Here's what we looked at this week:

Industrial designer Sabine Marcelis upgrade's Ikea's hot-selling lamp.

Rimowa and Vitra's luggage-like Aluminum Stool.

Design criticism: Are these transitions good or bad?

Phileole's Grain Blanc is a vertical wind turbine for sailboat masts.

The Roulette Cart, designed by Belgian industrial design firm Futurewave, is a stylish, more functional update to the granny cart.

When beautiful design crashes into reality.

The Hänel Rotomat is a ferris-wheel-style industrial storage system.

Knockdown, flatpack adjustable children's furniture designed by Luigi Colani.

Industrial designer Martina Claesson's Plinth stool, for Andersen Furniture.

This bi-color Ultras Sconce by 6:AM Glassworks is blown from a single piece of glass. And yields a cut-off that is also saleable.

British furnituremaker Nick James' textured furniture designs.

Remedial design: This bookshelf adapter for manga lovers is bizarrely specific, and useful.

The Spider Pro Tool Holster, a more secure alternative to drill clips.

The Pliyt Concept: A robotaxi with compartmentalized seating.

The subway car is the great equalizer, where the masses travel shoulder-to-shoulder. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have the private car, where you are sealed within your own private cocoon. A California-based startup called Pliyt—for Personal Luxury In Your Travel—has a vision for making the latter more efficient.

Pliyt's concept is a four-passenger robotaxi, where all the seats are sealed off from each other. "Your Pod. Your Privacy. Your Space," the firm writes. "Complete in-ride anonymity even in shared trips." It's an Uber X without having to see (or smell) what the other passengers look like. And these AI-rendered passengers freaking love it.

Here's the crazy thing: The company doesn't have any autonomous driving technology, nor any experience building cars (as you might be able to tell by the vehicle's exterior styling). Instead they want to partner with existing autonomous-driving technology providers, then somehow gain the funding to purpose-build the entire vehicle from the ground up.

In other words, it seems to me that all they've got…is the idea. The question that GM and Toyota must surely be asking themselves is, "Can't we just take one of our minivan platforms, and redesign the interior with sealed-off pods? What do we need these guys for?"

Most cordless drills come with a clip, so you can hang them from a pocket or a belt. The clips are fine for occasional-use DIY'ers, but they're not infallible. This Spider Pro Tool Holster is designed for tradespeople who prefer a more secure solution.

Using the holster does require some commitment; the user must install a stud on their drill. There are two options. The first is a $7 Drill Pin that replaces yur drill's built-in clip, by threading into the OEM hole. (Different manufacturers have been taken into account.)

The second option is this $7 Grip, which is essentially a beefy zip-tie you can place around the tool's handle. It locks in place with a metal hex nut.

The holster features a vertical channel with a V-shaped top, making it easy to get the pin into the channel. A gravity latch locks it into place.

To remove the drill, the user must lift the yellow latch with their thumb.

That's the only part that looks iffy to me; I wonder how easy that is (or isn't) with gloves on.

Lefties have been considered. The latch can be placed on either side by the end user.

And the holster is, of course, not limited to drills; anything you can secure the Grip to will work.

The holster runs $25.

This object is so strange and specific, I thought for sure it came out of Japan. But in fact, this MG Raiser is from German company Manga Guardian.

It's a sort of remedial device aimed at manga (Japanese comics) lovers. The deal is that most manga volumes are about 13cm wide. But the most common bookshelves, like the Ikea Billy series, have shelves that are more than twice that depth. The MG Raiser, then, allows you to utilize the full depth of your shelves (and store more manga) while still being able to see all of the spines.

Furthermore, the piece is sized so that it's about five manga volumes wide. Manga series are commonly 10 volumes long, allowing you to fit one collection in one of these objects.

These run $23 a pair.

This sideboard is by British furnituremaker Nick James. It's made of solid Oak, and features a single height-adjustable interior shelf.

The real beauty is on the outside:

No crazy router jig used here. The texture was achieved purely with a CNC mill.

He's done the same with this taller bar cabinet below. I know it's totally subjective, but while I find the sideboard elegant, the bar cabinet is too much for me (in the closed position). I think it's that proportionally, the texture too heavily overpowers the simplicity of the base.

