Issues

Vale Palheiro Earth Resort, a countryside retreat in Portugal that promises total relaxation

In the raw beauty of Portugal’s Costa Vicentina natural park, the ochre buildings that make up Vale Palheiro Earth Resort don’t just complement the surroundings – they were literally built from the earth beneath it. To erect the dozen structures perched on the verdant hillside, the hotel’s founders, Madalena and Pedro Rutkowski, turned to rammed-earth construction, a sustainable but labour-intensive method once popular in Portugal but long in disuse. “Very few people know how to build like this today so we needed specialised hands who started working on this project 12 years ago,” Madalena tells Monocle. Combined with dry-stone walls of local schist, and brick roofs and floors from the region’s still thriving pottery industry, this rural retreat feels as though it has always been there.

The attention to provenance carries through to the interiors, which have been designed by Lisbon’s Arkstudio. “The goal was to create comfort with these organic materials,” says Arkstudio principal Margarida Matias, who went through an exercise of her own to uncover regional materials and crafts suited to the terrain. Natural cotton fibres woven on traditional looms upholster generous wooden benches, with clay amphorae decorating tables and outside spaces. Thick, textured tapestries by artist Rita Sevilha adorn walls, where unpainted patches show the layers of the earth within. Meanwhile, windows open onto views of the surrounding valley, with whitewashed houses of nearby beach town Aljezur climbing the hill at a distance. “It was very important that everything felt integrated into the landscape,” says Matias. The result is decor with a rustic charm but an open, uncluttered feel.

Spread across 60 hectares, the accommodation is split between selfsufficient villas with kitchen and dining areas, and smaller but equally comfortable suites with high-domed ceilings. Vale Palheiro also has a pool, a wellness centre and a farm-to-table restaurant that draws on the estate’s hives, orchards and chicken coop, as well as seasonal ingredients from the surrounding region. Shaded porches invite slow afternoons with a book; games rooms come with fireplaces for cooler nights; and the rooftop terrace, equipped with firepits, is designed for stargazing. “We wanted to create plenty of space for contemplation,” says Matias. “Somewhere to read, draw and dream.”

Designer Harry Thaler’s breathtaking Dolomites farmhouse transformation

Stay at Ansitz Layshof, a new guesthouse in Merano’s Maia Alta neighbourhood, and you might well find the owners’ three children playing football on the garden lawn behind the historic property with new-found friends lodging for the weekend. “It’s a family-like atmosphere as it always has been,” says Christa Klotzner, who runs the place with her husband Andreas. “But now it’s for everyone.”

The beautiful, traditional South Tyrolean house – a stone’s throw from the Dolomites – can trace its history back to 1254 and has been in Andreas’s family for more than 150 years. Until recently, though, it was a private farmhouse. Even today, the tractor parked in a dark-wood barn round the corner from the main building points to Andreas’s main job, tending nearby fields. Hailing from the fifth generation of apple farmers, he grew up in the home with his five sisters, parents and nonna. “There was always family in the house visiting my grandmother,” he says.

With the passage of time, it became clear that the house needed work – and was too big for the family’s changing needs. “We got to a situation where we had to decide whether we wanted to go somewhere else to live or refurbish it,” says Christa. The couple, who took over the farm in 2013, decided on the latter, embarking on an ambitious two-year project that converted part of the space into a guesthouse. The work retained the beautiful wooden beams, old doors and stucco ceilings that date to the 18th century, focusing on much-needed structural updates such as restoring the roof and stabilising the structure. Happily for Christa, who jokes that she was always cold when she first moved in, there is now central heating throughout.

The five spacious guest apartments – all with kitchens and one with a private rooftop sauna – are set over the first and second floors, with the owners living at ground level. The rooms mix tasteful contemporary oak parquet with original pieces from the family, including traditionally painted Tyrolean cupboards and sturdy wooden beds.

At one point during the thorough renovation, the couple understood that they needed a designer’s magic touch. “When the work was almost done – and we had wanted to do a lot ourselves – we realised that we needed some help,” says Andreas. The couple drafted in a designer who grew up in Maia Alta, Harry Thaler, the man behind the Monocle Design Awards trophy, who had gone to school with one of Andreas’s sisters.

Thaler’s flourishes take Ansitz Layshof to the next level. As well as turning his attention to all the room lamps, he designed a mezzanine level in the “Weyer” apartment and advised on the rooms’ armchairs. But it’s his work in the firstfloor communal area that stands out the most. The huge, sculptural copper chandelier hangs from the ceiling above a circular sage-green sofa – also Thaler’s work – juxtaposing wonderfully with old paintings and a grandfather clock set against a wall. “When we saw how beautiful the restoration was,” says Christa, “we knew that we wanted to share it with others.”
layshof.com

A tour of the spectacular upgrade of Kämp, Finland’s first grand hotel

There are hotels and there are institutions – and Kämp in Helsinki is among the latter. Since opening in 1887, the country’s first grand hotel has been a discreet stage for diplomats, composers, artists and statesmen. Kämp didn’t just offer comfort: it introduced Finland to an entirely new vision of civility and cosmopolitan life. Beneath its soaring chandeliers, Helsinki’s high society gathered in the Mirror Room. Kämp housed one of Finland’s earliest cinemas, its American-style bar brought cocktail culture to the nation and its suites were the backdrop to cultural breakthroughs and political meetings that changed the course of history: including the founding of the newspaper of record and being a HQ for resisting the Soviets.

