There is a wide consensus as to what makes a good hotel – convenient or picturesque location, quality of service, range of amenities, comfort – but what makes a hotel truly exceptional? With no universal standard for hotel ratings, travellers rely instead on reviews, national and international classification systems, and, ever more increasingly, best-of lists. In fact, the internet is inundated with best-of lists, both general and specific, from the best luxury and beach hotels, to the best hotels for families and pets, to the best hotels in specific regions and cities. Suffice it to say then that it takes a lot for a new ranking to grab our attention, let alone bring the global hotel community together. And the first edition of The World’s 50 Best Hotels, which was announced on September 19th, has done just that. Featuring hotels from 35 different destinations across six continents, the brand-new list was created by the prestigious 50 Best brand, known for turning restaurants like Noma into household names.
What makes this ranking exceptional is its methodology; it is based on the input of a global jury of 580 hoteliers, journalists and seasoned travellers who were simply asked to share (anonymously) the seven best hotels they had stayed in in the last two years anywhere in the world. In other words, every hotel was eligible for votes. Europe dominates the list with 21 out of the 50 listed properties, six of which are located in France, with Asia coming in second with 18, boasting four hotels in the top five. London and Paris solidify their reputation as hospitality meccas with four properties each, with Bangkok also sharing the distinction; New York and Marrakesh come second with two hotels each. For better or worse, large hotel groups and luxury brands dominate the list, though several independent venues have made the list, most notably the family-owned and female-run Passalacqua hotel in Italy, which was deservingly awarded the top spot.
Back in 2012, Dan Mazzarini launched BHDM Design, and since has added ARCHIVE by Dan Mazzarini as a “blogazine” extension of the brand. As Principal and Creative Director, he tells stories through built environments, hotels, restaurants, startups, corporate interiors, single and multi-family homes, and far more. Dan and his team use a “hospitality-forward” approach to projects, creating compelling, unique narratives with elements of surprise and delight throughout the user experience.
“I remember sneaking into the Hudson Hotel, designed by Philippe Starck, a few months after it opened. I was an underaged midwestern kid on a college weekend in NYC – and definitely looked it. I remember taking the escalator up to the lobby, walking through the sexy, moody hallway to the library bar and entering a bustling scene. I ordered a Merlot (can you imagine?!) and stood back and watched… all of it happening. At that moment I realized the importance that design could have on a space, and set my sights on creating spaces that people wanted to be a part of,” Dan said of the moment he knew design was the road he was meant to travel.
Dan Mazzarini Photo: Adam Macchia
Throughout his career, Dan has worked in historic spaces like Grand Central Terminal and the Harvard Club of New York, and helped to create new concepts for Google, One Medical, Hudson’s Bay Company, and Target. He’s also worked with heritage brands such as Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, and Calvin Klein, and has aided in defining new brands like Tend, Real, and Casper.
He’s put in all the work, but there are others who have been instrumental in helping Dan arrive at where he is today. “My parents both supported my creative talent and taught me the importance of ambition and hard work. They both worked full time jobs, and taught me the value of rolling up your sleeves and putting your heart into what you do everyday,” he shared.
“My first bosses, Robin Kramer and Philip Rosenzweig, trusted me with far more responsibility than my experience deserved. They taught me the ins and outs of retail, how to build brands, and how to treat people with kindness,” Dan said. “Robin taught me so much about how I speak about and sell our work. They were the best and most formative people I could have started my career with, and I’m still grateful.”
Last, but not least, “Brian Humphrey, with whom I started BHDM. Brian and I have a 20-year friendship, and I am forever honored to work beside him. He is the most creative and visionary person I’ve worked with – while I can sketch, sell, and do a lot of talking with my hands, he is the superlative at quietly conjuring up images of spaces that are unique, inspired, and beautiful. He’s the best, and I love working with him.”
Now, Dan is bringing his designs, ideas, tips, and favorite essentials directly to you with the launch of ARCHIVE by Dan Mazzarini, a “blogazine” providing a curated selection of home and lifestyle products, all shopped from his favorite resources. Through ARCHIVE, he’s able to educate, encourage, and inspire a broader network of consumers who want to incorporate luxury to their everyday living.
