Assemblance by Umbrellium (2014) This interactive light display by Usman Haque and Dot Samsen, their first indoors, will feature a grid of laser sculptures. Image courtesy of Umbrellium

Dwell’s president and CEO Michela O’Connor Abrams moderated a panel on the relationship between technology and design. The panelists were (from left to right) Gretchen Hansen, founder and CEO of Decorist; Jaime Derringer, founder and executive editor of Design Milk; Lisa Blecker, director of marketing at Resource Furniture; and Lou Lenzi, director of industrial design at Monogram.

Dwell on Design- Affordable Housing

BuzziVille by BuzziSpace BuzziSpace products seem tailor-made for a more relaxed start-up environment. Their new conference picnic table features a ridge designed to hold iPads, and their workspace solution, BuzziVille, not only sounds like the next Zynga mobile game, but looks about as comfortable as an executive hoodie, a comfy cocoon of felt perfect for ducking away for a quick meeting. They also offer a wall panel with a small triangular nook, meant to encourage informal meeting throughout the day. Photo by BuzziSpace

Halcon by Lex When done poorly, open office space recalls the drab, dehumanizing, rip-and-run style rows of desk space found in Boiler Room, or dimly lit call centers. Lex’s refined design for collaborative workstations by STUDIOS Architecture adds a stately imprimatur to an open floor plan. If only the slate walnut and smoked glass surface could block your neighbor’s annoying phone calls. Photo by Lex

"Riverbed," Olafur Eliasson, 2014. This site-specific installation for the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, creates a complete rocky enviornment inside the white-walled gallery.

Puckered upholstery: It is happening and it is everywhere.

Dwell's September 2014 issue.

Check out all of our 2014 holiday gift guides at a glance, and don't forget to comment here with your best modern gift ideas.

Michael Anastassiades marble sculpture series. (They look like chips but we wouldn't recommend biting them.)

Mimeo Chair by Allsteel Allsteel’s award-winning Mimeo stood out with a knit plastic grid that adds multiple dimensions of back support. Photo by Allsteel

BOLD One Collection by Bold Furniture The work of Michigan designer Joey Ruiter was all over the Merchandise Mart this year. One of our favorite examples was his BOLD One adjustable desks, part of an entire system of rectilinear furniture that cuts a clean, low profile. Photo by BOLD

Remix Chair by Knoll Knoll’s showroom was overflowing this year, fully wired with the Bounce app and set up to showcase the brand's "r/evolution" workplace concept. Luckily, the floor was filled with the comfortable new Remix Chair, an upholstered evolution of the Generation chairs.

Kid chairs (in gender-neutral colors!) with Kvadrat upholstery at Soft Line.

"Ice Watch," Olafur Eliasson, 2014. Twelve large blocks of ice, transported from Greenland, were displayed in a clock formation and left to melt. This work was first staged in Copenhagen, and later in Paris, both times in conjunction with UN meetings about climate change.

Outside of the Heliotropic installation at the Maison "Elsewhere" exhibition.

More lovely designs from German manufacturer Pulpo.

"Vertical Emptiness" by Yasuaki Onishi. An installation made using tree branches and hot glue.

Ole Jensen-designed kitchenware for Room Copenhagen.

An architectural sculpture of the Guggenheim by the UK's Chisel & Mouse.

An ingenious solution to wall storage: Sculptures Jeux's hinged shelves that can be rotated open or closed.

Sebastian Herkner's new collection (including iridescent shelving!) for German company Pulpo.

Hitch Storage by Lowenstein While numerous storage and space solutions promised modularity and productivity, we liked the more relaxed and refined Hitch Storage system, a colorful set of adjustable boxes held together with a series of scratch-free clamps. Photo by Lowenstein

Kinetic Desk by Stir Already a tech darling, this adjustable height productivity tool could be called the quantified desk. It aims to make the phrase “tied to your desk” a good thing; with Fitbit connectivity, a smooth user interface and a “whisper breath system” that bumps the surface up to encourage more standing, it’s the high-tech solution to the health issues that come from sitting behind a screen all day. CEO and ex-Apple engineer JP Labrosse wanted to create something that invites people to move with subtle engagement and create products that “support people’s best work.” (For more flexible office solutions, read Dwell's June 2014 essay on the changing workplace.) Photo by Stir

Custom poster of Los Angeles by illustrator James Gulliver Hancock for Dwell on Design "It's all happening! #dwellondesign 2014 this weekend only, June 20-22 in Los Angeles. #dod2014"

The interior makes a bold statement with the extensive use of industrial glass and exposed steel and duct work.

Solid Con 2014—a conference promoting "software, hardware, everywhere"—arrives in San Francisco on May 21, 2014, and presents a range of speakers from Google, MIT, and more.

Jamie Gray's MatterMade label will be all over New York this design week: Gray's own lighting collection debuts at ICFF alongside new pieces by Jonathan Zawada and new developments for the HS1 shelving system by Henry Julier (shown here). Lighting designer Bec Brittain with Hilda Hellstrom will exhibit at the store, on 405 Broome Street. Booth #1321 (Check out MatterMade, for sale in the Dwell Store.)

Senegal Baskets by Eileen Fisher, $138 garnethill.com One of our favorite insider secrets is the home line that Eileen Fisher does for Garnet Hill. (Check out the bath towels, for one.) This set of three fair-trade baskets, made of natural cattails and strips of reclaimed plastic, were commissioned by Fisher and are handmade by the Wolof weavers of Senegal in partnership with the Peace Corps.

The Urban Stories exhibition at Palazzo Litta included work by Daniel Libeskind, Alvin Huang, and Venini, in addition to Italian-Danish duo GamFratesi's pieces for Gubi.

Check out the guides for 2012 and 2013, and stay tuned from now through mid-December for more great gifts for 2014.

Every year, Dwell editors open their personal shopping lists to bring you themed gift guides. Check out the guides from 2012 and 2013, and stay tuned from now through mid-December for more great gifts.

Wooden Tumbling Tower, $28 shopterrain.com Games: fun for the whole family. This hand-crafted one is made of eco-friendly Monkey Pod wood and, like Jenga, is based on a traditional building block game from Africa.

Milo & Mitzy Circle/Grid Blanket by Forestry, $218 stevenalan.com These pure wool throw blankets, made from New Zealand wool, are designed in by a native Aucklander based in the Netherlands with clean modern lines in a traditional material: sturdy, warm, and lightweight.

Spotted Rug in black, $69 someware.com Give some seriously laidback vibes with this 19.5"x3-" rug that was handwoven and dyed by artisans in Santander, Colombia. The accent carpet is made from fique, a plant fiber that, similar to agave sisal, is native to South America.