More than two decades since its last overhaul, Kämp is preparing for its next act. The €100m renovation isn’t simply a matter of upgrading rooms or adding floor space (though it will do both). “This is about staying relevant without becoming a museum,” says Tuomas Liewendahl, Kämp’s general manager. “It’s the setting, not the story itself. But, for it to serve people today and tomorrow, it needs a face-lift and a bit of modernisation.”

The renovation, which began in late 2023 and will continue in phases until 2026, is being overseen by Finnish architecture studio Sarc 1 Sigge, with interiors led by Helsinki-based Fyra and London’s Archer Humphryes Architects. The building will remain open throughout the revamp – no small feat when all of its 179 guest rooms, along with the public spaces, are being reimagined. The most visible change so far is the new extension into the adjacent Helander House, a historic building that will contain 22 suites and rooms and a new entrance to Esplanadi park. “This is where the city breathes,” says Liewendahl of the boulevard that cuts through central Helsinki. Kämp’s original entrance faced the bustling thoroughfare but, in recent decades, the hotel has been using other doors on the quieter Kluuvikatu street. This is now being reversed. A restored grand entrance, complete with a new reception, will open later this year.

The Helander House suites are notable not only for their size and views but also for the ways in which they accommodate modern travel trends. Four include kitchenettes, spacious wardrobes and cocktail stations with shakers and recipe cards. “We’re seeing longer stays, more private chefs, more people who treat their suite as a personal residence – so we designed for that,” says Liewendahl. Kämp will also offer a new spa, including two pools, a well-equipped gym, treatment rooms and – this being Finland – three saunas. The ambition is not just to pamper guests but to enhance their long-term wellbeing – an aim aligned with the global shift towards holistic travel. “We’re thinking about how people want to feel, not just what they want to see,” says Liewendahl.

The dining areas are also being upgraded. Kämp’s bar will be moved to make way for a new reception hall. An improved restaurant offering will anchor the ground floor, while a breakfast space on Kluuvikatu will serve as a florist and deli by day. The terrace spaces are being kitted out for year-round use too.

The hotel’s guests might include heads of state and international pop stars but it’s the personal connections that give Kämp its resonance. Staff members such as Anders Sjöblom, Kämp’s guest-relations manager, have worked here for more than 20 years. Liewendahl’s grandparents once danced in the Mirror Room; a photograph of the space was presented to him when he hosted a party in the same space. “There aren’t many hotels where the staff, the guests and the city all feel invested,” he says. “But Kämp has always been more than just rooms and keys.”
hotelkamp.com

Les Roches opens its first hospitality school in the Middle East, aiming to elevate the Emirates’ luxury industry

“When guests arrive, they should feel an Emirati welcome,” says Scott Richardson, the academic dean of Les Roches Abu Dhabi. We’re sitting in the sleek rotunda of the Swiss hospitality school’s new campus, where students in chef whites are bustling around us. Richardson’s phrasing distils a big shift in how the uae wants to present itself. For decades, luxury hospitality here was an import. It was delivered, sometimes falteringly, with European precision and Filipino and South Asian resilience – but rarely with a local voice. Things, however, are changing.

In a country known for building big and thinking bigger, a quiet back-of-house revolution is under way, complete with a well-choreographed turndown service. Abu Dhabi might be a capital more commonly associated with museum-scale statements but with Les Roches’ Middle East campus, it is betting on a different kind of soft power: fluency in five-star service, with an Emirati accent. Minutes by car from the Louvre and the forthcoming Guggenheim, the new campus is designed to back talent from within the region, not import it. While the original institution in Switzerland boasts alumni in top-tier hotels in cities from Singapore to New York, its UAE outpost is trying to localise leadership in an industry that has long been defined by transience.

“Being in Abu Dhabi is absolutely crucial to the success of this academy,” says its managing director, Georgette Davey. “Students can experience so much here.” She points to Abu Dhabi’s expanding cultural footprint – from global museum collaborations to the arrival of Disney – as part of a broader movement. “We’re teaching them about the diversity of the world of hospitality. It’s not just a hotel any more. It’s also about luxury retail and theme parks. It’s about corporate head offices too.”

Alumni and students are embedded across the capital and hospitality here is beginning to feel more elevated – and more Emirati. The next time a visitor checks in at a luxury hotel or enters a restaurant, the person greeting them might just be a local – fluent not only in service standards but also alive to cultural nuance. “We couldn’t just copy-and-paste a European model,” says Richardson. “Hospitality is cultural. It’s about how you make people feel.”

Davey agrees. “In our first intake, about a third of the students were uae nationals,” she says. “Now it’s closer to 95 per cent. We’ve even had requests to launch summer camps for 15-to-17-year-olds.”

