Table of contents for 2026 Special in Frame

Reflection and projection are the two ideas that underpin our annual special issue. As the first issue of the year, it takes stock of the state of spatial design. Its primary source is the FRAME Awards 2025: the projects and people that, according to our jury of industry experts and in-house editorial team, represent the very best of spatial design over the past year. Together with insights from the jury sessions, they highlight what currently carries weight in interior design and offer cues as to where the discipline is headed. This year, reflection and projection are not only evident in the issue’s intent and structure, but woven into the very fabric of the projects and stories it contains – in more ways than one. In many of the winning projects,…

Spotlighted in print in our Ones to Watch article series in 2024 and often showcased on FRAMEweb, design collective RAD+ar (Research Artistic Design + Architecture) brings traditional Indonesian building techniques to the fore – and, through this, centres its practice on tropical and subtropical climates. The brainchild of Antonius Richard Rusli, RAD+ar shows how people can live sustainably in tropical environments at a time when much of the globe is facing a hotter future. The studio’s work builds a new visual vocabulary, bringing vernacular styles into unexpected typologies, showing that a ‘professional’ or ‘profitable’ building can be compatible with local architecture. The sensitivity and scale of the studio’s work have earned it recognition as Emerging Designer of the Year. We talk with Antonius Richard Rusli about architecture as a powerful…

THE ETHICONOMY Retail is becoming an architecture of awareness – one in which consumers value morals as much as material goods, and purchases reflect the shared ethics of brands and buyers. Clued-up consumers are letting their wallets do the talking. Expressing their values, ethics and societal concerns through their shopping habits, they’re buying less but better, gravitating towards goods that they know align with their world views. ‘Know’ is the operative word: today’s consumers want to trace the journey of a product from source to shelf and trust the brand behind it. Boycott movements demonstrate that conscious consumers are questioning every system that underpins their purchases, including environmental practices, labour conditions, political stances, animal welfare and conflict-related concerns. In response, physical retail experiences are being reimagined to place transparency at…

RESTOURISM In an era of flight shame and overtourism, a new generation of hospitality is putting restoration before recreation, offering travellers a way to explore the world without destroying it. Traveller’s guilt may not be grounding planes, but as more people feel the personal weight of their leisure choices, a shift is taking shape. There’s a growing desire for Restourism – experiences that reframe hospitality as a force for renewal, not just for the body and mind but for the land and its local communities. Hospitality projects are restoring heritage buildings, rewilding landscapes and partnering with local conservation initiatives. From carbon-sequestering cabins to permaculture-inspired lodges, architecture and ecology are merging. Destinations are designed with biodiversity in mind and built to give back more than they take. Travellers are prioritizing site-stewardship…

KAGOSHIMA Atelier Salad reimagined a 90-year-old wooden house in a quiet fishing village in southern Japan for a chef who relocated from the city – as both a contemporary residence and a semi-public gathering space. The project envisions a new way to live, work and connect within a community facing depopulation. Rather than restoring the building in a solely nostalgic manner, the architects wrapped the entire structure in silver galvanized steel – a bold, shimmering intervention that protects and transforms the original timber frame. The metallic surface recalls the glint of sardines and the aluminium fish crates used at the nearby port, a sensitivity highly appreciated by the jury. ‘The material reinterprets the fishing village’s cultural identity through contemporary architecture, turning the house into a spatial narrative device,’ said jury…

HIROSHIMA Suppose Design Office gives back to its hometown, Hiroshima, through a thoughtful renovation that provides its employees a rejuvenating workspace and the neighbourhood with a gathering spot. With a concept centred around the intersection of ‘eating, work and play’, the architects considered both the form and function of the renovation through the lens of the building’s relationship with the city. Thus, the ageing original structure was worked with, not against: a metal façade rusted into an intentional finish, old window frames used as benches and original windows repurposed in the lighting fixtures all feature in the finished project. Jury member Silvia Aranda, global design sustainability director at JLL Design, appreciated the ‘powerful philosophy’ of the designers ‘embracing the building’s ageing elements instead of fighting them’. Besides the café area…