A goddess at her game, I’ve been watching and daydreaming about Nancy Meyers movies for 25 years. She seems to not only capture relatable emotion, but paints the most pitch-perfect settings in all her movies. If I had it to do all over again, I’d love to work with her in Hollywood. Wouldn’t that be the best?
Photos courtesy Hotel Costes
2. Hotel Costes, Paris
I have such fond memories of this space. The Jacques Garcia designed portion was the first hotel I stayed at in Paris (thank you, Ralph Lauren…) and since, I’ve brought so many people that I love to visit. It’s moody and sumptuous, lavish and seductive – so foreign from anything in the States. It feels like it’s been there for a hundred years. Oh – and the candles have become a signature scent, I buy them by the case.
Photo: Dan Mazzarini
3. March, San Francisco
Scatter my ashes at March. While I’ve yet to meet Sam Hamilton, the store’s founder and creative guru, I’m indebted to her vision. NorCal indoor/outdoor meets the peak of chic in the carefully curated finds she brings to her store. Custom splatterware, bespoke flatware, and other tabletop are all seasonally complemented with unique finds and art. And set against a black and white and neutral backdrop? Ooooolala!
Photo: Adam Macchia
4. Michael McGuire’s Art
I met Michael when I was working at Ralph Lauren. He creates beautiful, architectural-feeling line art that I use in our work all the time. It seems to fit in all settings and to top it off, he’s just the sweetest guy.
Photo: Reid Rolls
5. Stan Smiths
I know, I know – everyone wears them now, but I can’t give up my Stan Smiths. I have multiple pairs of a vintage red and white polka dot version by Pharrell (which I have stockpiled from eBay.) They’re comfy and classic, and yes, I wear them with a suit.
Work by Dan Mazzarini + BHDM:
Modern Catskills A-Frame When a young NYC-based couple purchased this treasured Catskills A-Frame, they entrusted BHDM to breathe fresh life into the 1970s home. The two-bedroom retreat, complete with a loft office that functions as additional sleeping quarters, yields contemporary elements while protecting the charm of the original home. Nestled into the snowy Belleayre mountain, the A-Frame is tailored to complement and capture its surrounding landscape. Designed by architect Ikuyo Tagawa nearly 50 years ago, 27 skylight windows are built into the steep-pitched roof to capture glimpses of vibrant foliage and snowy peaks. Newly installed metal and glass framing hone those sight lines without compromising visual and acoustic privacy. The home’s sound bones were left intact, including its distinctive windows and original end-grain floors, allowing BHDM to embrace its quirks with complementary modern additions. As the home was constructed to blend into the landscape, much of the furniture throughout quietly complements the home’s surrounding nature. Photo: Tim Williams
East Hampton Residence For this space, our goal was to create a chic space where our client could work remotely – something we’ve of course seen more and more of over the past few years. To do this, we incorporated dark, textured walls that contrast with the brightness of the rest of the house. Sculptural light above adds interest and modernity, while a textured jute rug anchors the office and softens the overall aesthetic. Photo: Adam Macchia
Hyatt Regency SoMa in San Francisco BHDM envisioned the reimagination of the hotel through an art-centric lens, utilizing a defined palette of textures and motifs while seeking inspiration from its location in the heart of San Francisco’s Art District. Throughout the public spaces, as well as the guest rooms, the notion of an architectural ‘grid’ is a leitmotif, represented in applications from terrazzo floors to ceiling treatments, fabrics, and carpets. Rope and weaving, ceramics and sculpture, painting and sketching, and more are influences found throughout. As art is a defining brand pillar for the hotel, it was important that BHDM incorporated the work of local artists in its design. In forming a partnership with The Academy of Art University of San Francisco, they were able to secure original custom art by local students and alumni. Photo: Reid Rolls
Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.
Residents at the Mast Quay Phase II tower block and surrounding area in Greenwich spoke to the Guardian about a demolition order for their building from the Greenwich council due to a series of planning breaches. Many of the people residing in the 23-storey housing development initially received the news through journalists and expressed surprise and disappointment with the decision.
Anthony Okereke, the Labour leader of Greenwich council, said developers were 'lining their pockets' by letting the apartments despite issues with planning breaches. The council described the building as a 'mutant development that is a blight on the landscape'.
