Thoughtfully Made Furniture That Celebrates African Artisans

OBSESS
Thoughtfully Made Furniture That Celebrates African Artisans

Honoring the richness of African craft—and the expertise of its artisans—has always been central to Peter Mabeo’s practice. The Botswana-based designer behind Mabeo Studio has collaborated with the likes of Fendi, Patricia Urquiola, and Claesson Koivisto Rune to bring those creations to the design world’s upper echelons, but his latest launch may be his biggest milestone yet. He recently joined forces with Design Within Reach to create the seven-piece Lesire Collection, which pays homage to the crochet techniques mastered by South African women. From a storage bench to a floor mirror, each piece is crafted from richly grained panga panga wood sustainably sourced from a forestry stewardship organization in Mozambique. Mabeo tempers the hardwood’s rigidity with gently rhythmic scallops that impart richness, depth, and whimsy. Most importantly, they leave one eager to learn about its backstory. —Ryan Waddoups

SAVOR
At Nashville’s Choy, an Ode to 20th-Century Shanghai

Mister Jiu’s, the celebrated Cantonese restaurant in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown, has found a spiritual successor more than 2,300 miles away in Nashville newcomer Choy. Its founders Moni Advani and Nishaan Chavda tapped Brandon Jew of the  Michelin-starred hotspot to consult on their new Music City venture, where Art Deco influences and nods to 20th-century Shanghai coalesce in dramatic interiors by Carlton Edwards. 

Seated among the sensational emerald banquettes and black marble bar, guests can look forward to Chinese cooking with regional flair by chef Brian Griffith. Here, the former Mister Jiu’s sous chef dishes up compelling savories like pressed pig ear with Lanzhou chili and black vinegar, and a peking roast duck aged up to 17 days in a 10-spice blend. Wash it down with a cocktail brainstormed by Abe Vucekovich—we have our eye on the namesake House of Choy, in which bénédictine throws an unexpected punch—or a glass of old-world wine curated by advanced sommelier Justin Mueller. —Jenna Adrian-Diaz

VISIT
Ricardo Bofill’s Emerald-Hued Sanctum of Learning

The color green holds a special significance in Moroccan culture—Islam associates it with paradise, the national flag sports a green pentagram, and lustrous zellige tiles adorn mosques throughout the country. It’s also the standout feature of a newly finished lecture hall at Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, a young private research university designed tip-to-toe by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura in Rabat-Salé. The Barcelona-based studio has spent the past 13 years seeing through the fledgling university’s master plan, with the namesake’s two sons taking over following his death in 2022.

The lecture hall, called the Centre de Congrès, is an emerald-hued sanctum illuminated by a monumental white plaster dome above. The café is also doused floor-to-ceiling in the same glistening emerald green to breathtaking effect. Also dramatic is the inner drum—students pass under soaring limestone arches before entering, foreshadowing the wonders within. For connoisseurs of the Catalan firm, such masterful use of color is no surprise. Bofill’s otherworldly buildings have become selfie hotspots for the Instagram generation and inspiration for the sets of entertainment blockbusters like Squid Game. “I wanted to create space powerful enough to make normal people who know nothing about architecture realize that architecture exists,” Bofill once said. With Centre de Congrès, the next generation will have no doubt. —R.W.

STAY
A Lisbon Convent, Reborn as a Boutique Hotel

When it was built in the 1600s, the Lisbon building now occupied by Locke de Santa Joana hosted a different kind of guest entirely: nuns. Now, Brooklyn studio Post Company has redone its guest rooms and Barcelona’s Lázaro Rosa-Violàn has reimagined its common areas to recast the former convent’s palatial architecture as boutique lodgings for discerning travelers. The former’s residential roots shine in the suite-style rooms, where glowing orange kitchenettes and oak-and-glass partitions allow for a continuous flow of light and visual warmth. The studio embraced the historic architecture by creating sitting rooms and bedroom layouts flanked by pillars or underneath soaring arched ceilings. It makes for a breathtaking sanctum—albeit of a different sort, these days—to return to after a day spent out and about in Lisbon. —J.A.D.

SEE
A Wooden Beacon Mimicking a Robert Doisneau Image

Tippet Rise Art Center’s newest pavilion seems to epitomize the vast Montana sculpture park’s mission to merge art, classical music, and nature. Designed by Arup with Raj Patel at the helm, Geode features four triangulated forms and a Yakisugi-treated Douglas fir interior, optimizing acoustics while withstanding the Wild West’s harsh winters. Positioned in a remote, elevated spot inspired by a Robert Doisneau photograph of Maurice Baquet performing on a mountaintop, the structure leverages natural bedrock for sound enhancement and a raised steel frame that minimizes environmental impact. The pavilion debuted with cellist Arlen Hlusko, setting the stage for pop-up concerts that aim to engage hikers and cyclists wandering the park. —R.W.

SHOP
Halleroed Brings Boygar’s to Life in Stately Splendor

Siblings and fashion industry veterans Timur and Hatulia Avsadjanashvili recently made the bold decision to direct years of expertise towards their own venture: Boygar’s. The Georgia-based retailer unites a tight edit of tastemaking fashion brands—think Chloe, Miu Miu, Loewe, and more—both online and, thanks to Swedish studio Halleroed, in a stately Tbilisi flagship. 

Atop parquet floors and under soaring archways, the studio took a scenographic approach to Boygar’s interiors. Screens create a thoughtful division of space and cozy merchandising moments while pops of green break up the otherwise neutral, warm-toned setting. The shop continues across two more levels, where seating by Gaetano Pesce and contemporary art by Shotiko Aptsiauri, Anna Gzirishvili, and Ketuta Alexi Meskhishvili make the space a destination for more than just fashion. —J.A.D.

PLAY
Bar Esmé Brings High Concept Cocktails to Chicago

At Chef Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo’s Chicago fine dining destination, Esmé, multi-course high concept tasting menus are in constant rotation. The Michelin-starred restaurant’s new sibling concept pares things back with a three-course French-inspired tasting menu dished up in sunny interiors furnished by Scandi mainstay Muuto. With a scaled-back culinary menu, Bar Esmé’s 26 cocktails can shine under the expertise of beverage curator ​​Stevan Miller, who drew inspiration from Esmé and the Art Institute of Chicago when crafting each libation.

Miller’s are not your average craft cocktails. Take Female Nude #39, inspired by the work of artist Courtney Shoudis: the drink is served atop a pink statue and layered with Bayab African gin and pineapple, habanero and green cardamom-infused egg white, and edible rice paper whose coloring is inspired by Shoudis’s source painting. —J.A.D.