GRAY Magazine No. 58: The Remastered Issue by GRAY

ISSUE

architecture interiors design fashion

THE REMASTERED ISSUE IC E L A ND IC F L O R A >> T E XT ILE S 5 O F T HE M O ST INF LU E NT IA L E R A S IN G L O B A L D E SIG N P LUS : D ES I G N D I S P A T C H FROM CHICAGO

ch24 wishbone chair, 1949 by hans wegner - made in denmark by carl hansen & son

please inquire about our A&D trade program

carl hansen & son bensen knoll artek vitra kartell herman miller flos artifort foscarini moooi moroso and more!

Project: Cedar House, renovation of a Ralph Anderson residence

Architect: Graham Baba Builder: Dovetail Photos: Haris Kenjar

NO 5 8 :

THE REMASTERED ISSUE

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27. FIRST LOOK

Great design reimagined: a fashion-forward classic camera, lighting fixtures designed using heritage methods, a retrospective for French architect Charlotte Perriand, and more.

34. DESIGN DISPATCH

Highlights from Chicago’s design scene.

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DESIGN DNA

46. BACKGROUND CHECK

64. COLLABORATION

60. OBJECTS OF DESIRE

68. ON THE RISE

GRAY looks back to look forward—at how the past 100 years have influenced the current state of design.

Summer’s here and we’ve got the freshest picks of furnishings and accessories to help you outfit your space.

Nonagenarian architect Gerald Luss gives input on a collaborative design exhibition staged in his former home. Drawing patterns based on wild Icelandic flora, Signý Þórhallsdóttir hopes to ignite a broader interest in regional textile design.

ON THE COVER

A silk robe designed by Signý Þórhallsdóttir, founder of Icelandic fashion label Morra. By Rachel Gallaher Photographed by Olga Urbanek See page 68

72. CHANGEMAKER

Working with the mindset of “public space as infrastructure,” the architects at Taller Capital are using their projects to improve communities, and water-management systems, around Mexico.

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REMASTERED

80. STYLIZED S O P H I S T I C A T I O N

L AST CALL

1 0 0 .

CONTRACT HIGH

1 0 8 .

TRANSPORTATION

Designer Michelle Dirkse reinterprets Palm Springs glam for Northwest living.

88. OLD SOULS

Avid midcentury-modern enthusiasts Brett Woods and Joseph Dangaran pay homage to L.A.s’ architectural heritage.

Exceptional spaces to eat, play, work, and stay include Portland’s Hotel Grand Stark, Hyatt Centric City Center in Philadelphia, and Studiokhachatryan, a creative hub in Brussels. Meet gita, the rolling robot that will carry all your stuff.

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MASTHEAD

REMASTERED

Publisher Shawn Williams EDITORIAL

INQUIRIES

Deputy Editor Rachel Gallaher rachel@graymag.com

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No. 58. Copyright ©2021. Published bimonthly (FEB, APR, JUNE, AUG, OCT, DEC) by GRAY Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. While every attempt has been made, GRAY cannot guarantee the legality, completeness, or accuracy of the information presented and accepts no warranty or responsibility for such. POSTMASTER send address changes to: GRAY Media, LLC WeWork 1201 Third Avenue Tower, Floor 22, Seattle, WA 98101 United States

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CONTRIBUTORS

L AUREN GALLOW (“Decades of Design” page 46) is a writer, editor, and marketing consultant working in the fields of architecture, art, and design. She holds a master’s degree in art and architectural history from UC Santa Barbara. She is currently the editorial chair of Seattle-based design nonprofit Arcade. HEIDI MITCHELL (“Chicago” page 34) is a writer and editor covering design, tech, culture, people, and places. Mitchell has held positions at various publications, including Rolling Stone, Travel + Leisure, and most recently, as editor-in-chief of Town & Country Travel. The native New Yorker has lived in Chicago for five years. AARON LEITZ (“Stylized Sophistication,” page 80) is an architecture and interior design photographer based in Seattle. He has been commissioned by Dwell, Starbucks, Burberry, and many design firms along the West Coast. NATALIA TORIJA NIETO (“Community Conscious,” page 72) is a Mexico City–based architecture and design writer. She has served as content director for PIN–UP magazine and her writing is published internationally, including in Apartamento, Gestalten, and T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Additional contributors Iwan Baan Juan Benavides Michael Biondo Mark Cocksedge Joseph DeLeo Adrian Deweerdt Francis Dreis Joe Fletcher James Florio Nicole Franzen Rafael Gamo Steve Hall Tom Harris

Aileen Kwun Pedro Langre David Massey Aimée Mazzenga Guillermo Mendía Sean O’Connor Diego Padilla Thibeau Scarcériaux Charlie Schuck Valdis Thor Olga Urbanek

GR AY DE LIVE R S MODERN DESI GN I NSI GHT S P RDI NIN T .SP O IR N LATION I N E . L I VFEROM EVEN T S . EVER-EVOLVI E X P E R I E N C E S .NG AN THE

GRAY delivers modern design news, and inspiration from the WOR LD OFinsights, DESI GN. ever-evolving world of design. Support independent journalism and media. Support independent media. Subscribe to GRAYjournalism magazine and today! Subscribe to GRAY magazine. graymag.com graymag.com/shop

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ARCHITECTURE + INTERIORS

The following design firms are among the best in the world, and are included here on an invite-only basis. We are proud to call them our partners. Consider them first for your next project. To learn more about each firm, visit graymag.com

BjarkoSerra Architects bjarkoserra.com

Designs Northwest Architects designsnw.com

Evoke International Design evoke.ca

First Lamp firstlamp.net

Atelier Drome atelierdrome.com

babienko ARCHITECTS pllc babienkoarchitects.com

Baylis Architects baylisarchitects.com

BC&J Architecture bcandj.com

Eggleston | Farkas Architects eggfarkarch.com

Emerick Architects emerick-architects.com

GATH Interior Design gathinteriordesign.com

Guggenheim Architecture + Design Studio guggenheimstudio.com

H2D Architects h2darchitects.com

Hoedemaker Pfeiffer hoedemakerpfeiﬀer.com

Janof Architecture janofarchitecture.com

Minarik Architecture minarikarch.com

skylab skylabarchitecture.com

Steelhead Architecture steelheadarchitecture.com

Tyler Engle Architects tylerengle.com

Uptic Studios upticstudios.com

Hoshide Wanzer Architects hw-architects.com

Hyde Evans Design hydeevansdesign.com

SCOTT | EDWARDS ARCHITECTURE LLP seallp.com

SHKS Architects shksarchitects.com

Stephenson Design Collective stephensoncollective.com

Studio AM Architecture | Interiors studioamarchitects.com

Works Progress Architecture worksarchitecture.net

Workshop AD workshopad.com

DOWBUILT ARCHITECTURE / mwworks PHOTOGRAPHY / Kevin Scott

D ON’ T B E LEFT IN THE DA RK.

IT’S YOUR TIME T O S HIN E.

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INTEL

COURTESY BAROVIER&TOSO

New and noteworthy in global design.

“Impressed by the brand’s 700-year history, I immersed myself in the many skills that the master glassmakers at Barovier&Toso have known how to preserve for centuries. For this first collaboration, my attention naturally turned to the “rostrato” technique [featuring individually pulled spikes of Venetian crystal]. Invented by Barovier&Toso in the 1930s, this technique fascinated me not just for its unique, timeless, and recognizable style, but also for how it divides light in a particularly incomparable way.” —Philippe Nigro, designer

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FIRST LOOK

Released in April, the newest addition to luxury lighting brand Barovier&Toso’s portfolio is the Opéra collection by French designer Philippe Nigro. Made from Venetian crystal, the line offers three hardware finish options: brushed gold, brushed copper and brushed black nickel.

With a 700-year history, Murano-based Italian lighting master Barovier&Toso is one of the oldest brands in the world. Working with the likes of the Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari, the royal family of Saudi Arabia, and fashion powerhouses including Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier, the historic company is also one of the top luxury lighting producers in the market. Now, for the first time, select Barovier&Toso works (including a recent introduction, the Adonis chandelier, by Marcel Wanders) are available for purchase in the United States, 28

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exclusively distributed through JB Lighting Collection. Released in April, the newest addition to the company’s portfolio is the Opéra collection by French designer Philippe Nigro. Each design (available as a wall sconce, hanging fixtures, or table lamps) takes inspiration from the Palais Garnier, the historic opera house in Paris. Nigro’s aim, he says, was to “create a collection of lighting with the simplest forms so that the technique would appear not as only a beautiful decorative feature, but more as the main structure of the lighting.”

COURTESY BAROVIER&TOSO

LU XURY L I G H TING

I NDEPENDENT WOM AN

ABOVE: Charlotte Perriand, Bookcase for the Maison du Mexique, 1952 © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2020. BELOW: Charlotte

Charlotte Perriand: The Modern Life runs through September 5, 2021. »

Perriand on the chaise longue basculante B306, 1929 © AChP/ © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2021.

Charlotte Perriand—a pioneering midcentury designer who embraced the philosophy that good design should be available to everyone—was often overlooked in favor of her male peers such as architect Le Corbusier and painter Fernand Léger. But now, two decades after her death, Perriand is finally getting her due. On June 19, the Design Museum in London is opening Charlotte Perriand: The Modern Life, a much-anticipated retrospective dedicated to the designer’s work. A celebratory tribute to the fiercely independent sportswoman and world traveler, the exhibition will feature Perriand’s furniture designs, recreations of some of her most famous interiors, including the apartment she designed for the Salon d’Automne in 1929, and sketches, scrapbooks, and prototypes that reveal more about her creative process.

