New from E15 at Milan Design Week, the LT04 Colour Floor Light, shown here with the FK09 Westhausen Sofa and (from left) the FK12 Fortyforty Side Table, CMO5 Habibi Side Table and ST04 Backenzahn Side Table

With design fair season behind us, we catch our breath, take stock of all that was shown, and present you with our pick of the best from this year’s shows. Not least, we bring you our report from Milan Design Week 2014. This year’s fair yielded quiet surprises, with many brands trimming off the fat of frills and extravaganza. It was a move towards a more sensible, necessary type of design, and we appreciated it.

Part of SingaPlural – 30 LifeStories/ irememberParks installation

On our side of the world, Singapore had its very first Singapore Design Week, anchored by the International Furniture Fair Singapore and the inaugural Maison&Objet Asia. It was a significant step towards being a true blue design city as both organisers dug deep to bring in content that was credible and engaging.

The Filipino stand at Maison&Objet Asia

One of the notable contributions to Singapore Design Week under the Singaplural umbrella was Industry+, a design initiative by PC Ee and Yoichi Nakamuta where different Singapore designers were invited to collaborate on a collection of furniture. In this issue, PC Ee sits down with participating designers Studio Juju in a conversation about the road to design success.

From left: PC Ee and Studio Juju’s Timo Wong and Pricilla Lui

This issue, we’ve also unearthed projects by design firms that have stayed out of the media’s radar while doing notable work. One such example is a house by veteran HCF and Associates. Designed for an architect, the house expresses an incredible level of craftsmanship and sensitivity – a true display of architectural mastery.

The Wee House by HCF and Associates

Bringing a fresh perspective to residential architecture is the relatively young Kite Studio Architecture. Its design of a house unabashedly exploits flora as an architectural tool, and with much success. Read about this and more in the latest issue of Cubes.

The Jade House by Kite Studio Architecture

Note by Managing Editor Rachel Lee-Leong.