The Next Wave Brings Innovative Designs to Arlington's Artisphere

International designers have come together to produce a gallery of over 100 eco-friendly and useful every day household items.

The Next Wave: Industrial Design Innovation in the 21st Century, on display at the Artisphere in Rosslyn and put together by Curator Douglas Burton, attempts to spotlight the international side of the Washington metropolitan area.

“There are people from every part of the world based (in the greater Washington area),” Burton said. “I think it's important that those people, and the people that are native to the area, see that Washington is a major international player like New York, Chicago and L.A."

Designers from the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and the United States have various couches, lamps, wall decorations and electronics on display in the gallery.

The majority of the featured items are eco-friendly and easy to assemble. Since the focus of the gallery is innovative design, Burton only chose complimentary 21st century pieces — those that were made within the last 13 years. Some of the products include a rug made of recycled rubber tubing and a blade-less Dyson fan.

“I love that the eco-friendly objects have a message behind them,” Burton said. “I just love color, I love things that are fun and vibrant and colorful, and that was a part of the inspiration (for the gallery).”

The Next Wave gallery is put on by Artisphere and Apartment Zero, a Washington-based business that Burton co-owns. It's part of the Washington International Design Festival.

“(This) is a great collection,” said Annie Groer, a former Washington Post design reporter and a founding director of the Art Deco Society of Washington. “For people who don’t know design, this is a great place to come. My only complaint is that you cannot sit on the chairs.”

The free gallery will remain open until May 9 with various viewing hours.