The developer, Comer Homes, said: 'We are justly proud of our track record of delivering high-quality developments across the UK. In our view the council’s concerns regarding Mast Quay Phase II can be addressed through following normal process and engaging with us on a retrospective planning application'
One of the biggest trends actually comes from 100 years ago: art deco, which reigned supreme in the ’20s and ’30s, the age of “The Great Gatsby,” flappers and Prohibition. A century later, we were due for a revival anyway, according to The Washington Post.
Art deco was thought to be very modern back in its heyday (hey, we are still talking about it in 2020). The art and architectural movement influenced everything from furniture to fashion, which featured feathers and fringe.
So what does art deco style look like? Art deco is probably best known for getting geometric with symmetrical patterns, curved lines and shapes such as shells, chevrons and sunbursts. You can tell something’s art deco even from far away.
Art deco interior design elements definitely make for a decadent look.
It got a little makeover in 2020 and became a little more modern in the new decade. Architectural Digest even described a trend called “neo deco,” which takes inspiration from art deco and adds things that aren’t traditional to the movement, such as pastels. rather than traditional art deco colors of black, gold and navy.
This isn’t the first time that deco has made a comeback. The style appeared in the ’80s with the popularity of the midcentury modern movement, according to Apartment Therapy.
It doesn’t look like we’ll be saying goodbye to art deco anytime soon.
If you’re looking for art deco furniture and finds that are the real deal, you can check out our guide to the best online vintage shops to bookmark. But if you’re just searching for art deco-inspired pieces that won’t break your budget, we found the best places to get the “Great Gatsby” look without the high price tag.
Hundreds of students and faculty members were left stunned on Friday by the news that the Art Institutes, a system of for-profit colleges, would close its eight remaining campuses across the United States by the end of this month.
The system had suffered from low enrollment since the coronavirus pandemic began. Previous challenges included a $95 million settlement after fraud allegations in 2015 and a loss of accreditation that led to the shuttering of nearly 20 other locations in 2018.
When Hannah Grabhorn, 21, a sophomore studying games, art and design at the Art Institute of Atlanta, received an email on Friday that said her school was closing, she looked for more answers online. But every page on the school’s website referred her back to the same notice. The email said that “the Art Institutes do not anticipate any further communication.”
Grabhorn said she and her classmates were informed of the closure one day after final exams for the school’s summer quarter.
“All of us were crying,” she said.
The Department of Education said 1,700 students would be affected by the decision. In addition to Atlanta, campuses are closing in Austin, Texas; Dallas; Houston; Miami; San Antonio; Tampa, Fla.; and Virginia Beach.
The Art Institutes did not respond to emails and phone requests for comment.
“There are students who thought they were pursuing an education who are now going to be left out in the cold,” said Deborah Obalil, executive director of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, a nonprofit consortium.
Traditional models of arts education have experienced contractions, Obalil said. Some schools, such as the San Francisco Art Institute, are declaring bankruptcy, while others, like the Watkins College of Art in Nashville, are merging with larger institutions to save themselves.
“We are at an inflection point,” Obalil said. “Delivering an arts and design curriculum is an expensive operation.”
The Art Institutes were often marketed as cheaper options, with some students saying they were quoted about $90,000 for a full degree’s tuition. One year of tuition at a prestigious alternative like the Rhode Island School of Design is about $58,700.
Experts said that federal rules requiring educational institutions to provide students with a “teach-out” plan for completing their degrees after a closure might not apply to for-profit schools. The Education Department has proposed a rule change to include for-profit schools in the guidelines, but the policy would not go into effect until July 2024.
“We are committed to supporting students as they explore options to continue their education or apply for a closed school loan discharge,” the department said in a statement. “We are working to post information as soon as possible.”
Teachers at the Art Institutes were also surprised by the news.
Anne Perry, an instructor at the Art Institute of Dallas, posted on Facebook that she would “grieve over its fate,” calling the school “a creative, life-giving place to work.”
“I got the message right after I had met on Zoom with a student, and we had expressed looking forward to next quarter,” Perry wrote, adding, “Now it will be a different road, for many.”
