Monocle: The Design Directory – Issue 02 (2026/2027)

The Design Directory is Monocle’s annual publication dedicated to architecture, interiors and product design, combining global reporting with a practical directory of the people and studios worth knowing.

For its second edition, Monocle looks beyond good-looking objects and buildings to explore the wider impact of design on communities and cultures. The issue travels to Baghdad to trace the modernist legacy of Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, and to Saint-Étienne, where design is being used as a tool for economic and urban renewal.

Elsewhere, the magazine visits Peter Zumthor’s expansion of Fondation Beyeler, explores circular design with Brussels-based Rotor and steps inside Valencia’s landmark Finca Roja housing complex. Further stories move through Kyoto, New York and Florence, looking at places where makers, architecture and quality of life intersect.

A substantial international directory rounds out the issue, highlighting architects, designers and studios across Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East — from established names to younger practices shaping their local design cultures.

About The Design Directory
The Design Directory is Monocle’s annual guide to the people, places and ideas shaping contemporary design. Combining architecture, interiors, product design and urbanism, it pairs long-form reporting with a practical international directory of studios and makers.

PLEASE NOTE:
Magazine cover varies and particular cover cannot not be specified for order, but you can state your cover preference in the order notes at checkout and, if available, we will send that one.