Could this be the future of British housing? Photo by Ethan Wilkinson
Get a bitesize overview of the week’s headlines and events with Icon’s round-up
SCENE
DEFINING BEAUTY
The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’s Report on how to improve housing quality and increase housebuilding was released earlier this week. Abounding in Scrutonian platitudes, the report nonetheless contained a few sensible proposals, such as mandating more volume-driven masterplanning, developing and applying local building design codes, and suggesting more stringent norms for permitted development, which currently allows office buildings to be converted into homes as small as 13 sqm.
TRANS EMOJI
Seventeen new emojis have been revealed by the Unicode consortium, which regulates emojis for Apple and Android devices. Some of the highlights include ‘the Italian hand gesture’, bubble tea, Swiss fondue, as well as the transgender flag.
OPEN CALL
The fifth edition of Istanbul Design Biennial, curated by Martina Pestana and titled Empathy Revisited: Designs for more than one, invites contributors to respond to their open call, which relates to their ‘menus’ and ‘tools’ section. The contributions could include menus, cooking workshops, performances, cooking utensils, as well as any projects that enable visitors to discuss the relationship between, design, politics and food. The deadline is 28 February.
This Austrian commemorative Brexit stamp showcases the country’s understated sense of humour. Image courtesy of Austria Press Agency
BREXIT COMMEMORATIONS
On 31 January 2020, UK released a Brexit 50p coin with an inscription ‘Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations’ to mark the official date of leaving the European Union. This is not the country’s first attempt, as a batch of such coins dated 31 October 2019 had to be melted down after the UK missed that particular deadline for Brexit. Austria’s postal service came up with a more elegant solution, however. After having printed commemorative Brexit stamps bearing the earlier date of 29 March 2019, the small Alpine nation’s postmasters simply decided to run the stamps through the printing press again, striking though the original date and placing the correct one below.
EVENTS
The Notebooks of Giancarlo de Carlo, Triennale, Milan
Featuring sketches by Giancarlo de Carlo, Team X member and one of Italy’s most influential post-war architects, this exhibition will give an insight into the evolution of his design philosophy. Until 29 March
triennale.org
Camille Walala and Lego present the playful House of Dots. Photo courtesy of Getty Images, Zetteler PR
House of Dots, Coal Drops Yard, London
LEGO has teamed up with designer Camille Walala to create a playful installation at London’s Coal Drops Yard. Until 2 Feb
coaldropsyard.com
Stockholm Design Week & Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair, various venues, Stockholm
The largest design event and furniture trade fair in the Nordics offers a varied programme, from student exhibitions, installations to pop-ups and new releases by Scandi brands. 3-9 February (fair runs 4-8 February)
stockholmdesignweek.com
Madrid Design Festival, various venues, Madrid
The month-long design festival showcases the best of the city’s homegrown design scene. Additionally, Turin features as a ‘guest city’, with additional talks and an exhibition dedicated to its design culture. 1-29 Feb
madriddesignfestival.com
