Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week

A captivating catch-up

Ellie Stathaki, Architecture & Environment Director

London always reaches peak business in September. Beyond the exciting events that come with the annual design happenings of the month, the start of autumn often also sees creatives from across the globe flocking to the capital to see, experience, and meet up. Concéntrico's director, Javier Peña Ibáñez, was in town this week, celebrating the launch of new book on the Logroño architectural festival – and, with it, marking the fair's ten-year anniversary. A breakfast catch-up with Javier offered the opportunity to reflect on the northern Spanish city's world event, which has grown stronger with each edition – and on architecture festivals and biennales as a whole. Looking forward to seeing what's in store for Concéntrico 2026.

A theatrical triumph

Hannah Silver, Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor

I loved watching Andrew Lincoln and Alicia Vikander in The Lady from the Sea at the Bridge Theatre this week. A retelling of the Ibsen classic, it is tense and beautifully constructed throughout, with one of the best and most surprising set designs I’ve seen in a long time.

Mexico comes to Sketch

Anna Solomon, Digital Staff Writer

I don’t need an excuse to visit the eccentric dreamscape that is Sketch in Soho, so when I heard that Ago Projects had taken residency for the dining destination’s (‘restaurant’ feels reductive) annual art and design exhibition, I jumped on the Central Line to have a look. With '¡hola, London!', Sketch has transformed its technicolour reception area into the semi-desert landscape of San Miguel de Allende. Installation pieces were created in collaboration with Mexican studio Mestiz, which has worked with local artisans to bring to life a fantastical, folklore-inspired collection of benches, lamps and objects. The highlight? As if Sketch’s ever-Instagrammable space-age toilet capsules weren’t surreal enough, they’re now home to two enormous snake sculptures. The installation will run until 11 November.

A taste of Spain

Sofia de la Cruz, Travel Editor

I’ve long admired Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s Sabor, a one-Michelin-starred institution in Mayfair and a benchmark of Spanish cuisine. The Basque chef's new venture, Legado, takes her proficiency and flavours east, tracing the Iberian Peninsula from Galicia to Andalusia, with stops in the islands.

Every meal begins with a ‘three sip serve’ – mine was a peach vermut in a beautiful custom ceramic, designed to sharpen the palate in three measured tastes. At the heart of the kitchen are two monumental traditional ovens, hand-built in Madrid by Jumaco & Maestro, that turn out milk-fed lamb from Zamora and suckling pig from Segovia.

I particularly loved Barragán Mohacho’s take on tortilla, reimagined with skate wing and a silken mojo verde – a Canarian coriander sauce that adds both brightness and bite. I also couldn’t resist the black fideuà with rock shrimp and alioli, which took me straight back to my childhood summers in Alicante. The monkfish tempura with chilli jam alioli was another standout – crisp, light, with just the right edge of heat. Barragán Mohacho herself was leading the pass when I visited, calm but ever-attentive. When I told her it felt like being at home, she smiled and said, ‘That’s exactly what we strive for.’

An island escape

Anna Fixsen, US Editor

Sweep over a map of the Atlantic Ocean and you might just miss the Azores, a cluster of nine volcanic islands about 1,000 miles off the coast of Portugal. While the archipelago may not be on your travel radar, it should be.

I’ve just returned from Ponta Delgada, the Azorean capital on the island of São Miguel – our home base while my husband and I explored the natural wonders the isle has to offer, from rolling countryside lined with the island’s famed hydrangea bushes, to ocean waters teeming with whales and dolphins, to geothermal hot springs (a first for this native Minnesotan: noshing on sweetcorn freshly boiled in a geyser).

We also spent lazy afternoons in Ponta Delgada’s historic core, sipping Especial – the local brew – stuffing ourselves with seafood, and checking out local historic sites. If you go, don’t miss Museu Carlos Machado, housed in a 16th-century convent and featuring an intriguing collection of 19th- and early-20th-century taxidermy that feels straight out of a Wes Anderson film. And to think – there are eight more islands to explore!

A beguiling book fair

Gabriel Annouka, Senior Designer

While out of the office, I ended up at the ICA for the Glue book fair – a welcome pause from the usual city chaos. Inside, spread across two floors, were friends, past colleagues and collaborators, and a dazzling spread of publishing projects everywhere you looked.

Highlights (and purchases) included The Scar as Archive by Stigmata Publishing; a zine on Le Grand Divertissement Royal à Versailles by Fiontán Moran; “ ” Quotation Mark Quotation Mark by Adam Gibbons and Eva Wilson; Outsider/s by Oli Raptor (Bonavarda); Doesn’t Exist: Fashion and Cinema, A Tribute to John Waters; and the new edition of A Line That Forms a Volume, the annual publication of the MA Graphic Media Design course at LCC.

In the gallery, across two walls and a glass cabinet, a collaborative project by Hot Potato – with posters designed by Studio Safar – took over the space. Their work invites the photography community to contribute and respond, tracing the shifting landscape of media coverage on Palestine and reflecting on how that coverage shapes the arts.