BOLD One Collection by Bold Furniture The work of Michigan designer Joey Ruiter was all over the Merchandise Mart this year. One of our favorite examples was his BOLD One adjustable desks, part of an entire system of rectilinear furniture that cuts a clean, low profile. Photo by BOLD

UC Innovation Center, Anacleto Angelini, in Santiago, Chile (2014) Balancing openness with a sense of privacy and protection, this structure juxtaposes large, deep voids with an opaque, Brutalist facade.

Designer Christiane Hogner, Bruxelles

The Welcome HD smart camera by Netatmo uses advanced face-recognition technology to send an alert to a user's smartphone when it detects an unfamiliar (and perhaps unwelcome) visitor.

Samsung's CEO, BK Yoon, used his CES keynote address to discuss his company's acquisition of SmartThings, a startup that's developed a "hub" to serve as a command center for a line of devices—enabling users to control appliances remotely via their smartphones. Samsung saw SmartThings as its entree into the connected-home marketplace while SmartThings saw, in Samsung, a quick route to a huge customer base for its products and platforms. SmartThings' SmartPower outlet lets users control lamps, electronics, and small appliances remotely.

Antarctica - Setting foot on the 7th continent Private tour groups have been visiting Antarctica since 1969. Today there are lots of choices among operators sending ships, planes, and helicopters to Antarctica between November and March (the summer season). Many trips start in Southern Argentina, and ship-bound journeys include on-board lectures and access to experts on the ecology of the Antarctic during the cruise. Passengers can kayak around icebergs, or spend a day watching penguins, seals, and whales off the coast. Photo by: Christopher.Michel

North America - Biking the wine valleys of Northern California Almost half of the wineries in the United States are located in California, and many of those are in the valleys north of San Francisco. Wine tasting and winery tours are a drunkenly entertaining way to learn how grapes become wine, but the process involves more than crushing and fermenting grapes. One needs to see the agriculture that goes into America’s wine making, and touch the grapes on the vine, to really appreciate the drink. Work off that hangover by cycling along the winding roads of Napa and Sonoma. Photo by: needoptic

South America - Volunteering in the Peruvian Amazon The Peruvian Amazon is only home to 5% of Peru’s human population, but about 5,500 plant species and 760 animal species unique to Peru live here. Animal rehabilitation centers protect sections of this diverse ecosystem, and trained conservationists help create a safe place for wounded and sick animals. The goal of these reserves is to release healthy animals back into the jungle and teach visitors about the importance of the Amazon. Many encourage volunteers to become involved in the care and preservation of the Peruvian Amazon, giving them a firsthand understanding of the region's ecological diversity. Photo by: cavallotkd

Europe - Touring the cultural centers of Central and Eastern Europe Paris and Rome are beautiful, but there's more to Europe than taking the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower and eating gelato at the Colosseum. Eastern Europe is home to castles, cathedrals, world-famous symphonies, modern art museums, and great beer, wine, and pastries. The cities of Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, and Budapest are important cultural centers with citywide art and architecture dating back to the Renaissance. Charles Bridge in Prague has been standing since the 12th century, and Vienna’s city center is home to both Habsburg architecture and modern design. Photo by: Dimitry B

Africa - Summitting and safariing in Tanzania At 19,341 feet, Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa. It takes a minimum of six to eight days to reach the summit, during which climbers contend with not only changes in altitude, but changes in climate as well (snowstorms occur close to Kilimanjaro's peak). But reaching the top via one of six routes is a serious achievement, and offers the chance to see both Tanzania and Kenya from above. Serengeti National Park is a five-hour drive, or short flight, from Kilimanjaro airport and is home to some of Tanzania’s biggest animals, including lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, and rhinos. The park has safari lodges and campsites, and tour operators organize excursions throughout the park. Photo by: Tambako the Jaguar

Asia - Exploring nature and culture in China The Chengdu region of China is home to the world's largest population of Giant Pandas. Panda reserves in and around Chengdu focus on protecting the bear’s natural habitat and researching their behavior (best job ever?). Certain reserves allow volunteers to interact with and care for these endangered species. Elsewhere in China, Beijing has some of the country's most important cultural landmarks. Principal among them is the Forbidden City, built during the Ming Dynasty and now home to the Palace Museum. Xi’an, located between Beijing and Chengdu, has the Terra Cotta Warriors archaeological site. This necropolis was originally built for Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, and is thought to have contained over 4,000 life-size soldiers and other figures sculpted out of terracotta. Photo: Chi King

