Andrew Zuckerman on Surface 2026, Prada x Axiom Spacesuits, and A.I. Optimism

Andrew Zuckerman, guest editor of Surface magazine's first hard-cover annual, Surface 2026, discusses the publication's exploration of design as a lens for understanding civilization. The limited-edition book, not for sale but gifted to select individuals, features interviews with figures like Bjarke Ingels, Robert De Niro, and Max Verstappen, covering topics such as lunar data centers, regenerative gastronomy, artificial intelligence, material science, and de-extinction. Zuckerman emphasizes that design is connective tissue, not a narrow discipline, and critiques Silicon Valley's notion of injecting taste, arguing it emerges from broad life experience. He highlights the Prada x Axiom spacesuits for Artemis III, noting the collaboration was driven by Prada's material innovation, not marketing. He discusses the crisis of sensibility from philosopher Baptiste Morizot, the ethical implications of de-extinction via CRISPR, and his optimism about A.I. bringing us closer to nature. Zuckerman also mentions reading Andri Snær Magnason's 'On Time and Water' and reflects on print's ability to stop time. The annual aims to offer a new perspective to the design community, with a purity in doing something without profit motive.