Actually, there is no connection beyond these two stories about the importance of design

The Economist lets us glimpse inside three Russian dachas from the Russian Design Show outside Moscow, including one furnished by Phillips de Pury:

The Phillips de Pury House, which aims to showcase the best of cutting-edge contemporary design, features a glass and polyurethane Aqua table from Zaha Hadid, an extruded plastic Tom Dixon chaise lounge and a Marc Newson eliptical chair. This is a home for an investor or for a person who wants one key piece … and one that hopefully will be worth double the purchase price very quickly.

Alice Rawsthorn’s IHT profile of Li Edelkoort the director of the Netherlands’s Design Academy:

In a postindustrial age, when designers have abandoned many of the principles that defined design in the 20th century, but have yet to find replacements, Edelkoort’s Eindhoven has been a hotbed of experimentation, pioneering new approaches to sustainability, customization and countless other developments.

The New Russia Houses (Financial Times)

Li Edelkoort: Assessing the Impact of a Design Icon (International Herald Tribune)