, hardware, or assembly. Its crinkled metallic surface and fold-generated structure make it both a design experiment and a compelling demonstration of how geometry alone can create stability, challenging conventional ideas about how furniture is built.
#BeOpenARCH
Dutch studio MVRDV has completed La Vallée Verte, a 70-home residential development in Bordeaux that wraps three faceted housing blocks around a lush, crater-like courtyard. Designed as part of the Bastide Niel masterplan, the project uses MVRDV's "suncut" methodology to maximize daylight while creating a distinctive valley-shaped roofscape. The inward-facing façades are lined with planters, shrubs and small trees, while a series of whimsical gardener-shaped doorways provide maintenance access through the balconies, reinforcing the project's ambition to weave greenery into everyday residential life.
Dutch studio MVRDV has completed La Vallée Verte, a 70-home residential development in Bordeaux that wraps three faceted housing blocks around a lush, crater-like courtyard. Designed as part of the Bastide Niel masterplan, the project uses MVRDV's "suncut" methodology to maximize daylight while creating a distinctive valley-shaped roofscape. The inward-facing façades are lined with planters, shrubs and small trees, while a series of whimsical gardener-shaped doorways provide maintenance access through the balconies, reinforcing the project's ambition to weave greenery into everyday residential life.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Designed by Alessandra Baldereschi for Multiforme, Flowers in Wonderland reimagines portable lighting through the lens of Murano glass craftsmanship. The collection comprises six cordless table lamps shaped like unopened flower buds, each hand-blown in Venice and finished in soft pastel hues. Combining touch-activated functionality with sculptural elegance, the lamps bring contemporary versatility to a centuries-old craft tradition, transforming portable lighting from a practical necessity into a decorative object in its own right.
Designed by Alessandra Baldereschi for Multiforme, Flowers in Wonderland reimagines portable lighting through the lens of Murano glass craftsmanship. The collection comprises six cordless table lamps shaped like unopened flower buds, each hand-blown in Venice and finished in soft pastel hues. Combining touch-activated functionality with sculptural elegance, the lamps bring contemporary versatility to a centuries-old craft tradition, transforming portable lighting from a practical necessity into a decorative object in its own right.
#BeOpenARCH
For the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion, Mexico City-based LANZA atelier has reinterpreted the historic serpentine, or crinkle-crankle wall, as an architecture of connection, efficiency, and encounter. Built primarily from brick, the pavilion uses undulating walls that require fewer materials while providing greater structural stability, creating permeable spaces that blur the boundaries between inside and outside. Combined with a lightweight translucent canopy, the design transforms an ancient construction technique into a contemporary statement on material economy, social interaction, and the possibility of achieving more with less.
For the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion, Mexico City-based LANZA atelier has reinterpreted the historic serpentine, or crinkle-crankle wall, as an architecture of connection, efficiency, and encounter. Built primarily from brick, the pavilion uses undulating walls that require fewer materials while providing greater structural stability, creating permeable spaces that blur the boundaries between inside and outside. Combined with a lightweight translucent canopy, the design transforms an ancient construction technique into a contemporary statement on material economy, social interaction, and the possibility of achieving more with less.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Sukun, a rechargeable travertine lamp by Istanbul-based designer Ibrahim Fatih Satilmis reimagines the relationship between stone craftsmanship and contemporary lighting. Inspired by six Islamic geometric patterns sourced from historic sites across Turkey and Spain, the lamp features waterjet-cut and CNC-refined motifs carved into a travertine disc that projects intricate shadows across surrounding surfaces. Combining precise digital fabrication with the natural character of porous stone, Sukun transforms centuries-old architectural geometry into an immersive lighting experience. The award-winning design balances material authenticity, mathematical rigor, and modern functionality through integrated LED illumination, cordless operation, and subtle ambient warmth.
Sukun, a rechargeable travertine lamp by Istanbul-based designer Ibrahim Fatih Satilmis reimagines the relationship between stone craftsmanship and contemporary lighting. Inspired by six Islamic geometric patterns sourced from historic sites across Turkey and Spain, the lamp features waterjet-cut and CNC-refined motifs carved into a travertine disc that projects intricate shadows across surrounding surfaces. Combining precise digital fabrication with the natural character of porous stone, Sukun transforms centuries-old architectural geometry into an immersive lighting experience. The award-winning design balances material authenticity, mathematical rigor, and modern functionality through integrated LED illumination, cordless operation, and subtle ambient warmth.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Tokyo-based design studio KUMAnoTE transforms the numeral "1" into a thoughtful collection of single-stem vases that celebrate Japan's rich craft traditions. Named 1RIN, the series applies the same numerical silhouette across Hasami porcelain, Takaoka bronze casting, and Yakumo wood carving, revealing how material and technique can dramatically alter a single form. Standing 111 millimeters tall, each vase serves as both a functional object and a design experiment, highlighting the unique character of regional craftsmanship while demonstrating the power of a shared conceptual framework.
