“I studied mostly in Berlin – a very “left” city, especially amongst students. At the time, I thought of myself as a future art historian and planned to go into academia after university,” said Thorsten Albertz, partner at albertz benda gallery in New York and Los Angeles. “Artists, curators, and gallerists were often invited to speak to our class about their lives and careers, and none of their talking points resonated less with me than the gallerists.”

“On one occasion, the idealistic 20-something in me became riled up and filled with the need to argue. “Art is not for sale,” I exclaimed, “Art can’t be commercialized!” During a mixer after the lecture, the guest speaker had the audacity to approach me, ask me about my opinions, and finish the conversation by flipping over his business card while telling me ‘… if you ever need a job, call me,’” he quipped. “Fast forward a few months, I needed just that: a job. I was desperate and ready to do anything, so I entered the commercial gallery world with nothing but reservations. Quickly, I figured out that I had a knack for speaking with artists. I spoke their language, figured out what was important to them, and thus slowly came to the conclusion that every idealist gets to at some point: business is not the enemy of creation, it’s the facilitator.”

Thorsten began his career at Arndt & Partner in Berlin, launching the gallery’s Zurich and New York locations. In early 2008, he became Senior Director for Korean-owned Arario Gallery. Two years after that, Thorsten left the commercial art world to take on the position of Director of Cultural Programs for the Goethe Institute Japan in Tokyo. During his tenure, he developed multiple shows with distinguished museums and curators throughout the country. Returning to New York in 2012, Thorsten joined Friedman Benda as a Director. In fall 2015, he founded albertz benda with Swiss-born dealer Marc Benda, and in 2021 they expanded the gallery to a second location in West Hollywood.

When not busy working, Thorsten can be found at the gym or daydreaming about his most prized possession. “A black leather teddy bear sofa by the Campana Brothers. I have never sat on it, and it has been in storage for years, but I think about it often. I decorate my future fantasy loft around it all the time.”

Today, Thorsten Benda joins us for Friday Five!

1. Podcasts

I’m a podcast fanatic! Especially anything and everything that involves serial killers. My friends worry about me often because listening to gruesome retellings of murders and crimes relaxes me. This is especially when in combination with my next favorite thing to do – enjoying a day on a Hawaiian beach. It is the perfect alignment of relaxation and excitement when I need to let my mind wander away from my daily routines.

Photo courtesy Robb Report

2. Porsche 911 Carrera

Boys need toys… and I don’t have mine yet. I am dreaming of a Porsche 911 Carrera. Although I was born and raised in Germany, I don’t have much of a sense of patriotism. But when it comes to cars, I like them to be German. Of course, it sounds stereotypical, but stereotypes are stereotypes because there is truth to them. A 911 Carrera to me combines grace and glamour, strength and power, and mechanical complexity in sleek elegance.

Image: Very Best Baking

3. Daily Pick-Me-Up Snack

My daily go-to ritual on the nutritional “pick-me up” front is my daily devouring of chocolate cookies in combination with a sugar-free Red Bull. It has to be the original small sized can and is limited to one per day – something I unfortunately can’t say about the chocolate chip cookie.

Photo courtesy Petit Armitage

4. Petite Ermitage

While I love to go out, I don’t like frequenting new places all the time. I need to feel at home wherever I go. After 15 years in NY, I relocated to Los Angeles around a year and a half ago, and sought to establish a home away from home. Fortunately, I discovered the club membership at Petite Ermitage in West Hollywood, which I’m delighted about. I believe that the people who frequent a club are what make it special, and this rings true at Petit Ermitage, where there is a perfect blend of down-to-earth individuals and fascinating Angelenos.

Photo: Thorsten Albertz

5. Dubai

Dubai excites me in every respect possible – from the architecture to endless entertainment opportunities to the blending of all cultures. It’s a true amalgamation of possibilities, cultures, and lifestyles. One might consider this another paradox, given Dubai’s totalitarian form of governing. I am sure those who know, understand.