Sara Perez Sanders enrolled her daughter, Justice, at the Art Institute of Virginia Beach after Justice earned a scholarship that paid for half of the tuition. She covered the rest with money from the G.I. Bill of Rights, which began offering expanded education benefits in 2009.
“I though it was a hoax,” she said of the school’s closure. “I told my daughter to call her adviser, but the phone lines were disconnected. She was in the middle of uploading her last assignments.”
The school network traces its history back to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, which was founded in 1921. A Pennsylvania company named Education Management Corporation acquired the college in 1970 before expanding its portfolio and adding courses such as culinary arts, fashion design, audio production and video games. By 2010, the company made $2.5 billion annually, with $1.8 billion coming from Education Department grants and student loans.
Five years later, Education Management Corporation settled claims with the Justice Department about illegal recruiting, consumer fraud and other claims.
Problems only grew after a faith-based nonprofit called Dream Center Education Holdings acquired the schools in 2017. After settling a class-action lawsuit that said that four Art Institutes were misleading students into believing they were accredited institutions, all that remained of the brand was a handful of campuses.
Grabhorn, the student at the Art Institute of Atlanta, said she was in a better position than those of her peers who needed only one more quarter of school before graduating. She has a couple of months before most schools begin their spring semesters to plan her next steps. Her teachers are also looking for new jobs.
“I immediately messaged my professor, who said he was really shocked,” she said. “He asked for a testimonial.”
rosiluv resolves water scarcity and irrigation challenges
In the realm of sustainable design, Rosiluv is a giant steel funnel that attaches onto water tanks to harvest rainfall with precision and ease. Realized by designers Laurent Lebot and Victor Massip of French studio FALTAZI, this rainwater collector offers a practical solution to water scarcity and irrigation challenges, presenting an alternative that is as environmentally conscious as it is efficient. This innovative system can be integrated with IBC 1000L water tanks, eliminating the need for proximity to a roof for efficient water collection.
With versatile applicability, Rosiluv caters to a wide range of needs, offering users an economical solution to nurture a vegetable garden, cultivate allotments, maintain shared community gardens, or even manage educational school grounds. It also finds utility in urban wasteland repurposing and eco-pasturing, offering a simple and eco-friendly solution for access to water.
Rosiluv rainwater collector at the Maximilien Park Farm in Brussels | all images courtesy of FALTAZI
FALTAZI’s design centers on longevity and durability, with the cover’s structure constructed from galvanized steel spanning 4.3 square meters. Rosiluv ensures easy access to rainwater for a range of watering needs, reducing the user’s dependence on municipal water supplies and leading to noticeable cost savings. Beyond water collection, the cover serves as a shelter to securely store gardening tools. Further, it enhances the lifespan of its corresponding water tank by providing protection from UV rays.
The cover can be installed with ease and secured to the top of a water tank using just four points. The 4.3 square meter rainwater collection surface area can also be customized to different heights and configurations by placing the system on gabions, thanks to its modular design consisting of twelve assembly parts. Additionally, water collection can be maximized by connecting multiple water tanks together at once.
installation at Allaire in Brittany
the water tanks can easily be filled without assistance, even in the middle of a field
Once inside, you are embraced by a soothing combination of warm, mellow lighting and a monochromatic colour palette of beige tones that instantly makes you feel relaxed. Throughout the venue, circular openings that echo the façade’s design are harmoniously juxtaposed with angular shapes imbuing the spaces with a dynamic sense of vitality, as does a series of unique elements that stand out against the otherwise austere, minimalist setting. Case in point, the monumental light installation that dominates the atrium located in the centre of the facility. Clad in soft-to-the-touch Japanese washi paper, the glowing, two-storey-tall, prismatic “lantern” changes from warmer to cooler tones “as if breathing”, inviting people sit or lie down, close their eyes, and fully experience its healing effects.
Other elements that subtly subvert the minimalist aura include a large, moss-covered installation encircled by a minimal product display that invites guests not only to touch the mossy mass but to also smell it, a sculptural reception desk that looks like a rock formation, a curvaceous, three-dimensional mirror accompanied by the sound of flowing water, and a gong-like instrument inspired by Ōryōki, a type of nested bowls used by Buddhist monks as a meditative form of eating.
