#BeOpenDESIGN
Developed by Opera della Marca and supported by the Fondazione Oltre il Labirinto, HugBike is an inclusive tandem bicycle designed for people with autism, Down syndrome, blindness and other disabilities. Its reversed layout places the rider in need of support at the front while the driver steers from behind using extended handlebars, creating a reassuring "hug" that improves comfort, safety and accessibility for riders of all ages.
Developed by Opera della Marca and supported by the Fondazione Oltre il Labirinto, HugBike is an inclusive tandem bicycle designed for people with autism, Down syndrome, blindness and other disabilities. Its reversed layout places the rider in need of support at the front while the driver steers from behind using extended handlebars, creating a reassuring "hug" that improves comfort, safety and accessibility for riders of all ages.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Swedish practice ADDI Designstudio has created the STEKA sauté pan for Japanese cookware brand Mozambique, rethinking traditional cookware with an octagonal, uncoated aluminum form designed for lifelong use. Cast from 5mm solid aluminum, the pan features a removable screw-fixed handle for repair and replacement, a matching self-basting lid inspired by the Japanese otoshibuta, and a durable construction suited to both kitchen stoves and open-fire cooking.
Swedish practice ADDI Designstudio has created the STEKA sauté pan for Japanese cookware brand Mozambique, rethinking traditional cookware with an octagonal, uncoated aluminum form designed for lifelong use. Cast from 5mm solid aluminum, the pan features a removable screw-fixed handle for repair and replacement, a matching self-basting lid inspired by the Japanese otoshibuta, and a durable construction suited to both kitchen stoves and open-fire cooking.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Madkids Empire transforms analog synthesizers into sculptural landscapes inspired by lakes, mountains, trees, and living ecosystems. Founded by Xam, the experimental practice uses intuitive interfaces, graphic metaphors, and playful interaction to make complex circuitry feel less like technical equipment and more like a world to explore. By replacing conventional controls and terminology with visual cues and conceptual language, these instruments encourage users to discover sound through touch, experimentation, and unexpected feedback.
More experimental synthesizers on our blog.
Madkids Empire transforms analog synthesizers into sculptural landscapes inspired by lakes, mountains, trees, and living ecosystems. Founded by Xam, the experimental practice uses intuitive interfaces, graphic metaphors, and playful interaction to make complex circuitry feel less like technical equipment and more like a world to explore. By replacing conventional controls and terminology with visual cues and conceptual language, these instruments encourage users to discover sound through touch, experimentation, and unexpected feedback.
More experimental synthesizers on our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Barcelona brand Kilzi turns furniture into a playful study of movement with the Barefoot Table. Designed by Jorge Suárez-Kilzi, its slanted legs make the solid dyed-chestnut table appear as if it is quietly walking. Balancing humour with a thoughtful meditation on stillness and change, the design captures the idea of "motion held in balance", reminding us that even the most familiar interiors are never truly static.
More furniture that communicates on our blog.
Barcelona brand Kilzi turns furniture into a playful study of movement with the Barefoot Table. Designed by Jorge Suárez-Kilzi, its slanted legs make the solid dyed-chestnut table appear as if it is quietly walking. Balancing humour with a thoughtful meditation on stillness and change, the design captures the idea of "motion held in balance", reminding us that even the most familiar interiors are never truly static.
More furniture that communicates on our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Designed by Kamil Laszuk, Musicon is an interactive, fully analogue musical instrument that combines a drum, xylophone and ball-bearing mill to teach children through play. Resembling a traditional barrel organ, the wooden device uses repositionable pegs and interchangeable magnetic instruments to encourage musical composition while introducing concepts such as rhythm, logic, maths and basic coding.
Designed by Kamil Laszuk, Musicon is an interactive, fully analogue musical instrument that combines a drum, xylophone and ball-bearing mill to teach children through play. Resembling a traditional barrel organ, the wooden device uses repositionable pegs and interchangeable magnetic instruments to encourage musical composition while introducing concepts such as rhythm, logic, maths and basic coding.