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INTEL

FIRST LOOK

MODE R N MARVE L At the end of June, the latest creation from master architect Frank Gehry—a twisting, geometric tower finished with 11,000 stainless-steel panels—will open its doors to the world. The eye-catching structure, which sits on a 27-acre campus at the Parc des Ateliers in Arles, France, was commissioned by the LUMA Foundation (a nonprofit arts organization focused on independent, contemporary artists) to house exhibition galleries and seminar rooms, along with the foundation’s research and archive facilities. The tower’s design, featuring an exterior of facets punctuated by protruding windows, was inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s famous Starry Night painting (which he completed nearby in 1889), while the cylindrical glass base from which it rises takes its cue from Arles’ Roman-era amphitheater. »

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CH IC SEAT FIRST LOOK

Thirty-five years after its discontinuation, the Chiclet collection from Herman Miller is officially back. Reissued in May, the modular seating system—its official name is the Wilkes Modular Sofa Group—was originally released in 1976, and it enjoyed a decade-long stint on the market before going out of production in 1986. Dubbed the Chiclet because of its rounded-edge cushions, which have a form similar to that of the classic fruit-flavored gum, the seating collection is available as an armchair, a two-seat sofa, or a three-seat sofa. The new Chiclet designs are identical to the originals by Ray Wilkes, with an expanded range of upholstery options.

The Polaroid camera has never looked so chic. Capturing the fun, retro vibes of Italian fashion house Fendi’s Summer 2021 capsule collection, a newly released Vintage Polaroid OneStep Close-Up 600 updates the instant camera with a new all-over multicolored FF Vertigo logo. The pattern—a bright, wavy update on Fendi’s classic double Fs—is a collaboration between the label and New York–based visual artist Sarah Coleman. Coleman is known for blurring the line between art and luxury fashion, and has employed materials including leather from vintage bags and iconic Louis Vuitton luggage in her previous work. The Polaroid OneStep Close-Up 600 camera, which was first released in 1992, uses high-speed Polaroid 600 film, which requires less light and has the ability to focus at short distances. In other words, get ready for your close-up. —Rachel Gallaher h

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DESIGN DISPATCH

INTEL

THE WINDY CITY’S DESIGN SCENE WILL BLOW YOUR MIND By Heidi Mitchell

early two decades after it was nicknamed the Windy City, Chicago blew away any preconceived notions of what an urban landscape could look like. The year was 1893, and the World’s Columbian Exposition had landed at the South Side’s Jackson Park, reshaping a metropolis devastated by the Great Fire just 22 years prior. Dozens of whitewashed buildings sprang up south of the Loop business district in what would become a model of symbiosis among architecture, design, industry, transportation, and public space. Architect and exposition director Daniel H. Burnham recruited the nation’s top sculptors of the built environment—including McKim, Mead & White, Louis Sullivan, G.W.G. Ferris, Frederick Law Olmsted, and other luminaries—to redraw the railroad capital of America, and segmented off the 26 miles of land fronting Lake Michigan, transforming it into a landscaped park that was, and remains, accessible to all. From the ashes, a sparkling White City emerged. The city’s aesthetic has changed dramatically since 1893. The Chicago School of architects perfected the steelframe skyscraper. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe pared down built structures to, as he termed it, “skin and bones.” Frank Gehry and Anish Kapoor drew swooping lines across Millennium Park. Black designers were at last recognized for their contribution to the city’s look and feel with 2019’s African American Designers in Chicago exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center. These days,

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international fairs continue to draw diverse talent and their patrons—to the annual NeoCon design trade fair, to the Basel-like Expo Chicago art show, to the Chicago Architecture Biennial, and to countless summer festivals. Creatives confident enough to flaunt their Midwest pride—Theaster Gates, Holly Hunt, Virgil Abloh, Jeanne Gang— keep one-upping themselves while motivating other creatives to bring their A games. “I think it’s admirable that creative people here don’t feel the need to flock to the traditionally ordained ‘design cities’ to validate their contributions to the design world,” says Tereasa Surratt, vice president and global group creative director at Ogilvy and owner/innkeeper of the beloved artists’ retreat Camp Wandawega. “They own and celebrate their roots and are inspiring the designers of tomorrow to rethink where they can find and create inspiration. Global talent flocks to them here.” In a city with 77 neighborhoods and at least as many ethnic enclaves, those flocks come in every shape, shade, size, and discipline, and they change every year. From a jewelry designer who grew up in Paris to a team of Mexican interior designers that encourages community dining to a maximalist decorator from Indiana, here are seven tastemakers shaping Chicago’s creative scene today. »

STEVE HALL © CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM, HEDRICH BLESSING COLLECTION

A staircase at Studio Gang’s Aqua Tower project in Chicago.

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After studying at the University of Illinois and then the Harvard Graduate School of Design, architect Jeanne Gang worked at the prestigious Office for Metropolitan Architecture in the Netherlands before returning home to Chicago, where she eventually built her namesake practice. The firm started out creating community centers like Glencoe’s Writers Theatre, and over the years has expanded its portfolio to include civic, residential, and hospitality projects, most recently, the riverside St. Regis Chicago. Her super-tall structures and sexy, curvy lines (exemplified by

Chicago’s 82-story Aqua Tower) define her aesthetic and make her one of the few living female starchitects with her own firm. Employing nearly 100 practitioners from all over the world, Gang uses design to unite people, nature, and communities— always with an eye on sustainability. “I have always been excited about making it possible for people to step outside on a terrace or balcony of a tall building,” Gang says of her residential work. “The sculptural aspects of my buildings grow out of the qualities that make the insides great for living.” »

ABOVE: Solstice on the Park is a residential tower shaped by the angles of the sun and one of the first Studio Gang projects to explore the concept of solar carving—shaping a building’s form to maximize solar access—for environmental advantages. BELOW: Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois.

TOM HARRIS; STEVE HALL © HALL MERRICK

DESIGN DISPATCH

SEE STUDIO GANG | JEANNE GANG

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DESIGN DISPATCH

INTEL

ABOVE: The design of the Swiss Consulate Chicago, by Kwong Von Glinow in collaboration with Swiss architecture office HHF, took inspiration from the geometric work of Swiss-born architect Otto Kolb. BELOW: The office is organized around a green core that holds public and gathering spaces; offices and a conference room surround this central, social space.

Lap Chi Kwong and Alison Von Glinow, alums of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, both did time at Herzog & de Meuron’s headquarters in Switzerland, but in 2017, the married couple decided the Midwest offered a better home base for an experimental practice than Basel or Kwong’s native Hong Kong. (Alison Von Glinow grew up in the Chicago suburbs.) Their own home, Ardmore House, breaks convention by flipping the traditional two-story family-house typology, and their conceptual work (from public installations to reimagined affordable housing) presents fresh, 38

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human-centric ideas for using and interacting with space. “We like to start designing with the word ‘value,’” Von Glinow says. “Values include bringing in light and air, engaging with the surroundings, prioritizing shared social spaces, and using sustainable, authentic materials to achieve healthy living environments.” As former residents of Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seattle, Boston, New York City, and Basel, the couple “find it fascinating to transport ideas from place to place and see how they transform the space itself.” »

JAMES FLORIO

SEE KWONG VON GLINOW | LAP CHI KWONG & ALISON VON GLINOW

The art of living

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DESIGN DISPATCH

INTEL

SEE STUDIO CAK

In a city known for heavy, wood-paneled interiors that evoke a clubby vibe, the work of Christopher Kent is a revelation. A believer in bold hues, layered patterns, and the power of the occasional vintage furnishing, the Southern Indiana native pushes his high-end clients to go maximalist, blending periods, textures, and rich shades with pieces they have amassed over the years. 40

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“I love to embrace other people’s collections,” Kent says. “Telling their story, not mine, is extremely important.” A residence he designed in the iconic Palmolive Building layers gold-tapestry Roman shades with berryhued striped armchairs in the dining room, an allpink kitchen, a blue-velvet scalloped headboard in the primary bedroom, and unconventional wallpaper in

AIMÉE MAZZENGA

For a project in the historic Palmolive Building, interior designer Christopher Kent embraces unconventional furniture shapes and layered in art for some additional color.

the powder bathroom. His other residential projects—as well as designs Kent created as Restoration Hardware’s in-house gallery designer—are just as bold. Kent admits his showroom looks didn’t always jibe with Restoration Hardware’s signature gray-on-gray palette, but he’s certainly found his vision. “I 100 percent see in color,” he says. » GRAY

INTEL

EAT TZUCO | CHEF CARLOS GAYTÁN, CADENA + ASOCIADOS CONCEPT DESIGN

DESIGN DISPATCH

Rare is the Mexican restaurant that goes for Baroque, but that’s just what Tzuco, in the buzzy River North neighborhood, has done. Executed by Mexico City– based Cadena + Asociados Concept Design, chef Carlos Gaytán’s high-end Mexican-French eatery amplifies the dining experience through storytelling that takes guests to his hometown of Huitzuco, in southwest Mexico. Diners can’t help but be satiated by the food, but the décor is equally satisfying, dramatic, and unexpected with a moody dark palette, corn silks, wooden figurines, handmade wooden tables, and leather-upholstered chairs. The idea was to give diners a sense of community and a desire to linger, which is why chef Gaytán and principal designer Ignacio “Nacho” Cadena insisted on an exposed kitchen right in the center of the dining room. “Open kitchens have always existed since humans began cooking around fires during ancient times,” Cadena says. “Open kitchens are not a trend; these are tribal origins that cannot be hidden.”

