DESIGN DISPATCH

Construction Wraps on the World’s Skinniest Skyscraper, and Other News

Our daily look at the world through the lens of design.

111 West 57th Street in New York by SHoP Architects. Photography by David Sundberg

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Construction wraps up on 111 West 57th Street, the world’s skinniest skyscraper.

“The final exterior cladding elements have been added to SHoP Architects’ 111 West 57th Street in New York City, a supertall skyscraper that is both the world’s skinniest and the second tallest in the Western Hemisphere. The 1,428-foot-tall (435-meter) tower reached completion last week, with the developers announcing that it is ready for residents to move in.” —[H/T Dezeen]

A cannabis dispensary may move into the former home of Chicago’s Rainforest Cafe.

“The former home of popular jungle-themed family restaurant Rainforest Cafe could be transformed into an expansive pot shop this summer. The Rainforest Cafe—famous for its decorations, like its oversized rooftop tree frog—closed in August 2020 after 23 years at 605 N. Clark St. Progressive Treatment Solutions, which owns a suburban cultivation center and other dispensaries in the state under the Consume brand, wants to relocate its Norwood Park dispensary into the vacant 22,000-square-foot building.” —[H/T Block Club Chicago]

Virgil Abloh. Photography by Delfino Sisto

The Grammys face criticism for labeling Virgil Abloh as a “hip hop fashion designer.”

“The Recording Academy faced criticism for labeling the late Virgil Abloh as a ‘hip-hop fashion designer’ during the ceremony’s ‘In Memoriam’ segment on Sunday. Abloh, who founded his own fashion label Off-White and served as artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear, died in November last year following a private battle with cancer. While he had a big presence in the world of hip-hop, especially when it came to his work with Kanye West, people still took issue with him being described as a hip-hop fashion designer.’” —[H/T Complex]

Farfetch is investing $200 million to power Neiman Marcus’s e-commerce business.

“Farfetch has inked a deal with Bergdorf Goodman-owner Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) to migrate the American department store’s e-commerce and omnichannel services to its systems, marking a major success for the fashion tech giant’s burgeoning white-label business. As part of the deal Farfetch will make a minority common equity investment of up to $200 million in the retail group.” —[H/T Business of Fashion]

Russian artworks from Bernard Arnault’s Fondation Louis Vuitton are en route home.

“Masterpieces from Russian museums that were featured in an exhibition at billionaire Bernard Arnault’s art foundation in Paris are on track to be returned to their original venues. Russia had been concerned about the risks of getting them safely back home because of complications from transportation links being cut off following the country’s attack on Ukraine. But the pieces, presented in the so-called Morozov exhibition that ended on Sunday, are being taken down from the Fondation Louis Vuitton walls and will be returned as agreed to their original museums, a spokesperson for the foundation said Monday, adding that their return is imminent.” —[H/T Bloomberg]

Opera house by Heatherwick Studio in Hainan, China

Heatherwick Studio will design a tropical opera house on the island of Hainan, China.

Heatherwick Studio has been selected to design a tropical opera house for the island province of Hainan at the southernmost point of China, the studio’s first opera house or music venue project. The design features three performance spaces: an opera house, a concert hall, and a theater, that come together under a sweeping canopy referencing the island’s unique geology. The inspiration behind the design came from the volcanic landscape and the costumes, colors, and movement of Hainanese Opera.” —[H/T ArchDaily]

Greta Thunbeg is releasing a book that offers a global overview of the climate crisis.

“Greta Thunberg is releasing a new book this autumn, which aims to offer a ‘global overview of how the planet’s many crises connect.’ In The Climate Book, which is due to be published by Penguin this autumn, Thunberg has assembled more than 100 contributors, from scientists Johan Rockström and Katharine Hayhoe to economist Thomas Piketty and novelist Margaret Atwood. The 19-year-old also shares what she has learned from her own experiences of climate activism. In particular, she discusses the prevalence of greenwashing, revealing the extent to which we have been kept in the dark about the issue.” —[H/T The Guardian]

NFTs of Dennis Rodman’s hairstyles

Today’s attractive distractions:

A lost Atlantis-like kingdom was miraculously discovered off the coast of Yorkshire. 

Dennis Rodman plans to launch a series of NFTs of his ever-changing hair colors.

Puig will create a custom palette of scents from a seminal Jan Brueghel painting. 

The vinyl resurgence is resulting in the rise of dedicated “listening rooms” at home.

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