Australia - Transitioning from Outback to tropics by train Riding the Ghan makes for a three-day transcontinental train journey over the plains, deserts, and mountains of central Australia. The route starts either near the beaches of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, or north in Darwin. In between, travelers get a sense of the continent's changing environment as they trundle to Alice Springs, from which a six-hour drive will bring them to Uluru (Ayers Rock). Near the top of the Northern Territory, travelers can stop at Katherine and spend a day at nearby Nitmiluk National Park, a tropical counterpoint to the arid Outback. Photo by: huskyte77

Carrasco International, Montevideo

Not everyone has a credibility bookcase. Your kids’ discarded toys and jackets may be strewn on the floor, or your roommate is in the throes of an online boxing class. Perhaps your cat is licking its unmentionables, and it’s not quite the scene you want to set for your one-on-one. Luckily, Zoom makes it easy to manifest the environment we want if the environment we have isn’t ideal. If you’ve ever wanted to dial in from a Dwell house, now’s your chance.

Incheon International, Seoul

For a concrete guesthouse in Stone Ridge, New York, LevenBetts designed an onsen-inspired bathroom with a steam room and a hinoki tub.

A primary suite was created on the new second level, complete with a freestanding tub.

Robertson restored the existing rooms in the front of the original house, and redesigned the back of the home to have a much more modern, indoor/outdoor living experience.

Though most of the home's interior comes without a splashy designer's name attached, the bathroom is kitted out with a toilet, sink, and bath/shower from Jasper Morrison's line for Ideal Standard. The cabinets are from an Ikea kitchen system.

The bedroom is located on the uppermost level that connects to a small outdoor balcony.

Rocks dug up during construction were saved and incorporated into the poured-concrete floors and walls. Hydronic heating coils in the floor are augmented by a wood stove during the damp winters.

Three interconnected structures—one for communal spaces, one for the master suite, and one for the three children’s bedrooms—are linked via a glass-enclosed breezeway that also serves as the entrance and dining area. - Leelanau County, Michigan Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

The Florida International University School of International and Public Affairs is a 56,000-square-foot structure in Miami by Arquitectonica.

Apple may not be exhibiting at CES this year, but it will still have remarkable reach thanks to HomeKit, a platform that lets companies develop smart-home gadgets that users can control with an iPhone or iPad. The introduction of HomeKit has sparked a race among innovators to create gadgets that can run on the platform. One of these, Withings, made a name for itself with wearables and other gadgets that promote health. This year it is branching out with Home, a smart HD camera and air-quality monitor that users can control from anywhere with an Apple device via HomeKit.

Stratflex Skin (single and double seater) by Wintec Innovation-The East London company's founder, Al Stratford, began working as a builder straight out of high school. Decades later, his practical experience earned him the right to take the qualifying exams (which he passed) to become a licensed architect. He's applied his know-how to develop these chairs out of plywood and local salinga wood. Skin ships flat--but all in one piece, with unique bendy bits that provide texture and color as well as stability once assembled.

Wintec Innovations won the 2013 Design Indaba Expo Innovation Award.

In a like-minded trend alongside Quirky's recent smart home launches, the sleek additions to the WeMo ecosystem announced at CES 2015 use sensors to relay information needed to help keep your home in ship shape condition. The products connect to your house's WiFi network via a bridge, allowing you to control and monitor them using the WeMo app from anywhere in the world.

More accurate than a motion detector, the WeMo Room Sensor detects heat to see if someone enters a space. Program this to work with smart bulbs to automatically shut off lights if you leave a room, or turn them on if you enter.

The drought on the west coast has made more people consicous of water consumption. While energy monitors on outlets and power strips allow you to see exactly how much electricity it takes to run your Play Station (or other specific electronic device), information about how much water a shower, toilet, or sink uses isn't as readily available. You get your monthly meter reading from most utilities, but being able to pinpoint they thirstiest item in your home with WeMo Water could help save you hundreds of gallons of water.

The magnetic contact sensor in this gadget works on nearly any type of door or window in your home—refrigerator doors, medicine cabinets, interior and exterior doors, doggy doors, you get the picture—to detect if they've been opened. The sensor can connect to other smart devices in your home and programmed to run an action. For example, if you have the air conditioner on and a window is opened, the sensor can shut off the A/C to help conserve energy. (No need to cool the entire neighborhood!)

The compact keychain sensor allows you to keep tabs on when family members come home (ie. kids returning from school).

Flower Power by Parrott is a sensor that tells you, via a smartphone app, how much sunlight, moisture, and fertilizer your plants are getting (as well as whether they are too hot or too cold), and suggests adjustments so you can take better care of them.

Assemblance by Umbrellium (2014) This interactive light display by Usman Haque and Dot Samsen, their first indoors, will feature a grid of laser sculptures. Image courtesy of Umbrellium

Stormwater cycle throughout the Twin Lake site