Work from Thorsten Albertz:

Art by Lanise Howard, Furniture by Estudio Campana, Ceramics by Ebitenyefa Baralaye Photo: Julian Calero

Art by Famakan Magassa, Furniture by Estudio Campana Photo: Julian Calero

Art by Faye Toogood, Furniture by Christopher Le Brun Photo: Julian Calero

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

Close-up, it’s easy to overlook the architectural oasis fashioned from concrete, wood, and steel awaiting behind Casa TO’s half-door threshold. The hotel’s concrete clad exterior is draped in boa scarves of vines, with palms reaching upward and outward, barely contained by the various unions of rectilinear and curving brutalist planes that become evident with just a few steps back. Even so, the vigorous local vegetation cannot fully camouflage the hotel’s promise of architecture imagined to incite “a radical sensory experience upon entering.”

Designed by architect Ludwig Godefroy and sited in an inland corner of La Punta Zicatela, Puerto Escondido, the nine suite hotel offers an intimate respite from the festive Oaxacan surf scene weaving across the beachside streets. We found ourselves thankful of the contemplative refuge offered to us for a few morning hours during the recent 2023 Mexico Design Fair, indebted to its shaded cool cavern, enthralled by the contemporary reticulated interpretation of place and space designed to compel guests to do nothing but swim, rest, and occasionally sip something refreshing.

Photo: Gregory Han

Photo: Gregory Han

Godefroy’s inside-out approach invites light and shadow, sky and water, mass and emptiness all into an evocative interplay staged across the hotel’s varying heights. The cavernous central enclosure is most dramatically framed by a series of large circular concrete hole punches, allowing guests and the coastal breeze access across its length of water and herringbone brickwork floor – a span interspersed with low profile furniture built by carpenters from Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guadalajara. The height of furniture is easy to slump into, much more difficult to arise from (mentally, more so than physically, such is their comfort).

Photo: Gregory Han

Photo: Gregory Han

The architecture is intended to evoke the reticulated pattern of two historical projects of hydraulic nature rather than of hospitality: the 6th century AD Basilica Cistern of Istanbul, and the 19th century built Hornsey Wood Reservoir in Finsbury Park, London. Photo: Gregory Han

The hotel’s concrete mass is interjected by a sundry of windows, doorways, and other openings partially covered by the coastal region’s aggressive verdant vegetation, inviting passersby and the coastal breeze equal chance to make their way into the inner volume of Casa TO’s Oaxacan temple where the hotel’s spirit of serene contemplation comes into focus.

Photo: Gregory Han

Photo: Gregory Han

Meals and drinks are served on the upper rooftop level. Photo: Gregory Han

Tendrils of vines intrude, but privacy is otherwise retained inside the raw concrete confines of Casa TO. Photo: Gregory Han

The guest rooms continue the architectural narrative of contrasts, similarly cool and cavernous, inviting the elements at the cusp of its concrete walls. Garden Suites are furnished with king size beds with a small private garden, while the upper floor Terrace Suites are slightly larger and come with their very own outdoor tub with fresh water to easily slip into each morning or night from a king size bed.

Garden Suite Photo: Jaime Navarro

Terrace Suite Photo: Jaime Navarro

Terrace Suite Photo: Jaime Navarro

What: Casa TO
Where: Brisas de Zicatela, 70934 Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
How much: From $274
Highlights: The covered solarium lobby running parallel alongside a long infinity pool framed by six enormous circular openings inspires travel photography. Don’t skip out on brunch upstairs.
Design draw: Designed by Mexico City-based architect Ludwig Godefroy, the hotel’s circular opening poolside and lobby are complemented with furniture built by carpenters from Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guadalajara. Japanese architect Tadao Ando’s Casa Wabi, Casa Naila by BAAQ, and Meridiano gallery by architect Tatsuro Miki and Axel Vervoordt are all located within Puerto Escondido’s driving distance perimeter.
Book it: Casa TO

Go virtually on vacation with more design destinations right here.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Designed by Borja Gomendio, a student at the University of Design and Technology in Madrid, Spain, the Atacama chair is an academic project that mesmerized us with its perfectly balanced, geometric design. The chair is named after the Atacama Desert in Chile and is made of hand-woven macrame yarn that has been precisely woven around a simple steel frame. The braided thread creates the seat and, upon closer inspection, the almost camouflaged compartment beneath to store objects like magazines and books.