Over a decade ago, Tamara Honey founded her eponymous interiors firm, House of Honey, a female collective of interior designers who want to create meaningful experiences through their work. Currently, she collaborates with the collective on private residential properties, restaurants, and hotels, with design studios in both Montecito and Pasadena, California.
A self-described maximalist, Tamara truly excels at creating bespoke environments that reflect her clients and their unique surroundings. “I have been collecting vintage furniture, lighting, and art for over a decade, and sold on 1st dibs for many years. I love the mix of old and new for all of our interiors,” she added. Through Tamara’s projects, she celebrates life out loud by creating moments of escape through cultivation and curation. What remains is a sense of joy, confidence, and a “well-textured life.”
Flowers are an all-day favorite! Every great story begins with sensory experience. We are developing two interior scents that tap into our love for the two places where our design studios are located. Ortega is born out of the desire to recall and capture driving the winding tree-lined ridge in Montecito. Bellefontaine is inspired by the rose-lined streets and lush gardens of Pasadena.
Our obsession with the disco ball as a symbol of freedom and fun is real. The spaces we design inspire connection and living life out loud. Home should be a place where you laugh, love, dance, and play. We definitely follow the call of the disco ball at House of Honey!
Montecito, where I have both a house and a design studio, holds a special place in my heart. When I first visited, it reminded me of my childhood growing up in Halifax, Canada. My home there is placed in a forest setting, but minutes from the beach. It’s my very happy place!
Infusing color into interiors is instinctual for me, and I never shy away from it. I think that our design is courageous and narrative-shifting as a result. We are committed to delighting and surprising our clients through color choices, but most importantly, encouraging them to live boldly with a boundless enjoyment of the every day.
At an early age, I developed a love of vintage cars (my obsession grew to include vintage furniture and art, but that’s another story!). I still love to stroll around a vintage car show, and love riding in a convertible with a sense of freedom and abandon.
Work by House of Honey:
Photo: Manolo Langis
Photo: Victoria Pearson
Photo: Victoria Pearson
Photo: Jason Rick
Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.
A body convulses on a table, with broken bones poking from a stump of torn flesh below the knee, one arm gruesomely peppered with gunshot wounds, as men in military uniforms look on approvingly.
“He bleeds, he moves, he breathes, he has a pulse,” says the smiling sales rep. “His eyes even react to light. We have a canine version too, which barks and whines – and it comes with interchangeable injured limbs.”
I am perusing the medical zone of Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), Europe’s biggest arms fair, which takes place every two years in the Excel convention centre in east London. It is a sprawling supermarket of modern warfare, where the world’s armies come to buy the latest AI-guided missiles and tanks, inspect giant warships moored in the Royal Docks, and queue to take a turn sitting in the cockpits of fighter jets.
Every possible military requirement is covered here, from the writhing “high-fidelity trauma simulators”, to camouflage dealers showcasing their prints, to stands selling medals and commemorative coins – and even one specialising in epaulette tassels. Joystick manufacturers jostle with makers of invisibility cloaks, while purveyors of VR simulators compete with those of radar jammers, next to endless ranks of machine guns. Sleek submarines sparkle on spotlit plinths while flocks of missile-carrying drones dangle from the ceiling like menacing mobiles.
A man wearing a Chiron-X1 High-Impact Close Quarter Fighting Training Suit is attacked by a member of the sales team. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
“This year feels much busier than usual,” one bomb salesman tells me, standing by a gleaming rack of cone-shaped warheads, polished like trophies in a glass cabinet. “It seems war is back in a big way. People are looking to stock up.” Whereas attendees of this great murderous bazaar may once have felt sheepish, they now proudly march through the entrance gates with their heads held high. War, long something that happened far away, is now on our doorstep.
In an auditorium nearby, Britain’s most senior military officer, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, informs a rapt audience about the recently increased threat levels, noting that Russia’s war on Ukraine has highlighted the vulnerability of our cities to deadly missile and drone attacks. It’s now easy to “get close to a country and fly drones in”, he says. “We need to have a conversation about integrated missile defence.”
