Five architecture and design events in October from Dezeen Events Guide

Dutch Design Week 2021, the postponed Expo 2020 Dubai the thirteenth edition of Design Week Mexico are among the architecture and design events featured in Dezeen Events Guide this month.

Other events taking place this month include Archtober, a New York City-based celebration of architecture and design, and Design Korea, which will comprise an exhibition and three business events in Seoul that address carbon neutral design.

Read on for details of five highlights and see Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.

Top and above: Dutch Design Week takes place in Eindhoven

Dutch Design Week
16 to 24 October, the Netherlands

Taking place across various locations in Eindhoven, Dutch Design Week returns over nine days from 16 to 24 October.

After last year's virtual edition, which was limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, the design week returns this year as a physical event.

A series of exhibitions, debates, lectures, awards ceremonies and networking opportunities will be hosted at over 100 locations across the city, with an emphasis on the themes of innovation and experimentation.

Designart Tokyo
22 to 31 October, Japan

Flexform and Perrier-Jouët are among the brands that will host exhibitions during Designart Tokyo, an annual festival that takes place in Japan and provides creatives with an opportunity to connect.

With the theme of "chance," this year's edition will continue its tradition of aiming to provide a platform for young artists and designers to publicly showcase their work.

Design Market will be a new digital feature at Design Week Mexico

Design Week Mexico
6 to 31 October, Mexico

The month of October sees Design Week Mexico return to the country with the theme "design is the answer", and will honour the culture of Oaxaca as this year's chosen guest state.

The event will take place at locations across Mexico and online and span four main exhibitions, with participants including GG Architecture, Studioroca and ADG Workshop.

Design Week Mexico's 2021 edition includes a new feature called Design Market. This commercial platform will provide a digital space for designers from all over the country to exhibit and market their products.

Expo 2020 Dubai
1 October to 31 March, UAE

Despite being rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Expo 2020 Dubai retains its original name and will run for six months in the city.

Themed Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, Expo 2020 Dubai will exhibit work from 190 countries, including pavilions built for the expo titled Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability.

AGi Architects designed the Opportunity pavilion, while Foster + Partners created the Mobility pavilion and the Sustainability pavilion was designed by Grimshaw Architects.

Director Liam Young's Planet City film is being shown at Copenhagen Architecture Festival

Copenhagen Architecture Festival
7 to 17 October, Denmark

Attendees to Copenhagen Architecture Festival will experience a series of events including film screenings, debates, exhibitions and art performances under the theme Landscapes of Care.

Discussing architecture's impact on daily life, this theme aims to explore issues related to climate change and inequality at Copenhagen's annual architecture festival, which is the largest of its kind in Scandinavia.

Among the featured events is a debate about the longevity of architecture with curator Joseph Grima, and a documentary about architect Dorte Mandrup.

About Dezeen Events Guide

Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.

The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks, as well as up-to-date information about what events have been cancelled or postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Inclusion in the guide is free for basic listings, with events selected at Dezeen's discretion. Organisers can get enhanced or premium listings for their events, including images, additional text and links, by paying a modest fee.

In addition, events can ensure inclusion by partnering with Dezeen. For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide and media partnerships with Dezeen, email eventsguide@dezeen.com.

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INDEX: Award 2021 celebrates designs that "bring humanity forward"

A non-hormonal contraceptive, insulation made from mycelium and a movement that uncovers racial and gender bias in algorithms have been announced among the winners of one of the world's leading design prizes, the INDEX: Award.

One winner from each of the five INDEX categories will receive trophies at an awards ceremony in Copenhagen today during the live finale, which will be streamed globally.

Now in its 19th year, the biennial INDEX award evaluates designs that "improve life", and "bring humanity forward".

"Over the past year humanity has endured extreme hardships and as such never before has solution-driven design deserved such recognition and celebration," said Liza Chong, CEO of The Index Project.

"This year's winners reflect the shift we have seen globally in the past 18 months towards a more egalitarian, sustainable and progressive future," she added.

This year, the five categories are body, work, home, community and play and learning.

Each winning design, which has been selected by a panel of 14 international judges, aims to solve a social, environmental or economic problem.

See all the winning projects below:

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Designer: Oui
Category: Body

The Oui Capsule is a non-hormonal contraceptive that aims to help women take ownership of their bodies. Designed by Copenhagen-based company Cirqle Biomedical, the contraceptive works by reinforcing the natural mucus barrier inside the cervical canal. This makes ovulatory cervical mucus impenetrable for sperm cells.

Users can apply the vaginal capsule before or during intercourse, and it is effective a minute after insertion.

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Designer: Biohm
Category: Work

British biomanufacturing company Biohm has used mycelium, a mushroom root, to produce an environmentally regenerative natural insulation. The concept was born out of the need to reduce the building industry's carbon footprint, which is one of the largest in the world.

The insulating material can be used in both cool and warm climates to lower operational energy consumption and reduce energy consumption overall.

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Designer: Flash Forest
Category: Home

Canadian rainforest reforestation company Flash Forest uses aerial mapping software, drone technology, automation and science to accelerate reforestation worldwide and secure the future of our home and planet.

The software is used by NGOs, governments and corporations in order to successfully reforest and plant trees.

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Designer: Algorithmic Justice League
Category: Community

Algorithmic Justice League is a movement uncovering racial and gender bias in artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

As well as raising awareness about the impact of AI, the group offers practical ways to report AI biases, such as educational workshops and conducting company audits to analyse ethical and moral practices.

