Ditch Etsy for CIRQY, the Middle Eastern Alternative
We love Etsy as much as anyone, but we also feel it is our duty to support local efforts to collate cool design, handmade arts and crafts. CIRQY from Egypt does just that.
green design
Shigeru Ban’s Design Souq pavilion is made entirely of cardboard in Abu Dhabi
Residents of Abu Dhabi might be familiar with buildings made from palm leaves and earth, but cardboard? Legendary Japanese architect Shigeru Ban built Design Souq – a mobile, recyclable pavilion made entirely out of cardboard that is every bit as sturdy as brick or stone.
The Wheel House is a Tiny Home Tossed About by a Fictional Sea
What’s it like to live on a boat? In such cramped spaces and always subject to nature’s whim, otherwise reasonable people can go mad if they don’t get cooperate. Acrojou explores the idea through a fascinating theatrical circus genre that is trending – even in Lebanon.
Wearable Boutonnière Vase Keeps Floral Scents Close to Your Chest
Israeli designer Omer Polak has designed an adorable wearable vase that keeps a flower or herbs close to the wearer’s chest. The Boutonnière is a lapel pin made from blown glass attached to clothing via a small brass pin.
Zaha Hadid’s 2020 Olympic Stadium Thwarted by Japanese Peers
A consortium of Japanese architects got together to protest Zaha Hadid’s winning design for the main stadium of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and despite all her fame and glory, the Japanese government listened. Zaha Hadid has been in the news a lot recently. For many, she is an incredible, visionary designer whose work is unparalleled, and […]
Tripoli’s Doshma Creative Hub Has a Recycled Shipping Container Core
So many countries in the Middle East and North Africa rely way too much on concrete for their building needs, but Libya Design bucks the trend with Doshma – a new creative hub built in part with a used shipping container.
Adorable AirBnB Pop Up Home in L.A. Boasts Sultry Moroccan Decor
Who isn’t in love with Moroccan decor – the amazing colors and designs that enliven any room? Well, Justina Blakeney certainly is. So much so, she decked out an entire AirBnB popup home in Los Angeles with decor from our favorite North African destination.
Gorgeous Recycled Silk Furniture from Turkey’s Meb Rure
Meb Rure’s latest line of furniture is so bright, stylish and unique that it’s hard to believe they are made with almost all recycled materials.
Israeli Teenager Designs Mobile Pedi-Sukkah on a Tricycle
We love everything about Sukkot, especially the philosophy and process behind the inspiring sukkah (booth) that Jews build during this week-long Autumnal holiday. But we’ve never seen one on the back of a tricycle.
Zaha Hadid Greens Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic Stadium Design
Japan has won the bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and Zaha Hadid has been picked to retrofit its National Stadium. First designed for the 1964 Summer Games, this new stadium boasts a few green credentials. Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid has never shown a great deal of interest in designing healthy green […]
Israeli Photographer’s “Taking Apart” Nostalgia for Recycled Artifacts in Pieces
Israeli photographer Gabi Menashe loves outdated artifacts so much, he takes them apart, “one bolt, spring, button at a time,” and then artfully assembles the pieces for photographs published on his website Taking Apart.
Reyoutilizer App Simplifies Dubai Recycling
Absurdly tall skyscrapers, overfishing and other environmental issues tarnish Dubai’s green image, but projects such as the new Reyoutilizer app at least makes recycling a bit easier.
Vanina makes trash from Lebanon glitter
Whereas most people would scarcely give a pile of old keys a second glance, the Vanina girls from Lebanon see in these disused materials new life as glittering jewelry.
Israel’s Caravan Collective Puts the E in Cycling Apparel
Caravan Collective is a fresh new cycling apparel studio from Israel that fuses quirky graphic design with a passion for cycling, people, and the earth.
Lush Green Terraces Top the Palestine Museum by Heneghan Peng
Dublin’s Heneghan Peng has designed a new museum for Palestine that is topped with a series of unfolding green terraces planted with vegetation that also grows in the surrounding hills.