#BeOpenARCH
Studio Frank Havermans has marked the 500th anniversary of Nijmegen's medieval Besiendershuis with two temporary timber structures that extend the historic building's cultural programme into the city. Constructed from plywood and inspired by medieval timber construction, The Hanging Chamber and The Slender House provide spaces for artist residencies, performances and public events while framing the 16th-century landmark with a contemporary architectural intervention.
Studio Frank Havermans has marked the 500th anniversary of Nijmegen's medieval Besiendershuis with two temporary timber structures that extend the historic building's cultural programme into the city. Constructed from plywood and inspired by medieval timber construction, The Hanging Chamber and The Slender House provide spaces for artist residencies, performances and public events while framing the 16th-century landmark with a contemporary architectural intervention.
#BeOpenARCH
Studio Officina82 has completed TreeBOX, a timber retreat elevated on four wooden posts in the oak forests of Selucente, Italy. Inspired by traditional Ligurian Alpine hay barns, the compact cabin is wrapped in timber shingles and features expansive glazing, a suspended net loft and a bridge entrance, offering immersive views of the surrounding woodland and mountains while avoiding structural impact on the trees.
Studio Officina82 has completed TreeBOX, a timber retreat elevated on four wooden posts in the oak forests of Selucente, Italy. Inspired by traditional Ligurian Alpine hay barns, the compact cabin is wrapped in timber shingles and features expansive glazing, a suspended net loft and a bridge entrance, offering immersive views of the surrounding woodland and mountains while avoiding structural impact on the trees.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Between Two Naps is giving discarded grocery delivery bags a second life with the Delivery Jacket, a handmade dog coat that blends sustainability with playful fashion. Created by the New York City-based studio behind experimental canine accessories, each one-of-a-kind jacket is crafted from upcycled insulated packaging and tailored to fit small dogs. The reflective material provides warmth for colder months while retaining the recognizable graphics and labels from its previous life, transforming everyday waste into a functional statement piece that celebrates circular design with a dose of humor.
Between Two Naps is giving discarded grocery delivery bags a second life with the Delivery Jacket, a handmade dog coat that blends sustainability with playful fashion. Created by the New York City-based studio behind experimental canine accessories, each one-of-a-kind jacket is crafted from upcycled insulated packaging and tailored to fit small dogs. The reflective material provides warmth for colder months while retaining the recognizable graphics and labels from its previous life, transforming everyday waste into a functional statement piece that celebrates circular design with a dose of humor.
#BeOpenDESIGN
British designer Audrey Levy’s project How to Grow a Refrigerator, also titled Xero Cool, rethinks refrigeration through bio-based materials and solar thermal cooling. Developed at Central Saint Martins, the compact appliance uses bacterial cellulose xerogel and felted wool as insulating layers, replacing conventional plastic foams with a lightweight, compostable material system. Internally, macrofluidic panels circulate cooled water, while a proposed solar-thermal absorption cycle generates cooling without continuous electrical power. Its soft, visibly material-driven form challenges the rigid aesthetic and technological conventions of conventional refrigerators, positioning refrigeration as a system shaped by material science, energy infrastructure, and changing patterns of food consumption.
British designer Audrey Levy’s project How to Grow a Refrigerator, also titled Xero Cool, rethinks refrigeration through bio-based materials and solar thermal cooling. Developed at Central Saint Martins, the compact appliance uses bacterial cellulose xerogel and felted wool as insulating layers, replacing conventional plastic foams with a lightweight, compostable material system. Internally, macrofluidic panels circulate cooled water, while a proposed solar-thermal absorption cycle generates cooling without continuous electrical power. Its soft, visibly material-driven form challenges the rigid aesthetic and technological conventions of conventional refrigerators, positioning refrigeration as a system shaped by material science, energy infrastructure, and changing patterns of food consumption.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Harvest Moon, created by Charles Holland, Catharine Rossi and Local Works, explores how sustainable design can begin with the materials already available in a local landscape. Made entirely from materials and tools sourced within 40 miles of Canterbury, the table combines chalk, chestnut and apple wood with agricultural waste, turning overlooked resources into a functional piece of furniture. Designed to be disassembled, transported and rebuilt, Harvest Moon is also a communal act of making, bringing people together through the ritual of assembling the table. Rather than treating sustainability as simply a question of material choice, the project connects local resources, low-impact making and social gathering into one evolving design experience.
