DESIGN DISPATCH

Hervé Bourgeois Brings Theatrical Futurism to Fontainebleau, and Other News

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Washing Potato at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Image credit: Connie Zhou

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Hervé Bourgeois Brings Theatrical Futurism to Fontainebleau Las Vegas

The Paris-based interior architect is behind two recent additions to Las Vegas’s restaurant scene: Chyna Club and Washing Potato (pictured), both at the swanky Fontainebleau resort. In a city full of show and spectacle, Washing Potato’s scenographic interiors make a lasting impression thanks to white leather banquettes and Corian tabletops  that contrast brilliantly with onyx walls, giving way to programmable lighting. 

On arrival, guests emerge from the surrounding darkness onto the stagelike dining platform, which makes the act of stepping out to dinner its own form of performance. Once seated, they find restaurateur Alan Yau’s ode to Hong Kong and Cantonese street food and dim sum on the menu. Taro croquettes and char sui pineapple buns make for hearty small bites while the wok-fried whole lobster is a main not to be missed.

AmEx's OneTune in-ear radios, distributed at the U.S. Open. Image courtesy of American Express

AmEx’s ear radios are among one of the U.S. Open’s most coveted commodities.

At the U.S. Open, American Express’s blue OneTune ear radios allow a small crop of attendees to listen to ESPN’s uninterrupted live match commentary. The radios, which are available only to AmEx cardholders, blend brand recognition with function by revealing additional context to viewers about the live matches and players they’re watching. They’re also a rarity: the OneTune radios, which are tuned to a frequency transmitted from Arthur Ashe stadium for crystal-clear audio, have run out at every U.S. Open tournament since they debuted in 2002.

NFT marketplace OpenSea prepares for a precedent-setting legal battle with the SEC.

The SEC has issued a Wells notice to OpenSea, alleging the sale of unregistered securities through digital assets. OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer criticized the agency’s efforts to regulate NFTs like traditional financial securities, arguing that such a move could harm artists, collectors, and innovation within the digital art space.

A rendering of the Porsche Design Tower. Image courtesy of Porsche

Porsche plans to build a branded high-rise tower of luxury condos in Bangkok.

Porsche has revealed plans for its first residential tower in Asia, the Porsche Design Tower Bangkok, a 21-story luxury building that will feature 22 duplex and quadplex apartments. The tower, designed in collaboration with Ananda Development, includes architectural touches like a central spiral ramp leading to communal parking garages and terrace doors inspired by the Porsche 911 Targa’s retractable roof. 

Uzbekistan’s first international art biennial will come to Bukhara in Sept. of 2025.

Uzbekistan will launch the Bukhara Biennale, its first major international art biennial, in Sept. 2025. Diana Campbell, the curator of Dhaka Art Summit, will curate the exhibition, which is organized by the Uzbekistan Arts and Culture Development Foundation and whose inaugural theme is Recipes for Broken Hearts. Antony Gormley, Pakui Hardware, Slavs and Tatars and Himali Singh Soin are all among the crop of participating international artists who have been announced.

Real-estate investors bet high interest rates will inflate rents as construction slows.

Apartment building construction has slowed significantly as high interest rates have raised financing costs and depressed property values, causing a decline in new development. Real-estate investors are now betting on rising rents and property values as the supply of new apartments diminishes, particularly in overbuilt markets like the Sunbelt. With fewer new units expected in the coming years, developers are hesitating to start new projects, focusing instead on maximizing returns from existing properties and alternative investments.

The Olympic rings affixed to the Eiffel Tower. Image credit: Getty

Today’s attractive distractions:

What are the risks of being deemed a public enemy of AI chatbots? 

Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic rings to stay on the Eiffel Tower. 

Scientists have created apple-eating, AI-guided “cyborg worms.”

A former SpaceX intern’s startup aims to commodify sunlight.

 

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