Gomendio wanted the Atacama chair to able to withstand outdoor environments and thus chose lacquered steel tubes that are resistant to rust to create the supporting frame. Once the tubes have been cut to size, they are welded together in a way that hides the seams and enhances the elegant design. The woven material can be customized from a wide variety of colors to cater to any preferences. When direct lighting hits the chair, an abstract play of shadows is revealed, casting geometric patterns onto the chair’s surroundings.

As the Lifestyle editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She’s probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.

During 3daysofdesign, Reform released SHAKER and PLAIN to their classic kitchen collections alongside the introduction of an all-new artistic and personal dimension to the kitchen dubbed the Atelier Collection. Atelier Collection commissioned four creative talents to craft a new series of handles for its latest SHAKER and PLAIN designs.

These handles are constructed from four traditional materials – metal, wood, glass, and ceramics – each contributing a distinctive touch to an otherwise commonplace object. Alberte Tranberg, Maria Bruun, Nina Nørgaard, and Yukari Hotta expertly balance the tension between artisanal craftsmanship and industrial production, resulting in a product that is both personal and practical.

The SHAKER collection pays tribute to the craft traditions of the Shaker movement. Its key feature, an embossed frame, reflects the quiet design ethos of a typical Shaker kitchen. The collection revives these enduring qualities with a contemporary touch, making it an ideal choice for modern or traditional spaces. The SHAKER collection offers variations in painted, painted veneer, and natural oak finishes.

On the other hand, the PLAIN collection is an embodiment of minimalist design that pairs functionality with a modernist viewpoint. Its flat fronts compose a simple yet thoughtful kitchen design, with PLAIN’s various features inviting customization through mix and match. The collection is available in painted, painted veneer, natural oak, and dark oak finishes.

Leo Lei translates his passion for minimalism into his daily-updated blog Leibal. In addition, you can find uniquely designed minimalist objects and furniture at the Leibal Store.

We’ve shared with you the creativity that Kriskadecor can bring to design with its chain link structures before, but the brand’s latest innovation takes its capabilities further by eliminating structural needs – like walls and ceilings – altogether. Feel Free is a self-standing system designed by estudi{H}ac – JMFerrero that allows for chain structures to be installed nearly anywhere, allowing for their use in most projects and locations. It’s an ideal solution for carving out flexible spaces, thanks to customizable height, shape, and color. The addition of the minimal, one-piece system opens up a world of possibilities for chain compositions that match a creative vision. The customer chooses the color, and Kriskadecor makes it a reality, even reproducing logos and images in high definition with different finishes and colors.

With the Feel Free system, it’s possible to create airy, luminous multidisciplinary areas through light partitions that provide a sense of spaciousness. It’s an invitation to design new interior and exterior spaces – coworking areas, waiting rooms, terraces, gardens, and more – without the hard definition of walls or fences. Simple to install and easy to move, Feel Free evolves according to the project’s needs.

The core of Feel Free is an extendable vertical axis, featuring a base that has minimal visual impact while providing needed stability to the structure. It’s a subtle technical element that supports the new Quad rail, which can be arranged in straight or curved lines. An interchangeable top cap, designed to join the Quad rails together, allows for the creation of an entire system of unique spatial forms and modular compositions.

As for sustainability, the Feel Free system comprises a base and a steel mast that can be easily separated for recycling. Both the Quad and the chains are made of aluminum, a material that can be infinitely recycled without losing its original quality. In addition, Kriskadecor’s links include 20% recycled material, which contributes to reducing the brand’s carbon footprint.

