Architecture’s new internet stars, TV personality Tan France’s tailored take on furniture, and office pods go off the grid. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Tan France launches a furniture collection
Photo courtesy of Castlery
“Queer Eye” star—and Father of the French Tuck—Tan France brings his knack for tailored looks to interiors with a new 18-piece collection with Castlery. Drawing upon his British and South Asian heritage, France unveils a crosscultural line of homegoods that comprises lighting, accessories, and furniture. Standouts include sculptural blown glass table lamps and a statement sofa evoking both sophistication and play. Read more about the covetable collection in a recent Q&A with Wallpaper.
Meet your next design follows
View this post on Instagram
The built environment not only shapes our world, but it also accounts for perhaps the last remaining vestige of wholesome, harmless content on social media. Have a look at a swath of some of the internet’s emerging young voices in design, as curated by yours truly for Architect’s Newspaper, if you don’t believe me. Take a walk with Abby Happel through international cities rating corner conditions and sexy libraries, or listen to Lauren Sinclair dish about everything from flaws in the New Museum redesign to art history references in Demna’s Gucci shows. If you identify as an engineering or city planning nerd, let Michael Sampson enlighten you to the nuances of infrastructure. All 365 partygirls will feel seen in videos by Gage Garduno as he illuminates the academic side of architecture and its intersection with fashion and nightlife. Amy Bass also sheds light on the technical ins and outs of today’s architecture students while also sharing her richly detailed “Floors of Your Life” illustrations. Finally, the cinematic stylings of Daniel Moffat will force buildings off of screens and vividly into our lives with immersive sensory journeys through a medley of dynamic design spaces. The internet isn’t so bad after all!
Designing the future of ICC in Berlin
Rendering courtesy of GRAFT GmbH/Max Dudler GmbH
First designed by couple Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte, the Internationales Congress Centrum (ICC) stood out in West Berlin upon completion in 1979. Originally conceived as a conference center with two large auditoriums to accommodate up to 7,000 guests, the ICC comprises nearly 80 additional smaller spaces as well as a restaurant and roof garden. Despite receiving a historical monument designation in 2019, ICC has remained a sleeping giant in the city until very recently. A citywide push to reinstate the complex as a 24-hour cultural hub led to a design competition fielding new ideas and designs for the futuristic landmark. Now, nine architecture and engineering firms will spearhead redevelopment efforts over the next two and a half years, revitalizing the building with enhanced greenery, exhibition space, and even a multifunctional library. Explore more of ICC’s legacy and possible future.
A new lease on office pods
Photo by Bob Coscarelli
Camp Wandawega offers 25 acres of bucolic summering in Wisconsin’s Lake Country complete with traditional cabins and plenty of other idyllic camp fixings. The campsite also newly inherited a pair of glass office pods via Facebook Marketplace. According to Dwell, the glass volumes were originally built by an Illinois auto shop to serve as offices for visiting insurance adjusters to safely work during the height of Covid. Since then, they’ve endured heavy winters and proved their longevity and durability. Equipped with forklift pockets for easy relocation and reconfiguration, both pods are also crafted with custom commercial glazing, custom wraparound curtains, new irrigated roofing, and translucent greenhouse panels. Now minimalist overnight cabins, the pods were recently inaugurated by none other than Chicago firm Studio Gang. If they’re good enough for Jeanne Gang, then they’re good enough for me. Anybody down to join me for a weekend in the woods?
Introducing the 2026 BDNY Power Players
Top row (left to right): Alison Bowman Sobeck, Sarah Dusek, Mika Larrison, Kiko Macharg Singh; Bottom row: Jaclyn Moser, Susan Nugraha, Áine O’Connor, and Davonne Reaves
Back by popular demand, BDNY Power Players: Women Leaders in Hospitality Breakfast will return to BDNY 2026. Presented in partnership with NEWH, the signature Boutique Design event brings together women in hospitality design, operations, investment, and manufacturing for candid conversations on everything shaping the industry. Join us on November 9th at the Javits Center’s River Pavilion and click here to see the lineup of this year’s panel.