The Bungalow Kitchen by Martin Brudnizki. Image courtesy The Bungalow Kitchen…
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The Bay Area Gets a Brudnizki-Designed, Beatnik-Inspired Clubhouse
Martin Brudnizki cozied up the vast atrium of New York City’s Beekman Hotel and turned the interiors of Paris’ La Plage Parisienne into an eye-popping tribute to outdoor cabarets. For his first San Francisco Bay Area project, he received a slightly different brief from chef Michael Mina and hospitality veteran Brent Bolthouse: transform a two-story, 12,000-square-foot, 300-seat waterfront space in Tiburon into a community clubhouse with a flower-power vibe.
Nodding to the region’s era of beatniks and bohemians, the interiors recall Bay Area homes from the 1960s and 1970s: a dining room with a custom fireplace by locals Pasadena Craftsman Tile and rattan furniture in seaside blues and greens; a private listening room outfitted in vintage rugs and a custom Wilson Audio speaker; photographs of musicians such as Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones. And the setting is a great spot for Mina’s ice-cold Garden Crudité bowls or oak-fired steak. A stained-glass panel by Lenox-Stained Glass of San Francisco lights the way to the upstairs salon, complete with billiards and sofa nook—not to mention a trellised terrace with a retractable roof and views as intoxicating as the signature Hygia cocktail that mixes up Montenegro, Aperol, and butterfly pea foam with the same free-spirited determination Brudnizki brought to the space. –Jesse Dorris
The Newson Task Chair for Knoll by Marc Newson. Image courtesy of Knoll…
Marc Newson reveals his first task chair, an ergonomic chair with a floating effect.
“The famed Australian designer Marc Newson has designed just about everything—from aircraft interiors, jetpacks, racing bikes, and Olympic uniforms to kitchen appliances, fountain pens, samurai swords, and Apple products. Which is to say, it’s almost surprising that Newson has never designed a task chair, until now. His Newson Task Chair for Knoll will arrive later this summer for an undisclosed price. The design is a sequel to the Newson Aluminum Chair, which he released in 2018 with Knoll. Its cantilevered frame design was a nod to the modernism of Mies van der Rohe. For his performance-oriented update, Newson wanted to preserve the chair’s floating effect and unique silhouette—all while imbuing the design with the ergonomic adjustments and supports of a task chair.” [H/T Fast Company]
The Morgan Library & Museum in New York unveils a newly restored sculpture garden.
“In 1908, an unnamed correspondent for The Times of London wrote the first public account of the two-year-old library of financier J. Pierpont Morgan, next to his home east of Madison Avenue on 36th Street. Modeled by the architect Charles Follen McKim on Renaissance buildings like the Villa Medici in Rome, the library contained Morgan’s storied collections of rare books and manuscripts, and was built at a cost of just over $1 million (about $32 million today). This weekend and next, the Morgan Library & Museum will celebrate the restoration of the landmark McKim building and unveil an adjacent, new garden—Manhattan’s new green space—as well as a related exhibition.” [H/T The New York Times]
The Children’s Institute campus in Los Angeles designed by Frank Gehry. Photography by Oltmans Construction Co., courtesy of Children’s Institute…
Frank Gehry designs a Children’s Institute community center in Watts, Los Angeles.
“The new 20,000-square-foot Children’s Institute (CII) campus in Los Angeles designed by Frank Gehry is set to open later this month. This is the non-profit’s first-ever purpose-built home in the community of Watts. the $25.79 million campus functions to centralize CII’s operations in the area. It will provide space for 150 CII staff members and will house a range of therapeutic programs and free services for children and families, including toddler socialization, individual and group counseling, youth development activities, parenting workshops, workforce development/employment support, and Project Fatherhood sessions. The building is designed to operate as both a community center and a therapy center, offering flexible public spaces that can be used for neighborhood council meetings and community events, along with providing transparent and accessible entry points.” [H/T Archinect]
Facing supply chain woes, cosmetics giant Revlon is preparing to file for bankruptcy.
“Cosmetics giant Revlon Inc. is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as next week as it battles supply chain problems and a heavy debt load, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Talks around the potential filing aren’t final and could change, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private negotiations. A representative for Revlon declined to comment. Distressed debt news provider Reorg first reported on the potential bankruptcy. Revlon’s shares plunged 53 percent, the biggest one-day drop on record, on Friday to close at $2.05.” [H/T Business of Fashion]
Harvard GSD’s 2022 Wheelwright Prize goes to the metaverse-minded Marina Otero.
“The Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Wheelwright Prize 2022 goes to Marina Otero. The curator and academic scooped the prestigious win this year with her proposal ‘Future Storage: Architectures to Host the Metaverse.’ focusing on storing data through the architectural and digital lens. Otero currently serves as the head of the social design master’s degree at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Data storage is in unprecedented demand today and Otero’s work aims to shed light on architecture’s response to the subject matter, reimagining digital infrastructures.” [H/T Wallpaper]
JW Anderson conceives its latest Moncler Genius collaboration as a “dream in color.”
“Transforming the neatly cropped gardens of Italy’s La Foce estate into a kaleidoscopic playground, JW Anderson and Moncler reconnect once again to showcase an imaginative Fall/Winter 2022 collection. Highlighted in the collection are sweaters, skirts, and crochet hats found in supple cotton bouclé fleece and voluminous tote bags, outwear, and shorts lined in down and sheepskin. The pieces are finished in a medley of green splotches, bold colorful prints in Moncler’s signature colors, matte nylon, and bleached denim.” [H/T Hypebeast]
A wooden 1960s building by Kazuo Shinohara will be built on the Vitra Campus.
“One of Japanese architect Kazuo Shinohara’s iconic architectures, designed under the “First Style,” has been reconstructed on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein. The Umbrella House, originally built in Tokyo in 1961, will serve as a venue for small gatherings on the campus, offering visitors insights on modern Japanese architecture. After the geodesic dome by Buckminster Fuller/George Howard in 1975, and a petrol station by Jean Prouvé in 1953, the project is the third historic building to be reconstructed on the Vitra Campus.” [H/T Archdaily]
The “Illusion” course at Puttery. Image courtesy of Puttery…
Today’s attractive distractions:
Japanese scientists transform leftover cabbage into a concrete-like material.
NASA is launching an official study to gain a better understanding of UFOs.
A restored painting recalls the Colosseum’s use as a sacred Christian space.
Puttery, a new miniature-golf bar in Washington, DC, may put you in a trance.