Recent events in Ukraine have sharpened minds and opened wallets in relation to governmentspending on defence. Total global military expenditure reached an all-time high of $2.2tn (£1.8tn) in 2022, with Europe seeing the steepest annual increase in 30 years – the total surpassing, in real terms, that of the last year of the cold war. The UK has the highest military budget in central and western Europe, at $68.5bn, and the government has committed to increase it. As the hi-tech wares on show in this marketplace of munitions reveal, there are plenty of expensive toys for it to splurge on.
‘It comes with interchangeable injured limbs’ … a trauma training dummy. Photograph: Oliver Wainwright
Covering the mind-boggling area of 14 football pitches, the exhibition is organised into zones for land, naval, aerospace, and even space warfare. In between, there are sections dedicated to medical innovations, security, manufacturing and future tech, along with a host of national pavilions, each showcasing its country’s arms-dealing specialities, like a bloodthirsty Eurovision song contest.
At the Israel pavilion, one company is promoting its “high-penetration wireless communication for indoor robotics and drones”, showing videos of drones swooping through bombed-out buildings, looking for prey like a swarm of deadly mosquitoes. Brazil features a stall offering “ammunition, bombs, rockets and fuses”, with a bowl of complimentary sweets, while a rifle company in the US section tries to lure punters with a free calendar of busty models draped across its anti-aircraft guns. (“It’s been approved by all our female staff,” the man at the desk assures me.)
Norway touts its outdoorsy all-weather reputation, exhibiting a sledge equipped with a machine gun, while, among the long ranks of firearms in the Turkish pavilion, I am offered a gleaming golden handgun. “It’s for people who want the traditional style,” says a beaming lady behind the counter.
Night-vision goggles and AI-assisted firing sights abound, but Switzerland opts for an old-school vibe, showing off its Victorinox Swiss Army knives – including models especially customised for different security forces, from the German navy to the Malaysian police. “The Malaysians are always the funniest and fanciest when it comes to special features,” says the sales manager, showing me a knife with every tool coated in a sleek matte black finish, designed to match their uniforms.
Nearby, I encounter a mannequin covered in a thick furry shroud of white fabric petals, giving it the look of the abominable snowman. It turns out to be a real-life invisibility cloak. “It protects soldiers from UV cameras, thermal cameras and infra-red cameras,” says Kiran Joshi of Indian firm Entremonde Polyecoaters. “It has a special coating on the fabric, so it merges with the surrounding terrain and makes the soldier invisible.” A few stands away I bump into a robotic, drone-carrying dog – whose applications range from perimeter security to bomb disposal – displayed near snout-shaped helmets with electronic ear defenders, designed to be worn by dogs on the battlefield.
‘Enhanced lethality’ …hardware and clothing worn by a mannequin on the C2R display stand. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
As the host nation, the British armed forces get top billing, showing off the products of the latest projects. At the army stand, staffed by a crowd of young soldiers in neatly pressed khaki uniforms, I am introduced to the new armoured vehicles of the troubled £5.5bn Ajax programme – an “advanced, fully digitised land vehicle system delivering transformational change”, manufactured by General Dynamics in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. It is the biggest single order in more than two decades, for 589 vehicles at a cost of almost £10m each. Running more than six years late, Ajax has been repeatedly criticised by the National Audit Office, the defence select committee and the public accounts committee, branded “a complete and utter disaster” by the former head of the Royal Navy.
“Nothing like this has ever been seen before,” says a jovial Maj David Hughes, slapping the armoured flank of one of the new reconnaissance vehicles as if it were a prized thoroughbred. “It gives us enhanced lethality, survivability, reliability, mobility and all-weather intelligence.”
He shows me its 40mm cannon, which has a range of more than 1.5 miles (2.5km), as well as long-range thermal sights and acoustic sensors that can pick up gun noises and plot the target directly on the commander’s screen. “With a click of two buttons,” he says, “they can pass that information to an unmanned drone or an Apache helicopter. Another press of a button, and the Apache pilot comes in and destroys the target on one pass. This digitally networked system vastly increases our operational lethality.”