Among those leading the shift is Abu Dhabi native Tahnoon Al Qubaisi. “As Emiratis, hospitality runs in our blood,” he says. “From an early age, we are taught to welcome, serve and honour our guests as a reflection of who we are.” Now on placement at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Al Qubaisi says that he sees hospitality not only as an industry but also as a cultural inheritance.

Richardson has plans to have more Emirati professors. “Up to this point, local professors were in engineering and petroleum but things will change,” he says. “We already have an Emirati professor teaching our hospitality culture course. He teaches respect for elders, open-door policy and being welcoming.”

There’s a business case for this shift in emphasis. “Abu Dhabi wants to provide 178,000 tourism-related jobs by 2030,” says Emirati student Mohammed Al Hammadi. “I want to see at least 78,000 of those being filled by Emiratis.”

“We’re already seeing the ripple effect,” adds Al Qubaisi. “Emirati and non-Emirati students are gaining experience at top five-star hotels, government tourism entities, museums, historical attractions and more. This is the beginning of something truly powerful.”
lesroches.edu

Around the world in 40 designs: The best furniture, country by country

1.
N-T01
by Norm Architects for Karimoku Case, 2022

This drinks trolley is a collaboration between Denmark’s Norm Architects and Japanese furniture manufacturer Karimoku. A beauty on wheels, it comes with a paper-cord-wrapped oak handle and takes its form from the umbrella racks that stand at the entrances to many Japanese temples.

2. 
Kigo Side Table 70
by Gam Fratesi for Koyori, 2024

Copenhagen-based studio GamFratesi drew inspiration from the organic forms and rich textures of Isamu Noguchi’s mid-century stone sculptures for its Japan-made table series. Light oak and dark walnut evoke the harmony of nature, while the skilled human touches that finish these small tables make for seamless, smooth surfaces.

3. 
1AD Akari light
by Isamu Noguchi for Ozeki Lantern, 1951

Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi started designing his Akari lights in 1951 and they’re still handmade with washi paper and bamboo ribbing in the Gifu workshop of Ozeki Lantern. Noguchi compared the Akari’s soft glow to “the light of the sun filtered through the paper of shoji”. There are many sizes and shapes but 1AD is a good start.

4. 
Three-legged Drawer
by StudioYO, 2023

This made-to-order piece reimagines traditional storage, stripping away the outer casing to reveal a set of drawers supported by three legs. The effect is a cabinet system that appears to be floating, blurring the boundary between design and art.

5. 
Elephant Stool
by Sori Yanagi for Vitra, 1954

With a masterly blend of functionalism and tradition that’s difficult to beat, Sori Yanagi set the standard for Japanese product design. His work on everything from cutlery to pots and pans are as fresh today as ever. This stackable stool from 1954 can be used either indoors or outdoors. It can be a seat or a side table, is easy to clean and will last for years. Another Yanagi classic.

6.
Mushroom Stool
by Yamanaka Design Group for Tendo Mokko, 1961

This moulded-plywood masterpiece is so complicated to make that even though it won a competition in 1961, it didn’t actually go into production until 42 years later. A small piece in natural grain teak, it encapsulates so much about Japan: the skill of its artisans, the power of its postwar design and the enviable depth of manufacturer Tendo Mokko’s back catalogue.

7. 
Foldable Clothing Rack 3000
by Kenmochi Design Institute for Akita Mokko, 1984

Japanese designers are well-versed in making items for tight spaces and this folding clothing rack by Kenmochi Design Institute offers slimline hanging for clothes. Meticulously crafted in beech by Akita Mokko – makers of bentwood furniture since 1910 – it comes in a variety of colours and you can attach matching hooks for additional storage.

8. 
Sing Sing Sing chair
by Shiro Kuramata for XO, 1985

Shiro Kuramata created functional, highly prized pieces that blurred the lines between art and design. The Sing Sing Sing chair, designed for French manufacturer XO, features steel mesh and a curvy tubular frame that perfectly encapsulate the designer’s architecture-meets-industrial style. And, as a bonus, it’s also a terrific (and comfortable) conversation starter.

9. 
Meguro lounge chair and ottoman
by Naoto Fukasawa for Maruni, 2025

The Hiroshima chair, also designed by Naoto Fukasawa for Maruni (for whom he’s the art director), is already in the pantheon of chair classics. His new Meguro lounge chair – here in walnut and brown leather with an accompanying ottoman – is just as special.

10. 
Stone Garden
by Time & Style, 2024

Sadly, we can’t all live in a historic Japanese temple but this Stone Garden collection from Time & Style can bring the same natural materials and contemplative mood into any home. Its low-level seating, made in Asahikawa in Hokkaido, comes with tatami mats or cushions to encourage relaxation and more appropriate posture.

11.
Tatu lamp
by André Ricard for Santa & Cole, 1972

Named after the Portuguese word for armadillo, this lamp has an appeal that has endured since it was released in the 1970s. Conceived by Catalan industrial designer André Ricard, Tatu takes its inspiration from the focal glow of aeroplanereading lights. With three independently rotating sections and an adjustable beam, Tatu is best suited to quiet and focused activities.