C-SUITES With workers craving connection and comfort, workplaces draw on hospitality’s playbook, creating environments that support a more human rhythm of work. The remote-first culture has reshaped workers’ expectations, but it has also revealed the limitations of isolation. Now, as people return to the workplace – sometimes out of necessity, but increasingly by choice – they are looking for more than just a desk. They are looking for atmosphere and environments that support productivity and wellbeing. In response, offices are adopting the approach of boutique hotels: curated, sensory and attentive. The core idea is to create spaces that restore as much as they demand. Comfort is becoming a strategy for sustaining engagement rather than an indulgence. However, incorporating hospitality into the workplace can create inherent tensions. The promise of hotel-like…

TORONTO The Anduhyaun Women’s Shelter in Toronto prioritizes cultural identity and spiritual wellbeing as the main conduits of recovery. LGA Architectural Partners drew on Indigenous design principles to create a safe space for (predominantly Indigenous) women fleeing violence. Named after the Ojibwe word for ‘our home’, the 18-room complex has a loose, flowing ground floor that defies rectilinear institutional conventions. Resources precious to Canada’s Indigenous communities – namely, water and light – are evident throughout the design. Soft, curved walls suggest a meandering stream and lead residents on a natural journey from the entryway to the counselling and community spaces. Blue glazed tiles hint at fresh water, and custom cedar shingles arranged in gentle, spiralling patterns evoke waves and natural forms. A circular, cedar-clad room for ceremonies, called the Nookomis…

MELBOURNE Pakenham Station, located in the Melbourne metropolitan area, reimagines Australian rail architecture as open-air civic infrastructure. Genton’s radical subtraction – removing the façade – transformed a once-enclosed commuter node into a transparent landmark integrated into the urban fabric. Elevating 2.5 km of track unlocks parkland, connects a previously divided suburb with bike paths, recreation zones and green spaces, and incorporates Indigenous cultural narratives into the public realm. A digitally fabricated thermoset canopy pioneers low-carbon, millimetre-precise construction, signalling a new era of advanced manufacturing. Jury member George Takla, senior manager of interior design at Dubai Holding, particularly appreciated the roof, describing it as ‘impressive and beautifully detailed’. With improved circulation, safety and multimodal flow, the station shifts from a transport choke point to an inclusive public platform shaped by light,…

A series of sculptural seating and lighting pieces are formed by continuous bent steel bars in Héctor Esrawe’s Frecuencia collection. Esrawe is known for working with natural materials and artisanal techniques from his native Mexico, aiming to produce timeless pieces that are both aesthetically pleasing and practical. For the Frecuencia collection, Esrawe aimed to evoke ‘the sensation of an endless, functional vibration’. The depth and offset of the bars create negative space through which light passes, giving the objects an ethereal glow. The jury members were captivated by the series, describing it as a ‘unique form and approach’ (Elliott Koehler, creative director at JPA Design), ‘artistic and sculptural’ (Chloe Liew, creative director at Elto Consultancy), and ‘a remarkable project that transcends the boundaries of design and enters the realm of…

Monthly Juries FEBRUARY Laura C. Bielecki, associate director of interiors at Dubai Holding Real Estate, Joya Nandurdikar, founding partner of Untitled Design and Furgonomics, Adrien Ganassin, senior director of design and development for food and beverage at Marriott International, Kevin Haley, founder and managing director of Kevin Haley Studio, Jugal Mistri, founder and principal architect of JMA Mumbai, Xiao Ou, founder and design director of XIAOOU Office, Valeria Segovia, principal of Gensler, Bani Singh, founder of GroundedDesign, Fernando Sordo Madaleno de Haro, principal of Sordo Madaleno, Song Zhen, vice president of decoration and general manager of interior design at Wide Horizon Investment Group MARCH Akanksha Gupta, partner at Vijay Gupta Architects, Alvaro Paredes, principal and partner at DesignLab, Arjun Malik, principal architect at Malik Architecture, Blair Cooper, creative director at…

What happens backstage at the world’s biggest shows was something of a mystery to FRAME – as it is to many – when we first began writing about set design. We marvelled at the stages of live shows, many of which shared a strong sense of imagination, but we didn’t know who brought them to life. However, after some research, we discovered a common thread linking the projects that stood out to us most: Es Devlin, a designer whose work defines the visual identity of many shows. Our first major feature on Devlin was published at the end of 2014. Will Georgi, one of our editors at the time, visited her London studio, where two set models the size of large dollhouses dominated the room. One represented a future production…

