DESIGN DISPATCH

Corbusier's L'Esprit Nouveau Pavilion Will Play a Pivotal Role in Arte Fiera Bologna, and Other News

Plus, Zac Posen's latest ballet commission, and Open AI's allegations against DeepSeek.

L'Esprit Nouveau Pavilion. Courtesy of the Bologna-Modena Tourist Territory

Adelaide Cioni’s performance for Arte Fiera Bologna will be staged in a 100 year-old Corbusier structure.

A new site-specific performance from Adelaide Cioni, Five Geometric Songs, will be staged in Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret’s L’Esprit Nouveau pavilion at this year’s edition of Arte Fiera in Bologna. The performance, inspired by geometric forms and architectural rhythm, uses costumes to represent a line, point, square, triangle, and circle, transforming patterns into a dynamic visual and auditory experience.  

OpenAI alleges that Chinese platform DeepSeek is using its models and data to copy its technology.

OpenAI has accused Chinese AI developers, including DeepSeek, of using its research to create rival models at a fraction of the cost, raising concerns over intellectual property theft. U.S. officials are investigating the potential security risks, while OpenAI and Microsoft take steps to assess whether their data was misused.  

Courtesy of the Louvre

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a sweeping renovation of the Louvre.

Following a week of scandal surrounding concerns about its infrastructure, the Louvre is now set for a sweeping $400 million renovation, including a new eastern entrance to ease congestion at the I.M. Pei-designed glass pyramid structure and expanded underground galleries. The Mona Lisa will move to a dedicated space within the new exhibition areas, while an additional $300–$400 million will modernize infrastructure, dining, and visitor amenities. Funded through museum revenue, international donations, and higher ticket prices for non-EU visitors, the overhaul is expected to be completed by 2031.

Zac Posen has designed new costumes for a reprise of Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour.

Zac Posen has designed new costumes for Within the Golden Hour, Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet returning to the San Francisco Ballet this February. Inspired by Gustav Klimt’s paintings and the shifting hues of San Francisco’s landscape, Posen created ombré-dyed costumes with the goal of enhancing the dancers’ movement and capturing the romance of Wheeldon’s contemporary ballet. The new costumes will debut on Feb. 13. 

Some architects are decrying The Brutalist, and the film’s similarities to the life of Marcel Breuer.

While Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist has swept awards season, the film has drawn sharp criticism from the architecture community. Although the motion picture is a work of fiction, architects have drawn parallels between its plot and the life of Marcel Breuer, going on to criticize the plot for misrepresenting his work, personal life, and connection to brutalism. These critics argue that Corbet distorts historical facts, including Breuer’s background, design process, and relationships with clients, crafting a melodramatic, inaccurate portrayal of the architect and the profession at large. 

Credit: LMI Group International

Today’s attractive distractions:

A potentially undiscovered Van Gogh portrait was bought from a garage sale for $50.

Severance’s most important villain is, arguably, Eero Saarinen’s Bell Laboratories.

The Rick Owens and Rimowa collaboration is just really, really good. 

You know Norman Foster’s work, now the New Yorker peeks into his day-to-day life. 

 

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