More designer vases on our blog.
Tokyo-based design studio KUMAnoTE transforms the numeral "1" into a thoughtful collection of single-stem vases that celebrate Japan's rich craft traditions. Named 1RIN, the series applies the same numerical silhouette across Hasami porcelain, Takaoka bronze casting, and Yakumo wood carving, revealing how material and technique can dramatically alter a single form. Standing 111 millimeters tall, each vase serves as both a functional object and a design experiment, highlighting the unique character of regional craftsmanship while demonstrating the power of a shared conceptual framework.
More designer vases on our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
The Swap Arcade reimagines the arcade machine as a piece of sophisticated furniture. Designed by Les Cookson and Ken Higginson, the walnut-finished cabinet appears to be a refined mid-century modern storage unit until it transforms into a fully functional gaming station. A fold-down control deck and rising marquee create a theatrical reveal that balances nostalgia with contemporary living. By concealing technology within a beautifully crafted object, the project demonstrates how gaming hardware can integrate seamlessly into modern interiors without compromising either design or entertainment.
More exciting designs on our blog.
The Swap Arcade reimagines the arcade machine as a piece of sophisticated furniture. Designed by Les Cookson and Ken Higginson, the walnut-finished cabinet appears to be a refined mid-century modern storage unit until it transforms into a fully functional gaming station. A fold-down control deck and rising marquee create a theatrical reveal that balances nostalgia with contemporary living. By concealing technology within a beautifully crafted object, the project demonstrates how gaming hardware can integrate seamlessly into modern interiors without compromising either design or entertainment.
More exciting designs on our blog.
#BeOpenART #BeOpenNEWS
BE OPEN Art is pleased to announce Lorena Iavorschi as the June Regional Artist of the Month in the Central Europe stage of its 2026 global art competition. A contemporary Romanian painter and illustrator based in Otopeni, Iavorschi creates works that balance decorative richness with emotional expression, reflecting an ongoing dialogue between tradition and contemporary sensibility.
As the June monthly winner, Lorena Iavorschi advances to the final selection for the title of Regional Winner of Central Europe, with the selected regional winner to receive a €500 cash prize and increased international visibility through the BE OPEN Art platform.
BE OPEN Art is pleased to announce Lorena Iavorschi as the June Regional Artist of the Month in the Central Europe stage of its 2026 global art competition. A contemporary Romanian painter and illustrator based in Otopeni, Iavorschi creates works that balance decorative richness with emotional expression, reflecting an ongoing dialogue between tradition and contemporary sensibility.
As the June monthly winner, Lorena Iavorschi advances to the final selection for the title of Regional Winner of Central Europe, with the selected regional winner to receive a €500 cash prize and increased international visibility through the BE OPEN Art platform.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Hands On Light by Gustav Friebel reimagines the table lamp as both a functional object and a sculptural exploration of light. Created for ERCO and UDK Berlin's Hands On Light exhibition at Berlin Design Week 2026, the design combines seven frosted glass spheres, a deep-red PMMA shell, and a chrome framework to mimic the segmented beauty of natural light. The result is a striking piece that blurs the line between lighting, art, and experimentation, proving that a lamp can shape not only a room but also the way we experience light itself.
Hands On Light by Gustav Friebel reimagines the table lamp as both a functional object and a sculptural exploration of light. Created for ERCO and UDK Berlin's Hands On Light exhibition at Berlin Design Week 2026, the design combines seven frosted glass spheres, a deep-red PMMA shell, and a chrome framework to mimic the segmented beauty of natural light. The result is a striking piece that blurs the line between lighting, art, and experimentation, proving that a lamp can shape not only a room but also the way we experience light itself.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Chromaterico Textile Objects applies Textilite, a composite developed by Archeomaterico (Davide Balda) @archeomaterico and Chroma Composites, to a series of furniture and objects made from recycled textile waste. Discarded garments, production offcuts, and unsold textiles are mechanically ground into mixed fibers and consolidated through the proprietary Mersus process, producing a stone-like material with the structural properties required for furniture, interior applications, and architectural components.