12.
Suricata desk
by Inma Bermúdez for Sancal, 2025

This versatile desk-and-stool piece is inspired – and named after – the inquisitive suricata, which is Spanish for “meerkat”. The desk embodies the energy and dynamism of the small mammal, while encouraging active sitting. Available in a natural maple veneer or a colourful range of wood stains, this desk can turn even the smallest of spaces into a stylish study.

13.
Altar table
by Miguel Milá for Kettal, 2023

Barcelona-born designer Miguel Milá created this table in the mid-1960s as an altar for his wedding. Later it became part of his everyday use. Though not mass-produced at the time, Kettal picked up the patent for this simple yet charming design in 2023. It’s made from teak and its top comes in a variety of colours and finishes.

14.
Salvador chair
by Miguel Milá for Trenat, 2013

The elegant Salvador chair highlights not only Miguel Milá’s unending search for simplicity and economy of resources but also his appreciation for existing craft traditions. Manufactured by Trenat, the chair uses natural rattan cane, reed and reed strip or coloured ribbons, blending Mediterranean heritage with modern-day design sensibilities

15.
BKF chair
by Antoni Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy for Isist Atelier, 1938

Known as the BKF but also the Hardoy, the Butterfly, the Safari, the Sling or the Wing, this chair was designed in 1938 by Spanish architect Antoni Bonet, in partnership with Argentinian design duo Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy. The chair immediately became a symbol of postwar modernity. While many versions exist in the market, Isist Atelier has been handcrafting the original steel-and-leather model to exact specifications since the 1990s.

16.
Tria
by JM Massana and JM Tremoleda for Mobles 114, 1978

Tria, which means “choose” in Catalan, is a shelving system originally designed for Mobles 114 in 1978 by industrial design pioneers JM Massana and JM Tremoleda. The modular unit can be adapted to almost any space thanks to its configurable nature and range of materials, which include oak, walnut and cedar, and colours, such as ochre, orange, green and grey anthracite.

17. 
Õru sofa
by Patricia Urquiola for Andreu World, 2022

Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola looked to the design direction of the 1970s and Japanese aesthetic sensibilities to create this curved and low-slung sofa. Its three oar-shaped feet are the result of woodworking prowess combined with cutting-edge industrial technology, all of which is brought together beautifully in the Valencia manufacturing facility of Andreu World.

18. 
Dipping Light
by Jordi Canudas for Marset, 2018

Jordi Canudas’s lightbulb moment came when he was experimenting with plunging a lit lamp into a vat of paint at repeated intervals. The result is the Dipping Light, an instantly recognisable piece – and a Marset bestseller – that features gradients of colour and casts a warm glow.

19.
Balensiya
by Gonzalo Milà and Juan Carlos Ines for Indoors, 1991

Balensiya is a sculptural seat with a gentle rocking motion that’s designed for playful interaction. Made from varnished beech plywood and incorporating traditional woodworking techniques, it was designed by Gonzalo Milà and Juan Carlos Ines in the early 1990s. The arch-shaped stool is now issued by Barcelona-based design company Indoors.

20. 
Explorer cabinet
by Jaime Hayon for BD, 2019

This cabinet features in Jaime Hayon’s 2019 Explorer collection for Barcelona firm BD. The smooth lines and playful colour of the cabinet take their cues from hot dogs, a simple source of inspiration that exists in fun contrast to the hand-finished and high-gloss lacquer usually found on pianos. The result is a humorous and visually striking yet functional piece.

21.
B77 MK III
by Revox, 2024

Released last year, Revox’s updated version of this classic tape recorder retains the brushed aluminium, dials and restrained design of the original. But its more modern electronics and digital counter bring it firmly into the present. Swiss-engineered, this is a machine for anyone who values outstanding audio quality.

22.
DS-1025 Terrazza sofa
by Ubald Klug for De Sede, 1973

Part-furniture, part-landscape architecture, Ubald Klug’s Terrazza sofa takes its sculptural cues from terraced hills. With its leather layers and modules that can be mirrored, extended or combined, it is capable of forming the dramatic centrepiece of any living room. Manufactured in Klingnau, in the Swiss workshop of De Sede, the Terrazza continues to intrigue more than 50 years after its release.

23.
SBB Clock
by Hans Hilfiker for Mobatime, 1944

With its bold markings and luminous face, Hans Hilfiker’s iconic railway clock is easily legible by day or by night. With its sweeping carmine-red second hand and thick black markings, the pared-back design is recognisable around the world. In Switzerland, the clock is still on proud display in every train station, quietly keeping time on the nation’s comings and goings.

24.
Landi chair
by Hans Coray for Vitra, 1938

Though the Landi chair was designed for the 1939 Swiss National Exhibition, it wouldn’t look out of place at a contemporary design fair today. Made from durable weather-resistant aluminium, its perforated seat and back make it an ideal outdoor companion, while its stackable design ensures practicality.

