A Palatial Members Club Devoted to Fine Wines and Dining Stuns in Hong Kong

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A Palatial Members Club Devoted to Fine Wines and Dining Stuns in Hong Kong

Across three floors of Hong Kong’s historic Beaux-Arts style Pedder Building, Club Bâtard offers a sleek sanctuary to connoisseurs of fine food and drink. Interior design firm Joyce Wang Studio created three restaurants—Le Clos, Bâtard, and Hop Sze—as well as OBE, a whiskey bar. The studio took cues from the Pedder Building’s architecture to inform the grandeur of the first-floor restaurant, Le Clos, which gives way to the verdant bistro setting of Bâtard, and the Chinese restaurant Hop Sze. At the center of it all is a wine cellar, which extends across three floors, where members and their guests are encouraged to browse an extensive selection of vintages.
—Jenna Adrian-Diaz

OBSESS
Craft Sensibilities Align in Kelly Wearstler’s Giobagnara Collaboration

Evoking the organic form of tumbled ocean pebbles and the curves of the Italian and Californian coastlines, the Maris collection by Kelly Wearstler for Giobagnara marks the debut collaboration between the LA-based designer and the Genoa-based luxury home brand. With the range, Wearstler set out to elevate the items used while hosting at home. This includes concentric sets of wave-like wooden trays with leather inlays, coasters crafted from three types of marble, cast aluminum ice buckets and other premium serving accessories. The collection’s pinnacle piece, the $29,970 Maris bar cart, marries a spacious, solid-wood structure with polished chrome handles, a leather-clad lower level and a marble top. Pull-out shelves enhance its functionality. Ultimately, the collection marries Wearstler’s bold signature style with Giobagnara’s expertise in impeccable hand-craftsmanship.—David Graver.

STAY
With Artyzen New Bund, Neri & Hu Leaves its Mark on Shanghai

From Shanghai’s Pudong district, a trained eye can easily spot the inimitable handiwork of Neri & Hu. There it is within the soaring arcade of the New Bund 31 Performing Arts Center, with its classical arena-inspired lobby framed by massive terrazzo archways. So it makes sense that the nearby Artyzen New Bund, which connects to the performing arts center and was also designed by Neri & Hu, plays with scale in a similarly monumental way. Upon entering, a scalloped concrete facade nods to the undulating limestone of the adjacent arts center.

A cascade of warm oak and bronze carries over to the hotel’s Shanghai Modern restaurant from the arts center’s auditorium. The palette continues up to the guest rooms, where it imparts warmth and even echoes the slatted acoustic panels of the arts center in the form of Neri & Hu’s custom furniture and paneling. —J.A.D.

SOURCE
A Danish Design Brand Thinks Outside the Box

If you think you know furniture showrooms, the Danish furniture purveyor Vipp might inspire you to think again. When deciding upon the form its Los Angeles showroom might take, the 85-year-old brand settled on an unusual showcase in a Venice Beach building designed by prolific modernist architect Mark Mack. There, Vipp’s full range of modular kitchens, streamlined furniture, and timeless lighting are on view throughout the production offices of Blue Ox Films. The arrangement gives new meaning to “behind the scenes” with a first floor devoted to office spaces for Vipp and Blue Ox, while a lounge, bookable guest bedroom, and rooftop on subsequent floors welcome guests and visitors—J.A.D

SAVOR
London’s Favorite Mexican Chef Goes Casual

After the runaway success of his London mezcaleria KOL, which nabbed the 17th spot on the World’s 50 Best list this year, chef Santiago Lastra turned to a familiar face when envisioning the encore. At Fonda, design collaborator A-nrd Studio emphasizes Mexican craft, filling the space with rustic touches inspired by a road trip through Mexico City, Oaxaca, and the Yucatán. 

The open-plan kitchen outfitted in terracotta tiles and traditional clay comals is the focal point, with M.A. Estudio’s wooden totems and objects by Lørdag & Søndag reinforcing the farmhouse vibe. Contemporary accents like artist Fernando Paloss agave-fiber pink sloth hanging above the stairwell and pops of orange, blue, and green add moments of levity and set the stage for dishes with less fuss than the 13-course tasting menu at KOL. Like its predecessor, Fonda interprets local ingredients through a Mexican lens: The beer-battered Cornish cod tacos and Confit pork shoulder carnitas are can’t-miss, as are Lastra’s heirloom corn tortilla chips milled daily. —Nate Storey

SHOP
A Staple of Swedish Streetwear Sets Up in SoHo

When the time came for Axel Arigato, a Swedish label with a streetwear slant, to make its New York City debut, it tapped its longtime collaborators at Halleroed. The Scandinavian interiors studio channeled the breathtaking minimalism of the six European stores it previously created for the brand to fashion a gallery-like Soho boutique. There, walls lime-washed in sandstone create a warm ambiance for visitors as they navigate the ready-to-wear, shoes, and accessories perched on bespoke monolithic slabs of European travertine. A custom, built-in speaker system winks at the label’s close ties to the music industry and penchant for unmissable parties—like the one DJ’d by Luka Sabbat and Zack Bia to fête Axel Arigato’s New York City launch.—J.A.D.

VISIT
With a New Exhibition at MIT, Steina Returns to the Fore

The Icelandic video artist and co-founder of The Kitchen returns with her first solo museum exhibition in more than a decade, this one at MIT List Visual Arts Center. While she’s known widely for her sonic art, “Playback” champions Steina’s visual practice and follows its evolution from early collaborative video works created with her late husband, Woody Vasulka, to her career-long relationship with movement and manipulation of perspective. Although her works have long been pivotal pieces in the collections of MoMA, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, SFMoMA, and more, “Playback” goes on to frame it in the context of today’s pressing questions about human creativity, technology, and its impact on the world around us.—J.A.D.