Japan has arrived at the West Loop, courtesy of Studio K, Karen Herold’s interior design firm known for big, splashy projects like Chicago’s Hotel Zachary and The Girl and the Goat. Here, the Nobu restaurant and hotel brand set its first Midwestern property inside a ground-up, brick-and-glass building, allowing the 116-key retreat to blend into the fabric of the formerly industrial neighborhood. But inside, guests are transported to a loftier place. Upon entering the lobby, the design of which is inspired by kintsugi (a traditional Japanese process that uses gold to fill cracks in broken porcelain), they are greeted 42

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by a 26-foot-tall brass sculpture inlaid in the indigo plaster walls. The lobby leads to the restaurant, where extra-high ceilings are held aloft by columns inspired by Samurai swords. Upstairs,

hallways are illuminated by wooden lanterns, and guest rooms feature exposed concrete ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and various suites have wooden soaking tubs in the bathroom. Inspired by

the weathered beauty of Japan’s oldest buildings, natural materials in varying patinas are left intentionally imperfect, “as if they’ve been stopped in the middle of the aging process,” Herold explains. »

DIEGO PADILLA; DAVID MASSEY

STAY & EAT NOBU HOTEL

WEAR CATHERINE SARR | ALMASIKA

SEAN O’CONNOR; COURTESY ALMASIKA

SHOP ROBIN RICHMAN

Opening a boutique in the funky Bucktown neighborhood was a spontaneous decision, says Robin Richman, whose clothing and accessories draw daring dressers from all over the world. “I had a wholesale knit business for years and was in need of a retail space. One afternoon, I was driving down Damen Avenue and saw a beautiful corner garden with a storefront for rent. The next day, I signed a lease.” That was 24 years ago, and since then, the eccentric designer has been traveling to Europe to fill the racks of her eponymous boutique, one of the first female-owned independent stores in the

area. Though her northern end of Damen Avenue quieted considerably during the pandemic, a diverse international clientele still makes pilgrimages to Richman’s shop for Marc Le Bihan’s deconstructed dresses, Henrik Vibskov geometric leggings, Uma Wang’s textiles, Antipast’s knit socks, and Guidi’s zipfront booties. “My aesthetic has changed over the years,” Richman reflects. “The look is still avantgarde, just less severe.”

Born in Paris, Catherine Sarr has had a passion for jewelry from the get go. A former DeBeers global communications manager, Sarr’s interest in the world of jewelry is deeply entwined with her appreciation for storytelling and a desire to explore the duality of jewelry as both adornment and spiritual object. “[At DeBeers] I was exposed to designers from all over the world, especially from Asia, and I was impressed with how they told stories through jewelry,” she says. She launched her company, Almasika, in London, then brought it with her when she moved to Chicago five years ago. (Almasika officially relaunched in September 2020.) Sarr likes to use her baubles’ sensual forms and flowing lines to express how mankind has thought about adornment for millennia, exploring the shapes, symbols, and stories “that transcend cultures and unite us as humans.” Her latest line, Sagesse, is based on concentric circles—a celebration of ancient symbols used across cultures around the world. “What you put on your body should have meaning,” she says. “It should spark dialogue and transport you.” Sold at trunk shows, select high-end jewelry stores, and online at Net-aPorter, Almasika’s creations have a devoted following who are, Sarr notes, “inherently curious and have a great sense of style.” h

Pieces from the Almasika line include the Comb necklace (above) and Berceau cuffs (left).

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GR AY DE LIVE R S MODERN DESI GN I NSI GHT S A ND IN SP IR ATION FROM THE EVER-EVOLVI NG WOR LD OF DESI GN. Support independent journalism and media. Subscribe to GRAY magazine. graymag.com/shop

DESIGN DNA

MARK COCKSEDGE

The concepts and creatives shaping our lives.

The Arts & Crafts Movement—which sprang up in England in the 1870s—is credited with helping elevate design to, as William Morris put it, “its rightful place beside painting and sculpture.” The Compton print, seen above, was created by William Morris in 1896.

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DESIGN DNA

BACKGROUND CHECK

In an example of a modern-day spinoff of the Environmental Movement, Taopu Central Park in Shanghai—designed by James Corner Field Operations—consists of a network of pathways, waterways, and topography to improve water quality, manage stormwater, and provide a soil-remediation strategy.

GRAY looks back to look forward—at how the past 100 years have influenced the current state of design. By Lauren Gallow In design, as in life, the past often serves as raw material for the present. Over the last century, designers have reckoned with sea changes to their crafts as technologies advanced exponentially; social and political shifts brought about revolutions, wars, and changes in thinking; and humans came to understand ever more clearly our impact on the planet. Styles and motifs have responded in kind, evolving as popular tastes shifted, but also as designers aimed to make a lasting mark on the wider culture. At a moment when reconciling our past is more important than ever, we revisit five of the most influential eras in global design. Although by no means an exhaustive list, the following movements can teach us volumes about design today. History is never as cut and dried as textbooks and timelines would have us believe, but understanding where we’ve been is perhaps the surest path toward designing a better, brighter future. »

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DESIGN DNA

BACKGROUND CHECK

ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT KEY DESIGNERS

William Morris, Gustav Stickley, Greene & Greene, Louis Comfort Tiffany ARCHITECTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Red House, Bexleyheath, England, United Kingdom, William Morris and Philip Webb (1859); All Saints’ Church, Brockhampton, England, United Kingdom, William R. Lethaby (1901–2); Gamble House, Pasadena, CA, United States, Greene & Greene (1908–9) STANDOUT PIECES

William Morris’ wallpaper and textile designs, Louis Comfort Tiffany’s stainedglass lamps, Gustav Stickley’s furniture INFLUENCED BY

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MODERN-DAY SPINOFFS

The Craftsman style continues to be a popular housing type across the United States; floral designs for textiles and wallpaper by brands including House of Hackney; handcrafted wood furniture including that of Londonbased Jan Hendzel Studio

MARK COCKSEDGE

s industrialization took hold in the late 19th century, cheap mass-produced goods were making their way into homes across Europe and the United States. New technology and advanced machinery meant that companies could turn out thousands of hastily made consumer goods in the amount of time it previously took one skilled artisan to make a single bespoke object. Although more people had access to more stuff—ornate silver teapots, patterned carpets and wallpapers, machine-made tables and chairs—the quality was often shoddy. The Arts & Crafts Movement sprang up in England in the 1870s as a reaction to the mass production of Victorian consumer goods. Spearheaded by wunderkind William Morris, the movement called for a return to handicraft and a closer connection between design and production. Frustrated by the loss of artistic expression wrought by mechanization, Arts & Crafts enthusiasts championed the role of the designer with almost religious fervor. Preserving local and regional craft techniques became important as the movement spread across Belgium, France, Germany, the United States, and even as far as India. Today, the Arts & Crafts Movement is credited with helping elevate design to, as Morris put it, “its rightful place beside painting and sculpture.” »

Belief in individualism, artistic voice, simplicity and honesty of materials, and handicraft over mechanization

JAN HENDZEL STUDIO

ABOVE: A new collection from South London furniture brand Jan Hendzel Studio is made exclusively from British timber—each piece is a celebration of British craftsmanship and natural, homegrown materials. OPPOSITE: The Compton print, as seen in this contemporary fabric and wallpaper from House of Hackney, was created by William Morris in 1896.

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DESIGN DNA

LEFT: The Moonrise

BACKGROUND CHECK

chandelier from Roll & Hill is inspired by the lunar phases—its shape and materiality harken back to the Art Deco period.

ART DECO

n the 1920s, the pendulum swung back toward a celebration of technology and the machine. Economies boomed in Europe and North America after World War I as pent-up demand and mass production made cars, radios, and other consumer goods as desirable as they were accessible. The Roaring Twenties saw designers become enamored by machine-made and industrial forms, which often translated to decorative geometric compositions meant to express the modern era. Known as Art Deco, this artistic movement flourished in the United States and across the globe, with Bombay Deco in India, Mexi-Deco in Mexico, Cuba Deco in Havana, and more. Sleek, jazzy, streamlined designs are hallmarks of Art Deco, often implying speed and forward motion with sweeping curves, contoured shapes, and repetitive geometric patterns. Pops of bright color and shiny surfaces— chrome and aluminum were favorite materials—distinguish Art Deco designs, which animated everything from toasters to cars and skyscrapers. The lasting influence of Art Deco ripples through design today, and many of its notable buildings around the world have become treasured landmarks. »

Norman Bel Geddes, Gio Ponti, A.M. Cassandre, René Lalique, Sonia Delaunay

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ARCHITECTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Chrysler Building, New York City, William Van Alen (1930); Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall, New York City, Raymond Hood, Edward

Durell Stone, and Donald Deskey, (1939); Villa Empain, Brussels, Belgium, Michel Polak (1930–34); Eros Cinema, South Mumbai, India, Sohrabji Bedhwar (1938)

STANDOUT PIECES

Norman Bel Geddes’ radio and car designs, René Lalique’s glass works and hood ornaments, Gio Ponti’s lounge chairs, Paul Frankl’s skyscraper furniture

JOSEPH DELEO

KEY DESIGNERS

COURTESY ATELIER001

INFLUENCED BY

Streamlining, jazz, zigzag motifs, faith in the machine and technology

MODERN-DAY SPINOFFS

Bold, colorful, curvilinear interiors like India Mahdavi’s Sketch restaurant in London; geometric lighting such as Lara Bohinc for Roll & Hill’s Moonrise collection

and London-based Atelier001’s Canvas collection; Priyanka Chopra’s New York City restaurant Sona, inspired by Indo-Deco

The handcrafted Soleil pendant from Atelier001’s Canvas collection pairs a raw, natural-silk shade with a brass frame. Its minimal design is elegant and timeless.

