Design was in the air this month, and we took in great heaving gasps of it as we ran from one event to another (and from one blog to another). New work was released, exhibitions were exhibited, and awards were awarded. For those who feel like the month passed them by, here’s our shortlist from May’s cornucopia of design news:

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A Pavilion Fiasco at the World Expo

What could possibly go wrong with an event that combines Shanghai and showiness? The pavilions. The U.S. pavilion has been called “a sorry spectacle,” and don’t even get us started on the terrifying animated baby mannequin in front of the Spanish pavilion. The only point of agreement, it seems, was the general nostalgia for the great Expo designers of yore.

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Honored by the AIA

Early this month, the American Institute of Architects announced the 2010 AIA/HUD Secretary’s Awards and the 2010 AIA Housing Awards. But the ones to really look out for are the seven young firms that won the New Practices New York awards: EASTON+COMBS, Archipelagos, Leong Leong, Manifold SOFTlab, SO-IL, and Tacklebox. Their prize-winning work will be on view at New York’s Center for Architecture from July 15.

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The Pritzker Ceremony and the RIBA Awards

A galaxy of starchitects and other glitterati descended on New York’s Ellis Island for the Pritzker Prize ceremony, where the Japanese firm SANAA received architecture’s biggest prize. Meanwhile, 101 buildings received the architectural excellence award of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

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Frank Gehry Stirs Up a LEED Controversy

Frank Gehry’s cavalier comments on the LEED ratings system raised a few hackles. While the focus of the discussion shifted from Gehry to the legitimacy of the ratings themselves, New York’s Bank of America tower was awarded LEED Platinum, making it the greenest skyscraper in town.

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Even after last week’s ICFF live-blogging extravaganza, we ended up with dozens of unpublished snapshots of noteworthy new products and projects from the 22nd annual furniture fair. Here, then, in no particular order, is a final roundup of neat stuff from the 2010 ICFF.

Above: Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance’s Corvo chair, for Bernhardt Design, which we wrote about in the April issue of the magazine.

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As you may have read in the New York Times the other day, Metropolis’s editor in chief, Susan Szenasy, was one of several design mavens to comb the recent ICFF in search of the very best products for the annual ICFF Editors Awards. This year, Szenasy toted along a Flip video camera for part of her rounds. Click the play button for a sample of her unofficial ICFF video diary; to watch the full videos, visit our Multimedia page.

Related: We also produced show-floor videos on Tom Dixon’s Flash Factory, Emily Pilloton’s Design Revolution Road Show, and Artek’s Dress the Chair demonstration.

The biggest foreign presence at this year’s ICFF came from Spain, with 20 companies exhibiting a range of colorful and well-crafted furniture, lighting, carpets, and wall-coverings. Here are a few of the highlights:

Actually, one of my favorite Spanish products wasn’t on display at the fair: Nanimarquina’s new Digit rug, by the London-based graphic designer Cristian Zuzunaga, resembles an extremely enlarged color photograph. It comes in a 26-color version (shown) or with a more muted monochromatic palette. Read more…

Last year, the Japan External Trade Organization arrived at ICFF with a huge exhibition that took up an entire annex pavilion to the main Javits floor. Many curious fairgoers got their first look at products like Naoto Fukasawa’s famed Infobar cell phone, a candy-bar doppelgänger that has been (criminally) limited to Japan. JETRO was smaller this year, but there were still visual treats to be had. We’ve selected a few of the sweetest morsels.
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Hecmec

Bright and cheery, Hecmec’s fold-up plastic chairs for kids have a soft, cardboard-tube structure that protects little fingers. They come in glossy cardboard (for extra durability) or plain (for customizing with your four-year-old’s precocious scrawls). www.hecmec.jp

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When it comes to technology, one of my favorite objects is a Tivoli portable radio. The high-quality sound, the compact size, and the old-school knobs are perfect for simple folk like me. What’s refreshing is that the company in recent years has embraced Design with a capital “D.” This year’s iPAL models, for example, are available in high-gloss red, green, blue, yellow, and black—zippy colors that are bound to please. Read more…

In 1999, Benjamin and Thomas Cherner began the Cherner Chair Company to manufacture their father’s iconic molded-plywood chairs. Since then, they have reissued many other Norman Cherner designs according to original drawings and specifications. This year they’re introducing Multiflex credenzas—marking the first time they’ve ventured into case goods. The cabinets are made to order in a tremendous range of configurations and come in either “classic” walnut (the exposed beech core is stained to match the walnut veneer) or “natural” walnut (a clear finish emphasizes the contrast between the beech core and the walnut veneer). The brothers are also releasing a 1968 design for a rectangular tube lamp that sat on a table in their childhood home. Made of cast translucent acrylic and chrome-plated steel rods, it casts a uniform glow and is available in table, floor,  and pendant options. All the products from this family-run operation are made in the United States. Read more…

At the Alessi Takes the Cake party, on Greene Street, the French designer Matali Crasset poses with the mixing bowl from her new Essentiel de Pâtisserie collection, designed with the renowned pastry chef Pierre Hermé. Read more…

The Designboom Mart often acts as ICFF’s palate cleanser. When the glossier offerings on the show floor start feeling like too slick a pitch, it can be refreshing to see a group of mostly young designers selling their own inexpensive wares in a PR-free marketplace. And if a few of their products are more cloying than clever, there’s usually something better at the next table. But this year’s roster of 40-odd designers, from half as many countries, seem particularly inventive, and the addition of the Mart to the show proper (as opposed to just outside the entrance) helped integrate it into the fair. Here are a few favorites. Read more…

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Not to be confused with our more idiosyncratic editors’ picks, the official ICFF Editors Awards are selected by a group of international design-magazine honchos (including Metropolis’s own editor in chief, Susan Szenasy) and considered among the industry’s highest accolades. Here are this year’s winners:

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