Chromaterico Textile Objects applies Textilite, a composite developed by Archeomaterico (Davide Balda) @archeomaterico and Chroma Composites, to a series of furniture and objects made from recycled textile waste. Discarded garments, production offcuts, and unsold textiles are mechanically ground into mixed fibers and consolidated through the proprietary Mersus process, producing a stone-like material with the structural properties required for furniture, interior applications, and architectural components.
#BeOpenDESIGN
PEEL transforms discarded salak and lychee skins into a durable, fully biodegradable textile that celebrates the natural character of fruit waste rather than disguising it. Developed by Greek-Indonesian designer Nefeli Vitoraki, the material is made without adhesives, synthetic polymers, or toxic chemical treatments, offering a regenerative alternative to leather with up to 95% lower estimated CO2 emissions. Rooted in Indonesia's existing food waste streams, PEEL demonstrates how overlooked agricultural by-products can become honest, locally sourced materials with a distinct identity.
PEEL transforms discarded salak and lychee skins into a durable, fully biodegradable textile that celebrates the natural character of fruit waste rather than disguising it. Developed by Greek-Indonesian designer Nefeli Vitoraki, the material is made without adhesives, synthetic polymers, or toxic chemical treatments, offering a regenerative alternative to leather with up to 95% lower estimated CO2 emissions. Rooted in Indonesia's existing food waste streams, PEEL demonstrates how overlooked agricultural by-products can become honest, locally sourced materials with a distinct identity.
#BeOpenNEWS #BeOpenART
BE OPEN Art has named figurative oil painter Megan Weeda its Artist of the Month for June 2026. Based in Dayton, USA, Weeda creates expressive paintings that examine memory, perception, and identity through the lens of aphantasia—the inability to form mental images. Blending vivid color with visual distortion, she reconstructs personal recollections into emotionally charged compositions that challenge conventional ideas of remembering. As the June winner, Weeda advances to the BE OPEN Art Artist of the Year 2026 competition.
BE OPEN Art has named figurative oil painter Megan Weeda its Artist of the Month for June 2026. Based in Dayton, USA, Weeda creates expressive paintings that examine memory, perception, and identity through the lens of aphantasia—the inability to form mental images. Blending vivid color with visual distortion, she reconstructs personal recollections into emotionally charged compositions that challenge conventional ideas of remembering. As the June winner, Weeda advances to the BE OPEN Art Artist of the Year 2026 competition.
#BeOpenDESIGN
With Carte Blanche, Dutch designer Annebet Philips turns porcelain into a visual sleight of hand. Built from cardboard-inspired forms rather than wheel-thrown symmetry, the collection swaps rounded ceramic archetypes for folded, faceted vessels outlined in hand-painted black lines. Cups, teapots, and plates read almost like sketches lifted off a page, collapsing three-dimensional tableware into something that feels graphic and flat. The result is a playful but conceptually sharp collection that challenges two long-standing assumptions of ceramics at once: that vessels should be round, and that they should look solidly, unmistakably real.
More unconventional ceramics on our blog.
With Carte Blanche, Dutch designer Annebet Philips turns porcelain into a visual sleight of hand. Built from cardboard-inspired forms rather than wheel-thrown symmetry, the collection swaps rounded ceramic archetypes for folded, faceted vessels outlined in hand-painted black lines. Cups, teapots, and plates read almost like sketches lifted off a page, collapsing three-dimensional tableware into something that feels graphic and flat. The result is a playful but conceptually sharp collection that challenges two long-standing assumptions of ceramics at once: that vessels should be round, and that they should look solidly, unmistakably real.
More unconventional ceramics on our blog.
#BeOpenNEWS #BeOpenART
BE OPEN Art has announced Ana Montoya as the June 2026 winner of its Art Limitless programme. A Colombian artist based in Marseille, Montoya creates layered collage works informed by textile traditions, anthropology, and her experiences working with Indigenous communities in the Amazon. Her tactile practice explores migration, identity, memory, and materiality while celebrating the enduring connection between handmade craft and contemporary art.
As a monthly winner, she advances in the Art Limitless programme's annual awards. Each month, a winning artist is selected and featured in the online gallery, and at the end of the year, three artists will be chosen from the monthly winners by members of the BE OPEN community to receive monetary awards and increased international visibility from the BE OPEN Foundation.
