#terracotta-kulhads

#terracotta-kulhads

Set within the dense fabric of a bustling urban neighbourhood and constrained by a modest 4,000 sq. ft. plot, Jali House reimagines the potential of urban residential architecture.

Planning the trip, however, filled me with apprehension. Our boys were no longer little travelers content to trail along behind us through forts and museums. They were teenagers now-15 and 13-with strong opinions, independent streaks, and a finely tuned radar for boredom.

Rather than representing a simple return to the past, this renewed interest reflects a broader reconsideration of how architecture engages with materials, local resources, and environmental conditions.

Our role is, first and foremost, to transmit our fascination with a craft and to ignite that same excitement in the designer. This is the foundation of our curatorial approach: creating the right encounter between a designer's universe and that of a workshop.

It is not about reproducing the past but about engaging in dialogue with it. We apply the same level of care and rigor to all pieces. Many of our utilitarian pieces have a strong sculptural quality, and several of the more artistic works originate from everyday forms and functions. We do not establish rigid boundaries between these categories; all are part of the same vision.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo have made a prototype of botanical cement made of desert sand and plant-based additives in hopes that it can be used to build houses and roads. Once mixed, the team adds tiny pieces of wood together and presses them all with heat to produce the cement.

Traveller check into hotels for easy access to historical Mayan sites and the cenotes beyond, with ambles through colourful squares and late, balmy nights digesting feasts over tequila tipples. Between cultural excursions and natural wonders, however, there's much to be said for the artisans in these parts. From crafted perfumes to handmade chocolates, these are the gifts and trinkets to make space for in your luggage.

The Rural Cut places vintage fashion in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, among vineyards, open fields, and the animals that inhabit the land. As a Beirut-based stylist, I worked with a fully Lebanese team to create a shoot that feels authentic, where each garment and every frame reflects the textures, history, and rhythm of the rural landscape. Photography by Angele Basile / Instagram: @angelebasile Styling by Rinad Saad / Instagram: @rinaaaaddd

Located on the outskirts of Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, , Paati Veedu by Koodu Architecture is a compact rural developed under financial constraint and material limitation. Built on a 1,200-sqft site within a neighborhood of small houses and agricultural fields, the project is defined by , adaptation, and resource-conscious construction. The house was constructed using 10,000 accumulated over time by the client, forming the primary material basis for the design.

One of our favorite kitchen trends to follow this year is the shift away from minimalism toward personalized, eclectic style. That means mixing and matching vintage and modern kitchen items, layering assorted textures, adding pops of pattern and color, and leaning into more unique expressions of your preferred aesthetics. Not only will this approach make you happier to be in your kitchen, but it can be its own new hobby.

Kulhads, also known as terracotta mud cups, once defined the everyday ritual of tea at railway stations across India. Used briefly and discarded soon after, they accumulated along tracks and coastlines, leaving a quiet record of consumption. For this pavilion, more than 18,000 of these cups were gathered from local communities in Dharavi and reused as a building material with structural purpose.

Tons upon tons of these single-use plastics end up in landfills or even floating in the ocean. Spanish design firm PET Lamp set out give another purpose to these otherwise short-lived materials. Partnering with artisans in communities from Chile to Ethiopia to Australia, the company celebrates both Indigeneity and sustainability, drawing upon time-honored global craft traditions while supporting local economies and recycling discarded materials.

From a single material, a Hyderabad-based design studio creates a wide range of site-specific installations, furnishings, and decor. It's all in the name of the firm, The Wicker Story, which was founded in 2019 by architect Priyanka Narula. Capable of being formed into everything from abstract constructions to functional objects, the natural material lends itself a huge variety of pieces that vary in size and complexity.

Perched on a steep hillside overlooking Naggar valley in Himachal Pradesh, India, Eila is an art retreat that functions as an extension to the terrain rather than a static object. Designed by MOFA Studio, the project champions fluid architecture through advanced computational design, realizing a structure that mimics the landscape. The site's masterplan adopts a stepped strategy that preserves topsoil and rainwater runways, organizing the resort as a gradual, terraced descent.