This theme brings a touch of modern magic, futuristic but ethereal, a new dawn of synthetic development. Here we find highly engineered materials and constructions made in away that delights the eye and intrigues the senses with a play of dimension and shadow.

Surfaces are sculptured and geometric, layered and organic, faceted and filtered. Light is always the most important ingredient, allowing for a subtle interplay of tone and contrast, reflection and translucence, transparency and solidity. Ultracontemporary materials are moulded and folded seamlessly like a piece of hi-tech origami; surfaces appear fluid and continuous but are constructed from rigid modular units. Technology creates a sense of 'aliveness' or animation - seemingly simple surfaces and objects are shaped in ways that beliethe technical complexity of their construction.

The appearance is light and airy with anemphasis on delicate fretwork, achieved by means of laser cutting that allows light to pass through, casting ethereal and moody shadows. No surfaces are truly flat but are textured and manipulated in order to create fascinating spatial interplays. Cutting edge designers and design companies such as Tord Boontje, Marcel Wanders, Ron Arad, Droog and Moooi are pushing creativity in to cyber space with these hi-tech materials and rapid prototyping. Yet in spite of the futuristic aspect of this theme, a very poetic and magical dimension is still retained.

The palette combines new soft and chalky whites with muted and subtle shadowy shades offset by the stronger 'construction' colours of rust, clay and dark slate - colours that draw us back to a more human aesthetic - a new 21st century dawn of soft white.