More furniture from bio-materials on our blog.
Harvest Moon, created by Charles Holland, Catharine Rossi and Local Works, explores how sustainable design can begin with the materials already available in a local landscape. Made entirely from materials and tools sourced within 40 miles of Canterbury, the table combines chalk, chestnut and apple wood with agricultural waste, turning overlooked resources into a functional piece of furniture. Designed to be disassembled, transported and rebuilt, Harvest Moon is also a communal act of making, bringing people together through the ritual of assembling the table. Rather than treating sustainability as simply a question of material choice, the project connects local resources, low-impact making and social gathering into one evolving design experience.
More furniture from bio-materials on our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Summit Sofa by Cyprus-based studio Mousarris is a modular seating system designed for space-efficient living. Its curved, magnetic cushions can be configured into multiple sofa arrangements or attached to a wall-mounted magnetic board, where they form a minimalist sculptural composition. By shifting between functional seating and wall display, the design maximizes floor space while integrating furniture and visual art.
More modular sofas on our blog.
Summit Sofa by Cyprus-based studio Mousarris is a modular seating system designed for space-efficient living. Its curved, magnetic cushions can be configured into multiple sofa arrangements or attached to a wall-mounted magnetic board, where they form a minimalist sculptural composition. By shifting between functional seating and wall display, the design maximizes floor space while integrating furniture and visual art.
More modular sofas on our blog.
#BeOpenART #BeOpenNEWS
BE OPEN Art has named Prague-based artist Marie Boková its August Regional Artist of the Month in the Central Europe stage of its 2026 global art competition, running from May to August 2026. The stage brings together emerging artists from nine Central European countries, with monthly winners advancing to the final selection for the Regional Winner title. The winner will receive a €500 cash prize and increased international visibility through the BE OPEN Art platform. Boková, who studies Ceramics and Porcelain at UMPRUM, explores memory and the relationship between human histories and the natural world through ceramic sculpture and material-based processes.
BE OPEN Art has named Prague-based artist Marie Boková its August Regional Artist of the Month in the Central Europe stage of its 2026 global art competition, running from May to August 2026. The stage brings together emerging artists from nine Central European countries, with monthly winners advancing to the final selection for the Regional Winner title. The winner will receive a €500 cash prize and increased international visibility through the BE OPEN Art platform. Boková, who studies Ceramics and Porcelain at UMPRUM, explores memory and the relationship between human histories and the natural world through ceramic sculpture and material-based processes.
#BeOpenDESIGN
German designer Ole Müller’s Blumentasche reinterprets the conventional vase as a flat, perforated stainless-steel structure. Designed in Dresden and handcrafted in Bavaria, the object replaces a traditional vessel with a rigid grid through which individual stems are threaded. Its precise geometry provides a framework for arranging flowers while remaining visually present, creating a changing composition as organic forms extend across both sides. The contrast between industrial material and unpredictable plant growth turns the mechanics of flower arranging into the central design element.
German designer Ole Müller’s Blumentasche reinterprets the conventional vase as a flat, perforated stainless-steel structure. Designed in Dresden and handcrafted in Bavaria, the object replaces a traditional vessel with a rigid grid through which individual stems are threaded. Its precise geometry provides a framework for arranging flowers while remaining visually present, creating a changing composition as organic forms extend across both sides. The contrast between industrial material and unpredictable plant growth turns the mechanics of flower arranging into the central design element.