Snout-shaped helmets with electronic ear defenders, designed to be worn by dogs on the battlefield. Photograph: Oliver Wainwright
Nearby hangs a massive jet-powered drone, of the kind that might soon be part of this digitally networked battlefield, carrying a hefty payload of three laser-guided Brimstone missiles. This is the Hydra 400, which uses hybrid propulsion technology (rotors and jet engines) to carry a whopping 400kg of bombs, developed in response to the increasing challenges of urban warfare. Compact and portable, it only takes six minutes to assemble, giving troops “an Apache gunship in the boot of their car”, as one source put it. Next to it, a gaggle of smaller drones hang alongside their mothership, designed to carry its young for longer distances and then release them for precision strikes, like warhead-equipped carrier pigeons.
“They all have onboard AI cameras,” says Maj Matthew McGarvey-Miles, lead of the army warfighting experiment, a flagship programme where the latest technology is developed. “They can identify targets and track them automatically, without the requirement of an operator to constantly monitor them.” These devices are still at testing stage, and need to be approved, but the army appears to be heading rapidly in an automated, connected, lethally digital direction.
“We are responding to the operating environment that we see in Ukraine,” says the army’s chief of the general staff, Patrick Sanders, keen to stress that these unmanned killing machines need skilled humans, too. “When the electromagnetic spectrum is so heavily contested, automation fails and the skill of the pilot predominates. We need ‘war fighters’ – whether they are cyber specialists, drone pilots, or infantry soldiers – to be stronger, faster, more intelligent and more resilient.”
‘An Apache gunship in the boot of your car’ … the Hydra 400 missile-carrying drone. Photograph: Oliver Wainwright
The nature of these unmanned weapons – and the kind of remote fighters the army is looking for – is having a knock-on effect on how the physical controls are designed. While crowds of decorated generals compare the lengths of their missiles at the big-budget displays of major munitions manufacturers, my eye is caught by a small stand that glimmers with hundreds of tiny switches, buttons and joysticks, giving it the look of a fiendishly complex submarine control room.
“We make push-button switches, toggle switches, slam switches, switches with locking levers, and fully sealed safety critical switches,” says Steve Blackwell of Apem components. “We are Europe’s largest manufacturer of switches. But the big thing now is thumb-stick controllers. So many people in the military now come from the Xbox generation, so they’re used to thumb-sticks. Gone are the days when you’d have big pneumatic or hydraulic controls.”
He hands me a controller that looks just like a gaming joypad – a deceptively playful device for something that could unleash hellfire on a pixellated target, hundreds of miles away. Nimble thumbs, it seems, will define the future of warfare. Tomorrow’s battles will be waged from the safety of a gaming chair (also on display), with the assistance of algorithms.
The world of autonomous, unmanned war has already moved beyond drones. I find acoustic minesweepers, smart submarines, self-guided skidoos, tanks and other remote-controlled weaponised contraptions that defy classification. At BAE Systems’ vast, moodily lit stand (which has its own aerial walkway so you can see its armoured hulks from all angles) I find something that looks like a furious praying mantis. This is Strix, billed as a “hybrid, tandem wing, multi-domain and multi-role uncrewed air system”, capable of vertical take-off and seamless transition to horizontal flight, styled like something from the Batcave.
‘All-terrain monster’ … the AI-controlled Rheinmetall Mission Master XT. Photograph: Oliver Wainwright
German arms giant Rheinmetall, meanwhile, takes unmanned vehicles into heavier-duty realms, with a fleet of giant-wheeled, all-terrain monsters that look as if they are auditioning for a part in the next Mad Max movie. With tyres bigger than its body, the chubby Mission Master XT is fully amphibious and capable of carrying 1,000kg payloads for 460 miles without refuelling, even up 35-degree slopes over ice and snow in -30C, using AI-powered navigation. It can spin on the spot, too. A promotional video shows it making snow angels as it trundles into battle.
Outside the exhibition halls, reality hits. “Please be aware,” a polite protester tells visitors, “that many of the countries you are doing business with are on the UK government’s human rights priority list.” Emily Apple of Campaign Against Arms Trade is more direct. “DSEI is a marketplace in death,” she says. “Deals done here will cause misery across the world, causing global instability and devastating people’s lives. Arms dealers only care about perpetuating conflict, because conflict increases profits for their shareholders. It’s time we shut this arms fair down for good.”
Back inside, bottles of champagne have appeared. The face of a young black female mannequin stares out from a body bag, while delegates toast their billion-dollar deals of destruction.
