Jonathan Bell

London, United Kingdom

Writer and Editor at Wallpaper* Magazine

Articles

The Subaru Forester is the definition of unpretentious automotive design

6 days ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

Subaru used to be a byword for stoic, no-nonsense mobility. Especially in North America, where its most popular models were notably smaller than the local average. Decades of experience with the US market – where Subarus were first imported in 1968 – led to the opening of the Subaru of Indiana Automotive plant in Lafayette, Indiana, in October 1989. Tariff-dodging is therefore not an issue just yet, but perhaps more importantly, there’s a distinct absence of desire in the company’s current line-up.
Flick through ‘Casa Mexicana’ and its ode to Mexican homes

1 week ago | wallpaper.com | Ellie Stathaki |Edmund Sumner |Jonathan Bell

Residential design and Mexican architecture make for an exciting combination, so when Casa Mexicana, a new book from Thames & Hudson, landed on our desk, we were thrilled. Not only that, but the publication features the striking imagery of architectural photographer and regular Wallpaper* contributor Edmund Sumner, and has been penned by Wallpaper* editor Jonathan Bell, making this a must-read for genre enthusiasts around the world.
New Polaroid Flip unfolds for pin-sharp instant photography

1 week ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

Despite the apparently extremely restrictive nature of its technology, Polaroid continues to innovate. The company’s newest product is this, the Polaroid Flip, designed to meld the format’s uniqueness with a more consistent quality of images. As Nick Woodley, director of Product Design at Polaroid, notes, ‘we’re trying to get a predictable point-and-shoot output from our cameras’.
Microsoft vs Google: where is the battle for the ultimate AI assistant taking us?

1 week ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

This year, Microsoft turns 50, a significant waypoint in the valley of anguish that is Gen X middle age. In comparison, Generation Z Google (aged 26 and a half) is in the prime era of its shape shifting, multifarious journey. Both companies are in a celebratory mood, with Microsoft issuing a clutch of microsites and retrospectives bathed in a golden glow, and Google consolidating its two-fisted grip on AI and AI-enabled hardware.
Head out to new frontiers in the pocket-sized Project Safari off-road supercar

1 week ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

And now for something completely different. This is the Project Safari, the first project from the brusquely named Get Lost. A radical reworking of the first-generation Lotus Elise, it's the creation of automotive photographer George Williams. The fully functional one-off was the result of a quest for true driving enjoyment, whatever the terrain. As you can see from the imagery, Project Safari has been thoroughly lifted and bolstered for off-road excursions.
Channel tropical modernism with a Geoffrey Bawa furniture revival

1 week ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa remains the archetypal exponent of tropical modernism, an architecture of innovation and adaptation that meshes contemporary materials and techniques into all the variables of a warm and humid climate. Trained first as a lawyer, Bawa studied at the Architectural Association in London before returning to his homeland. From the late 1950s onwards, Bawa built extensively in Sri Lanka, as well as in India, Indonesia and beyond.
Roar into the art deco era with a show of autos, art and fashion

1 week ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

A new exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum celebrates the intersection between Gallic art, fashion, culture and the automobile in the inter-war years. ‘Roaring: Art, Fashion, and the Automobile in France, 1918-1939’ melds key pieces of fashion with contemporary modern art and, most importantly of all, cars that represented the pinnacle of automotive craft.
A hybrid speaker system gives these hefty over-ear wireless headphones a rich, sparkling sound

1 week ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

The quest for the ultimate pair of headphones is a very personal one. Sound is subjective, and although arguably quality certainly isn’t, one factor that really defines whether a pair of over-ears is right for you or not is their size. These days no one bats an eyelid at massive cans that clamp down over a commuter’s ears, but if you’re the commuter in question, bigger isn’t always better.
Google Pixel 9a: what makes it an excellent all-rounder

2 weeks ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

Google today debuts its latest mid-tier smartphone, the Pixel 9a. Following a well-established strategy of releasing ‘a’-branded models eight months or so after the release of top tier phones. Autumn 2024 saw the arrival of the current flagship Pixel 9 series, so naturally enough we now have the Pixel 9a to replace the Pixel 8a. Enough of big tech logistics. At this stage and price point, a new phone drop is just as much about colours and finishes as it is about specification and raw power.
We took a Neko Health scan – the future of preventative healthcare?

2 weeks ago | wallpaper.com | Jonathan Bell

Alongside the redeveloped Spitalfields Market to the north-east of the City of London is the latest outpost of Swedish start-up Neko Health. The new location follows on from its debut London clinic in Marylebone, which followed the company’s first scanning suite in Stockholm. Housed in a steel pavilion designed, like the market redevelopment alongside it, by Foster & Partners, the new clinic is Neko Health’s largest facility to date.