The second edition of our ‘Design Directory’ is a reminder that there is more to the sector than meets the eye

They say a musician’s sophomore album is always the hardest: after the critical acclaim of a breakout debut, expectation weighs heavy on an artist and production team. The same could be said for the follow-up edition of a magazine. Which raises the question: for the Monocle Design Directory’s second outing, how could we step it up? We didn’t want this issue to simply be a showcase of good-looking design – a round-up of handsome products and projects. Rather, we wanted to seek out people and places that demonstrate the impact that design can have beyond aesthetically pleasing architecture, and how it shapes communities and cultures.

To do so, we touched down in Baghdad to trace the work of Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. Commissioned by the country’s ruling powers in the mid-20th century, the duo played a part in transforming the Iraqi capital into a major Western-style city. The ambition? To distinguish it from other Arab metropolises that were looking to the Soviet Union for inspiration. It was architecture intended to empower and embody a young nation, though it was ultimately co-opted by dictators. Yet it shaped a generation of Iraqi architects, including Rifat Chadirji. “I thought it imperative that, sooner or later, Iraq create for itself an architecture that is regional in character,” wrote Chadirji. The architect would go on to do exactly that.

We also saw how architecture can influence artistic experience, visiting the Fondation Beyeler near Basel, which has been newly expanded with three structures by Peter Zumthor. “Let’s not make museums too didactic,” he told Monocle’s Blake Matich. The result is a set of buildings that prioritise the viewer’s experience: there’s no artistic preamble, wall labels are spare and art is positioned so that visitors encounter it immediately. Large windows and abundant light put the galleries into conversation with the surrounding landscape. It’s a welcome reaction to screen and information saturation.

Design’s ability to transform economies is also on show, with the municipality as patron and dealmaker in Saint-Étienne. The French city is offering affordable studio space to creatives and grants to businesses that hire designers in a bid to supercharge its economy. In a similar vein, Brussels-based Rotor is building circular economies by reviving reuse, a practice that was the norm until industrial materials made new products cheaper than those that exist already.

All of this is rounded out by visits to communities in Kyoto, New York and Florence, where makers and quality of life go hand in hand. It’s a reminder that we can design the lives that we want, with creatives marching to the beat of their own drum.

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