For excelling in the Awards criteria and exemplifying the magazine’s core values, Colab by Lucas Muñoz Muñoz earns the Editor’s Pick. The project – a creative laboratory in Madrid, developed with Sancal – takes the notion of site-specific material reuse and stretches it to the nth degree by imposing one rule: anything inside the pre-renovation space that cannot be recycled must be repurposed in the final product. Steel floor supports were transformed into coat hooks, dead fluorescent lightbulbs were banded together to create a custom LED lighting object, and even doorknobs were custom-made using parts that would normally end up in the dumpster without a second thought. The team’s design methodology shows just what is possible when a group chooses integrity and respect for materials that are so easily considered…

MILAN For the Gandia Blasco Group Booth at Salone del Mobile 2025, Kengo Kuma & Associates took inspiration from the Hos furniture collection also on display. The sensitive relationship between recycled PET fabrics and architectural wooden frames in the collection is scaled up in the booth. Soft partitions are draped off teak frames reminiscent of Japanese joinery. These partitions, patterned to evoke natural phenomena of rain, soil or fog, blur the boundaries between interior and exterior. The result is a spatial experience imbued with ‘greater tenderness’, according to Kuma; here, softness transforms the way we perceive space. ‘A neutral, natural colour palette ensures cohesion, with a vibrant textile feature at the entrance acting as a visual anchor,’ said jury member Banghui Wei, chief interior designer at Gemdale Corporation. ‘The design’s…

In answer to the systemic challenges of our world, Domus Academy positions its Master of Arts in Design Innovation around a central premise: producing objects is not enough; we must learn to analyse and understand the world around us. Graduate Celine Junita’s thesis project – a hand-illustrated cookzine addressing how young adults have lost connection to cooking and reading – exemplifies this critical, research-driven approach. In Jakarta, where Celine Junita lived before enrolling at Domus Academy in Milan, the cultural landscape mirrors a broader global shift. Cheap, instant meals and delivery apps have made home cooking – and the spaces where it takes place – feel obsolete. Social media is riddled with cooking videos and recipe carousels, yet fewer young adults, Junita found, actually cook. The skill might be disappearing,…

Masters at turning spaces into destinations through design, Designer of the Year Aim Architecture, founded by Belgian and Dutch architects Wendy Saunders and Vincent de Graaf in 2005, has appeared in the pages of FRAME many times. While the terms ‘experiential’ and ‘immersive’ are often overused and underdelivered, Aim Architecture truly embodies them. Its retail interiors invite exploration, providing settings for serendipity and turning shopping experiences into treasure hunts that tap into natural human curiosity. Narrative-based to the extreme, Aim Architecture’s retail concepts organically cast customers as characters in a kind of play, leaving them feeling that their time shopping has been active, not passive. Its highly engaging physical posts for a Chinese cosmetics e-tailer – with which Aim has built a longstanding relationship – are a prime example. Working…

LOS ANGELES The Melrose Place location of luxury fashion label 424 in Los Angeles was designed by Zoo as Zoo to embody the brand’s avant-garde ethos. Aiming to stir curiosity and emotion, the immersive retail environment moves away from conventional aesthetics, reflecting 424’s philosophy of blending opposites. Cavernous and grotto-like, it juxtaposes warm and cold tones and industrial and organic elements. However, creativity doesn’t override function: the store features modular shelving and sculptural custom racks, with storage concealed behind hand-formed stucco walls. Although the jury members raised some questions about the flexibility of the displays, the shopability of the space and the detailing, they agreed on the project’s clear narrative. Peter Meinders, a lecturer at Saxion University of Applied Sciences, said that the somewhat ‘dystopian atmosphere’ perfectly fits the brand’s…