25.
Rey chair
by Bruno Rey for Dietiker, 1971

Thanks to a patented screw-free wood-to-metal joint, this stackable classic from Bruno Rey combines curved forms with a clean, graceful look. Durable, comfortable and instantly recognisable, it is the first Swiss chair to earn this patent. Moreover, it still feels modern and worth owning to this day.

26.
Wall/Ceiling Lamp
by Georg Gisel for Lehni, 1976

This 1970s lamp by Zürich-born Georg Gisel uses a mirrored bulb to throw light onto a reflective disc, casting a glowing halo that softly illuminates a room. Designed to be used as a wall or a ceiling fixture, it pulls off the rare feat of being minimal, sculptural and atmospheric, all at the same time.

27. 
USM Haller system
by Fritz Haller and Paul Schärer for USM, 1963

Built from chrome-plated steel frames and colourful powder-coated panels, the USM Haller system has been helping the Swiss stay organised since the late 1960s. Conceived as modular cubes, the storage units can be endlessly reconfigured. For its functionality, the USM Haller system is one of the undeniable benchmarks of Swiss modernism.

28. 
Loop chair
by Willy Guhl for Eternit, 1954

In the 1950s, Willy Guhl bent a single fibre-cement panel into a continuous loop, creating a seat and a backrest in a simple gesture. Made from repurposed roof panels, the chair was discontinued in 1980 because of the presence of asbestos in the material. It was later put back into production – thankfully without the carcinogenic content – and its elegance continues to impress even today.

29. 
Spaghetti outdoor chair
by Huldreich Altorfer for Embru, 1948

Huldreich Altorfer’s laidback lounger consists of colourful PVC cords stretched over a tubular steel frame. Stackable and comfortable, it earned the nickname Spaghetti chair thanks to its playful strands, which resemble the Italian pasta. A postwar garden staple, the chair has furnished Swiss terraces for generations.

30. 
TMP paper collector
by Willi Glaeser for Thomas Merlo & Partner, 1989

Willi Glaeser was walking around his office when he identified the need for a design that could keep A4 sheets of paper stacked and tidy. The result is this simple steel frame that is functional but also surprisingly discreet. It turns out that Glaeser wasn’t the only person hankering for a quietly stylish paper collector: the design has since sold more than one million units worldwide.

31.
Botton lamp
by Jader Almeida, 2023

Designer Jader Almeida’s style revolves around natural, sinuous lines. This quality is on display in 2023’s Botton lamp, a canopy-like structure that bends outward then collapses into itself. Its modest, compact shape lends itself to a variety of settings, from bedside tables and dining rooms to the office.

32. 
Mesa cabana
by André Grippi, 2024

Designed by São Paulo-based André Grippi, the Cabana series perfectly combines rattan and wood. Held up by three legs, this table’s amorphous shape is just the right amount of whimsical. With its playful silhouette, Grippi brings Brazilian modernism into the 21st century.

33. 
Pé de Ferro armchair
by Lina Bo Bardi, 1950

Lina Bo Bardi was a modernist architect who lived in Milan, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Salvador and São Paulo. This chair, designed with Giancarlo Palanti, is all tubular shapes, clean silhouettes and white upholstery. As well as being beautiful, it is also functional. As Bo Bardi once said, “It is necessary that the work does not fall from the sky over its inhabitants but rather expresses a need.”

34. 
Mole lounge armchair
by Sergio Rodrigues, 1961

Designed in 1961, this armchair is Sergio Rodrigues’s best-known piece. Mole is Portuguese for “soft” but you don’t have to be fluent to guess that. The chair’s leather upholstery, which flaps outward from its base structure like a pair of wings, is equal parts plush and pleasant.

35. 
Sleeper chaise longue
by Lucas Simões, 2025

Simões’s Sleeper resembles a chaise longue refracted and reflected back at you in a funhouse mirror. Its concrete base is sci-fi-like, while its undulating, seemingly gravity-defying design adds a touch of the surreal. The name is fitting: this feels like something out of a dream.

36.
Studio K desk lamp
by Bill Iggulden for Planet Lighting, 1962

In the 1960s, designers such as Bill Iggulden put a practical, Antipodean spin on mid-century modern. Case in point is this lamp, which has a sharp armature jutting from a solid metal base, exposing coils and wires. The bulb cover creates a concentrated pool of light in which to work.

37. 
Linear Sunlounge
by Tait, 2022

Melbourne-based Tait’s sunlounger is made from marine-grade stainless steel and timber, with a form that’s as sleek as its moniker suggests. Its two-wheel set-up means that it can be easily moved from poolside to backyard patio, making it a hit with those soaking up the sun or unwinding after a barbecue.

38. 
Clipped wing side table
by Simon Ancher Studio, 2018

Australian designer and maker Simon Ancher’s side table, which can also be used as a stool, is manufactured in Tasmania and made to order from the state’s famed blackwood timber. The result is a carefully crafted piece with visible, rich timber grains. Small but solid in stature, it’s robust like the Australian island from which it hails.

