This week's Dezeen roundup highlighted significant developments in architecture and design, with aerial photography of NEOM's worker housing taking center stage. The satellite images, captured through Google Maps, revealed repetitive housing blocks constructed for the massive Saudi Arabian megaproject's workforce of 140,000 workers. These residential compounds have been built alongside NEOM's major construction sites to accommodate the enormous labor force required for the ambitious development.
The publication also featured an in-depth opinion piece examining the broader NEOM development and its challenges in delivering groundbreaking urban planning. The analysis explored concerns that the project might result in what critics describe as "sterile desert suburbia" rather than the revolutionary urbanism originally promised by developers.
In product design news, fashion brand Issey Miyake collaborated with Apple to launch the innovative iPhone Pocket, a wearable smartphone carrier designed to accommodate any iPhone model. Each carrier is crafted from a single, continuous piece of 3D-knitted yarn and features an expandable design that can hold phones alongside other small everyday items. This collaboration represents a fusion of high fashion and technology accessories.
Following Nike's recent unveiling of its first neuroscience-based footwear, Dezeen published a retrospective examining nine occasions when the sportswear giant attempted to revolutionize the footwear industry. The feature highlighted the company's ongoing efforts to integrate cutting-edge technology and research into athletic shoe design.
Architecture enthusiasts were treated to coverage of Herzog & de Meuron's completed renovation of Marcel Breuer's brutalist 945 Madison Avenue building, which now serves as Sotheby's Manhattan headquarters. The Swiss architecture studio worked in collaboration with local firm PBDW Architects to restore the building's gallery floor plans to match Breuer's original designs. The renovation process included removing former office spaces that had altered the building's intended layout. Additionally, Herzog & de Meuron unveiled their distinctive glass trophies for the Art Basel Awards, which were designed to capture the visual essence of breath in glass form.
The entertainment industry intersected with fashion design through costume designer Kate Forbes' collaboration with knitwear designer Ilana Blumberg. Together, they recreated the gray sweater worn by actor Adrien Brody in the film "The Brutalist," making it available for purchase by fans. The contemporary adaptation features modifications including deeper rib cuffs and longer sleeve lengths compared to the original vintage piece, making it more appealing to modern consumers.
Among the week's most popular architectural projects was a wellness retreat in Indonesia that draws design inspiration from sea creatures. Other featured projects included an "ephemeral" retail concept laboratory in New York and the conversion of a former slaughterhouse into what developers describe as a "modern industrial village" in Nashville. The publication also released a comprehensive roundup showcasing residential properties with distinctive scaly appearances achieved through shingle cladding techniques.
