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
Wilco Is Trying to Make You Breakfast
Wilco may have spent the last 20 years trying to break your heart with their masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. Now, they’re trying to make you breakfast. A collab with fellow Chicagoans Foxtrot and artist Louie Capozzoli, the Foxtrot x Wilco collection brings to the table boxes of cinnamon Wilc-O’s cereal with Off Limits, along with a sour mix of I Am Trying to Eat Your Heart Gummies for snackers and a Jesus Don’t Cry Pilsner with Great Central Brewing to wash down the tears.
A merch line includes a Manager’s Jacket fans will be asking to see, T-shirts, and the inevitable Dad Hat for this most dad-rock of bands. The limited-edition collections take over Foxtrot’s Old Town Store in Chicago, and will be available at Foxtrot locations in Dallas, DC, and Virginia, along onFoxtrot Anywhere for other U.S. customers.
The Twenty Two Hotel Is Perfectly at Home in Posh Mayfair
The UK designates buildings “of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve it” with the listing Grade II. A particularly fine example of a manor warranting such interest can be found on west London’s lush Grosvenor Square in posh Mayfair. There, a 1906 Edwardian gem now houses The Twenty Two hotel and private members club.
Designer Natalia Miyar restored many of the former private home’s double-height ceilings and original architectural delights while layering 31 bedrooms and suites—not to mention the must-stay mews house, with bespoke wall coverings and treatments of velvet and silk. Executive chef Alan Christie plates up Mediterranean takes on British classics in the public restaurant, while a quartet of bars offer lubrication via the brand’s own spirits. But the true luxuries are reserved for The Twenty Two club members and hotel guests: a private dining room and bar, communal spaces, and an outdoor terrace which, no doubt, will be the perfect spot to sip a cocktail and watch past meet present in the Grosvenor Square gardens.
The Canyon, a transformative complex by MVRDV, nears completion in San Francisco.
“The pivotal first residential development that will eventually form the cornerstone of San Francisco’s new Mission Rock neighborhood topped out last week, representing a milestone for the city and designers MVRDV. Featuring a suite of ground-floor retail spaces and 50,000 square feet of offices in addition to its 283 residential units (of which 102 are considered below market rate), The Canyon is the first of four buildings comprising the initial phase of a comprehensive master plan developed by the San Francisco Giants baseball team and Tishman Speyer that will deliver a new 28-acre mixed-use neighborhood to the area south of Oracle Park.” —[H/T Archinect]
Hong Kong’s M+ Museum has stoked censorship fears by removing three artworks.
“Stoking apprehension related to Beijing’s gradual clampdown on artistic freedoms, Hong Kong’s M+ museum of contemporary art has removed from view three politically themed works by artists whose views do not align with those of the mainland government, report Ming Pau and Artnet News. Stripped from the institution’s walls were Wang Xingwei’s 2001 painting New Beijing, depicting two heart-shot penguins widely believed to represent the pair of injured Tiananmen Square protesters shown in a 1989 photo by Liu Heung Shing; Zhou Tiehai’s 1996 Press Conference III, referring to the Cold War; and Wang Guangyi’s 1989 Mao Zedong: Red Grid No. 2, which deploys the grid as a distancing lens through which to consider the Communist leader.” —[H/T Artforum]
A newly proposed bill would mandate the use of bird-friendly glass in construction.
“A bill has been filed in Washington DC calling for new buildings in the city to use bird-friendly glass, in an effort to minimize avian deaths resulting from window collisions. Named The Migratory Local Wildlife Protection Act of 2022, the proposed legislation would require new buildings in the US capital to be designed with products that deter birds from colliding with their glass surfaces. If approved, it would affect all new commercial, multi-unit residential, institutional, and government-owned buildings in the city. Existing buildings in these categories that are undergoing substantial renovations would also be impacted.” —[H/T Dezeen]
Christie’s is taking a $20 million sculpture on tour using hologram technology.
“Christie’s … may have found a futuristic way around the sky-high costs and shipping bottlenecks affecting traditional methods of transporting art. Proto, a three-year-old company based in Los Angeles has partnered with Christie’s to take one of the highlights of the auction house’s May sales, Petite danseuse de quatorze ans by Edgar Degas (est $20m-$30m) from the collection of Anne Bass, on tour as a high-end hologram.” —[H/T The Art Newspaper]
The EU asks its citizens to drive less to help reduce dependence on Russian energy.
“The EU is asking its citizens to drive less, turn down air conditioning and work from home three days a week, to reduce reliance on Russian energy. The measures, drawn up with the International Energy Agency, would save a typical household €450 a year. Buying energy from Russia helps to support its economy and finance the war in Ukraine. But Europe has said it cannot find alternative supplies, so it is asking citizens to adjust their lifestyles. The nine-point plan, entitled “Playing My Part”, urges citizens to drive less, by using public transport, or working from home three days a week.” —[H/T BBC]
Today’s attractive distractions:
The extremely slender 111 West 57th Street is being compared to a coffee stirrer.
Here’s how inflatable buildings have enabled freethinking designers over the years.
It turns out that the gas station’s cheap $15 wireless earbuds aren’t total garbage.
A freshly shaved head is one of the few hairstyles that wields the power to shock.