BE OPEN Art has announced Ana Montoya as the June 2026 winner of its Art Limitless programme. A Colombian artist based in Marseille, Montoya creates layered collage works informed by textile traditions, anthropology, and her experiences working with Indigenous communities in the Amazon. Her tactile practice explores migration, identity, memory, and materiality while celebrating the enduring connection between handmade craft and contemporary art.
As a monthly winner, she advances in the Art Limitless programme's annual awards. Each month, a winning artist is selected and featured in the online gallery, and at the end of the year, three artists will be chosen from the monthly winners by members of the BE OPEN community to receive monetary awards and increased international visibility from the BE OPEN Foundation.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Live Beats rethinks the role of headphones in noisy environments by shifting music from sound to touch. Designed by Haji Yang, the concept wearable uses soft tentacle-like extensions that rest against the cheek and tap in sync with a song’s rhythm when ambient noise becomes too overwhelming for audio alone. Rather than treating surrounding sound as something to cancel out, Live Beats adapts by translating musical patterns into tactile feedback, turning the face into a new interface for listening. With its organic, almost bio-mechanical form and its focus on rhythm as a physical sensation, the project offers a striking alternative to conventional noise-canceling design and hints at a broader future for wearables that communicate through touch.
More offbeat headphones on our blog.
Live Beats rethinks the role of headphones in noisy environments by shifting music from sound to touch. Designed by Haji Yang, the concept wearable uses soft tentacle-like extensions that rest against the cheek and tap in sync with a song’s rhythm when ambient noise becomes too overwhelming for audio alone. Rather than treating surrounding sound as something to cancel out, Live Beats adapts by translating musical patterns into tactile feedback, turning the face into a new interface for listening. With its organic, almost bio-mechanical form and its focus on rhythm as a physical sensation, the project offers a striking alternative to conventional noise-canceling design and hints at a broader future for wearables that communicate through touch.
More offbeat headphones on our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Designed by Georgia Institute of Technology student Zoe Mocklar, TULIP is a sustainable women’s shoe developed for professional settings, combining ergonomic performance with a materially conscious construction. The shoe features a refined, timeless silhouette with stitched detailing and a ventilation gap at the heel, while its sole made from tulip poplar offcuts is engineered to support a natural rolling motion of the foot for improved comfort in wear. The upper is formed from recycled wool, reinforced with vertical cotton stitching and paired with a reclaimed cotton lining, creating a construction that prioritises both durability and reduced material waste. Finished with biodegradable adhesives, TULIP is designed with end-of-life decomposition in mind, presenting a considered approach to footwear that integrates longevity, comfort and circular material thinking.
Designed by Georgia Institute of Technology student Zoe Mocklar, TULIP is a sustainable women’s shoe developed for professional settings, combining ergonomic performance with a materially conscious construction. The shoe features a refined, timeless silhouette with stitched detailing and a ventilation gap at the heel, while its sole made from tulip poplar offcuts is engineered to support a natural rolling motion of the foot for improved comfort in wear. The upper is formed from recycled wool, reinforced with vertical cotton stitching and paired with a reclaimed cotton lining, creating a construction that prioritises both durability and reduced material waste. Finished with biodegradable adhesives, TULIP is designed with end-of-life decomposition in mind, presenting a considered approach to footwear that integrates longevity, comfort and circular material thinking.
#BeOpenNEWS
BE OPEN has announced the winner of the Cyprus Future Heritage Competition, an initiative created in partnership with the Cyprus Handicraft Service of the Deputy Ministry of Culture and the Society of British and International Interior Design to celebrate and reinterpret the island’s weaving and embroidery traditions through contemporary design. Open to Cyprus-based students, graduates, and young professionals aged 18 to 30, the competition invited emerging creatives to engage with local craft heritage across four categories. The top prize went to 21-year-old UCLan Cyprus student Voula Sakka for A dress stitched with the threads of a story, a fashion piece that draws on Cypriot nature and craftsmanship through details such as Lefkara lace embroidery and a reimagined pomegranate structure, earning her a fully funded international internship organized by BE OPEN and SBID.