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BACKGROUND CHECK

INTERNATIONAL STYLE KEY DESIGNERS

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Oscar Niemeyer, Eileen Gray, Kenzō Tange, Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi ARCHITECTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Bauhaus School, Dessau, Germany, Walter Gropius (1925-26); Stahl House (Case Study House #22), West Hollywood, CA, United States, Pierre Koenig (1960); São Paulo Museum of Art, São Paulo, Brazil, Lina Bo Bardi (1968); Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan, Kenzō Tange (1964) STANDOUT PIECES

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair, Charlotte Perriand’s LC4 Chaise Lounge, Charles and Ray Eames’ Lounge Chairs, Marcel Breuer’s tubular steel chairs INFLUENCED BY

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MODERN-DAY SPINOFFS

Midcentury Modern furniture and lighting designs remain in production; architects including Kengo Kuma, Peter Zumthor, SANAA, and John Pawson continue the modernist tradition of creating minimalist, pure expressions of material and form.

COURTESY RHYME STUDIO

n 1932, just two years after opening its doors, the Museum of Modern Art launched its first architectural exhibition. Featuring the work of 40 architects from 15 countries, Modern Architecture: International Exhibition was a watershed moment that defined what is today known as Midcentury Modernism. Dominated by slick, boxy, unornamented designs, the MoMA show reflected what curators saw as a new modern style emerging in architecture. The museum was keen to market modernism as the best path forward for American design, and sent the exhibition to 14 venues across the United States, including department stores in Chicago and Los Angeles. To make it clear what qualified as modern, curators defined three distinguishing criteria for the new International Style: an emphasis on volume over mass, regularity over symmetry, and elegant materials over applied ornament. While the modernist credos of “form follows function” and “less is more” continue to inspire today’s designers, since the mid-20th century, critics have decried the whitewashing and steamrolling of local traditions that often accompany modernist design, especially when applied in non-Western places. Nevertheless, the tenets of the International Style and its hopeful, pseudo-utopian undercurrents maintain their grip on designers worldwide. »

Industrial architecture, pure functionalism, and the new design possibilities provided by reinforced concrete, steel, and glass

ABOVE: Midcentury Modern furniture and lighting designs remain in production today through companies such as Herman Miller and Knoll; the latter sells the Tulip table by Eero Saarinen and Cesca chairs by Marcel Breuer (both pictured). OPPOSITE: The Shine rug, designed by Claire McGovern

for Rhyme Studio, is part of the Modernity collection, which pays homage to Irish designer Eileen Gray and abstract painter Kazimir Malevich.

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BACKGROUND CHECK

ANTIARCHITECTURE

Co-created by architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Pulitzer Prize–winning composer David Lang, The Mile-Long Opera was a 2018 public-engagement project that brought together 1,000 singers from across New York for free performances on the High Line.

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y the 1960s, as modernism made its imprint on people and places around the world, criticisms were mounting. Modernists promised that the new architecture would help allay social ills and make life easier, but in many instances, it failed miserably. Housing blocks of reinforced concrete constructed after World War II were denounced as inhumane and brutal, many modernist structures were found to be wholly unlivable, and steel-and-glass skyscrapers in cities around the world had become monuments to faceless, morally bankrupt corporations. Just as counterculture movements took hold in the United States and Europe during this time, many artists and designers also rebelled. Movements like

KEY DESIGNERS

Archigram, Superstudio, Ant Farm, Gordon MattaClark, Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi, Cedric Price ARCHITECTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Walking City, Ron Herron and Archigram (1964); Watts Towers, Los Angeles, CA, United States, Simon Rodia (1921–54); Drop City, southern Colorado (1965); Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s Bed-ins for Peace, two weeklong performances staged in Amsterdam and Montreal (1969) STANDOUT PIECES

Superstudio’s furniture and lighting, Gordon MattaClark’s Splitting houses INFLUENCED BY

Anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s, counterculture, vernacular architecture, advertising and mass consumerism

IWAN BAAN, COURTESY DILLER SCOFIDIO + RENFRO

MODERN-DAY SPINOFFS

Arte Povera in Italy, Nouveau Réalisme in France, and the multinational Fluxus movement set out to annihilate the preciousness of art and architecture by turning to vernacular sources, using commonplace materials, and emphasizing process over form. Collectives like Archigram in the United Kingdom and Superstudio in Italy took aim at Architecture with a capital “A,” making fantastical, parafictional proposals for buildings and cities that were explosively dynamic in opposition to the restrained, minimal lines of modernism. Tangible social change was the goal, and work from this period often had an activist bent that continues to energize artists and designers to this day. »

The collision of architecture and performance in works like Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s The Mile-Long Opera (2018) and SO–IL and Ana Prvački’s L’air pour l’air (2017); social activist artists using urbanism and spatial design as a tool for revolution

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BACKGROUND CHECK

ENVIRONMENTALISM KEY DESIGNERS

Buckminster Fuller, Stewart Brand, Paolo Soleri, Ian McHarg ARCHITECTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Arcosanti, Yavapai County, AZ, United States, Paolo Soleri (1970–ongoing); the Sea Ranch, Sonoma County, CA, United States, Charles Moore, William Turnbull, Jr., Lawrence Halprin (1964); Biosphere 2, Oracle, AZ, United States, John P. Allen (1987–1991); California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, United States, Renzo Piano (2008) STANDOUT PIECES

Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes, Stewart Brand’s Whole Earth Catalog, Agnes Denes’ installation Wheatfield— A Confrontation, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring INFLUENCED BY

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MODERN-DAY SPINOFFS

Lake Flato Architects; Michael Green Architecture; Jean Nouvel; Studio Gang; the Miller Hull Partnership; Olafur Eliasson; Martha Schwartz Partners; James Corner Field Operations; Lo—TEK; Grain

JUAN BENAVIDES

n a Thursday in December, 1972, as the Apollo 17 spacecraft traveled to the moon, the crew looked back to capture a crystal-clear photograph of the entire Earth. Known as “The Blue Marble,” the photo captivated scientists and everyday people alike and has since become one of the most reproduced images. As concerns mounted about the ecological costs of air and water pollution and the unbridled extraction of natural resources, this photo—capturing the beauty and vulnerability of our planet—helped spur the growing environmental movement in the United States. The formation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, along with the first Earth Day celebration that same year, marked a shift in attitudes among architects and designers about their responsibility to care for the planet. By the late 1980s, the American Institute of Architects had taken up the call, forming its Committee on the Environment to promote ways in which the profession could become more eco-friendly. What began as hippie, fringe movements in the 1970s for “passive buildings,” “Earthships,” and “green design” became mainstream by the century’s end. Today, as the climate crisis becomes increasingly urgent, sustainability is top of mind for architects and designers everywhere. h

Environmental consciousness, climate change, new renewable-energy technologies

CHARLIE SCHUCK

ABOVE: Pieces by Grain, a Bainbridge Island, Washington-based design studio that was Climate Neutral certified in 2020. OPPOSITE: Guided by a deep respect for the land, architecture firm Miller Hull erected this 400-square-foot bunkhouse next to

the iconic Decatur Island Cabin, which was designed by Robert Hull, the firm’s late founding partner, in 1986.

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OBJECTS OF DESIRE

DESIGN DNA

FROM LEFT: KIDA by designer

Stephen Burks is the first collection to be wrapped (rather than woven) in Dedon fiber and comes with a plush seat and head cushion (not shown), dedon.com. Detroit brand Floyd now offers outdoor furniture. Versatile and durable (made from powder-coated aluminum), the Outdoor Chair is inspired by the streamlined look of industrial piping and conduit, floydhome.com.

INSIDE OUT

Summer’s here and we’ve got the freshest picks of furnishings and accessories to help you outfit your outdoor space.

FROM LEFT: Ideal for displaying greenery in small spaces, these sleek, rectangular terrace planters are part of a lightweight modern line

made from a durable mixture of clay, cement, and fiberglass, ragenassociates.com. Made out of recycled fibers from plastic materials, Charlotte Lancelot’s new collection of outdoor kilims for GAN proves that sustainability can be glamorous. With its Art Deco–inspired geometric shape, the Diamond rug offers fascinating visual effects of transparency and gradients, available at hivemodern.com. Designed by French duo Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for HAY, the Palissade Chaise Lounge features a curved frame that follows the contours of the body—perfect for kicking back on to relax on a sunny weekend afternoon, hay.dk.

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MID CENT U RY DES I GN WI TH A MODERN T WI ST

You’re never too old to jump on a swing, especially this updated interpretation from Fable. Lacquered stainless-steel and copper joints hold an inviting floating sofa that is available in a wide array of colorways, essentialhome.eu. »

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

DESIGN DNA

OUTSIDE IN

We’ve rounded up a few furnishings of natural materials and motifs to bring all the joy and happiness of being outside, inside.

ABOVE: What began as a question from designer Andrés Reisinger—What would

be the softest place on earth to lay your head to rest?—has become the Hortensia Armchair, designed by Reisinger and Júlia Esqué. With more than 30,000 fabric petals covering its frame, the Hortensia is as beautiful as its floral namesake, moooi.com. BELOW: Koishi coffee tables, by Jean-Marie Massaud, are sculptural, yet minimal. Made of metal with tops in ebony stone, marble, reflective glass, or wood. Available at Poliform, Chicago, poliform.com.

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Inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s interpretation of the natural beauty of flowers—and her method of symbolically abstracting forms to represent the softness and depth of femininity—Vancouver designer Brent Comber created Floret, a hand-sculpted tree base that can be hung on a wall or placed on a table, brentcomber.com.

FROM LEFT: HAY’s PAO Glass Lamp, designed in collaboration with Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa, encapsulates the same atmospheric warmth and friendliness of traditional illuminated Mongolian Pao tents, hay.dk. Where whimsy meets luxury: The Yumi rug with koi-pond design is hand-tufted in 100-percent vegetable silk, roche-bobois.com. The Core Series, a debut collection from Radnor founder Susan Clark, was inspired by the practice of taking core samples to study the layers and history of materials beneath the earth’s surface. Made from solid Breccia Stazzema marble, the limited-edition tables’ distinctive patterns result from eons of pressure and temperature changes that initiated a metamorphosis in the stone, radnor.co. Taking cues from Greek columns and Roman architecture, the Epic Dining Table by GamFratesi features two monolithic columns with an elliptical top made in Italy from white travertine, GUBI.com.

