John Pawson Can Even Make Bedding Sculptural, and Other News

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John Pawson Can Even Make Bedding Sculptural 

Perhaps no designer deserves the “minimalist” moniker more than John Pawson, the English architect whose peaceful interiors are imbued with a “less is more” rigor befitting his calm demeanor. No project speaks to his uncluttered sensibilities more than Home Farm, the 17th-century Cotswold farm estate that he restored and now shares with his wife, Catherine, a fellow designer. It also served as chief inspiration for his latest collaboration with Tekla, the Danish textile studio founded by Charlie Hedin and celebrated for high-quality home fabrics and stylish bathrobes.  

The collection, Pawson’s third with the brand, includes duvets, sheets, a bed cover, cushion covers, and decorative pillows made from 100 percent cotton in a relaxing off-white shade. “This special cotton that Charlie found, which has the feel of linen, has a unique character,” he tells Ignant. “When put on the duvet, it looks like sculpture.” And it’s particularly artful when draped over the low-platform bed frame he designed to accompany the linens. The warm wood statement piece features an adjustable hinged headrest—ideal for bedtime reading. “You spend half of your life in-between sheets—they are imbued with meaning,” Pawson continues. “The daily ritual of sleeping is every bit as important as architecture.” —Ryan Waddoups

A member of Ghana’s Parliament asks David Adjaye to refund his fees for a cathedral.  

“A minority member of Parliament in Ghana is leading a campaign against award-winning architect Sir David Adjaye, involving agreed-upon fees for the design team’s work on the ongoing National Cathedral project. While the team’s fee represents 10.5 percent of the total construction costs, the amount will not be paid in full to Adjaye & Associates’ team until the project reaches completion. The West African nation had been led by its New Patriotic Party (NPP) since Nana Akufo-Addo was elected President in 2020. Now, the challenging National Democratic Congress (NDC) party hopes to win back leadership in 2024. As part of its campaign centering on economic improvement, NDC Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is demanding answers from the nation’s finance minister regarding the sum of $21.37 million USD in state funds designated for Adjaye & Associates 10.5 percent design fee, which he claims to have not been approved by parliament.” [H/T Designboom]

Japan installs a 330-ton subsea generator that harnesses the power of ocean currents.

“Japan is dropping a massive 330-ton turbine power generator onto the ocean floor just off the country’s coast in a bid to source theoretically limitless renewable energy. Over the past decade, IHI Corporation has been developing “Kairyu,” a 100-kilowatt-class generator that can harness the power of ocean currents. In February, the Tokyo-based engineering firm successfully completed a 3 1/2-year-long test of the subsea turbine in the waters of southwestern Japan. You can expect to see it up-and-running sometime in the 2030s.” [H/T Popular Mechanics]

Milan transforms more than 250,000 square feet of parking into lively public plazas.

“There’s no way Milan could have known what was coming, but in the years leading up to the pandemic, the city was preparing as if it had seen the future. In 2018, the city started a large-scale reinvention of its public space, focused specifically on land that was dedicated to car parking in neighborhoods that had little green space. Those spaces, with simple interventions, were converted into new public plazas. As the pandemic set in—Milan was one of the first epicenters of the outbreak in Europe—these outdoor spaces became essential lockdown escapes.” [H/T Fast Company]

TeamLab reveals a permanent home for its digital art on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island.

“Japanese art collective TeamLab has revealed the design for its TeamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi gallery, which will be a permanent venue for its digital art on Saadiyat Island. Conceived by TeamLab as a “home for infinite curiosity.” the building will host immersive artworks designed by the Japanese collective. As the latest cultural venue to be built on Saadiyat Island, it will be located alongside the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi by Mecanoo and near Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi, Foster+Partners’ Zayed National Museum and a trio of multifaith temples designed by David Adjaye.” [H/T Dezeen]

Fed up with hybrid work plans, Jeremy Stoppelman is making Yelp go fully remote.

“Workers might favor hybrid work plans, but Yelp CEO and cofounder Jeremy Stoppelman isn’t a fan. He called the oft-suggested compromise between fully remote and in-person work “the hell of half measures” in an interview with the Washington Post this week. Although he recognized that workers enjoy the flexibility that hybrid policies offer, Stoppelman insisted that hybrid work was “the worst of both worlds.” His solution: working from home permanently. Instead of doubling down on in-person work like Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Stoppelman is betting his cards on remote work and closing offices in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. [H/T Fortune]

Eight men were convicted for stealing a Banksy from the site of the Bataclan attack.

“A French court on Thursday convicted eight men for the theft and handling of a Banksy painting paying homage to the victims of the 2015 attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris. Three men in their 30s who admitted to the 2019 theft were given prison sentences, one of four years and two of three, although they will be able to serve them wearing electronic tracking bracelets rather than behind bars. Another man, a 41-year-old millionaire lottery winner and street art fan accused of being the mastermind of the heist, was given three years in jail for handling stolen goods after judges found the main allegation unproven. His sentence will also be served with a bracelet.” [H/T France24]

Today’s attractive distractions:

Even the architect of the shopping mall denounced them as a nightmare.

The world’s rarest species of sea turtle lays 45 eggs on a Texas beach. 

New evidence suggests that Jupiter can apparently “eat” other planets. 

These bacteria at a Caribbean mangrove swamp are completely visible.