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I’m writing this note to you with a mind full of visions from the latest Venice Architecture Biennale. Curated by Lesley Lokko and focused on Africa as The Laboratory of the Future, the two main shows present a wide set of objects, installations, architectures, and stories. Importantly, the biennale centers the contributions of Black designers from across the African diaspora. Check out The Architect’s Newspaper’s June issue and website for thorough coverage of this event.

Many of the installations make worlds built from the experiences and imaginations of their designers. As such, their interiority is central: The works invite viewers to witness history, see things differently, and construct a better future. Perhaps more than architecture, interiors create spaces for personal expression and collective encounter.

A related Italian mood of discovery directly informs the content of this Spring/Summer issue of AN Interior: Turn to page 30 to read AN market editor Sophie Aliece Hollis’s coverage of Milan’s Salone del Mobile. After a couple of off years during the pandemic, the festival returned to its classic form this spring. Hollis spotlights four women designers before offering noteworthy new products across four categories.

The features in this issue, sourced from architects working from Melbourne to New York, oscillate between material richness and conceptual spareness. Witness how this spectrum is navigated when you start in, on page 80. That range is also visible in the issue’s Kitchen & Bath special section (page 52), in which case studies and products show varied treatments for creating wet rooms that embody the sensitivities of their respective designers and clients. For more specification tips, turn to the Designer Favorites section (page 44), where six practitioners share their current material obsessions, as seen in recent projects.

This issue begins with a trio of pieces about contemporary practices and concludes with a handful of art-focused items. All in all, it’s a six-course meal that offers the latest interior flavors cooked up by today’s leading architects. Buon appetito. ●