One of the most direct and common ways of expressing artistic ideas is through site-specific public art installations on the terrain of shared community spaces. Public installation art is an effective way of grabbing attention, simultaneously showing a visible social message. Such artworks invite the audience to take a closer look and participate in order to decipher the meaning of work. Many cities all over the globe have bespoke art installations woven into their urban fabric and cultural memory.

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The last of the five prizes in the “Second Life of Things in Design” international student competition organized by BE OPEN and Cumulus in support of the UN’s sustainable goals has been announced. Founder of BE OPEN think tank, entrepreneur and philanthropist Elena Baturina has selected a project to be awarded €2,000 for its system multi-aspect approach to the immense problem of packaging waste

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The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to influence many aspects of our daily lives and establish new behavioral patterns within shared public areas. While social distancing and hygiene remain the strongest recommendations against the novel virus, there is a general concern that airplanes are not the best examples of these. This makes the airline industry to investigate how it can ensure safe and fearless traveling. They commission designers to work out solutions that would offer future passengers more personal space, not only from a comfort perspective, as it was before, but mainly from a health and safety standpoint.

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An online vote has defined the winner of the Public Vote Award in the “Second Life of Things in Design” competition organized by BE OPEN and Cumulus. The public voting did not only bring another young talent a prize, but helped thousands of people see the remarkable creativity, awareness and responsibility of the younger generation.

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Given its origins in illegal activity, non-conformism and interest in political and social action, street art has always had a fraught relationship with the art world. Fighting its way from unsanctioned murals into high-demand art works, street art installations do both – express the author’s social stand and help the viewer find extraordinary in mundane things.

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The romance of space exploration has been a constant inspiration to many of us when we were kids. Today, these kids have grown to be, among others, artists and designers fascinated by the limitless space and the unbreakable human spirit of space fliers. They work to create space-related items reminiscent of astronauts’ paraphernalia that would let every single one feel as if their childhood dreams of space travelling had finally come true.

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What would your perfect place for practicing yoga look like? Some yoga enthusiasts would prefer a space mimicking the world of nature, others – the one that reflects the never-ending cycle of life. But most probably everyone would agree on a place creating a sense of safety and calmness. We have selected several aspirational yoga studios that would help open your chakras.

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Often, densely populated modern cities lack vegetation, with their outdated city parks hidden within a perimeter outside residential areas, at the most. Guided by the local context and culture, contemporary architects and landscape practices seek to revitalize urban environments with structures that are designed to incorporate natural ecosystems.

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The COVID-19 has inspired designers for invention of various utility items and tools to help us all adapt to new reality with its reshaped everyday habits and public behavior. With lockdowns around the world showing signs of easing, there is a lot of things to reconsider for people to start socializing in the context of the pandemic and its consequences.

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Contemporary kindergartens and nurseries seek to create a space that facilitates independent learning through a playful and happy environment where children can engage in interactive learning experiences. Architects choose to deliberately bring an inspirational aspect into the design thinking of spaces meant for little ones.

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