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COLLABORATION

DESIGN DNA

BRINGING IT ALL HOME

Nonagenarian architect Gerald Luss gives input on a collaborative design exhibition staged in his former home. By Rachel Gallaher Photographed by Michael Biondo ARCHITECT GERALD LUSS IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS DESIGN OF THE INTERIORS OF NEW YORK’S TIME & LIFE BUILDING—which achieved

cultural-icon status after being used as the setting for AMC’s fictional television series Mad Men—but it is his first freestanding architectural project, a house in Ossining, New York, that is bringing him a wave of late-in-life headlines. The house, which Luss built for himself and his family in 1955 (they no longer live there), is the current site of At The 64

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Luss House: Blum & Poe, Mendes Wood DM, and Object & Thing, a collaborative exhibition featuring works by international artists and designers. Organized by art galleries Blum & Poe and Mendes Wood DM, along with art-and-design-fair platform Object & Thing, the showcase follows in the footsteps of last year’s At The Noyes House, an exhibition in New Canaan, Connecticut, that used midcentury architect Eliot Noyes’ house to display work from contemporary artists. »

FROM TOP: At The Luss House: Blum & Poe,

Mendes Wood DM, and Object & Thing. Works pictured [left to right on wall]: Lucas Arruda, Untitled (from the Deserto-Modelo series) (2020); Matt Connors, Short Tom (Tuned) (2012); [foreground]: Green River Project LLC, Aluminum Round Table and Aluminum Chair (2021); micaceous clay vessels by Johnny Ortiz (2021); glass vessels by Ritsue Mishima (2007–2012); [background]: Ritsue Mishima, Lemuria (2018); Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Systemic Grid 124 (Window) (2019); Green River Project LLC, Aluminum and Leather Lounge Chair (2021). Architect and designer Gerald Luss.

Works pictured [left to right]: Alma Allen, Not Yet Titled (2020); Marina Perez Simão, Untitled (2021); Kiva Motnyk, Afternoon Light - Multi (2021).

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DESIGN DNA

“I BELIEVE THAT THE ARTISTS SENSED THAT THE RATIONALE OF THE ARCHITECTURE HAD FOCUSED ON INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HUMANS INHABITING THE SPACE AND NOT OVERRIDING THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL PREFERENCES. THE WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION WERE INTENDED TO PREDOMINATE THE ARCHITECTURE.” —GERALD LUSS, ARCHITECT

“Once again, we’re putting art and design in a wonderful dialogue with the architecture,” says Abby Bangser, founder of Object & Thing. “This time, however, the timecapsule element of the Noyes House doesn’t exist. There will be pieces of Gerald’s work, but the house won’t be outfitted with his furnishings or things, so it will feel more like a gallery-style presentation.” Luss, who turns 95 in October, has six of his own designs installed in the show: a chaise lounge from the 1950s, a 12-foot-long sofa originally designed for the house, a glass coffee table, and three clocks. “It is gratifying that the organizers selected my first architectural project as a metaphorical easel for the 21stcentury contemporary artworks,” Luss says. “The inclusion of some of my early midcentury furniture designs and three current timepieces furthers that gratification.” According to Bangser, the Luss house was in excellent shape, and other than cleaning and some fresh paint, required little intervention. Originally built from prefabricated industrial components put together on a structural system Luss designed,

TOP: A timepiece designed by Gerald Luss. BOTTOM: Works pictured [left to right]: Ger-

ald Luss, Chaise for Lehigh Furniture Company (c. 1950s); Eddie Martinez, Ideal Location (2021); Kiva Motnyk, Botanic Study - Indigo (2021).

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the house has handcrafted interior details such as built-in shelving and cabinetry, and exposed planks and paneling throughout that comprise a mix of woods including cedar, cherry, Douglas fir, and walnut. Large glass windows facilitate a visual connection to the surrounding landscape—a result of Luss constructing and staying in a treehouse on the property during parts of the design phase to better experience the land’s potential. “The house is magical,” Bangser says. “It provides a wonderful connection between indoor and outdoor space—when you’re standing in the parlor, you almost feel like you’re floating in trees. Gerald designed this as his family’s home, so he put a lot of thought, consideration, and passion into it, and it shows.” The exhibition includes works from 18 artists, some of whom were also shown at the Noyes House last year (Alma Allen, Lucas Arruda, Green River Project LLC, Mimi Lauter, Johnny Ortiz, Paulo Nazareth, Frances Palmer, and Daniel Steegmann Mangrané). Others are new to working with the organizers, such as Japan-based Yoichi Shiraishi, whose work makes its U.S. debut here. The show encompasses paintings, sculpture, ceramics, glasswork, furniture, and textiles. New Mexico– based chef and artist Johnny Ortiz, who founded a dinner series called Shed in celebration of New Mexican cultural traditions, contributed a set of his hand-dug clay pots. “All of the works are abstract; there are no figures present,” Bangser says of the assembled work. “We tried to choose artists who have that similar sensitivity to nature that the house has. Ultimately, we hope to show that there are different, often more accessible, ways to look at art and design that we aren’t used to. History doesn’t have to be locked away in books or archives . . . it might be just down the street in a home in your own neighborhood.” At the Luss House runs through July 24, 2021. h

Work pictured: Green River Project LLC, Aluminum and Leather Lounge Chair (2021).

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ON THE RISE

FINE PRINT

Drawing patterns based on wild Icelandic flora, Signý Þórhallsdóttir hopes to ignite a broader interest in regional textile design. By Rachel Gallaher Photographed by Olga Urbanek

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THIS PAGE: A silk

scarf from Icelandic label Morra is bordered with a hand-drawn pattern of native flora. OPPOSITE: A quilted silk bag expands the brand’s offerings, which started with scarves and robes.

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ON THE RISE

DESIGN DNA

The silk Soley scarf has a design inspired by herbs. Its vibrant colors can be found in the plants that designer Signý Þórhallsdóttir encounters as she travels around Iceland.

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PORTRAIT: VALDIS THOR

igný Þórhallsdóttir first prints it onto silk, which she then became fascinated with sews into a scarf or robe. “To me, the history of textiles combining the hand-drawn with the while working for eclectic digital adds a richness to the work British fashion designer Vivienne so it’s not only analog or digital,” Westwood in London. “Referencing she explains. and working with traditional motifs Since launching Morra three years or history, whether it’s the history ago, Þórhallsdóttir has taken time to of art or fashion, is very much a explore Iceland’s varied regions—she strong part of design culture in the chooses a new area for each trip and United Kingdom,” she says, “and spends several days discovering, working with a historical dimension picking flowers, taking photos, and in my designs in general is someconnecting to nature. Last summer thing I took with me from my time she went to the north, an area that ABOVE: Fashion designer Signý Þórhallsdóttir at Vivienne Westwood.” is barren and mountainous, and this in her Reykjavík studio. BELOW: A trio of During her three years with the summer she hopes to head east to Morra scarves. brand, Þórhallsdóttir, who studied the country’s largest forest. fashion design in her native Iceland, “There are so many forms and colspent time researching textiles and ors in the landscape, and it changes came away inspired to reference with each season and each region history in her own work, “in order to I go to,” Þórhallsdóttir says. “It’s a make it richer, to add more flavors,” very powerful feeling to be able to she says. In 2018, Þórhallsdóttir connect with that and include it returned to Reykjavík, where she in my work as a way to represent launched her own label, Morra. Iceland’s natural heritage.” h “There is such a strong, rich history of prints in England,” Þórhallsdóttir says. “When I moved back to Iceland, I was interested in developing prints using historical predecessors, but because we are such a small, young country, there isn’t much of a history with clothing or patterns or prints. What we do have, though, is nature, so that’s where I decided to start.” Morra offers a sophisticated collection of silk scarves and robes, as well as a series of art prints that Þórhallsdóttir creates as part of her design process. The palettes are a mix of earthy hues (tans, grays, shades of purple, navy blue, the occasional pop of red) that captures the colors of the Icelandic wilderness and the hardy flowers and plants that grow throughout the country. “A SCARF IS THE PERFECT WAY FOR ME TO SHOW OFF MY PRINTS “I started by going outside of the BECAUSE IT IS BOTH AN ACCESSORY AND A GARMENT. IT’S EASY city and just picking lots of flowers TO GRAB A SCARF, TIE IT ON, AND CHANGE AN ENTIRE OUTFIT.” and pressing them with books, then sketching them and puzzling those —SIGNÝ ÞÓRHALLSDÓTTIR, MORRA drawings together to make something illustrative,” she explains. After creating a pattern, Þórhallsdóttir uploads it to a computer and digitally GRAY

DESIGN DNA

COMMUNITY CONSCIOUS CHANGEMAKER

Working with the mindset of “public space as infrastructure,” the architects at Taller Capital are using their projects to improve communities, and water-management systems, around Mexico. Written by Natalia Torija Nieto

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ALDO DIAZ

La Quebradora Park, finished in 2012, was designed by UNAM, coordinated by Manuel Perlo and Loreta Castro in collaboration with Taller Capital in the municipality of Iztapalapa in Mexico City.

