Frenchette Bakery at the Whitney Museum. Photography by Max Touhey…
The Design Dispatch offers expertly written and essential news from the design world crafted by our dedicated team. Think of it as your cheat sheet for the day in design delivered to your inbox before you’ve had your coffee. Subscribe now.
Have a news story our readers need to see? Submit it here
Rashid Johnson Decks Out the Whitney’s Frenchette Bakery
For two years, the Whitney’s restaurant space has lacked a permanent culinary tenant, but soon it will welcome a new Frenchette bakery and café in the space formerly occupied by the Whitney Café and Danny Meyer’s Untitled. Menu specifics have yet to be announced, but if the Tribeca bakery’s menu is any indication, the new spot will likely feature French and Viennese pastries as well as sandwiches and pizzettes for lunchtime fare. New Poetry, a verdant installation by Rashid Johnson, has already breathed new life into the restaurant’s cool gray facade, which overlooks the High Line. If that weren’t enough, the museum is also working with Frenchette’s chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson on a new fine dining concept to occupy the museum’s eighth floor, complete with a work by Dyani White Hawk. —Jenna Adrian-Diaz
Munger Hall proposal at the University of California, Santa Barbara…
UC Santa Barbara’s Munger Hall student housing project, often referred to as “Dormzilla,” has been put to rest. Last month, the university’s vice chancellor Garry MacPherson announced the selection of two firms to design housing for 3,500 students, signaling the end of Munger Hall. The decision comes after months of rumors surrounding the project’s demise thanks to grassroots opposition led by the likes of Dennis McFadden, a former UCSB consulting architect who resigned due to concerns about the massive 1.7 million-square-foot building with windowless bedrooms. The public outrage against Munger Hall spanned two years, culminating in the administration’s choice to revamp the student housing plan, and even found its way into popular culture with a reference in the series Upload on Amazon Prime Video.
A Marc Chagall print worth $100,000 has gone missing following a burglary at Carlton Fine Arts. On September 25, three individuals forcibly entered the Madison Avenue gallery, making off with a framed edition of Chagall’s lithograph print Eve (1971). The suspects remain unidentified. Security footage revealed an individual wearing blue disposable gloves carrying the framed artwork down the sidewalk around 2:20 am, struggling to place it in a tan or silver 1995 to 1997 Honda Accord with front passenger door damage. This print was the seventh edition of 50 lithographs that Chagall created, drawing inspiration from his Jewish identity and biblical studies. Carlton Fine Arts has bolstered security measures, including a new storefront with security glass, an upgraded alarm system, and 24-hour armed security guards.
The Brook Street Residence Halls at Brown University by TenBerke. Photography by Chris Cooper…
TenBerke designs two dorms for Brown University, easing Providence’s housing woes.
Brown University is addressing the housing shortage in Providence, a college town with rising rents, by introducing two new dorms designed by TenBerke (formerly Deborah Berke Partners). The Brook Street Residence Halls, aimed at upperclassmen, offer approximately 350 students apartment-like suites with individual bathrooms. These mass-timber structures, featuring modernist design touches with exposed timber and steel elements, not only provide additional beds but also contribute to sustainability efforts with their all-electric design and off-site fabrication methods, reducing construction disruption.
The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s board of directors—Clifford Ross, Lise Motherwell, and Michael Hecht—has refuted the lawsuit filed by the late artis’’s nephew, Frederick Iseman, as “baseless and without merit.” The lawsuit, which accuses the foundation of damaging Frankenthaler’s legacy, seeks Iseman’s reinstatement on the board and alleges plans to sell off the collection, valued at nearly $1 billion. Iseman claims Ross engaged in questionable transactions related to grants, Motherwell used her position to curate an exhibition and donate artworks, and Hecht hired his accounting firms for foundation work, creating a conflict of interest. The foundation contends that Iseman had previously approved all major decisions and characterizes his lawsuit as frivolous.
In a swift change of course, Ikea is discontinuing its 5 percent discount for members of its U.S. loyalty club, effective February 1, 2024. This decision comes a year after introducing the discount for furniture and decor purchases to members of its “family program.” Despite ending the across-the-board discount, Ikea assures members, identified by a blue label in-store and online, that other perks like free hot drinks, 90-day price protection, birthday gifts, workshops, and exclusive events will remain unchanged. Ikea attributes this shift to its commitment to lowering prices amid inflation pressures, focusing on new lower-priced offers for customers.