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Designer: Truepic
Category: Play and learning

Photo and video verification platform Truepic uses artificial intelligence, cryptography, and computer vision technology to authenticate and approve images and videos as they’re captured.

The aim is to help democratise technology by helping individuals to establish what's real from what's fake.

The Index Project foundation was created in 2002 to shine a light on Danish design. In 2005, it launched the Index Award, which has since become of the world's largest design awards.

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A rural Ecuadorian house features in today's Dezeen Weekly newsletter

The latest edition of our Dezeen Weekly newsletter features a house in Ecuador with rammed-earth walls and a glass outhouse.

Architectural studio Al Borde meant to challenge standards of comfort with its design for The Casa Jardin, or Garden House.

Located in Conocoto, a rural area south of Ecuador's capital Quito, it was designed for a client who desired a home that felt seamless between inside and out.

Readers adore it, with one calling it "just about perfect".

Proctor and Shaw designs London micro-apartment with translucent "sleeping cocoon"

Other stories in this week's newsletter include a 29-square-metre micro-apartment in Belsize Park, London, an interview with London mayor Sadiq Khan and Herzog & de Meuron's design for an extension to the MKM Museum Küppersmühle in Duisburg, Germany.

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Dezeen Weekly is a curated newsletter that is sent every Thursday, containing highlights from Dezeen. Dezeen Weekly subscribers will also receive occasional updates about events, competitions and breaking news.

Read the latest edition of Dezeen Weekly. You can also subscribe to Dezeen Daily, our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours.

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Gensler unveils redesigned lobby in Philip Johnson's AT&T building

New York studio Gensler has completed a redesign of the lobby inside the postmodernist AT&T building in Midtown Manhattan that aims to pay homage to the existing structure.

The overhaul of 550 Madison – also known as the AT&T building after the company it was created for – is lead by Norwegian studio Snøhetta, with Gensler responsible for the renovation of the lobby in the landmarked Philip Johnson-designed building.

The lobby of 550 Madison was designed by Gensler

Gensler aimed to preserve the essence of the original space, maintaining the lobby's height, volume and vaulted features, while creating a "bright, minimalist space."

The studio kept and refurbished the building's large 110-foot (33.5 metres) entrance along Madison Avenue, which leads visitors to the vaulted triple-height lobby.

Large arches mark the entrance to the new lobby. Photo is by James Ewing

Gensler used grand materials throughout the entrance area, including bronze mesh, leather and stone.

Across the floors, greyscale terrazzo is arranged in geometric patterns.

Gensler wanted to reference the history of the building. Photo is by James Ewing

Bronze mesh panels, which the studio used as a buffer between usable space and the triple-height ceilings, line the lower walls below white marble.

The symmetrical lobby also features a stone welcome desk that lines the side of the space. This was placed along the lines of the patterned floor in front of a recessed work area.

Recessed seating booths, set within the bronze-lined walls and parallel to the welcome area, were wrapped in rust-hued leather echoing the bronze mesh panels.

"We were inspired by the large volumes and spatial proportions of the 550 Madison lobby and sought to honor its impressive scale with simple, classical, elegant forms and materials," said principal and design director of Gensler Philippe Paré.

"The outcome is a space which is both quiet, yet powerful; respectful, yet not a reproduction; timeless, yet very much contemporary."

The space follows a strict geometry

A large, multi-storey arched-glass window opposite the main entrance filters light into the lobby and overlooks gardens designed by Snøhetta.

At the centre of the space, a marble, sphere-shaped installation by Alicja Kwade was hung by chains from the vaulted ceiling, 12 feet (3.6 metres) above the ground.

Strip lighting was used subtly throughout the space and across the ceiling

"550 Madison is a unique landmark in New York City that carries a rich history," said managing director of real estate at investment group Olayan America Erik Horvat.

"Our goal with Gensler and other design partners is to add modern upgrades that will ensure its future, while also preserving its history," he added.

"We are thrilled to have Gensler reimagining the building’s lobby to create a beautiful and functional space that also respects Philip Johnson’s original design."

Bronze mesh lines the lower half of the walls

Investment group The Olayan Group is turning 550 Madison into a multi-tenant office space. The overhaul of the building is lead by Snøhetta and developed by Olayon together with RXR Realty and Chelsfield.

The plans to renovate 550 Madison were first unveiled in 2017 and met with a major backlash, with architects including Norman Foster and Robert A M Stern backing a campaign to protect the building.

It resulted in the tower gaining landmark status, protecting the exterior of the stone building. In 2018, Snøhetta released a revised plan of its proposal, which saw the practice focus on "preserving and revitalising" the postmodern building.

Photography is by Fred Charles unless stated otherwise.

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Vela acoustic ceiling panels by Impact Acoustic

Dezeen Showroom: Swiss brand Impact Acoustic has created a range of colourful sound-absorbing products called Vela for use in creative interior environments.

​​The Vela ceiling panels are made in a variety of different colours, patterns and shapes to challenge traditional, "boring" acoustic panel designs.

Vela is a range of colourful acoustic panels

They are suspended from ceilings to help absorb sound and ideally suited to interior spaces such as restaurants and creative offices, according to Impact Acoustic.

There are a total of 28 different colours available for the panels, which are made in various shapes and with different geometric patterns across them.

They are designed to be suspended from ceilings

Each Vela panel is made using Archisonic, a sound-absorbing material manufactured from recycled PET bottles.

Impact Acoustic's in-house design studio is available to advise on the ideal acoustic solutions for a specific space or tailor-make the Vela acoustic panels upon request.

Product: Vela
Brand: Impact Acoustic
Contact: connect@impactacoustic.com 

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