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Interviews George Beylerian, president of the Material Connexion resource center in New York City, on the state of material innovation for architectural design. Risks for material pioneers; Innovators in the use of materials; Methods that architects use to find materials and techniques; Specification of green materials; Resurgence of interest in materials.

Describes the showroom of fashion designer Naeem Khan in New York City designed by architect Tarik Currimbhoy. Display of dresses worn by celebrities; Use of lighting and space; Installation of a sandstone screen panel.

The article reports that each piece in French designer Patrick Jouin's new solid furniture collection was created with the stereolithography, or computer-aided 3D layering, technique in mind. Previously used for only small-scale models, Jouin used stereolithography to create a full-scale furniture collection consisting of two chairs, a table, and a stool. Presented at the Maison and Objet show in Pans, each piece is offered in a limited edition of 30 and will be sold through New York City retailer Moss.

Citizens of New York City and Washington D.C., will soon see a change in the street furniture that is a familiar part of their surroundings. In January 2004, New York City announced an international competition for a new design for the more than 300,000 streetlights within its five boroughs. The city is also expected soon to release an RFP for an updated design for city-owned bus shelters and newsstands.

The sculptor Diamond Teak's award-winning Spirit Song collection of outdoor furniture is made of solid plantation teak from Costa Rica, where the company has planted tens of thousands of native trees certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council. Pieces can be used indoors as well as out, and the benches can be made in different lengths and ergonomic shapes, including compound-curve or S-curve benches, long backless benches, and reverse-curve benches. Benches have been used in such projects as Battery Park in New York City.

At this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City, the Brooklyn, New York-based interior and product design firm twenty2 launched its first collection of hand-screened wallpapers. Created by Krya and Robertson Hartnett, the firm's founding principals, the contemporary patterns are named Maxwell Group, Acco Group, Columbia Heights, and Casa Mila. Each design is hand-screened on vinyl-coated paper or a grass cloth of woven jute and carries an ASTM-E84 Class A fire rating. The firm is currently developing a line of hand-printed fabrics to coordinate with the new wallpapers.