She put Missy Elliott in that blow-up tracksuit and dressed Jay-Z in yellow linen. Fashion stylist and creative director June Ambrose discusses the impact of her iconic looks and what motivates her to be an industry changemaker.
From Van Gogh’s sunflowers to Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” there’s no shortage of seminal artwork that was made with a striking hue known as cadmium yellow. But that riot of color that artists squeezed from their paint tubes isn’t necessarily what museum goers see today: cadmium yellow’s brilliance often diminishes over time, as the paint fades and turns chalky.
And it’s not only centuries-old artworks that are affected. A team of art conservators and scientists recently analyzed bits of degraded cadmium yellow paint taken from pieces painted by the Spanish artist Joan Miró in the 1970s. One particular brand of paint was likely most responsible for the degradation observed in the Miró pieces, the team concluded in a study published in July in the journal Heritage Science.
Cadmium yellow paint is an amalgam primarily of cadmium and sulfur. It was first commercialized in the 1840s, and soon gained renown among artists. Miró described the color as “splendid.” Tubes of cadmium yellow paint, including Cadmium Yellow Lemon No.1 produced by the Parisian manufacturer Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet, litter Miró’s two studios in Mallorca, Spain.
In 2020, Mar Gómez Lobón, an art conservator based in Mallorca, began investigating the paints that Miró used after he settled on the island in the 1950s. An art conservator at the Pilar and Joan Miro Foundation in Mallorca had tipped her off that more than 25 pieces in the foundation’s collection painted in the 1970s showed evidence of degraded yellow paint.
To dig into the cause of the deterioration, and whether it could be linked to a particular brand of paint, Ms. Gómez Lobón and her colleagues collected tiny flecks of cadmium yellow paint from three untitled pieces that Miró painted between 1973 and 1978. The team also scooped up small samples from three paint tubes from the artist’s Taller Sert and Son Boter studios, a cup used for mixing paint and two palettes. Each sample was roughly the size of a pinhead.
A microscopic sample of paint is enough for many scientific analyses. And there are distinct advantages to analyzing just a fleck of paint, said David Muller, a physicist at Cornell University, who was not involved in the Miró research. Transporting a valuable piece of artwork to a laboratory is logistically complicated. “You’ve got this very fancy security procedure,” Dr. Muller said. But there’s a lot less pressure to working with a paint sample just a thousandth of an inch wide, which is what Dr. Muller and colleagues did when they studied the degradation of cadmium yellow in “The Scream.”
Ms. Gómez Lobón and her collaborators analyzed the nine samples from Miró’s paintings and studio materials by recording how the paint absorbed, reflected and re-emitted different wavelengths of light. That allowed the team to investigate the chemical makeup and crystalline structure of each sample.
The elemental analyses revealed that the degraded paint samples from the three paintings all contained primarily cadmium and sulfur, as expected, with traces of zinc. The same mix was found in paint samples from the two palettes and one of the tubes of paint. Furthermore those six samples — from the degraded paintings, the palettes and the tube of Cadmium Yellow Lemon No.1 by Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet — all exhibited poor crystallinity, the team found. That means that the cadmium and sulfur atoms aren’t perfectly interlocked in their usual hexagonal arrangement, said Daniela Comelli, a materials scientist at the Polytechnic University of Milan and a member of the research team. “There’s some disorder.”
Poor crystallinity of cadmium yellow was also believed to be partially responsible for the degradation observed in older artworks by Picasso, Matisse and other artists. (Environmental conditions, particularly humidity and temperature, have also been shown to play a role.) But these new results highlight the fact that this problem persisted well into the middle of the 20th century, which the researchers found surprising.
“You would think that the paint manufacturers would have corrected the problem,” Ms. Gómez Lobón said. Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet was, in addition, a well-regarded brand, she said. “This was a really high-quality paint.”
In the future, Ms. Gómez Lobón plans to catalog the 100 or so tubes of paint still strewn around Miró’s studios. She hopes to precisely age date the Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet tubes and better understand how the brand produced its paint, specifically its cadmium yellow. Miró left behind a treasure trove of supplies that should be studied, Ms. Gómez Lobón said. “These studios are like a gold mine.”
