This week on Dezeen, Japanese electronics company Sony launched a remake of its original Walkman headphones, which have colourful foam pads and lean into 1980s nostalgia.
The headphones, called MDR-3R, resemble the model that debuted with the first portable Walkman cassette player in 1979. However, the new edition has a USB-C connector that works with most modern devices.
Other design news included Swedish designer Gustaf Westman’s unveiling of his full collection for media company Disney, including a bookstand shaped like Donald Duck and a mirror that resembles Pluto.
“Mickey’s ears and white gloves, Minnie’s bow, Goofy’s playful silhouette – they’re instantly recognisable shapes, and that made them really fun to work with,” Westman told Dezeen about working with the familiar characters.
American architect Steven Holl has designed a colourful watch for Swiss watch brand Cauny informed by a compliment architect Álvaro Siza once gave him, telling Holl he used colour “like Matisse”.
The colourful watch, which has a three-dimensional dial with red, green, yellow and blue colour blocks, was designed to be a dialogue between the two architects.
A housing development in Andorra designed by French studio Ateliers Jean Nouvel and Spanish studio Ribas & Ribas Arquitectos has been damaged in a fire.
Called La Querola, the project is shortlisted in the housing category of this year’s Dezeen Awards and recently won the awards’ public vote. The cause of the fire is unknown and no official estimate of the extent of the damage has been released so far.
In Shanghai, access to the staircase of the Grand Opera House by international studio Snøhetta has been restricted to ticket holders.
Access to the spiral staircase, which leads up to the roof and has become a popular spot for photos, now costs £5.60 per person. Snøhetta told Dezeen that “visitor management is necessary”.
In car news, Swedish brand Polestar has unveiled its Formula 2030 concept car that the brand says “screams performance”.
The low-slung sports car has signature Dual Blade headlights and was intended to project power, with a long bonnet, wraparound windscreen, short overhangs, muscular haunches and 22-inch wheels.
In a roundup, we explored five examples of Mesoamerican modern architecture that combine principles from ancient architecture with modern techniques.
Curator and writer Su Wu chose five homes, which she says “reflect the complex aesthetic cultures of Mesoamerica”, from her book on the subject.
Popular projects on Dezeen this week include a former agricultural barn in Cornwall, a viewpoint informed by Viking rings and a playful Portuguese retreat.
Our podcast this week looked at the Cybertruck, asking: was it a flop or a design success?
This week on Dezeen
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