Kriskadecor offers a wide range of chain link structure applications overall: from monochrome surfaces to designs that include the reproduction of logos, images, and patterns. With each link acting as a pixel, and a wide palette of anodized colors in brilliant and satin finishes, the sky is the limit!

Meanwhile, the brand new Luxe Color Edition was created with the aim of allowing for complete customization. Its epoxy coating makes it possible to use all colors of the RAL and Pantone charts on the chains, while the quality of the process used provides a soft touch and durability, guaranteeing a unique finish.

Learn more about the Feel Free system and Kriskadecor’s capabilities at kriskadecor.com.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

For this 90-square-meter apartment in Milan, chromastudio dramatically renovated the space with a reconfigured layout and a dramatic color palette. More space was allocated to make a larger living area, bathroom, and storage space that better aligned with today’s ways of living. The public areas, with the living room, dining space, and kitchen, allot for almost half of the overall floor plan as it’s the heart of the home. Setting the tone for the apartment’s aesthetic right off the bat is the vibrant kitchen with a royal blue island made by Cesar Cucine and supplied by Mo1950.

A second bank of cabinets rests against the wall with multiple rows of three-dimensional tile and a simple yellow shelf for additional storage. The same striking blue is carried through the rounded entryway, forming a royal blue tunnel. Iroko wood floors were removed and a similar shade of blue cement material was laid by Innovative Surface to delineate the kitchen’s footprint.

Up close, the Mutina Rombini Triangle tiles in a rusty orange pop against the rich blue of the cabinets and next to the light blue Smeg fridge.

Paired with the bright colors and the natural wood floors are black accents displayed throughout the space helping to ground it.

Opposite to the kitchen is the living room with two long walls painted in a light ash color along with a light celadon green on the smaller walls. A darker version covers the ceiling. In juxtaposition of the cooler tones, a warm rust colored sofa and geometric red painting by Giorgio Pasqualetti balance out the space.

In the primary bedroom light walls are interrupted by the headboard wall painted in a cornflower blue, which is completed with two niches to hold bedside necessities. On the opposite wall, there’s a bank of storage cabinets in matching cornflower blue.

The second bedroom belongs to the child and is filled with geometric shapes and primary colors. A rounded arch painted in Savoy blue denotes the sleeping area, while an ocher yellow covers the ceiling for an overall cheerful feel.

The royal blue entry hallway leads to the bathroom which utilizes a more calming combination of colors in light sienna and red clay.

chromastudio

Styling: Elga Ancona + chromastudio
Construction: Re Modulor
Photography: Riccardo Gasperoni

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.

Berlin-based Geistmachine harbors a notably higher aspiration and attention to detail within a realm already notorious for meticulous specs and unique customizations imagined to elevate the humble keyboard into a personalized expression. The Geistmachine ASP series may be the most beautiful – or at least, the most elegant – keyboard line available today, outfitted with maniacally precise fit and finish, a magnetic modular customization system, and even packaging befitting of a luxury good.

Geistmachine’s monolithic minimalist slab design centers around a modular ferritic stainless steel band construction that wraps around the entire keyboard. The bands are there to both organize/divide sections of keys and numerical input, while also permitting users to magnetically attach a myriad of accessories.

The keyboard’s flat cuboid profile can be lifted with a 6.5-degrees stand to improve ergonomics or it can be removed for typing across a flat configuration. With the stand in place a Flat-Weight can be attached magnetically to the stainless bands and align itself with the U-Stand to improve acoustics and increase the perceived weight/heft with every keystroke.

Another detail worth noting – especially for southpaw typists – is the position of the numerical keys. Situated to the left side of the keyboard, this permits more accessible numerical input while also easing access to the right for mouse movements. There’s also the option to add an audio knob, a detail that pairs particularly nicely with the sum of its mechanical-machined aesthetic.