FOSHAN Spanning 3,000-m2 of interior and exterior spaces, E Studio’s showroom for outdoor furniture brand Higold blurs the line between architecture and landscape. Located at Higold’s Interstellar Headquarters in Foshan, China, the showroom features curved forms shaped by ceramic sand and granite that recall the contours of desert dunes. Inside, products are grouped by attribute, and the lighting mimics natural sunlight and shadow to create an outdoor feel. ‘A spatial experience that is both sculptural and serene,’ said jury member Almut Becvar, partner and CCO of SR Studio. ‘The showroom gains a sense of humanity through soft transitions, natural textures and tactile presence, turning sophistication into a lived experience.’ While Peter Meinders, a lecturer at Saxion University of Applied Sciences, praised the space’s ‘great form, amazing proportions and nice materials’,…

BARCELONA Sigla Studio’s transformation of a 1904 modernist landmark in Barcelona’s Eixample district began with a careful uncovering of the building’s hidden layers – including hydraulic floors, ornate mouldings and other structural details long obscured. Eventually, it evolved into a sensitive restoration strategy that reimagines domestic life within a framework of historical reverence and contemporary functionality. The apartment’s kitchen anchors the project, a new window and reconfigured layout introducing natural light and fluid circulation. Material pairings of red Alicante marble, steel and cherry wood strike a deliberate balance between tradition and innovation. In the bathroom, custom marble sinks and open layouts enhance daily rituals, blending artisanal craft with spatial clarity. Energy-conscious updates, including double-glazed windows and eco-friendly finishes, enhance comfort without compromising authenticity. The jury commended the project’s guiding ethos:…

OFF-TEMPLATE LIVING Living environments are being reimagined to prioritize adaptability over adherence, transforming domesticity into an evolving practice shaped by its inhabitants rather than predetermined scripts. Rising housing costs and outdated design frameworks are prompting a re-examination of long-standing assumptions in residential planning – from rigid codes to supposedly ‘neutral’ typologies that have quietly dictated who can live where. In response, domestic spaces are becoming an architecture of possibility, liberated from the narrow blueprint of the nuclear family and attuned to the fluid realities of contemporary life. Across cities and continents, inhabitants are rejecting prescriptive floor plans that once dictated how a life should unfold. Instead of compartmentalized residences, they seek environments that can respond to changing relationships, shifting careers and the inevitable ebb and flow of household compositions. Today’s…

BOSTON The Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University unites 3,000 students, faculty and staff in a collaborative, flexible environment for research, study and teaching. Academic ‘neighbourhoods’ are stacked within a cantilevered, triple-glazed volume optimized for energy efficiency. Diagonal louvres and mirrored sawtooth façades create a crisp, linear expression while contributing to the building’s LEED Platinum, fossil-free credentials. Inside the vertical campus, lightfilled atriums, interconnected stairs and collaborative spaces with writable surfaces cultivate an open culture of exchange, framed by warm woods, low-impact materials and a punchy palette. With its mix of labs, classrooms, social spaces and a rooftop pavilion overlooking the Charles River, the centre positions sustainability and collaboration as the engines of next-generation academic life. The jury members commended the relationship between the bold,…

XI’AN Daipu Architects’ reimagining of a rural courtyard in Caijiapo Village for the Guanzhong Mangba Art Festival demonstrates how material innovation can respond to both regional culture and contemporary spatial needs. The 37-m2 exhibition hall draws inspiration from the wave-shaped tile elements of local dwellings, allowing them to flow down the sloping roof to form a curtain-like metal texture. The façade responds dynamically to natural light and shadow. The perforated metal panels, which were prefabricated in a factory and assembled on-site within just two days, create a play of streaming light that filters through the structure. A circular passage at the exhibition hall entrance guides visitors deeper into the courtyard, while rotating metal mesh curtains radiate multiple lines across the pavement, serving dual functions of drainage and wayfinding. The unpretentious…

Storage shelf and towel-warmer in one, JJ is designed by Palomba Serafini Associati (PS+A) for Tubes Radiatori. A slot – which is either open or closed, depending on the model – functions as a towel rail. Made from recyclable aluminium, the multifunctional object is also designed for use across multiple typologies, from the home to the worlds of hospitality and wellness. JJ’s extra-low voltage makes it safe for installation in wet areas or near water, providing easy access to warm towels inside a walk-in shower or above a bathtub. ‘I like how a functional element becomes both a design feature and a source of comfort,’ said jury member and design industry board advisor Daniel Gava. Already available in three sizes and power ratings and in numerous configurations to accommodate a…