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• architects: VCD Lab
• Location: Zhaoqing, China
• Project Year: 2026
• Photographs: Courtesy of VCD Lab
• Area: 71200.0 m2

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• architects: N. B. Architects
• Location: Bordi, India
• Project Year: 2025
• Photographs: pranitborastudio
• Area: 5000.0 ft2

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Upon arriving at the newly opened Viceroy Los Cabos, one is almost unsure where the Sea of Cortez begins and the massive pool that surrounds and interlaces between most facilities ends. Designed by seasoned Mexico City architect Miguel Ángel Aragonés, the water-enclosed complex comprises a series of concrete volumes connected by a matrix of elevated walkways that bypass this sizable body of water. The spatial sequencing—from half-a-dozen restaurants, fully equipped spas and gyms, and various lobbies and lounges to private sanctuary-like guestrooms—is cinematic.

Inspired by the “poetic modernism” of Luis Barragán and Brutalist principles, Viceroy Los Cabos harnesses light, shadow, water, and silence as its primary materials. Though grand in scale, the resort unfolds as a series of more intimate spaces. One feels as though they are passing through a sequence of mazes, moving through natural light and darkness at just the right intervals. The only welcomed interruption, perhaps, are the woven, cocoon-like breakout structures set just above the pool’s surface.

In the 198 accommodations, a minimalist design scheme sets the stage for panoramic views of the sea. Some rooms appear to suspend above the pool below, framed by floor-to-ceiling glass. It is a far cry from the overtly maximalist ornamentation that defines other properties in the vicinity. That by no means leaves guests cut off from the rich cultural and natural offerings of the region. The blank-canvas approach actually helps make these features and attractions the star of the show.

The Sea of Cortez is one of the most biologically diverse marine environments in the world, and guests catching a glimpse of a whale is almost a certainty. Viceroy’s curated experiences include snorkeling, private boat journeys, desert excursions, and visits to local markets. There is also a rotating program of site-specific art installations, music performances, additional wellness activations, and special culinary experiences.

Restaurants include Cielomar, an upscale rooftop haunt serving Mexican fare. The sculptural interior of Otro Bar complements a menu of rare mezcals, while Casero is the main heart of the resort, where comfort food is served at breakfast and lunch. Near the distinctly beach-adjacent, oval-shaped pool that seems to hover over the setting is Nidito Beach + Poolside Bar, where mezcal and agua fresca flow freely.

The resort’s wellness offering is equally ritual-driven, blending ancestral healing traditions with contemporary wellness science. It incorporates a cold plunge, contrast therapy experience, hydrotherapy suite, and private treatment rooms.

Viceroy Los Cabos is defined by a more restrained, if monumental, form of luxury — an approach that lets everything else in the vicinity shine.

What: Viceroy Los Cabos
Where: Los Cabos, Mexico
How much: From $541 per night
Design draw: A Brutalist, poetic-modernist complex traversed by a single massive pool, with minimalist interiors that emphasize the surrounding natural setting.
Book It: Viceroy Lo Cabos

Go virtually on vacation with more design destinations right here.

Photography by Ema Peter.

Lightning can and will strike the same place twice. Yet the bolts, an explosive expression of electricity breaking through ionized air, are always different, never forming exactly the same. The same is true for glass – the specific temperature, pressure, and formulation of form defines everything about a piece. The terroir in which the piece was made is infused within, delineating bubbles, texture, and the fine marks of making. Each slightly different, yet all adhering to the generous curvatures set forth, three lighting collections, by designer Anna Dawson – Ribbon, Dancer, and Twirl – delight in the strength and softness of glass, playing with transparency, hue, and symbolism.

Inspired by memories of ribbon dancing with her grandmother, the designer presented her lighting collection at ICFF this year, the warm glow of glass working double time against the glare of tradeshow lighting. Shielding her booth from errant rays with a protective ceiling and bathed in a rich burgundy, a distinct shift in temperature and tone creates an immersive feeling when interacting with the booth. In Twirl, shown below, the forms are grounded in the feeling of spinning in space.

Dawson’s work is infused with a biomimetic quality, organic curves meet the somewhat stoic quality of glass, continuing the conversation of the ancient art. The colors and transparency evoke a sense of calm, a warm seafoam green and deep burgundy illuminated beautifully from the inside.

The Ribbon collection features two similar forms, flat elements draped across each other, ribbons in repose. Just as impactful whether positioned up to the ceiling, for a diffused glow, or angled downward, for a more concentrated beam of light, the light olive and rich browns of the shades are completely transformed when lit, exuding a warmth and depth that glass simply couldn’t achieve alone.

Here, we explore the Dancer Collection – which comes in six colors, Sienna, Dark Amber, Cherry, Warm White, Golden Green, Artichoke, and Egyptian Blue. In Dancer Symmetrical, shown below, the form is characterized by a flowing, almost hourglass shape. This piece is illuminated both at the top and the bottom, allowing diffused light to flow outward, as well as cast a glow on to the walls above and below.