This striking Ultras Sconce is by 6:AM Glassworks. Though based in Milan, the Italian design brand is dedicated to showcasing Venetian glassmaking techniques practiced in Murano.

The sconce is actually blown as a single piece of glass. To achieve the two colors, the artisans use the Venetian a canne ("with cane") technique. This is where separate glass rods (canes) are assembled into a single mass, then blown into shape.

The manufacturing procedure actually yields two separate objects. The part that the sconce is cut off of is sold by the company as the Ultras Vase.

This handsome Plinth is by Swedish industrial designer Martina Claesson.

Inspired by the form of a gymnast's vault, her aim was to make a simple, elegant stool and storage piece.

They're made of solid oak, and they stack.

Claesson is a freelance designer, most notably for Ikea, but for this one she signed a production deal with Denmark's Andersen Furniture.

In some manufacturing facilities, you may see gigantic storage cabinets that look like this:

That's the Hänel Rotomat, by German office equipment company Hänel Bu¨rosysteme. They developed the design in 1957, inspired by the Ferris Wheel.

The company reckons their system has three major benefits:

Space savingHänel Rotomat® storage lift utilizes the available room heights and, thanks to its compact design, creates space savings of up to 85 % in relation to the footprint.Work time slashedThe Hänel Rotomat® storage carousel brings the required parts to the retrieval area in just a few seconds.ErgonomicsNo more bending, ladder-climbing or walking long distances to search for and store parts or articles. The required items are brought automatically to the optimum ergonomic retrieval height.

As all parents know, children rapidly outgrow both clothing and furniture. In the 1970s, Luigi Colani designed this plywood Tobifant furniture set, which could grow in height along with the child.

Colani designed it to not only be flatpacked, but to be utterly easy to assemble. The joinery consists of simple wedged tenons.

The set went into production in the late 1970s, by West German children's furniture brand Kinderlübke. Today you can still find surviving examples on vintage reseller sites.

This beautiful Topos Chair and Sunlounger were designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

They're in production by Spanish furniture manufacturer iSiMAR. The indoor/outdoor pieces are made out of galvanized steel and offered with powder-coated finishes in multiple colors.

Alas, you can't really sit on the wire frames (if comfort is a concern), and the pieces look rather less good once the seat cushions are on them.

This Roulette Cart, by a Belgian company of the same name, is designed to make grocery shopping easier in urban environments. It was designed by Belgian industrial design firm Futurewave (though at press time it wasn't yet on their website).

It's sized for the city, at 64.5 cm H × 34 cm W × 24.5 cm D (25.4" x 13.4" x 9.6"). The frame is powder-coated aluminum, and the bag is waterproof nylon. The skateboard-like wheels are made out of TPU.

The bag has a 40L (10.6 gallon) capacity and features several interior pockets. It can also be disconnected from the frame and slung over one's shoulder.

The cart runs €160 (USD $187).

The beauty of sailboats is that they don't require power in order to move. However, modern-day sailboats have a host of onboard electronics that do require power: Navigation lights, radar, a VHF radio, a GPS unit, the navigation console, interior lighting. These are typically powered by batteries, which are charged by an auxiliary motor if the boat has one, or the boat can be plugged in at the dock.

However, a Belgian startup called Phileole has invented an alternative: This Grain Blanc wind turbine.

This can be bolted to the mast. Because of its vertical orientation, it can capture wind from any direction. And unlike having to fire up the motor, it operates silently.

It's a lot bigger than it looks in the photos, by the way. It's just over 42" tall and just under 18" in diameter.

One unit can generate about 2.4 kWh per day, which is enough to power lighting, navigation equipment, the radio and the autopilot, with juice left over to charge laptops or phones. And of course, yu can add multiple units if you need more juice.

Though the device was designed specifically for sailboats, the company also sells bundles of them for buildings and homes in Europe.

The company notes that the units are made primarily from recycled polypropylene, and are 95% recyclable themselves.

In design, the transitions between surfaces are everything. And in a perfect world, those surfaces are designed at the same time, giving the designer the luxury of thinking things through.

Sometimes, however, things need to be retrofit. And then it's up to someone who may not have any design training at all to come up with a coping solution. What do you think of these four executions:

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My opinions:

1. Way too busy, and distracts from the original molding, which is meant to be a design feature; downspouts are not. I think they'd have been better off letting a downspout be a downspout,

2. Ditto. A decision should have been made here—you can't have it both ways. One of the materials has to be prioritized over the other, and I think the stone should've been the winner, given its material properties.

