8 Highlights from IDS20

How Color Shapes the Life and Work of Bethan Laura Wood

A talk from the multitalented designer Bethan Laura Wood offered insight into her design language. Growing up in the U.K., pattern and color were “coding” for Wood as she lived with dyslexia—her “way of digesting the world,” as she put it. But it also became a primary component of her world-renowned multidisciplinary design.

A trip to Mexico unleashed her trademark vibrant palette, although Wood frequently incorporates muted hues that she says have taught her about color in general. “When you place certain browns next to each other, there is a harmony in its softness that allows a bridge between larger colors.”

Emerging Talent at Studio North

Always popular, and with good reason, Studio North is a showcase for new talent in the worlds of furniture, lighting, glass, textiles, and decor. Take the studio Karben: Two students from Humber College have paired up to produce exquisite small-batch, solid-wood benches and chairs. Another highlight: A ready-to-assemble flat-pack sofa that’s extremely comfortable and sustainable, too. Using soy-based foams and high-resilience materials, Evan Bare of 608 Design has created a sofa that comes together in five minutes, and has replaceable and removable components. Students from architecture programs at both Waterloo and Ryerson Universities were also featured in these booths, demonstrating collaborative and individual work using technology.

Frida Escobedo on Collaboration and the Future of Mexico City

In her Thursday talk with Dezeen editor Eleanor Gibson, Frida Escobedo discussed her architectural way of understanding the world, her influences from architecture, literature, cinema, and art, and her hometown of Mexico City, which she called “vibrant and crazy.” “It’s complex, with a lot of challenges, urgent needs, and a culture of coming up with solutions from very few resources,” she said.

Collaboration, she explained, will play a major role in shaping the city’s future. “With the reconfiguration of the nuclear family, we must look at expanded space,” she said, pointing to interior courtyards as communal spaces where residents share in cooking, washing, and playing. Escobedo also discussed domestic labor in her home country. “Only this year in Mexico was domestic labor recognized as formal labor, which is crazy since it’s 25 percent of the labor market. [As designers] we need to think more about the needs of domestic workers, transportation, housing, social security.”

Collaboration is crucial in design as well, she said. The long hours of working alone to finish a project are not healthy, nor beneficial to the final product. “If you share responsibility on a project that requires a lot of time and effort, the result is better.”

Healing Habitat

Elsewhere at IDS, attendees got to take a moment of calm amidst the hustle and bustle of the conference. Healing Habitat, an oasis in the middle of the show floor, provided space for visitors to rest and recover. Brandon Wong of Hoame, a Toronto meditation studio, led guided meditation sessions in the lush habitat, which was designed by Casestudy Studio in partnership with Sheridan Nurseries, Hoame and Oliver Apt. The space also featured meditation pods for guests seeking solitude, while more open spaces nurtured quiet, peaceful gathering.

RESET Home: Design for the Senses

Every year, the show introduces a small, but complete and beautifully rendered home full of new ideas meant to address current housing issues. While this year’s concept home did just that—focusing on wellness for all five of our senses—visually it was a little underwhelming.

But since the aim was “an experience of the…role homes play in improving our overall well-being,” perhaps the value lay in things unseen. The team responsible—Hummingbird Hill Homes, Vanessa Fong Architect, and VTLA Studio—explored how materials, textures, sounds, scents, and light affect our senses. Without furnishings (aside from a bed tucked in a cocoon-like room), and with only a large pool bath, it was hard to image how exactly you’d live in the space, however.

All Eyes on Dreamland

If the RESET Home was underwhelming, Dreamland was the opposite. A feast for the eyes, the Caesarstone installation designed by Jonathan Adler was reminiscent of the Jazz Age. The team from Caesarstone’s Designer Collaboration Program pushed the limits of Caesarstone quartz to create a surreal fantasy world of feathers, clouds, faces, and columns (inspired by the company’s headquarters in the old Roman port city of Caesarea.) Dreamland also included work by Snarkitecture, Jaime Hayon, Tom Dixon, and others.

The Cool Appeal of Milk Stand

Milk Stand, the traveling pop-up shop created by Design Milk was the backdrop for a market of artisanal goods. The stand featured modular cardboard structures and hand-drawn graphics.

Pondering What's for Dinner at Edible Futures

Equal parts creepy and fascinating, Edible Futures literally gave visitors food for thought. The traveling exhibition, curated by the Dutch Institute of Food & Design, invited artists from around the world to create an installation with perspectives on global food security. Those included issues such as climate change, declining fresh water supply, loss of biodiversity, food waste, and the gap between producers and consumers. Through this glimpse into the future of food, the exhibited prompted visitors to consider our resource use, and how to correct course.