As the pandemic leads us to avoid physical interaction as a health risk, social divides are widening everywhere. So how can architecture, art and design connect people from different backgrounds and positions? Architect Konno Chie removes the physical and mental barriers that separate people and spaces, creating designs that bring a new vitality to everyday life.

Enchanting and expressive faces, rounded yet flexible bodies. Freedom-loving cats have captivated humanity for millennia, and inspired creators for just as long. They're the most common animal in Japan's ukiyo-e art, and a perfect design motif. Design engineers Ogata Hisato and Sakurai Minoru explore new designs from an animal perspective, focusing on our longtime feline companions.

teamLab are global leaders of digital art, in the spotlight for a series of new works that were announced during the pandemic. Yet the group are all dedicated to the key concept of physicality. As the world becomes increasingly digital their focus on physical limits has become even sharper. teamLab leader Inoko Toshiyuki explores the necessity and potential of physicality in art and design.