3. Admittedly this person was given an impossible task, as the wiring cannot protrude from the surfaces for code compliance. I can forgive this one because at least they didn't try to get cute with it; ugly as it is, this is actually form follows function.

4. I think this is the worst of the lot. The switchplate and stile aren't communicating with one another, and the width of the mitered molding draws way too much attention, treating the switch as if it's something to be celebrated. It would've been worth the extra foot of wiring to move the switch above the molding.

Your thoughts/solutions?

This unusual object is the Aluminum Stool, by Rimowa and Vitra.

The German luggage manufacturer and the Swiss design furniture company collaborated to create just 1,000 of these; and while the overall look is pure Rimowa, the piece is meant to be storage furniture, not luggage. "It is almost a typology of its own," says Christian Grosen, Vitra's Chief Design Officer. "While the cube format might not be so practical for a suitcase, it's ideal for sitting and storage."

"During the design process, we decided to leave out the handles so that the stool wouldn't closely resemble a trolley or a transport container. There is a seat cushion and the inside is also padded; we deliberately left the wheels, as they are emblematic of both furniture and suitcases. The Multiwheel system is a RIMOWA trademark, as are the grooves in the aluminium. The castors also emphasise the idea of mobility, of being on the move."

"For us, it is before everything a product for the home – even if it obviously contains inspiration from offices and workplaces. Our first idea was a small container for the home office that could store a laptop, papers and pens. But the Aluminium Stool is adaptable, you can also use it to store records, magazines and electronics. And it's a handy tool for the living room, bedroom or even the bathroom."

"I like the fact that it seems a bit mysterious. You can see that it can be opened, but you don't know what's inside."

The VARMBLIXT, Ikea's donut-shaped lamp, was designed three years ago by Rotterdam-based industrial designer Sabine Marcelis. Since then, it's been selling like hotcakes; the company says they sell one every five minutes.

Now the design's getting an upgrade, courtesy of Marcelis. The finish has been switched from glossy to matte, and instead of only coming in orange, she's added color variability:

The lamp switches between twelve preset colours carefully curated by Sabine Marcelis. The sequence moves through different temperatures of white light, into glowing amber and warm red, through soft pink, cool lavender and turquoise, and on to gentle yellow tones, before circling back to white light. Each colour is chosen to transition smoothly into the next, allowing the atmosphere to shift gradually to another, without disrupting the feeling of a room.

"We spent a lot of time fine tuning the transitions between the curated colours," says Marcelis. "What makes this lamp unique is that switching between colours is not a sudden change, but a very smooth journey through all the hues to get to the next colour. The light slowly moves through colour to in turn transform the colour of a space."

Additionally, connecting the lamp to Ikea's Home Smart app provides access to additional hues, "across the full colour spectrum."

The lamp is expected to debut this April. The new price hasn't been announced, but the incumbent design goes for $100.

The Core77 Design Awards Built Environment category features human-made surroundings that provide the setting for people's activities. Spatial and physical structures, interiors, exhibitions, or installations, either permanent or temporary, for private, public, commercial, or industrial purposes. Examples include public installations, restaurant/hospitality interiors, office or medical interiors, set designs, retail displays, exhibition booths.

Architectural designer Zhaoxiong Han understands that architecture's greatest power lies in its ability to shape human connection. "I'm most excited about the ability of architecture to shape how people relate to each other and to the places they inhabit," he says. "Every project is an opportunity to understand context, interpret culture, and create environments that support meaningful daily life."

Based in Gensler's Los Angeles office, Zhaoxiong brings this philosophy to a diverse portfolio spanning core and shell office buildings, workplace design, education projects, and adaptive reuse. His particular interest centers on how architecture can renew existing contexts while forming meaningful cultural and spatial relationships—a perspective that has made him a sought-after voice in the design community.

Beyond his practice work, Zhaoxiong contributes to the broader architectural discourse as a juror for international competitions including TerraViva and Archiol. This ongoing engagement allows him to remain attentive to evolving cultural and environmental questions while helping shape conversations that define contemporary architectural practice.

