Tent House by Nha Dan Architects: A Blending of Nature and Urban Living
Nha Dan Architects' Tent House in Vietnam redefines urban residential architecture, drawing inspiration from tent structures to create a fluid connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. Its innovative design, featuring overlapping roof planes and strategic openings, optimizes natural ventilation and daylight, fostering a harmonious living environment within a bustling city. The residence prioritizes spatial continuity and environmental performance, embodying a unique blend of modern design and natural integration.
KYKLOS: Renzo Piano's New Cultural Beacon in Piraeus, Greece
Renzo Piano Building Workshop is spearheading the construction of KYKLOS, a new arts and culture center in Piraeus, Greece. Scheduled for completion in late 2028, the project, fully funded by the Dinos and Lia Martinos Foundation, aims to foster intercultural dialogue, sustainability, and accessibility. KYKLOS will feature diverse global art collections and dynamic programming, enhancing Piraeus's cultural landscape.
A Bold Attempt to Soar: The Cardboard and Wood Aircraft Project
Peter Sripol and his team have embarked on an ambitious project to construct a personal aircraft primarily from cardboard, reinforced with wooden elements. This innovative creation, featuring exposed propellers and remote control, aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a lightweight, human-carrying flying machine. Despite initial test flights ending in a controlled landing rather than sustained flight, the team remains optimistic, planning further refinements to achieve their aerial aspirations.
The recent Tanween event at Ithra showcased a profound dedication to innovative design, focusing on its capacity to address societal challenges and human needs. This transformation into Ithra Design Week signifies a strategic move towards broader global engagement, while steadfastly upholding its core values of community participation and empathetic design. The shift reflects a growing ambition to position Ithra as a pivotal center for design discourse and exchange on an international scale, building upon the established foundation of collaboration and human-centered exploration.
Tanween's Evolution: Bridging Local Needs and Global Aspirations
The eighth iteration of Tanween, spanning from November 17 to 22, 2025, at Ithra, established itself as a vibrant arena for cross-disciplinary design exploration, emphasizing empathy and practical experimentation. This event meticulously explored how design can unveil unarticulated community requirements and catalyze significant societal improvements. Activities ranged from insightful exhibitions and stimulating Majlis discussions to engaging Tanween Challenges and hands-on 'Day with an Expert' workshops. A pivotal announcement during this edition revealed that Tanween would evolve into Ithra Design Week starting in 2026, aiming to broaden its scope and reach without compromising the integral community-driven spirit that has defined its eight-year journey. Shahad Alwazani, the lead for Tanween, elaborated on the guiding principles behind the platform and how this strategic transition is set to elevate Ithra's role as a growing nexus for design interaction both regionally and globally.
Shahad Alwazani underscored that Tanween's 2025 theme, 'designing the unspoken,' focused on diverse needs—environmental, social, cultural, and educational—always bringing design back to its human core. The platform actively supports designers in exploring fundamental societal concerns through experimentation and mutual inspiration, fostering the development of ambitious ideas. Each edition progressively crafts a thematic journey within the design process, empowering creators to delve into what truly matters, thereby solidifying Tanween's role as a catalyst for meaningful design and innovation. This approach is instrumental in nurturing a design ecosystem that is responsive, innovative, and deeply connected to human experience.
The Power of Empathetic Design and Collaborative Learning
Central to Tanween's mission is the deliberate integration of empathy as a primary methodology in design. This approach encourages designers to go beyond conventional aesthetic considerations, immersing themselves in the lived realities of users and communities. By doing so, they can identify and translate often-overlooked needs into practical and impactful solutions. This framework redefines design as a practice of active listening, responding thoughtfully to the intricate social, cultural, and emotional dimensions that are frequently absent from standard design briefs. Such a philosophy deeply resonates with the rapidly evolving creative landscape of the region, driving a more human-centric and responsive design culture.
Shahad highlighted that the eighth edition's core objective was to spotlight empathy in design, urging practitioners to adopt the perspectives of users and communities to truly comprehend their needs. Tanween functions as a vital conduit, amplifying designers' voices and enabling them to articulate the narratives and challenges unique to their communities. It serves not only as a showcase for innovative design but also as a profound educational experience, illustrating the critical importance of design for all participants. Expanding into Ithra Design Week, the platform maintains its foundational principles of experimentation, empathy, and community engagement. This evolution will further embed design within Ithra's diverse programs, including its museum, library, cinema, and IdeaLab, while also extending its influence into public spaces across the Eastern Province. Ithra Design Week is poised to enrich regional dialogue, enhance the visibility of designers, and establish Saudi Arabia as a dynamic contributor to the global design conversation, all while preserving its unwavering human-centered ethos.