Never Too Small #5

Issue 5 asks: how does design stir our feelings and drive our connections to places, to our pasts, our secrets, our inner child and to each other? From Malaysia to Spain, Finland to China, we spotlight groundbreaking creatives and compact design that pushes the boundaries of imagination.

Inside this Issue:

Tsai Design converts awkward spaces into elegant instruments for living.

Street artist Cloakwork’s home – buzzing with colour, character and nostalgia.

The ‘third-world’ design that is preserving the ‘living culture’ of our cities.

The curiosity-driven art practice and benign menace of Bertjan Pot’s rope masks.

Emilie Seto breathes beauty and dignity into everyday urban life with her artwork.

Embracing the awkwardness of apartment building communities.

How to spot the difference between a community and a cult.

A deep-dive into the history and impact of New York’s tenements.

A celebration of the unsung brilliance of the bench.

Tom Loeser’s furniture that conceals surprises and subversions to reward the curious.

Small homes: a ‘domestic prototype’ in San Sebastian, a rejection of minimalist aesthetics in Rome, and a Paris apartment that brings outdoor bathing in.