BE OPEN has announced the winner of the Cyprus Future Heritage Competition, an initiative created in partnership with the Cyprus Handicraft Service of the Deputy Ministry of Culture and the Society of British and International Interior Design to celebrate and reinterpret the island’s weaving and embroidery traditions through contemporary design. Open to Cyprus-based students, graduates, and young professionals aged 18 to 30, the competition invited emerging creatives to engage with local craft heritage across four categories. The top prize went to 21-year-old UCLan Cyprus student Voula Sakka for A dress stitched with the threads of a story, a fashion piece that draws on Cypriot nature and craftsmanship through details such as Lefkara lace embroidery and a reimagined pomegranate structure, earning her a fully funded international internship organized by BE OPEN and SBID.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Created by Nikita Bukoros Design, the Nothing Book is a concept laptop that imagines how Nothing could translate its transparent, minimal aesthetic into a high-performance device for gamers and creators. Building on the brand’s signature approach to exposed components and stripped-back industrial detailing, the concept reveals the laptop’s internal architecture beneath a translucent housing, turning cooling systems, circuit boards and structural elements into part of the visual composition. A secondary display integrated into the lid extends Nothing’s graphic language by allowing users to show messages, symbols and animations externally, while colour variants in red, green, pink and teal push the concept beyond the brand’s usual monochrome palette. Paired with a purpose-built charging dock and a practical port selection, the proposal positions the laptop as both a speculative consumer device and an industrial design statement.
Created by Nikita Bukoros Design, the Nothing Book is a concept laptop that imagines how Nothing could translate its transparent, minimal aesthetic into a high-performance device for gamers and creators. Building on the brand’s signature approach to exposed components and stripped-back industrial detailing, the concept reveals the laptop’s internal architecture beneath a translucent housing, turning cooling systems, circuit boards and structural elements into part of the visual composition. A secondary display integrated into the lid extends Nothing’s graphic language by allowing users to show messages, symbols and animations externally, while colour variants in red, green, pink and teal push the concept beyond the brand’s usual monochrome palette. Paired with a purpose-built charging dock and a practical port selection, the proposal positions the laptop as both a speculative consumer device and an industrial design statement.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Designed by Duncan Shotton, Soy Shape is a set of dipping dishes that uses the natural colour gradation of soy sauce to create the illusion of three-dimensional geometric forms when filled. Formed with irregular interior surfaces, the dishes transform from flat ceramic trays into compositions that appear to depict impossible triangles and cubes, turning a simple dining ritual into an optical experiment. Made in Japan by craftspeople in Gifu prefecture, the project pairs playful visual effect with careful production, and is offered in two packaging formats: a standard box containing two matching dishes, and a limited-edition hand-signed slide-box version featuring a layered cardboard presentation case assembled by hand at Shotton’s Tokyo studio.
Designed by Duncan Shotton, Soy Shape is a set of dipping dishes that uses the natural colour gradation of soy sauce to create the illusion of three-dimensional geometric forms when filled. Formed with irregular interior surfaces, the dishes transform from flat ceramic trays into compositions that appear to depict impossible triangles and cubes, turning a simple dining ritual into an optical experiment. Made in Japan by craftspeople in Gifu prefecture, the project pairs playful visual effect with careful production, and is offered in two packaging formats: a standard box containing two matching dishes, and a limited-edition hand-signed slide-box version featuring a layered cardboard presentation case assembled by hand at Shotton’s Tokyo studio.
#BeOpenDESIGN
RIFFMATE reimagines the electric guitar through subtraction, stripping away strings, fret wires, and the traditional solid body in favor of a skeletal, modular form that feels as much like a smart device as a musical instrument. Designed by LKK Design Beijing for Shanghai’s Wo Tan Ni Chang Technology, the concept pairs a touch-sensitive neck with a central pod housing the speaker, electronics, and acoustic chamber, creating a portable, self-amplifying instrument aimed at beginners and curious returnees alike. Its one-key disassembly, swappable shells, and AI-assisted interface position it less as a conventional guitar and more as a flexible, approachable system for making music.
More folding electric guitars on our blog.
RIFFMATE reimagines the electric guitar through subtraction, stripping away strings, fret wires, and the traditional solid body in favor of a skeletal, modular form that feels as much like a smart device as a musical instrument. Designed by LKK Design Beijing for Shanghai’s Wo Tan Ni Chang Technology, the concept pairs a touch-sensitive neck with a central pod housing the speaker, electronics, and acoustic chamber, creating a portable, self-amplifying instrument aimed at beginners and curious returnees alike. Its one-key disassembly, swappable shells, and AI-assisted interface position it less as a conventional guitar and more as a flexible, approachable system for making music.
More folding electric guitars on our blog.