As jury captain for the 2026 Core77 Design Awards, Zhaoxiong brings a critical eye informed by both hands-on practice and competitive evaluation. He finds the design process most rewarding when it "deepens our connection to place and expands the ways we experience and share space."

Context Over Convenience

His biggest concern in the design world reflects a tension many practitioners are grappling with today. "I'm concerned that the rapid adoption of AI may encourage designers to rely on generated form-making before fully understanding context, users, and purpose," says Zhaoxiong. "The tool itself is not the issue—AI can be incredibly powerful—but design risks losing depth when decisions are made too quickly. Architecture still requires judgment, interpretation, and understanding of human experience, which no model can replace."

To Core77 Design Awards entrants, Zhaoxiong emphasizes clarity of purpose above all: "Be clear about what the design or project is trying to do, and why. Strong work is grounded in a precise understanding of context, users, and intentions."

The 2025 professional winner in the Built Environment category was the WERKSVIERTEL MUNICH project designed by Johannes Ernst at Steidle Architekten. WERKSVIERTEL was previously an industrial site which has been transformed into an independent quarter for residential, commercial, social, and cultural activities with open public spaces for events and other forms of entertainment.

If you have a forward-thinking idea that could spark a fire with our jurors, share it with us through the 2026 Core77 Design Awards.

Enter the C77DA before January 30 to lock in early bird pricing.

This Momentum Calendar is "A physical manifestation of time," says German design firm Momentum Studio.

"This concept explores the calendar as a daily haptic ritual rather than a passive display."

I'm not sure about the utility of the dot indicator on the flower-shaped piece. I suppose you're meant to aim it for Friday, or perhaps Sunday, if you're religious?

The firm says the design will be going into production, though they have not yet announced a release date nor price.

This delightfully bizarre Penguin Donkey was designed in 1939 by Viennese architect Egon Riss. It was commissioned by the then-new Penguin Books, a British publishing house that had been founded just four years earlier, and would be produced by British furniture company Isokon.

The idea was that the piece would perfectly fit Penguin-sized paperbacks in its sides in several orientations, while the center channel would hold periodicals. The piece's name came from both its corporate sponsor and its ungainly shape.

The timing of the project was lousy: 1939 was also the year that Hitler decided to invade Poland, and before long, wartime shortages of plywood cause production to cease. Less than 100 units were produced. However, Isokon revived the design in 1982, and today you can buy a Penguin Donkey—for £895 (USD $1,200).

We live in a strange time, where toys are sold to adults. It's as if we can't quite let go of our childhoods--even if we become successful enough to buy an expensive car. For those who experience separation anxiety from their rides, Chinese company Nikola Toys makes this Infinite Space Garage Car Key Hanger.

The wall mounted box accepts a 1:64 scale car model. You can choose to have the built-in sensor activate the interior lights when you hang a key from the hook. You can also just leave it on. This provides a constant reminder and reassurance that Yes, you do own this vehicle, it is part of your identity, don't worry.

A possible downside to ownership: The thing isn't hardwired, so you'll periodically have to remove it from the wall and recharge it, via USB-C.

Runs $30.

Here's what we looked at this week:

Puzzle Bomb's form-follows-function jigsaw puzzles. Better if you want your kid to go into ID?

The rise of manual bread slicers.

Hoto's designey Flashlight Duo. The tool manufacturer continues to offer a vision of original Chinese industrial design.

A rare Mid-Century Modern design for a space-saving bed.

Crowdfunding smash: The Titaner Trident, an overdesigned zipper lock.

The xTool F1 can laser etch colors onto metal.

The end of analog toys? LEGO goes hi-tech with their new Smart Bricks.

Better UX for photographers: Xiaomi's 17 Ultra by Leica features a tactile dial for the camera.

Industrial designer Adam Miklosi's fun, modular coat rack.

A 1980s design classic: The Van Onck's LEM table for Magis, with a surprising height-adjustment mechanism.

Designed by StudioYO, Bookmarker is a minimalist furniture piece for book lovers.

A space-saving roll-out bed. "If we can roll a mattress once, why not again?"

The Penguin Donkey, a bizarre book-based furniture piece from 1939.

An infinity mirror key hanger for people who REALLY love their car.

"A physical manifestation of time:" Momentum Studio's haptic Momentum Calendar.