The Drake Hotel in Toronto. Photography by Brandon Barré…
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The Drake Hotel Debuts a Vivid Modern Wing
One of the forerunners of the lifestyle hotel movement and a cherished local hub for the city’s creative community, the Drake Hotel is unveiling an expanded repertoire. The modern extension was led by Diamond Schmitt Architects, with original collaborators DesignAgency, designer John Tong of +tongtong, and the Drake’s in-house creative team handling the interiors for the intimate street-level bar, living room-style lobby, and 32 additional rooms showcasing artist-designed wallpapers. The jewel on the crown is the cantilevered, mirrored rooftop penthouse suite outfitted with floating sculptural paintings by Jazmine Cardenas and a sweeping outdoor terrace.
Rugs by Alex Proba for Gossamer. Photography by Sean Davidson…
Alex Proba launches a vibrant line of handwoven rugs with cannabis brand Gossamer.
Alex Proba’s multidisciplinary practice often sees her adorn posters, tiles, murals, window displays, and even augmented reality with her signature vibrant colors and shapes. Her latest venture is an unlikely collaboration with cannabis brand Gossamer, which sees the New York and Portland-based artist create a vibrant collection of handwoven rugs drawing upon the cannabis brand’s color palette and the textures of its latest issue, Volume Seven: Touch.
Each rug is adorned with swirling and vibrant patterns—long white ribbons, drips of neon orange, polka dot cutouts, and scallop swaths of baby pink—that create a pleasant clash with Gossamer’s brand colors of deep green, delicate mint, soft peach, and golden yellow. “We’ve added a smoky, psychedelic wave pattern as a subtle nod to Gossamer’s perspective and took cues from their typography, which is never just linear,” Proba says. “Patterns and textures have their own challenges—bringing them to life is equally challenging, but the outcome is even more gratifying.” In light of the war in Ukraine, the brand will be donating I’ve percent of proceeds toMédecins Sans Frontières.
The immersive exhibition Color Factory is opening its biggest space in Chicago.
Taking root inside the landmark Willis Tower, the 25,000-square-foot space will be Color Factory’s biggest outpost yet. Known for its Instagram–ready kaleidoscopic installations and experiences such as massive balls pits and confetti showers, the new location will pair fan-favorite rooms with new offerings from the likes of Camille Walala, Yuri Suzuki, and Tomislav Topic, among others. “There are certain things that we cannot take off the menu—there would be a revolt if we did not have a ball pit!” says CEO Tina Malhotra. “There’s going to be familiar rooms, but with a completely new design and color story, and new concepts with new artists. We like to give our artists the freedom to bring their own perspective and color story.”
One of Burkina Faso’s most significant examples of Modernism is under threat.
La Maison du Peuple, located in central Ouagadougou and designed by French architect René Faublée, is one of Africa’s most important examples of modernist architecture for combining elements of Brutalism with local colors and motifs. The World Monuments Fund recently placed the 2,500-seat theater on its 2022 watchlist because of its “long-deferred maintenance and lack of legal protection” and advanced state of decay. “Combining modernist and brutalist influences with local vernacular architecture, the building is a powerful architectural statement of post-colonial cultural identity and democratic self-determination, and a noteworthy—but frequently overlooked—example of global architectural history,” World Monuments Fund project manager Javier Ors Ausín said in a statement.
The Sphere. Rendering courtesy of Populous…
Populous’s polarizing venue, The Sphere, is proceeding in London despite backlash.
Located on the site formerly used as the coach park during the 2012 London Olympics, the massive dome structure is being billed as an ‘immersive LED experience’ that will host award shows, e-gaming, ring sports, and cinematic shows. So far criticism has centered on The Sphere’s scale, impact on Stratford Station, and the effect of advertising on nearby residents.The final ruling for approval will come on March 22 when London Legacy Development Corporation’s planning committee issues a final vote.
An artist sues grocery store chain Hy-Vee for using his mural during a Super Bowl ad.
Chris Williams, a Des Moines artist known as CAW, is refiling a lawsuit against the Hy-Vee grocery store chain for the unauthorized use of his mural during a commercial aired during the Super Bowl in 2019. Narrated by Oprah Winfrey, the ad features a young girl passing by his mural on two occasions to promote a backpack program that provides food to children facing hunger. Williams originally filed the lawsuit in 2019, claiming copyright infringement for the unlicensed use of the mural, which resembles a patchwork quilt. The suit is asking for both statutory and punitive damages, totaling to $150,000 per instance of infringement.
Museums are reviewing their safety protocols following a stabbing at the MoMA.
Museums across the country are reviewing their safety protocols after an incident earlier this week at the Museum of Modern Art when a man stabbed two employees because his membership was revoked. Violence within museums is generally rare, so most security personnel are unarmed and not equipped to respond more than reporting intruders carrying weapons. “The last thing you want is a gunfight with 5,000 kids present,” Steven Keller, a security adviser for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, told the New York Times. Installing bulletproof glass around greeters is also unlikely because violence is rare and museums are interested in presenting a welcoming face.
