Frame #145

In the March/April issue of Frame, we investigate light’s role in creating human-centric spaces.

Reporting From
Returning from a trip to Valencia, designated as World Design Capital 2022, Floor Kuitert recalls her encounter with the rich ceramics culture that seeps through the city’s past and present. And: Jenna Gottlieb asks why Iceland’s capital is lagging behind its Nordic neighbours when it comes to accessibility and inclusivity.

Business of Design
How youth culture is reshaping hospitality. Phygital venues for esports entertainment. What packaging-free retail means for store design. Sustainable restaurants enter a new chapter. How workspaces can tackle the loneliness epidemic.

In Practice
Various Associates on combining the best of Western and Chinese design. Marjan van Aubel on making solar energy accessible. Spotify on developing offices for hypergrowth.

Spaces
Why retail is showing its shadow side. Plyscrapers reach new heights. Animals up the design ante for interiors. China’s parent-child retail revolution. The growth of the small-living movement.

Frame Lab: Light Therapy
Artificial light. We’ve designed our modern world around it, but now it’s wreaking havoc on human health. With excessive screen time and light pollution contributing to the disruption of circadian rhythms, is it time we turned out the lights? Not necessarily. As we explore in this Frame Lab, designers are taking a more humanized approach to illumination by borrowing from nature.

The Challenge: Well-Lit
Light is the biggest stimulus to the nervous system, and light pollution – through everything from continually lit cities, day and night, to constant screen time – is affecting sleep patterns and general wellbeing, as well as prolonging recovery time. How can we tap into the more restorative potential of light to counter these issues? And how can we make our systems more human-centric while better balancing artificial and natural light? We asked three creative practices to share their ideas.

Market
Lower-impact design with recycled materials, self-built furniture, modular seating solutions, versatile collections for in- and outdoors, and freedom-focused setups for agile working.