Our society seems to be an unparalleled generator of talents. Seldom in history has so much effort been devoted to talent scouting and, what is more, been rewarded. Ever new compilations are published for us.

A Munich exhibition illuminates the future possibilities of OLED light sources.

In Smallspace Gallery in Berlin architect and artist Michael Hansmeyer is currently exhibiting a series of images he has entitled "Platonic Solids".

Construction has been completed in Hamburg Hafencity of the first office building in the world to be lighted exclusively by LED technology - the new Unilever HQ. Is this the energy concept of the future?

The films of Charles and Ray Eames tell with their elegantly composed images the story of special beauty, of the beauty of the optimistic look at the simplest of things.

"Fare Mondi - Welten machen" was the title Daniel Birnbaum chose for his major Biennale show at the Arsenale and in the Biennial Pavilion.

After Russia, the Ukraine is the biggest country in Europe in terms of area. While the capital Kiev is characterised by monumental edifices from the Stalin era, in the provincial town of Kharkiv one finds masterpieces of Russian constructivism from the 1920s, in total contrast to the town of Lemberg in the Western Ukraine, where time seems to have stood still since the era of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Prague has just hosted the "Designblok" for the 11th time. Although many manufacturers lacked the budgets for large-scale presentations, Czech design still held numerous discoveries in store for the visitor.

Now that the nights are drawing in, Artemide has opened its first showroom in Germany. The founder and President of the Artemide Group, Ernesto Gismondi, was there in person to toast the opening in Frankfurt.

A symposium in Berlin organized by the company Sulfurcell addresses the demand for and reality of construction with building-integrated photovoltaics.

It has the charm of most things Viennese, once hung in a bespoke tailors and in the "American Bar" - the luminaire Adolf Loos designed for Knize back in 1909. And now it has emerged in the 21st century as a redesign.

It is not easy to avoid his judgment: As the Director of Die Neue Sammlung in Munich, when it comes to design Florian Hufnagl is not only an excellent connoisseur but also an enthusiast. Franziska Horn talked to him about design expertise in companies, the qualities of products that survive for longer than one season and non-existent mega trends.

Sometimes the future really is cardboard. Yet it is not only paper models that have gained new standing in the design process, paper itself has emerged as a highly regarded material. And so now for the very first time an entire book addresses the topic of paper as a sculptural material.

Ever more frequently exhibitions are attempting to explain the current relationship between art and design. This is also true of "Entre deux actes - Loge de Comédienne" at Kunsthalle Baden-Baden. This particular exhibition, however, relies too much on art and an antiquated concept of design.

The KolumbaTM brick was developed in collaboration with Swiss architect Peter Zumthor for the new Kolumba museum building in Cologne. It is a handcrafted coal-fired brick.

Nacho Carbonell's freewheeling fantasies on the origin of the world of ideas.

Antimicrobial plastic coatings, dust-repellent textiles, flexible displays - surfaces are becoming ever smarter. Birkhäuser Verlag has just brought out a book on the subject. But is it as exciting as the subject promises to be?

He is one of the figureheads of design and was always surrounded by a cluster of the greats of his trade. Without producer Dino Gavina, the international success of Italian design would have been inconceivable. His self-image was manifest on his visiting card, on which was printed: "Dino Gavina. Sovversivo". A Portrait of a Subversive.

The Italian furniture company Estel not only stands for a long family tradition. For generations it has also developed a good nose for the right design decisions. It was not until last year that Estel extended its empire to include five additional brands, including Dino Gavina's company "Simon". Ute Diehl met the company's President Alberto Stella and asked him what it means to adopt Gavina's legacy and take it forward into the future.

Concrete is by no means simply gray and monotonous. Recent years have seen the development of numerous new concretes that reveal the various uses to which it can be put.

The new Material Edition will showcase many other types of concrete including, for example, glass-foam concrete, translucent concrete, colored and recycled concrete. Be inspired by the sheer wealth of possible uses!

In fall 2008 Chris Bangle and Frank Barkow ran a workshop at Harvard Graduate School of Design based on Gina technology, a flexible outer skin, which produced astonishing results and creates totally new Utopias in which to live and reside.

Concrete is the epitome of the Neues Bauen movement and linked inseparably to Modernism. Yet despite the multifarious opportunities for use it still has a hard time being perceived in terms of its aesthetic qualities as well.

Richard Avedon (1923 to 2004) is one of the 20th century's most famous fashion photographers and portrait makers. Schirmer/Mosel have now published a fascinating illustrated book entitled "Avedon Fashion", which presents a selection of fashion photographs from six decades.

The new "La Diva" tile series by Villeroy & Boch truly lives up to its name. Opulent, playful and exclusive, it embodies a blend of styles that spans cultures and epochs -and is thus far more contemporary than we may initially think.

How would we build if we could build how we liked? What would our cities look like, would our submerged dreams come true? Marjetica Potrč offers us answers - in a light and playful way in the Arsenale, Venice.

Many of Arne Jacobsen's furniture designs were originally developed for special architectural projects. The Swan Chair is just one prime example. Perhaps because swans have often inspired the human imagination, the chair's sculptural quality comes into play in many locations.

He is more than just a man in the wings who provides the technology and experience. Not until he has developed a functioning model can the design process begin. A portrait of Egon Bräuning, long-standing Head of Development at Vitra.

Are electric drives more a PR campaign than a serious alternative? What is currently being treated as the future face of automobility has already been around for some time. Electric cars have as yet, however, been able to establish themselves. For several reasons.

The London fair 100% Design might be going through a bad patch but the city itself has a number of interesting things to see in the realm of design, art and architecture.

Design is more than just providing styling, and the look of a car is more than just pretty wraps for it. But do the ad agencies know this, too?

Thomas Demand' works appear to hover in the glass display case that is Mies van der Rohe's Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Yet that impression is deceiving, as so foten do his photographs. Under the title "Nationalgalerie" (national gallery) the artist uses curtain fabric hung freely from the ceiling and provided by the Danish company Kvadrat to showcase works whose theme is key moments in German history since 1945.

His designs attest to immense creative powers and are as unusual as is he: Angelo Mangiarotti. What was long since overdue has finally been realized by the provinces of Agape and Mantua: A retrospective in honor of the great Italian designer.

Dare to look into the future? Each of us will drive an electric car, will charge it overnight, while at the same time the washing machine runs because electricity will be cheaper at night. How to secure power supplies during such peak periods? Claudia Beckmann spoke to David Dallinger. They discussed how the electric car of tomorrow can be integrated into renewable decentral energy systems.