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CHANGEMAKER

DESIGN DNA

enochtitlan, a settlement at the center of what is now Mexico City, was established on the central valley lakebed of Texcoco in the early 14th century. There, the Aztec empire developed a complex and extensive infrastructure around water systems— specifically, an arrangement of canals, dikes, and aqueducts that supplied water for things like irrigation and bathing. Beginning in the 1500s, European colonizers arrived and drained the lakebed, an act that radically transformed the continued shaping and planning of the capital— from its streets and civic plazas to its residential neighborhoods—for centuries to come. “The Spanish colonists followed the Laws of the Indies issued in the

Loreta Castro Reguera and José Pablo Ambrosi, the founders of Mexico City–based architecture firm Taller Capital.

16th century, which called for urban design as a transferable grid over an unimaginably diverse territory,” says Loreta Castro Reguera, a Mexico City–based architect and cofounder of design firm Taller Capital, which she started with architect José Pablo Ambrosi in 2010. Urban planning in Mexico, she says, “requires a careful reading of the [historical] context and for us to unlearn what we have embedded in our heads from the 20th century; that matter of ‘the 74

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architect in command of the territory,’ which to me is a constant struggle.” Over the past decade, Ambrosi and Castro Reguera, who both graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City, have been grappling with such considerations as they’ve used their design work to address social, political, and humanitarian issues surrounding water and the revitalization of struggling communities in the area. Before founding Taller Capital, Ambrosi studied under architect Carlos Ferrater at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, while Castro Reguera completed her degree at the Università della Svizzera Italiana’s Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio. She received a master’s degree in urban design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and was awarded the Druker Traveling Fellowship, which allowed her to conduct research worldwide in cities designed with integral water-management systems. She has also led architecture seminars at UNAM for over 10 years; these function as research engines that reveal structural vulnerabilities in Mexico City, particularly those related to water. Castro Reguera and Ambrosi’s research has been focused on finding the intersection between architecture and infrastructure, specifically in ways that replenish the regional water aquifer and activate community spaces in an effort to raise awareness of the environmental crisis and water shortage. As a result, Taller Capital has developed several decentralized urban-improvement projects in and around Mexico City. “We like doing small-scale interventions that subscribe to an infrastructure solution and to a paradigm shift in people’s imaginations,” Ambrosi says. One successful collaboration from 2012 saw Taller Capital partner with UNAM’s Manuel Perló, PhD, to »

PORTRAIT: PEDRO LANGRE; RAFAEL GAMO

Finished in 2020, Bicentenario Park, as seen from a side street, is located in Ecatepec de Morelos, State of Mexico.

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CHANGEMAKER

DESIGN DNA

develop a research project that later led to the design of the Parque Hídrico La Quebradora, a public park with an integrated rainwater-filtration system in Iztapalapa, a marginalized and crime-ridden borough of Mexico City. The project was the first of a series of similar public commissions that created well-designed community spaces while also addressing vital hydrological components. In Ecatepec, State of Mexico (about 10 miles north of downtown Mexico City), the architects discovered that the municipality’s location on the hillside of the Sierra de Guadalupe, which is prone to landslides and flooding, was conducive to filtering water through a stepped-terrace system. “We built concrete retaining walls that hold local tezontle volcanic gravel, which works as a sponge that retains rainwater, slowly filtering it down into the subsoil,” Ambrosi explains. “Mountains are like the cisterns of the planet,” Castro Reguera adds. “You are returning the water to the mountain, and it will gradually reach the aquifer.” Similarly, in Tijuana, a dry debrisfilled riverbed was transformed into a public space featuring a terraced concrete landscape connected through slanted rubber-tire walls or llantimuro, a regional construction system. “[The park] connects the two sides of the ravine and solves many issues of segregation and ruptured urban layout,” Castro Reguera says. And, in the United States–Mexico border city of Nogales, Sonora, the architects—guided by their motto “public space as infrastructure”— designed a system of concentric stepped ledges (made from gabions: wire frames filled with rocks) around the perimeter of an existing dam to prevent flooding. An easily identifiable, triangle-shaped roof over an open-air portico nearby serves as a landmark that reminds the community of the importance of this body of water. 76

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Castro Reguera admits that most public programs are governmentsponsored, like a current project the firm is working on for a strip of land that sits under high-voltage lines in Cuautitlán Izcalli, State of Mexico. According to Castro Reguera, the strip divides a neighborhood, with an informal community living on a slope prone to landslides on one side, and a middle-class gated community with amenities and nicely painted houses on the other. “We proposed a space that could become a place for integration and a mediator between two social classes,” she says. The plan includes a public park with a walking circuit, gardens, and a water-reclamation system that will treat residual waters to provide landscape irrigation throughout the year. Additional projects in the works include the rehabilitation of the city center of Iguala, Guerrero, and the development of a model for quality affordable housing in the Mexico City borough of Tláhuac—a new breed of subsidized projects. Historically, subsidies have funded massive, poorly built housing-block projects that lack easy access to basic necessities such as grocery stores, hospitals, and public transportation. But in this case, “we have been asked to provide housing in a dignified way for people who otherwise could not afford to live in the city and would be expected to self-build an informal home in the outskirts,” Ambrosi explains. “The fact that these are subsidies does not mean it has to be ugly or unworthy housing.” What’s more, “this is a project in which we seek good habitability while also solving water problems and environmental issues,” Castro Reguera adds. “We know that architecture does not solve social problems, but it does help solve them; that we can vouch for [because] it gives people a sense of identity, dignity, and community.” h

RAFAEL GAMO

At a park in the United States–Mexico border city of Nogales, Taller Capital used gabions around the perimeter of an existing dam to prevent flooding.

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Landscape Design and Installation Architectural Planters for Commercial and Residential Applications 517 E Pike Street Seattle WA 98122 206.329.4737 www.ragenassociates.com

REMASTERED

AARON LEITZ

Interior designer Michelle Dirkse brings midcentury glam to Seattle, and architects Brett Woods and Joseph Dangaran pay homage to Los Angeles’ architectural heritage.

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When clients asked interior designer Michelle Dirkse to bring the midcentury glam of a favorite Palm Springs hotel to their Seattle home, she successfully reinterpreted the style for Northwest living. By Rachel Gallaher Photographed by Aaron Leitz

For the living/dining area of this Seattle home, interior designer Michelle Dirkse took cues from the midcentury décor at the Parker Palm Springs hotel—a beloved vacation spot for the homeowners—and tailored the look with a more Northwest palette. The Vladimir Kagan Serpentine Sofa and Platner chairs add drama, while the couple’s Damien Hirst spot painting keeps things contemporary.

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ike most interior designers, Michelle Dirkse likes to begin a project by asking clients for inspiration images— photos of furniture, interiors, color schemes, and art that they are drawn to. Often, couples will embark on this assignment together, presenting a united vision for their home. For Dirkse, this is the end goal, but before reaching it, she’s interested in learning about each person’s individual tastes. “I tell them, ‘I really want you to be selfish,’” she says. “‘Think of yourself as a kid in a candy store and you have three minutes to grab your favorites—you’re not thinking if Skittles go with M&M’s, just grab what you love.’” While there usually isn’t a huge contrast between what partners present to her, Dirkse notes that when the exercise is done together, one

“SOMETIMES YOU SEE THESE DESIGNS THAT LOOK BEAUTIFUL BUT FEEL LIKE THEY SHOULD BE IN A MUSEUM AND AREN’T COMFORTABLE. IN OUR CASE, EVERY ROOM IS COMFORTABLE. YOU CAN LOUNGE AND RELAX OR DRESS IT UP AND MAKE IT ELEGANT.” —FRANCOIS, HOMEOWNER person will often pick items that skew toward the taste or style of the other, even if it isn’t something they would have chosen for themselves. “Oftentimes we’ll look at their images and see common themes they don’t even know are there,” the designer says, “such as they really hate sofas with legs, or prefer furniture that has a more rounded shape, and we help bring it all together to create a space they both love.” In the case of Amy and Francois, a pair of busy professionals in Seattle, the inspiration boards overlapped with shots of classic 1960s furniture, minimal lines, and—the biggest aesthetic influence—the Parker Palm Springs hotel, which is a shared favorite getaway. “The Parker is elegant without taking itself too seriously,” Amy says. “The resort estate has midcentury bones with a sensual 1970s tactile 82

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element. As Gen Xers, maybe it’s a subliminal callback to our youth? The fabrics and surfaces beg to be touched and lived in, but put off an air of exclusivity. There’s a comfort and familiarity while also being exclusive and exotic—like living inside a Slim Aarons photograph. “Both of us are modernists,” she continues. “I am more midcentury, and Francois is more contemporary. I was drawn to the midcentury aesthetic well before Mad Men made it chic and en vogue. My attraction is mainly because it makes sense. Midcentury design has purpose that is influenced by its function—there’s beauty in that simplicity.” “I love contemporary modern,” Francois adds. “Clean lines, minimalist, and simple. At the same time, I love graffiti art and designers like RETNA, Kaws, WhIsBe, and Damien Hirst. As Amy notes, it’s about being elegant and fun, sophisticated without taking yourself too seriously. I used to say that I wanted my house to be like the lobby of a W Hotel—a place that’s inviting, where people want to hang out, that invites conversations.” Dirkse, who had previously worked with the couple on an interiors project for their apartment in New York, wanted to capture the sophistication and sensuality of the Parker, but also make the style work for the region—bright desert décor would feel out of place in Seattle, especially during the winter months—and the architecture: The house was built in the early 1950s. Midcentury would work, but too much glitz would clash. “We didn’t want it to feel kitschy or too matchymatchy, like it was a midcentury museum,” Dirkse says, “so we were careful to choose classic pieces that could be Northwest-modern and mix them with contemporary items in fabrics and colors that were more of a neutral palette.” Working with Vilma Garshae, an associate at her firm, Dirkse started in the living room with an iconic Vladimir Kagan Serpentine Sofa, upholstered in a durable dove-gray dyed-acrylic velvet. “I have always wanted to use this sofa in a project,” Dirkse says, “and finally that client came along.” Adding a dash of color are two Platner chairs that bring glamour to the space, along with one of the couple’s two artworks by Damien Hirst. Fabric drapery sheers with »

A smoked-glass mirror installed over the built-in sideboard and rich brown velvet upholstered chairs infuse the dining area with a swanky, hotel lounge atmosphere. A Jonathan Adler chandelier, which the couple already owned, nods to that designer’s makeover of the Parker Palm Springs a few years back.

