DESIGN DISPATCH

Neri Oxman Creates a Skyscraper Prototype with AI, and More News

Plus, a new supertall observation deck at Rockefeller Center and the new class of MacArthur Fellows has been announced.

Rendering courtesy of Oxman.

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Neri Oxman uses AI to create a skyscraper prototype that’s optimized for plant life.

​​Neri Oxman’s eponymous design studio has developed a conceptual skyscraper to showcase an approach she calls “ecological programming.” The approach uses computation, in this case developed with AI, to create architecture that enhances biodiversity with its spiraling form and alternating enclosed and open-air planting spheres.

Rockefeller Center’s 30 Rock building unveils a dizzying new supertall observation deck.

The newly opened Skylift at 30 Rockefeller Plaza offers sweeping views of New York City from almost 900 feet in the air. It features a revolving, open-top platform with plexiglass walls and is part of a larger modernization effort at the Art Deco architectural landmark.

A rendering of the New Jersey Centre Pompidou. Image courtesy of New Jersey Centre Pompidou.

Centre Pompidou’s nixed plans for a proposed New Jersey outpost have been revived.

Paris’s Centre Pompidou has revived its plans to open an outpost in Jersey City, following a prior cancellation due to financial concerns from local politicians. The new proposal places the museum at 808 Pavonia Avenue and relies on a tax abatement instead of funding from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which pulled its funding from the project earlier this year. 

The MacArthur fellowship has announced the 22 recipients of its 2024 “genius grants.”

This year’s MacArthur Fellowship has announced its 22 recipients, including artists Justin Vivian Bond, Tony Cokes, Ebony G. Patterson, and Wendy Red Star. Each has been awarded an $800,000 no-strings-attached grant.

Roving design showcase Alcova will curate the next Heimtextil textile showcase.

Alcova will curate the Heimtextil Trends 25/26 showcase at the world’s largest textile fair in Frankfurt. Founders Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima aim to explore textiles as cultural narratives, examining their role in sustainability, technology, and social change. Their theme, Future Continuous, emphasizes a seamless blend of past and future design, pushing for a deeper understanding of the processes behind textile creation.

AA Material Arcade at the London Design Museum. Credit: Richard Heald Photography.

Today’s attractive distractions:

A Niki de Saint Phalle documentary, Viva Nicki, debuts in Vancouver.

The Las Vegas Sphere may be gimmicky, but crowds and musicians love it.

The rampant popularity of Ozempic is (supposedly) making gyms obsolete.

An “architecture game” gets kids working with salvaged materials and sculpture.

 

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