Italian industrial designer Joe Colombo loved smoking and drinking. In the early 1960s, he designed something that would make it easier for him to do both simultaneously: Cleaned-up versions of Colombo's Smoke Glasses are still in production, by Italian crystal manufacturer Arnolfo di Cambio.Should this post be seen as an endorsement of either habit,...

A few years ago, I was hired for a project that went nowhere. A family living out of a trailer on a deeply rural property had inherited some money. They wanted to build a proper house. The contractor and I headed out to assess the site.Their driveway was in horrific shape: Dirt, nearly three-quarters of a mile long, narrow, winding, hilly and badly...

A company called Steps Material bills themselves as "a one-stop material selection platform for architectural designers." Based in Guangdong, they apparently have access to some unusual composites, like this "Bamboo Charcoal Fiber Board" that resembles stainless steel: "It is made of bamboo charcoal base material, resin and polymer materials, and is...

Here's what we looked at this week: The Keyaki To-Go Coffee Cup, made of turned wood, was successfully Kickstarted. Peter Ivy's stunning, minimalist Bottle S. Over-the-top, powered "computer cockpits" by Cluvens. Dyson carries over a crucial design detail for the WashG1, their first power mop. From this year's Goodwoof Barkitecture Charity...

Nuts-and-bolts industrial design is giving form to objects that improve millions of people's lives. And rarely getting credit for it. In fact, most of the people whose lives are improved by this object don't even know it exists. The internet in your homes or offices may reach you wirelessly, but it still gets to your building the old-fashioned way....

Imagine a time when tools were scarce, being difficult to manufacture. They were prized and owners were careful with them. Nowadays we've grown so rich, we'll buy multiples of objects that our ancestors would have killed to own just one of. We do this because they're easy to lose, or we scatter them around various life stations so they'll always be...