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One of the pieces the couple brought to the project is a classic Noguchi coffee table, which found a home in the media room. OPPOSITE: A Damien Hirst piece hangs above a Holly Hunt sectional. Black-and-white throw pillows tie together the room. The area rug is from Driscoll Robbins Fine Carpets.

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“THE FORMAL LIVING ROOM IS THE MOST SURPRISING, AS THIS IS WHERE YOU’D EXPECT IT TO BE STUFFIER. IT’S NOT. I LOVE HANGING OUT THERE, READING A BOOK, DOING SOME WORK, AND DRINKING SOME WINE.” —FRANCOIS, HOMEOWNER

a chain-link-esque weave add a touch of industrialism, though the couple are still divided on the choice. “I think it’s the texture I like best,” Amy says. “They are so different and really finish the room.” Francois is still not convinced: “It’ll take me a while to get used to them.” A dining area adjacent to the living room features a sleek black Gubi table with LawsonFenning chairs upholstered in a chocolatecolored soft-textured velvet. A gold Jonathan Adler chandelier, which the couple already owned, completes the look, which is reminiscent of a ’70s-era lounge. Dirkse installed a smoked mirror above the built-in sideboard—an unexpected choice that ended up being a favorite of Amy’s. “There’s a sexy cheekiness to it,” she says. “I was skeptical at first but fell in love the second it was installed. It’s a creative way to dress up a blank wall space other than with wallpaper, paint, or art. It also adds an elegant dimension to the space.” In the primary bedroom, Dirkse amplified the pattern and texture with a graphic wallpaper and area rug, but kept them from overwhelming the space by keeping tones black and white. A media room embraces the midcentury theme with an orange Womb Chair, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1948 at Florence Knoll’s request for “a chair that was like a basket full of pillows.” A Damien Hirst butterfly artwork hangs above a Holly Hunt sectional covered in a cranberryhued fabric. The Noguchi coffee table is a beloved piece that the couple already owned— its timeless silhouette and simple materials encapsulate the spirit of the project, which seamlessly blends eras and styles to create an elevated, chic, and livable home. “Michelle is a gifted designer,” Amy says. “She has pushed us in the right directions and has drawn us just enough out of our comfort zone while staying true to who we are. She has an uncanny way of taking our words and ideas and really nailing the vibe, energy, and aesthetic perfectly.” h 86

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In the primary bedroom, Dirkse evoked the glam ’70s with dark tones, brassy accents, and persimmon-colored bedding. The nightstand is vintage, and the rug is from Kush. OPPOSITE, FROM TOP: In the powder room, another bold wallpaper—Jupiter 10’s Atlanta—is a graphic statement. Kelly Wearstler’s Cascadia wallpaper in Noir makes for a dramatic backdrop in the primary bedroom.

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Avid midcenturymodern enthusiasts, architects Brett Woods and Joseph Dangaran pay homage to Los Angeles’ architectural heritage through

OLD SOULS their extensive

renovation work.

By Aileen Kwun Photographed by Francis Dreis and Joe Fletcher

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FRANCIS DREIS

Los Angeles–based architects Joseph Dangaran and Brett Woods, founders of Woods + Dangaran.

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Originally designed by architect Rex Lotery in 1960, this Beverly Hills residence underwent a modernizing project by Woods + Dangaran that maintained the midcentury aesthetic of the house while updating finishes and opening the layout. New clerestory windows bring natural light into the entry and main living spaces.

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For this residence in Encino, California, the architects renovated and restored a single-story midcentury home that once belonged to Bing Crosby’s manager.

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os Angeles–based architects Brett Woods and Joseph Dangaran, founders of the firm Woods + Dangaran, may just be hitting their midcareer strides, but they are a pair of old souls who know “good bones” when they see them. The close friends and business partners met more than 20 years ago as classmates at the University of Southern California, where they both developed a fondness for midcentury-modern design—and were lucky to be among the last students taught by some of that era’s great design minds, including Pierre Koenig. The midcentury design ethos and scale of architecture has continued to shape the pair’s work in residential design. After spending their 20s working separate, formative stints—Woods headed to Brussels, where he worked with Altoon Partners on designs for the Beijing Olympics, while Dangaran cut his teeth at the celebrated design-build firm Marmol Radziner—the longtime pals struck out together and launched their firm in 2010. In just over a decade, Woods + Dangaran has earned a solid reputation for creating high-end, new-build residences that embody the midcentury design philosophy and approach. It has become equally well known, however, for its focus on local midcentury home restorations, which comprise a sizable portion of the firm’s portfolio. As perpetual students of modernism, the duo take pride in bringing many of the era’s structures into the present with their considerate approach that emphasizes livability above all. “Though we’re typecast as midcentury architects, that’s not necessarily who we are,” Woods says. “But we are modernists, and the midcentury approach continues to educate us on staying rational with our ground-up and new-construction works. The tectonic principles [the expression of structural elements such as posts, beams, and concrete walls as a part of the design concept] of midcentury modernism are things that we use in all of our residential designs today.” Dangaran’s work with Marmol Radziner—a firm known for its restorations of some of Southern California’s most prominent landmarked midcentury structures—involved hands-on work with architect Richard Neutra’s VDL House. And while many of Woods + Dangaran’s renovations are what Dangaran describes as “fringe landmark”— that is, not yet landmarked, but potentially a few years away from receiving an official designation—“we’ll still reference the U.S. Department of the Interior standards for working within a historical context,” he says. “We still approach [these projects] with the same level of rigor: taking cues from original plans and photography, if we can find them in the archives, and going through records of selective demolition to assess what framing is new and what framing is original.” Among the firm’s earliest renovation projects was a midcentury home in Encino’s Royal Oaks neighborhood, an enclave of modern residences surrounded by a »

“We take the stance that architecture serves as a container for living. But renovating and restoring midcentury architecture is as close as you can get to art, because there’s so much money to invest in these buildings. You’re really placing value on something that kind of falls in that art realm.”—JOSEPH DANGARAN, WOODS + DANGARAN

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A 1965 Craig Ellwood house needed significant restoration work—Woods + Dangaran repaired the home to preserve the longevity of the structure and to meet contemporary performance standards. Small adjustments to the layout of the bathrooms and kitchen upgraded it for modern living.

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lush landscape in the San Fernando Valley just north of Los Angeles. Sited on a peninsular plot of land with wraparound views of the San Gabriel and Santa Susana mountains, the home once belonged to Bing Crosby’s manager. But, like many structures in the area, it was not protected by the city’s landmark designation, which left its fate in the hands of its new owner. Fortunately, that owner entrusted Woods + Dangaran to do right by the home. The team worked to update the space with contemporary aesthetics and function—from travertine floors and teak paneling to a new floor plan. “The house, for all intents and purposes, was a new ground-up home,” says Woods, who describes the update as a very involved retrofitting process; one of peeling away old layers and materials and recreating them. “However,” he adds, “it was important to us, and also to the client, that this remain a single-story home, and scale-appropriate to the property.” Southern California’s midcentury modern homes, characterized by wide expanses of glass, flat rooflines, and open floor plans, are prized for their timeless sense of style, ease, and thoughtful attention to proportion and siting. Yet the gap between that era’s building technologies and today’s is vast, making the renovation of a midcentury house—even one with good bones—to modern-day standards a significant feat. The overarching intent for each of Woods + Dangaran’s renovation projects, Woods explains, is not to create period reproductions or to romanticize the past, but instead to infuse each home with the best modern-day building technologies while keeping its tectonic character intact. “This extends the life of the home for another 60 to 70 years,” he says, “before someone comes through and wants to renovate it again and keep its history going.” The success of the Royal Oaks project led to more midcentury modern renovations in the Los Angeles area. The partners have taken design principles from each of these renovations—low-slung proportions, siting that prioritizes natural night—and applied them to the design of their own residences, which are made for 21st-century living. (Dangaran recently designed and completed his own family home, and Woods is currently in the process of constructing his.) “There are some architects and designers in LA who want to strictly restore or rehabilitate; they don’t want to renovate,” Dangaran says. “They’ll take the black-andwhite stance that if a certain toilet or lighting fixture wasn’t available in the year the home was built, they won’t use it. In our opinion, that’s a very vacuum-oriented approach. We take cues from and respect the original intent, but the homeowners who buy these houses are investing a significant amount of money to live in them. Why should they be forced to live like they’re in the 1940s, ’50s, or ’60s, when, quite frankly, they’re doing a great public service by not tearing these structures down?” »

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In addition to making architectural upgrades, Woods + Dangaran formulated a plan for the interiors of the 1965 Craig Ellwood house, choosing a blend of custom contemporary and authentic midcentury furnishings. TOP, LEFT: Throughout the home, natural materials— earth-toned ceramic tile, brass-plated hardware, dark marble with golden veining, and honey-toned teak— capture the aesthetic of the home’s original detailing. JOE FLETCHER

Striking the balance between authenticity and practicality can be challenging. For guidance, Woods says, “We always ask ourselves, ‘Would Rex Lotery or Craig Ellwood use these technologies if they were building this today?’ Of course, they would.” The costs of renovating a midcentury gem can be steep, but there’s always a bigger payoff: The partners approach each aging structure as a living textbook that can be used to help sharpen their skills, as well as an opportunity to work intimately with homeowners who trust the duo’s research-driven process. “The success of these homes is not just about us,” Woods says. “The client has to buy in as well.” Fortunately, the homeowners willing to take on such a project typically comprise a self-selecting demographic that shares the firm’s values. “I think every client who purchases a midcentury home understands that there’s value in what’s there, and they’re drawn to it,” Dangaran says. “They’re almost held as pieces of art that [the client] happens to live in.” “We’re trying to pay it forward, in a sense, and we’re hopeful that someday, that kind of care and attention is afforded to us and our work,” Woods says of these labors of love. “The greatest honor that we could ever receive, one day, would be someone landmarking one of our designs … and in 60 to 70 years, wanting to bring them back to life.” h

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LAST CALL

NICOLE FRANZEN

One more round of inspired design.