In Dancer Asymmetrical, the same principles stand, but with a twist. This river has a couple bends in the middle, the path of light reducing in size, and given a bit of a wiggle. The light is expertly balanced throughout the sconce, creating a multitude of sunset-like hues anywhere in the home.

From California but now based in Brooklyn, NY, Dawson believes that design sensitive to emotion should not be overlooked. Our innate wiring continues to be the same, century after century, and design as a whole has yet to come to terms with this reality. Fluidity and ease of movement is essential to her work, providing the platform on which to build meaning. She shares, “I’ve always felt that the design principle of form follows feeling was both an antithesis to function and services a real need. Feeling good is a function design can service!”

To learn more about lighting by Studio Anna Dawson, visit https://studioannadawson.com.

Photography courtesy of Anna Dawson.

• architects: BLOCO Arquitetos
• Location: Brasília, Brazil
• Project Year: 2026
• Photographs: Maurício Araújo
• Photographs: Paula Caruso
• Area: 180.0 m2

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A graphic line, a flush of color, a well-placed shadow. Much like the face, interiors can be sculpted, lifted, warmed, and transformed through one decisive gesture. With Season of Grandeur, Swedish rug brand Nordic Knots introduces three new colorways—Emerald, Sakura, and Pecan—that move its palette into richer, more expressive territory without abandoning the restraint that has long defined its visual language.

The collection is framed through beauty as metaphor, positioning color not as decoration alone, but as a defining act. A smoky eye becomes Emerald. A rosy cheek becomes Sakura. A bronzed glow becomes Pecan. Together, the trio suggests that interiors, like fashion and beauty, are increasingly understood through mood, gesture, and personal signature.

That framing gives interior design a language that feels immediately legible. Beauty has always been about small changes with outsized impact, and Nordic Knots translates that logic into the home, where a rug can operate as a chromatic foundation rather than a finishing touch. As Liza Laserow Berglund, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Nordic Knots, explains, the brand often thinks of rugs and textiles as “the foundation,” or even the “fourth wall” that sets the tone for a space.

The campaign’s visual metaphors also sharpen the distinction between grandeur and excess. While Season of Grandeur suggests opulence, Nordic Knots’ interpretation is carefully controlled. “For us, grandeur is never about excess. It’s about atmosphere,” Berglund says. Rather than chasing spectacle or trend, the palette leans into calibrated richness: tempered colors with generous pigment payoff.

Emerald is the most cinematic of the three, a deep, jewel-toned green with a cool undertone — “the interior version of a perfect smoky eye.” It brings the depth of a midnight garden indoors, pairing naturally with dark wood, smoky bronze, blackened steel, and absinthe-adjacent greens. The effect is lush but not heavy, a color that understands drama as atmosphere rather than volume. In fashion terms, it is velvet after dark; in beauty terms, it is the eye that defines the whole look.

Sakura, meanwhile, resists the sweetness often attached to pink. Nordic Knots calls it “not your usual pink,” a blush with bite that favors fresh bloom over budding romance. Its styling notes — black leather, lacquered furniture, northern woods, polished metals — place it closer to runway contrast than nursery softness. Sakura is less powder puff than editorial cheek color: a tonal disruption that makes the rest of the room feel more alert.

Then there is Pecan, the palette’s warmest note: a radiant brown positioned as the bronzer equivalent for the home. Inspired by vintage wood, well-worn leather, and heirlooms that have absorbed time rather than performed nostalgia, Pecan carries a golden cast that warms without overwhelming. Its almost liquid luster makes the case that opulence does not always need shine or volume. Sometimes it is simply the right undertone, applied in the right place.

What makes the launch compelling is the way Nordic Knots communicates each product. By borrowing from the mechanics of beauty, the brand gives interiors a more intimate, embodied vocabulary. A room is not merely styled; a rug does not simply match the sofa. It sets the complexion of the entire space. That language places Nordic Knots within a broader cultural shift in which fashion, beauty, and interiors move beyond aesthetics and into psychology. People are no longer designing rooms solely to look composed. They are designing them to feel inhabited, expressive, and emotionally tuned.

Berglund sees this as part of a longer design evolution rather than a reaction to minimalism. “It’s not about leaving minimalism behind, but about enriching it,” she says, noting that the season adds depth and radiance while maintaining balance and control. That distinction matters. Season of Grandeur gives minimalist interiors pigment, pulse, and dimensionality.

To learn more about the storied Scandinavian brand, visit nordicknots.com.

Campaign images courtesy of Nordic Knots with lifestyle by Anders Kylberg.

• architects: Gris | Estudio de Diseño + Arquitectura
• Location: El Paredon, Guatemala
• Project Year: 2025
• Photographs: Denise Lipman
• Area: 1750.0 m2

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