#BeOpenNEWS #BeOpenART
BE OPEN Regional Art 2026, an initiative by Elena Baturina’s BE OPEN, supports emerging artists whose work reflects regional, cultural, and ethnic identities. From September to December, the competition focuses on artists from Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, and Taiwan, with 20 artists featured each month in the BE OPEN Art online gallery. Public voting and the BE OPEN art community select monthly winners, culminating in a €500 Artist of the Region award and a €300 Founder’s Favourite prize.
BE OPEN Regional Art 2026, an initiative by Elena Baturina’s BE OPEN, supports emerging artists whose work reflects regional, cultural, and ethnic identities. From September to December, the competition focuses on artists from Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, and Taiwan, with 20 artists featured each month in the BE OPEN Art online gallery. Public voting and the BE OPEN art community select monthly winners, culminating in a €500 Artist of the Region award and a €300 Founder’s Favourite prize.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Tbilisi-based XYZ Integrated Architecture’s Water Glasses reduces eyewear to lenses and paracord, eliminating conventional frames, hinges, and rigid arms. The design treats the cord as both structural connector and retention system, allowing the lenses to remain attached to the wearer when not in use. Pierced directly through the lenses, the cord and knots become visible elements of the construction, emphasizing material economy and assembly. Available in configurations of one to three lens sets, the project shifts between functional eyewear and wearable sculpture, combining optical precision with a deliberately minimal construction.
Tbilisi-based XYZ Integrated Architecture’s Water Glasses reduces eyewear to lenses and paracord, eliminating conventional frames, hinges, and rigid arms. The design treats the cord as both structural connector and retention system, allowing the lenses to remain attached to the wearer when not in use. Pierced directly through the lenses, the cord and knots become visible elements of the construction, emphasizing material economy and assembly. Available in configurations of one to three lens sets, the project shifts between functional eyewear and wearable sculpture, combining optical precision with a deliberately minimal construction.
#BeOpenNEWS #BeOpenART
BE OPEN Art announces Karolína Amálie Šimková as Artist of the Month for August 2026. The Czech painter’s figurative practice explores emotion, memory, and the complexities of contemporary social experience, using intimate representations and expressive colour to reflect on inner psychological states and the ways people construct, reveal, and conceal their identities. As one of BE OPEN Art’s monthly winners, Šimková will advance to compete for the Artist of the Year 2026 title, with the overall winner receiving a €1,000 prize and promotional support from BE OPEN Art.
BE OPEN Art announces Karolína Amálie Šimková as Artist of the Month for August 2026. The Czech painter’s figurative practice explores emotion, memory, and the complexities of contemporary social experience, using intimate representations and expressive colour to reflect on inner psychological states and the ways people construct, reveal, and conceal their identities. As one of BE OPEN Art’s monthly winners, Šimková will advance to compete for the Artist of the Year 2026 title, with the overall winner receiving a €1,000 prize and promotional support from BE OPEN Art.
#BeOpenARCH
Brette Haus approaches the fold-out cabin as a transportable architectural system rather than simply a rapidly deployable structure. Its cabins use a lightweight cross-laminated timber (CLT) shell and a patented hinge system designed for repeated folding, allowing the compact volume to be transported folded and expanded on site. The design prioritizes structural efficiency and portability, but its architectural proposition extends beyond the unfolding mechanism: transportation weight, site access, foundations, utilities, and local classification all shape how the cabin can actually be deployed. Brette Haus therefore sits between prefabricated architecture and mobile construction, where the folding system is as integral to the building as its material and spatial organization.
Brette Haus approaches the fold-out cabin as a transportable architectural system rather than simply a rapidly deployable structure. Its cabins use a lightweight cross-laminated timber (CLT) shell and a patented hinge system designed for repeated folding, allowing the compact volume to be transported folded and expanded on site. The design prioritizes structural efficiency and portability, but its architectural proposition extends beyond the unfolding mechanism: transportation weight, site access, foundations, utilities, and local classification all shape how the cabin can actually be deployed. Brette Haus therefore sits between prefabricated architecture and mobile construction, where the folding system is as integral to the building as its material and spatial organization.