39. 
Event Horizon table
by Marc Newson Edition, 1992

Fabricated in spun aluminium with four trumpet-shaped legs supporting a hollow tabletop, Marc Newson’s Event Horizon table was first made by an Aston Martin restoration firm near London. The coachbuilders worked the aluminium in an approach akin to that of glassblowers, creating its bulbous forms.

40. 
R160 contour chair
by Grant Featherston for Emerson Bros, 1951

This piece’s name sums up Australian designer Grant Featherston’s intent: to create a chair that comfortably contours to the body. The back of the seat curves along the length of the user’s spine, while its plush upholstery and the gentle taper of its ashwood legs make it a treat to look at.

Five luxury hotels waiting for you to check in, from Marrakech to Malaysia

1.
The Brach
Madrid

The Gran Vía is one of Europe’s most well-trodden streets but you wouldn’t guess it when you step inside the Brach Madrid, the Evok Collection’s first Brach venture beyond France. The seven-storey hotel has been thoughtfully soundproofed but the interiors also help to turn things down with ornamental textures, dark hues and moody lighting. Once the childhood home of Victor Hugo, the building retains the feel of a stately mansion, quietly ensconced on a main street.

Each of the 57 guest rooms and suites is filled with vintage souvenirs, adventure books and even the odd musical instrument. The spa is kitted out with an oxygenation chamber and an infrared sauna but there’s also a long marble pool and massage rooms – perfect if getting here via the Gran Vía takes its toll.
brachmadrid.com

2.
The Twenty One
Athens

The renovated Twenty One sits among the sprawling private homes of Kifisia, an area that “blends a glorious past with a vibrant present”, says co-owner Alexandros Varveris. The hotel’s – you guessed it – 21 rooms are decorated with Punto tiles by French design team Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, while marble-and-terrazzo bathroom interiors come courtesy of the co-founders’ family business, Moda Bagno and Interni, founded in 1974. A pink-and- green tiled swimming pool is nestled in a lush garden, while in the restaurant, Isabella’s, chef Nikos Dimitras focuses on refined Mediterranean fare.
thetwentyonehotel.com

3.
Izza
Marrakech

“To be surrounded by so many artworks and artists is a form of nourishment,” says Aicha Benazzouz, who, as part of Izza’s art-direction team, conducts several tours per day. As she leads Monocle up a slender stairwell to a balcony overlooking one of three interior courtyards, she details the hotel’s years-long renovation. “We connected seven adjoined properties on a quieter part of the medina,” she says.

Having started as the project’s interior stylist, Benazzouz now oversees the entire operation, which functions as both hotel residence and museum.

Typically, riads are inverted houses that shelter inhabitants from the bustle beyond. Izza takes a different approach, like a labyrinth with surprises at every turn, and Moroccan and African artists are given pride of place. Interiors riff on Morocco’s rich heritage, with woodwork as well as zellige, tadelakt and arabesque tiling providing the backdrop. The head chef, Ahmad El Hardoum, fuses Moroccan flavours with Mediterranean touches.
izza.com

4.
Schloss Schauenstein
Fürstenau, Switzerland

The ivy-clad, medieval Schloss Schauenstein in the small Alpine town of Fürstenau has long been a place of culinary excellence under chef Andreas Caminada. The Graubünden-born restaurateur is known for his love of local produce, serving up delights such as herb and roe cannelloni, fresh fish and hölzige geiss goat’s cheese.

To mark the hotel’s 20th anniversary, the castle’s interiors have been renovated by Danish design studio Space Copenhagen. Its ancient stone walls, timber beams and winding staircases have been softened with oak, wool and linen finishes. Vintage pieces mingle with modern designs – sofas by &Tradition, Gubi chairs, Frama’s Sintra stone tables – while bedrooms have been refreshed with furniture from the likes of B&B Italia and Cassina. Bathrooms, finished in stone with minimalist fixtures, have rainfall showers and deep tubs.
schauenstein.ch

5.
Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur

Park Hyatt’s roll-out across Southeast Asia’s major cities shows no sign of abating. For its 50th outpost worldwide and debut Malaysian property, the brand has taken the top floors of Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka 118 tower. It is one of the first tenants to move in – the HQ of one of Malaysia’s biggest banks will follow next year. By virtue of a spire on top, Merdeka – meaning “independence” in Malay – is Southeast Asia’s tallest building and its design is intended to reflect the silhouette of the country’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, with a hand pointing skywards in recognition of Malaysia’s independence in 1957.

For the interiors, the hotel’s design team worked with GA Group – the London-based hospitality company behind 1 Hotel Mayfair and Rosewood Schloss Fuschl, a converted Austrian castle – to inject a sense of heritage and place. The entrance stairway is designed to evoke a traditional Malay home, typically built on stilts, while local design elements, including pivoting shutters, feature throughout, alongside works by Malaysian artists such as Tunku Khalsom and Agnes Lau. “Our guests are surrounded by quiet references to local craftsmanship that feel intuitive,” says Herman Kemp, the general manager.

