Be Open think tank

#BeOpenDESIGN Camping in the summer could soon feel a lot more comfortable thanks to a Red Dot Award-winning concept that turns the tent itself into a solar-powered cooling system. Designed by Zhong Xu, Li Baoyu, Pan Yiyuan, and Li Xueyan, the innovative shelter uses its…

#BeOpenDESIGN Japanese design studio YOY's Book is a book-shaped flower pot that transforms a familiar object into a functional planter. Made from waterproof PVC, the design opens like a book and stands upright, revealing soil and plant roots within. Whether used as a…

#BeOpenDESIGN Charlotte Kingsnorth's Hi!breed series transforms discarded chairs into sculptural, creature-like furniture that blurs the line between design and art. By wrapping salvaged frames in hand-carved foam, rich upholstery, and shaggy textiles, the London-based designer…

#BeOpenDESIGN Jihyun Kim uses gloop glaze to create "gravity-defying" Salty Fairy Ring ceramics, a series of porcelain salt containers that reinterpret a South Korean household ritual through the symbolism of fairy rings. Inspired by the tradition of placing a jar of salt by…

#BeOpenART British artist Lewis Prosser, who describes himself as an "absurdist basketmaker," uses basketry as a lens to explore labor, place, material culture, and the future of making. His project Making Merrie draws on the 500-year tradition of mummers' plays along the…

#BeOpenART #BeOpenNEWS For the second half of 2026, BE OPEN’s Art Limitless programme will focus on UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, spotlighting artists whose work explores sustainability, circular thinking, and the creative reuse of…