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Exceptional spaces to eat, play, work, and stay.

CONTRACT HIGH

By Rachel Gallaher

Portland’s Central Eastside welcomed the 57-room Hotel Grand Stark, a property operated by boutique hotel group Palisociety, this spring.

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HO T EL G RAND STARK Portland’s latest boutique hotel embraces the historic eclecticism of the city’s Eastside.

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FROM TOP: In the lobby, banquette seating with

white melamine tables edged in solid wood offers a place to enjoy fare from the Grand Stark Deli. The hotel embraces the understated sophistication of the Northwest with Douglas fir floors, a color palette featuring shades of green, and décor and art sourced from local designers.

COURTESY PALISOCIETY

os Angeles–based hospitality group Palisociety has opened its second Pacific Northwest property, the Hotel Grand Stark, in Portland’s Central Eastside neighborhood. The four-story, 57-room historic property—which was built in 1908 and served as a hotel until the 1970s, when it became a local furniture warehouse—has been restored to its original purpose, with interiors that reflect the patchwork nature of Portland’s diverse neighborhoods. A local team—Works Progress Architecture, Urban Development + Partners, and Eric Cheong of North 45 Projects—came together with Palisociety to implement a full seismic retrofit, refinish historic windows and the brick exterior, construct a new roof, and build out the guest rooms. The on-property eatery, the Grand Stark Deli, is a refined and playful homage to the old-school delicatessen (think: checkered tile floor and glossy white counters), while Bar Chamberlain embraces the classic cocktail bar—made moody with a Northwest-inspired palette of dark-green and warm-gray paint colors. Public spaces also feature commissioned art from the local Nationale gallery, as well as vintage furniture and décor by local designers. “We wanted the spaces to feel as though you’re visiting an affable Portland friend’s loft— eclectic and approachable yet refined,” Cheong says. “The art and décor serve as a local guide to the vibrant and varied people, places, and things of the city.” »

“THE OVERALL APPROACH WAS TO CREATE A VIBE THAT IS IDENTIFIABLY NORTHWESTERN BUT WITHOUT ANY OF THE FOREST KITSCH. I WANTED TO STAY TRUE TO OUR SIGNATURE QUIRKY PALISOCIETY STYLE, BUT PAY EXTRA ATTENTION TO BE UNPRETENTIOUS AND QUIETLY LUXE AT THE SAME TIME.” —AVI BROSH, PALISOCIETY

The regionally inspired palette continues in the guest rooms. “I chose colors that are not meant to go together to reflect the irreverence and wabi-sabi nature of Portland,” says Palisociety founder Avi Brosh. “Hunter green mixed with mint blue and black accents—on paper that is not supposed to work, but in Portland, it flies.”

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FROM TOP: In the lobby at the Hyatt Centric City Center, with interiors designed by Crème Architecture and Design, a built-in wood display case holds a mix of art and objects that creates a loose narrative about the natural world and the cultivation of land, as an ode to Pennsylvania’s farming history. Guest rooms are kitted out in a palette of blues with custom white-oak millwork and blackened-steel details.

For its first full hotel project—the Hyatt Centric City Center in Philadelphia—Brooklyn-based Crème Architecture and Design looked to the city’s industrial roots and regional design traditions to inspire their sophisticated, materials-forward interiors. Conceived by architect Jun Aizaki, whose Japanese heritage— specifically an attention to meticulous craftsmanship— served as a lens for the interior design project, the 332-room hotel, located in the city’s Rittenhouse Square district, draws inspiration from craft mainstays such as woodworking, metalsmithing, and leatherworking—nods to which appear in exposed concrete pillars, blackenedsteel trim, and stitched-leather furniture. “Our goal was to create that feeling of warmth and tradition through impression, not imitation,” Aizaki says, “so we pulled organic and industrial textures that subtly reference key cultural points into the design, layering them to create depth and make the space feel airy, but lived in.” The wood-paneled lobby draws from design work seen in the regional Shaker, Amish, and Quaker communities. 104

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Distressed, textile-based works (made from recycled garments) by artist Fanny Allié adorn the elevator vestibules. Custom carpets in the corridors embrace a similar patchwork pattern, and also have a shibori (a Japanese dyeing technique) influence. Vintage and found objects adorn in public spaces and guest rooms; the latter have a neutral color scheme featuring soft blues, which, Aizaki notes, “is aimed at creating a relaxing space for guests to enjoy their surroundings and the views of the city offered by large picture windows. New builds can easily feel a bit sterile; we wanted to avoid that by layering in textures and elements that tell a story and transport guests to a place that feels unique yet familiar.” »

NICOLE FRANZEN

HYAT T CENT R IC C I T Y CENT ER

The Patchwork restaurant and bar was named in honor of the city’s visual tapestry of diverse neighborhoods and the craft of quilting.

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At this creative hub in Brussels, Belgium, which houses architect Noro Khachatryan’s studio, as well as a gallery space for Harlan Levey Projects, a welded switchback staircase connects the two levels.

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THIBEAU SCARCÉRIAUX

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LEFT: A chair by Khachatryan,

who designs furniture and objects in addition to interior architecture. BELOW: THE JACKET, an installation at Harlan Levey Projects by Polish artist Marcin Dudek.

ST U DI O KH ACH ATRYAN For the past 18 months, designer and architect Noro Khachatryan has been meticulously renovating an empty warehouse in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels, Belgium. The result—a creative hub that encompasses Khachatryan’s studio along with a new double-height exhibition and gallery space for Harlan Levey Projects— is a pared-back space that serves as a neutral backdrop for Khachatryan’s work (in addition to interior architecture, he also designs furniture and décor objects). The building, which dates to 1890, had undergone a series of structural and interior interventions over the years, giving it, as Khachatryan says, “a sort of layering of history and techniques. At the same time, since it has always been in the same family, all the interventions were very harmonious. The goal was to preserve the building’s industrial character as much as possible, and to make it as livable, functional, and ecological as possible.” Using materials that complement this vision—steel, concrete, aluminum—the designer updated the warehouse, but was careful not to stray from its utilitarian origins (some parts were left completely untouched). The two levels are connected by a striking welded switchback staircase, and 32,000 rectangular tiles comprise the floor of Khachatryan’s studio, the open courtyard, and the gallery’s office. “I hope that the purified visual language allows viewers to bring their own specific interpretations to the work,” he says. “It is thanks to this approach that the spaces radiate a sense of peace and tranquility.” h

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ROLLING ALONG TRANSPORTATION

Meet gita, the footstep-following robot that will carry all your stuff.

COURTESY PFF

By Rachel Gallaher

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ABOVE: Tarik Abdullah, chef and owner of Seattle-based community kitchen Feed The People, with a gita robot, the first consumer robot programmed to follow you while carrying your things. OPPOSITE: The gita robot can continuously roll for up to four hours.

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machines to provide an alternative that would promote pedestrian lifestyles that involved more walking outdoors,” says Greg Lynn, CEO at Piaggio Fast Forward. “We focused on pedestrian environments and developing technology that understands and predicts human movement in the built environments. We began by observing people: how they move, how they interact, what they carry. The gita robot is designed with human performance as well as with pedestrian etiquette. It is the first-of-its-kind cargo-carrying robot built to move the way people move.” Gita has the capacity to continuously roll for up to four hours, at a maximum speed of 6 miles per

hour, and to stream your music. Information-gathering sensors and color-sensing technology allow it to “see” and react to its surroundings and differentiate between people and objects. “We are always looking to eliminate the unnecessary and focus on delivering an intuitive human mobility experience,” Lynn says, “[one that] allows people to be more social, connected, and active outdoors in their local neighborhoods with friends, family, and familiar strangers.” h COURTESY PFF

ver wish you had a personal assistant, or just a second set of hands? Gita—a programmable robot on wheels—is the out-of-the-box solution for city-dwellers, those without cars, and people trying to get out and walk more. Created by Piaggio Fast Forward, the company behind the Vespa scooter, gita is the first consumer robot programmed to follow your footsteps. With the capacity to carry up to 40 pounds in its interior compartment, the rolling robot is great for trips to the park or errands around the neighborhood. “As ride-hailing and scooter-sharing were replacing walking trips, we looked toward autonomous intelligent

“BY ENCOURAGING A WALKABLE LIFESTYLE, LOCAL LIVING AND COMMUNITY-BUILDING WILL GROW. GITA WAS DESIGNED TO EXIST AS A COHABITANT OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT WITH HUMANS, SO WE SEE THIS AS THE FUTURE OF PEDESTRIAN INTERACTION.” —GREG LYNN, PIAGGIO FAST FORWARD

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GRAY Magazine No. 58: The Remastered Issue

Articles inside

TRANSPORTATION

OLD SOULS

CONTRACT HIGH

CHANGEMAKER

BACKGROUND CHECK

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

FIRST LOOK

COLLABORATION

STYLIZED SOPHISTICATION

ON THE RISE

DESIGN DISPATCH