At the Merdeka Grill restaurant on level 75, Norwegian chef Stig Drageide brings a dash of Scandinavia to the likes of spicy Angus steak tartare and cedarwood- roasted salmon. But the real treat is the view of the city’s skyline, particularly of the Petronas Twin Towers and the Stadium Merdeka. “Once you come up to level 75, you’re in a different world,” says Kemp. “It’s impressive no matter how many times you’ve seen it.”
hyatt.com

A pilot’s case for paper maps in an age of automation

Not long ago I was flying in my helicopter when the bracket holding the GPS suddenly snapped. The receiver fell and smashed. I was in the air without a navigation system, with a flight visibility of between 3km and 4km – comparable to a foggy motorway when drivers can see about 300 or 400 metres ahead. My workload doubled immediately. It was a good example of why we shouldn’t rely on tech alone. Sometimes it takes a paper map to get us home safely.

In aviation today, there’s a dangerous over-reliance on automation. Pilots are trained to plot a course on a map, taking into account the weather and the speed at which they will travel. But once they’re out in the working world, they pack away the maps. A few years ago a British team tried to re-enact the famous “Dambusters” raid of 1943. It involved planes locating specific dams in Germany’s Ruhr valley. But I’m sorry to say that most modern navigators can barely find Germany without GPS, let alone a dam.

There are numerous problems with GPS, ranging from iPads shutting down the system to inputting the wrong co-ordinates – not to mention jamming attacks, which currently affects more than 1,000 civilian flights per day. So my advice is to be prepared and practised. Switch off the screen now and then, know where your map is and plot a course before you set off. Convenience suddenly becomes chaos if the backlit screen you’re beholden to breaks.

Andrew Harvey is a UK-based helicopter pilot and instructor with 25 years’ experience. As told to Monocle’s writer and researcher Julia Jenne.

Read next: Why airlines should keep veteran pilots in the skies for longer

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Upping the ante: Four of the best new restaurant openings around the world

1.
Corner Shop 180
London

British entrepreneur Nick Jones can’t get a table at his own restaurant. “It’s a good problem to have,” he tells Monocle at Corner Shop 180. As we queue, a customer recognises him and offers some unsolicited praise. “Great job,” he says of the space off London’s The Strand. “Thank God for that,” says Jones. The restaurateur is humble about what he has achieved since stepping down as the CEO of membership club Soho House in 2022, though he remains a stakeholder.

Part of designer Alex Eagle’s new development 180 Quarter, the venture is designed to be a one-stop shop. “It’s a café, bakery, grocery store and wine bar,” says Jones over a plate of herby rotisserie chicken, a roasted slab of pumpkin and crispy kale (we get a table eventually). “There’s even a gelateria.” But at Corner Shop 180, there’s no real delineation between the spaces. “We don’t have arrows directing you because I believe that a bit of chaos is a good thing,” says Jones.

Hybrid and multi-hyphenated hospitality “concepts” might be in vogue but Jones’s thinking is more practical. “I have never liked the idea of creating something that’s closed in the evenings or on weekends. In a city like London, it doesn’t make sense.”

By day, a tidy stream of commuters and well-heeled thirtysomethings come for patisseries handmade in-house by Populations Bakery. By night, locals and residents of the development’s 115 apartments drop by for a glass of wine, picking up some fresh pesto, a red lentil dhal or a puff pastry pie for dinner.

Come 2026, guests of the nearby 90-key St Clement Hotel will be able to follow suit. “I envisage this as the place where people come to find the last 20 per cent of their groceries and have a bite to eat while they’re at it,” says Jones, who works with about 30 global suppliers. So are there reasons to be optimistic about the capital’s dining scene? “Ignore the naysayers,” says Jones. “Londoners are still obsessed with eating out.”
7 Arundel Street, WC2

2.
Universal Bakehouse
Kuala Lumpur

In The Campus Ampang, Kuala Lumpur’s lively former school-turned-mall, Universal Bakehouse is churning out freshly baked pastries with an Asian twist. Here you’ll find everything from crusty sourdough loaves and coconut and mango choux buns to jalapeño minced beef tartines to red-bean-and-sesame twists.

“We want the community to feel like Universal Bakehouse is part of their daily ritual,” says co-founder Marcus Low. For the interiors, Low took inspiration from the original building’s academic facilities to create an old-school cafeteria atmosphere. Patrons are invited to dine in the semi-outdoor seating area that merges with The Campus’s open corridors. This sense of place is reflected in the bakery’s bold signage that hangs over the entrance, a nod to the street-level charm of traditional Malaysian coffeehouses.
universalbakehouse.my

3.
Tarántula
Paris

Chef Emmanuel Peña, owner of Parisian cantina Tarántula, doesn’t mince his words when it comes to Mexican cooking. “I wanted to open a restaurant without all the Frida Kahlo décor, piñatas, skulls and bursts of folklore,” he tells Monocle. “So many places claim to be Mexican but most of them don’t even use good ingredients.”