Embellished with touches of polished steel, copper, or rose gold Geistmachine positions their pricey peripherals specifically for spaces where an aesthete’s eye for detail requires something special, including design and architecture studios, ateliers, and other hospitality environments.

Geistmachine is launching with four different editions, each embellished with distinct choices in materials and surface finishes, with options to further customize.

The Engineering Edition leaves materials in their natural color without color-altering surface treatments and often comes with a transparent top housing to reveal the internals underneath and a signature copper bottom case. Starting from $799.

The Initial Edition picks unique characteristics of the other editions and recomposes its own edition. The IE often gets introduced first to showcase features of a new project line. Starting from $649.

The Graphic Edition resembles contemporary graphic design and timeless elegance of Swiss/German typography. The matte surfaces emphasize the clean lines and monolithic geometries of the design. Starting from $499.

The Selected Edition chooses premium materials and surface finishes to create a sophisticated, graceful edition that resembles luxurious jewelry. Starting from $669.

All four keyboards are currently on pre-sale at geistmaschine.io through July 6th.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Rest assured that KUNDESIGN’s Flow Swing is nothing like the one you remember having a permanent place in your grandparents’ yard. Yes, it has been designed for relaxing outdoors and gliding effortlessly, but that may be where the similarities end. Flow Swing’s inspiration comes from the mythical magic carpet – light, stable, and dynamically styled.

Flow Swing features stainless steel rockers as part of its structural design to provide a stable, smooth swaying motion. The seat has a slight arc shape, is stretched with waterproof PVC fabric, and can be used together with a cushion. The swing’s handrails use imitation teak texture elements for a pop of natural texture. Additionally, LED lights are hidden away inside the canopy to provide illumination for reading or at night.

The Flow Swing encourages interaction between people, so sit down with your friends and enjoy it together. It’s also available in a suspended design, just choose professional accessories.

Jasper Green

Magma Red

To learn more about the Flow Swing, visit kundesign.com.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

Just outside of Redmond, Washington overlooking Ames Lake, the Treehouse Camp Residence lives on a site that was once a Boy Scout camp from the 1950s through the 1990s. The idyllic location is now home to a family with two young children nestled within the forest yet close to the water’s edge. Stephenson Design Collective took great care when designing the 3,900-square-foot house by looking at how campsites gently interact with their surroundings. The lakeside locale is deemed a protected area, requiring the architect to be sensitive to the environment throughout the design and construction process. The result is a stunning glass, concrete, and wood home that pays homage to the surrounding Pacific Northwest forests and the homeowner’s Danish heritage.

Given the client’s job as CCO of the video game Minecraft, Stephenson Design Collective looked to the game’s use of blocks for inspiration. Once you know that fact, it’s impossible not to see the stacked blocks that make up the Treehouse Camp Residence. The ground level, with its board-formed concrete exterior that melds into the woodsy surroundings, houses the public spaces with the kitchen, office, and guest room. The upper floor, clad in charred shou sugi ban siding, extends out past the lower floor’s footprint for even more space to house three bedrooms, laundry, and a family room, which are connected by a suspended bridge. A basement rounds out the home with glass-walled wine cellar, media room, and home gym.

The open living room, dining room, and kitchen open to the outdoors, making it perfect for entertaining or enjoying meals alfresco, especially with the 16-foot cantilevered floor offering protection. Large sliding glass doors reveal unobstructed views of the lake and trees.

While the home’s design is mostly angular, the furnishings, like the Bouroullec brothers designed Ploum sofa for Ligne Roset and Finn Juhl Pelican Chair, add necessary curves.

In the double-height living room, a blackened steel wall offers a dramatic yet minimalist focal point, complete with a three-sided fireplace and seating ledge.

It took a village to design and engineer the floating concrete staircase set against a glass wall.

The kitchen cabinets are made in white oak with a black-stained oak wall disguising appliances to one side. In lieu of upper cabinets, large windows frame forest views.

Design: Stephenson Design Collective
Build: Dovetail
Photography: Kevin Scott

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.