Returning for its third edition, Design Week Lagos is highlighting Africa’s foremost architecture and design talents within the Nigerian capital for a weeklong celebration of Africa’s creative sphere. The citywide fair—founded by African contemporary design advocate Titi Ogufere in 2019—unveils an exciting roster of programs including a dynamic group showcase of collectible African design, a student awards program, and a highly anticipated docuseries debut.

Focusing on the theme of Design Revolution, this year’s edition explores how African innovators are blazing trails in manufacturing and information sharing, further illuminating how this growing community continues to channel its cultural history through the lens of craftsmanship and material knowledge. Due to pandemic restrictions, expect a tight and targeted program with a robust digital presence. We rounded up some highlights:

Design Kulture: This group exhibition aims to forge new connections between designers, manufacturers, buyers, and enthusiasts. Expect Yoruba-inspired iroko wood furniture by Aga Concept, Olu Amoda’s angular chairs made out of found scrap metal, and an iron table and chair set by Tosin Oshinowo.

Made by Design: DWL will host the premiere for Made by Design, an original documentary series for Netflix global that highlights African architects, and interior and product designers. Directed and co-produced by Emmy Award–winning filmmaker Abiola Matesun and created by Ogufere, the first season offers a glimpse at today’s top Nigerian talents including Lani Odeoye and Dapo Akintunde.

DWL 2021 Prize: The prize arises from the festival’s annual student competition, which tasks participants with broadening their understanding of the word “design” and its implications in our everyday lives. This year, participants brainstormed solutions that address major global concerns such as rapid population growth, resource scarcity, and climate change.

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Last year, one of Norman Foster’s most controversial buildings was nipped in the bud. London mayor Sadiq Khan axed plans to build the Tulip Tower, slated to rise nearly 1,000 feet in the heart of London, on the grounds that it would provide “limited public benefit” and that it wasn’t the “world-class architecture required to justify its prominence.” Despite city planning reports deeming the tower a potential design icon, the mayor’s office found multiple issues—one being that the structure would do “significant harm” to the nearby Tower of London World Heritage Site. Khan also remarked that the design was of “insufficient quality” and would “result in an unwelcoming, poorly designed space at street level.”

Kahn penned a letter reiterating these points to London’s then-housing secretary Robert Jenrick, who was expected to axe plans for the tower in September. An unexpected cabinet shakeup by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, however, saw Michael Gove take over Jenrick’s role. He feels much differently about the structure: According to The Telegraph, he’s likely to grant planning permission in November. It remains unclear when the project may break ground, but construction is estimated to take at least five years.

Almost two years after artisanal mezcal brand Gem&Bolt debuted the meditative Hotel Sin Nombre, Mezcal El Silencio has conceived a special boutique hospitality experience. Located on the grounds of the brand’s distillery, 45 minutes outside of Oaxaca in the Valley of Xaaga, Casa Silencio is a six-room eco-retreat with a made-by-hand spirit. Credit co-founders Vicente Cisneros and Fausto Zapata, who tapped Mexican architect Alejandro D’Acosta, known for his “closed-door” principles and mastery of raw and sustainable materials.

To that end, walls are made of soil using an ancient rammed earth technique; ceilings are lined in recycled wood. Other zero-waste features include solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems that service the mezcal production plant, hotel, and restaurant, where chef Daniel Robles Sumano turns out contemporary renditions of Mexican staples.

Mexico City–based designer Martina D’Acosta kitted out the interiors with pieces from local craftspeople: Mitla-sourced pedal-loomed curtains, handwoven rugs produced in Teotitlán del Valle, and brutish tables stone-carved in San Salvador El Seco. There’s a modern tactility that permeates Casa Silencio at every turn—a reflection of a mezcal-making process centered around a 1,000-pound tahona that grinds agave using a solar-powered motorized system. Guests can chop a few piñas of agave and toss them into the roasting oven before booking a private tasting, where specialty spirits are supplemented with small tastes of indigenous Oaxacan cuisine like Cacao Ganache with Cacao Nibs and Orange Gummy with Worm Chile.

The ceramic sculptures made by Julia Haft-Candell position clay as an expressive conduit for disruptive ideas—ones that invite difficult questions rather than providing easy answers. By making use of sgraffito techniques and crosshatching to mimic woven fabric patterns, the Angeleno artist allows unsung narratives to surface while highlighting the full extent of her chosen medium’s expressive power.

Can perfume fight climate change? In the eyes of Gregory Constantine, the founder and CEO of Air Company, the answer is an emphatic yes. The brand has risen to prominence thanks to a revolutionary process that transforms carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into impurity-free alcohols for use in consumer goods. Last year, it launched a crystal-clear vodka that forgoes fermented corn and potatoes for a pure ethanol mixed with water. Now, Air Company is applying that process to create a limited-run perfume.

Herzog & de Meuron has unveiled a monolithic new cultural institution in South Korea. The SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation in the Cheongdam-dong ward in the Gangnam District, where the Swiss firm has completed an 86,000-square-foot concrete wedge-shaped structure with an “experimental and unexpected” mix of non-commercial art studios, galleries, and cultural spaces that “continue the mission of the Foundation to support young talented artists in pursuit of becoming a hub of culture, creativity and inspiration, connecting the public with art through prolific exhibitions and programs,” per a press release. The exhibitions will showcase the project’s journey from ideation in Basel to completion in Seoul, including the design process, strategies, methods, and tools used.

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