Eleni Petaloti
Co Founder, Creative DirectorObjects of Common InterestFounded by Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis in 2016,Objects of Common Interest engages at the intersection of art, design, and architecture.
The studio explores a diverse range of scales, from sculptural objects and installations to immersive environments and public art projects. Based between New York and Athens, Eleni and Leonidas are als o the founding partners of the sibling architectural practice, LOT Office for Architecture. Their work has been exhibited internationally at museums, institutions, galleries, and design fairs – including the Noguchi Museum, MAXXI - National Museum of 21st century, Vitra Design Museum, Design Museum Brussels, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Cycladic Museum Athens, Musée des Beaux - Arts de Québec, Biennale Interieur, Chicago Architecture Biennial, Italian Culture City Organization, International Olympic Committee, Collection Thierry Barbier -bMueller, Nilufar Gallery Milan, Etage Projects Copenha gen, Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation and Delvis (UN)Limited Gallery , among others.
The studio has a wide range of collaborations, commissions and acquisitions with global clients such as OPEN AI, Kvadrat, Jimmy Choo, Valextra, Instagram, Rimowa, Gucci, Max Mara, Dooor, Tacchini, CC -Tapis, Charlotte Chesnais, Marsell, Bitossi, and Technogym among others. Objects of Common Interest was formed with a focus on creating still life installations, experiential environments, and sculptural objects —
anchored by a deep fascination with materiality, conceptual exploration, and tangible spatial experiences. Their work bridges the contrasting i nfluences of Greece and
New York, blending cultural narratives into unified forms.
In 2023, the studio was commissioned by the Italian Cultural Capital for the main public art installation in Bergamo, Lights On, and has
presented public art projects such as the Flatiron Plaza installation in New York. Eleni and Leonidas received the Wallpaper Design Award 2026 for Best Scene Stealers*.
They were also named Designers of the Year by the Elle Deco International Design Awards (EDIDA) in 2024. Their recognition includes consecutive listings in the AD100 among the world’s top designers and architects, serving as judges for the Wallpaper Design Awards in 2023*, and being honored as Designers of the Year by Wallpaper in 2022*. They also received the Design Studio of the Year Prize at the Dezeen Awards Public Vote 2022 and the Design Prize for Experimentation by Designboom in 2021.
Design as Diplomacy: Soft Power, Hard Materials
When ground beneath us shifts - materially, geo-politically, ecologically, design becomes an instrument of negotiation. Every material carries consequ
…When ground beneath us shifts - materially, geo-politically, ecologically, design becomes an instrument of negotiation. Every material carries consequence. Every supply chain encodes values. Every object mediates between power and responsibility.
Bri
…When ground beneath us shifts - materially, geo-politically, ecologically, design becomes an instrument of negotiation. Every material carries consequence. Every supply chain encodes values. Every object mediates between power and responsibility.
Bringing together biomaterial innovation, material and industrial systems critique, and neuroaesthetic human-centered design, this opening dialogue cuts through the rhetoric of unity to confront its fric
…When ground beneath us shifts - materially, geo-politically, ecologically, design becomes an instrument of negotiation. Every material carries consequence. Every supply chain encodes values. Every object mediates between power and responsibility.
Bringing together biomaterial innovation, material and industrial systems critique, and neuroaesthetic human-centered design, this opening dialogue cuts through the rhetoric of unity to confront its frictions. Through biological intelligence, material accountability, and embodied experience, the panel argues that shared futures are engineered, not inherited, and that designers can translate distance into dialogue, friction into form, and the human and other-than-human worlds into negotiated common ground.
If design is a soft power, what hard material realities must it confront?
In Partnership with STIR World
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