After spending more than a decade running the first taqueria in Paris, Peña levelled up with Tarántula, offering a refined take on his culinary roots. Housed in a former 1960s bistro, the space blends vintage Parisian charm (think red-and-white tiled floors and time-worn wooden tables) with a moody Mexican taverna vibe. Dim lighting and a carefully curated soundtrack set the tone, while the deceptively simple menu combines French seasonal produce with bold doses of acid and spice.

His favourite dish? “Honestly, just the grilled onion. It’s such a simple dish but the flavours are complex. People always ask what’s in the ‘sauce’ and they’re surprised when I tell them—it’s just burnt chillies with lime juice and garlic and a grilled roscoff onion.”
13 Bis Rue Keller, 75011

4.
Ultramarinos Demar
Mexico City

Mexico City is known for its long lunches – you might sit down at 14.00 and not look at the bill until four hours later. Opened by chef Lucho Martínez, who runs a string of restaurants in the capital, Ultramarinos Demar is a seafood spot that connects Mexico City with his Veracruz roots. Inside a dining space of sea-foam-green tiles, matching marbled tabletops and terrazzo floors, waiters dash around in white jackets and black ties. “I have always been inspired by old-style restaurants here,” says Martínez. The menu has everything from clam chowder to tuna tostadas – it’s like a favourite beachside restaurant but in the heart of the city.
demar.rest

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How staircases became the latest status symbol in Asian luxury retail

Stairs might be a hassle in many places but in Asian cities, where most of us live in apartments, they are a sign of luxury. French brand Cartier has just opened a boutique in Bangkok’s Siam Paragon shopping mall and the two-storey shop, with its own internal staircase, is being billed as a first of its kind in Thailand.

Duplexes have become all the rage in high-end retail. To keep up with Cartier, other boutiques are now undertaking renovations. Physical shops are the most important sales channel in Thailand and European luxury houses require more room to pamper customers with special “experiences”: intimate dinners and that exclusive staircase to a higher level of service.

A similar shift is under way in Hong Kong, where the Landmark in Central is in the middle of a major remodelling job: its ceilings are being knocked through to build multistorey “maisons” for its wealthy tenants. Amid this scramble for stairs, one of the best retail spaces to open inside a luxury mall in 2025 is stepping in a different direction: rather than up, it’s going down. Friend Friend at the Emporium shopping mall, Siam Paragon’s closest rival, has commandeered two levels of the car park and made use of a car ramp to connect the floors, stocking designer furniture, homeware, kitchenware, hardware, house plants, magazines and vinyl records.

While luxury brands wrestle with being both exclusive and accessible – creating roped-off areas for top spenders and cheaper products for the mass market – Friend Friend is notable for using stairs to elevate an experience.

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Three new public buildings in Rotterdam, Arkansas and Weil am Rhein that are elevating urban life

We have high expectations of public structures for good reason: they are essential for community life. At their best, they provide a welcoming physical framework for socialising, learning and reflection. Here are three benchmark buildings that do all that and more.

1.
Anthony Timberlands Center
USA

Many buildings draw their sense of place from their architects’ use of local materials. The University of Arkansas’s newly finished Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation is one of them. Designed by Grafton Architects, a Pritzker Prize-winning Irish practice, with US firm Modus Studio and landscape design by Ground Control, the building uses timber sourced primarily from Arkansas forests and mills. “Our design envisions the building’s timber as the structural bones and the enclosing skin,” says Yvonne Farrell, co-founder of Grafton Architects. The cascading roof filters natural light into the interior and is positioned to mitigate the effect of intense winds and seasonal rainfall. The result? A structure that houses classrooms, studios and a lecture hall, while serving as an education in itself.
uark.edu; graftonarchitects.ie

2.
Doshi Retreat
Weil am Rhein, Germany

The final building designed by the late BV Doshi has just been completed on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein. It was inspired by a visit to the Modhera Sun Temple in India. “I showed Balkrishna Doshi a photo of a small shrine I had seen there,” says Rolf Fehlbaum, Vitra’s chairman emeritus, who commissioned the project. “I then asked whether he would be willing to design a place of contemplation for the campus.” Doshi accepted. The result is a winding path, defined by weathering-steel walls, that leads to a small pavilion with two stone benches and a gong. “It is sound, resonating through the visitor’s body, that erases the boundary between self and structure,” says Doshi’s granddaughter, Khushnu Hoof, who helped oversee the project’s completion. “The building reflects the sound, transforming the chamber into a resonant instrument.”
vitra.com

3.
Fenix
Rotterdam

On Rotterdam’s city harbour, the Fenix art museum opened in May as a cultural space dedicated to migration. The first commission for a public cultural building in Europe for Chinese studio mad Architects, the structure weaves together narratives of past and present. Its main structure is a 100-year-old former warehouse. Here, 1920s windows and postwar sliding doors blend effortlessly with new sculptural additions.

Highlights include a swirling stainless-steel “Tornado” staircase that rises in a double helix from the ground floor to the rooftop, which overlooks the Maas river. A vast green roof also reduces the museum’s impact on the environment. Sustainable and experimental, it’s an architectural testament to the museum’s mission: to bridge Rotterdam’s past and future.
fenix.nl; i-mad.com