A Neo-Trattoria Arrives to Historic Cambridge, and Other News

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A Neo-Trattoria Arrives to Historic Cambridge

A dose of Italy has come to Cambridge by way of Bar Enza, a new street-level restaurant in the Charles Hotel. Located on Harvard Square near the landmark Ivy League college, the space designed by Brooklyn-based Home Studios takes cues from Roman trattorias and Milanese villas. In the dining room, muted natural light floods through enveloping sheer curtains; pops of color in the form of baby pink and sage green banquettes add vibrancy to historical details like original wooden floors. 

Del Posto alum Mark Ladner’s menu visits Italy’s diverse regions (rigatoni with Tuscan–style ragu, Sardinian fregola with clams) and a range of bar snacks, as well as some classics (he brought his famous 100 layer lasagna along with him.) Don’t miss the cocktail menu, which features three varieties of both negronis and spritzes. —Nate Storey

Germane Barnes will mount a colorful fête-as-installation in the Miami Design District.

“Barnes’s proposal, a multifaceted and multi-scale installation entitled Rock | Roll, was designed in response to this year’s curatorial brief, Something To Talk About, and selected via a competitive, invitation-only process led by Anava Projects. As detailed in a press release announcing Barnes’s win, Rock | Roll is a joyous fête-as-installation, a rollicking, radiant work that pays homage to Miami Carnival, a celebration of the city’s vibrant African-Caribbean communities that encompasses four key events: the Junior Carnival, Panorama, J’ouvert, and the flagship costumed parade and concert. Along the Design District’s main pedestrian corridors, Rock | Roll envisions a series of oversized, flamboyantly hued “seating capsules” that sway back and forth when activated by users.” [H/T The Architect’s Newspaper]

The country’s tallest building by Black developers is taking shape in Los Angeles.

“Handel Architects designed the third tallest in Los Angeles, a 63-story high-rise 869 feet high in the Historical Downtown L.A. Featuring a 492-foot-tall second tower, affordable residential housing, and community spaces, Angels Landing will be the largest and tallest development to be built by Black developers in the United States, marking a milestone in the real estate industry. In partnership with The Peebles Corporation and MacFarlane Partners, the complex is scheduled to open in 2027 and will create more than 8,300 new jobs.” [H/T ArchDaily]

MVRDV completes the color-blocked Radio Hotel and Tower in Washington Heights.

“In Washington Heights, a neighborhood in the uppermost part of Manhattan, New York, Dutch studio MVRDV completes the Radio Hotel and Tower. The architecture takes shape as a stacked assemblage of colorful blocks, clad in eight different shades of glazed brick, and described by the design team as a ‘vertical village.’ A celebration of the neighborhood, the project introduces event space, offices, and 221 much-needed hotel rooms to the area. With Stonehill Taylor as the architect of record, the project was designed for developer Youngwoo & Associates—who invested $300 million into the development.” [H/T Designboom]

Ganni and Pyratex debut a gray tracksuit collection made from banana waste material.

“Danish fashion brand Ganni has teamed up with Spanish material research company Pyratex to create a gray clothing collection made from a banana-waste biomaterial. The three-piece capsule collection, which is designed to be a more sustainable alternative to traditional polyester tracksuits, comprises a pair of jogging bottoms, a square-necked crop top with a zip-up back and a cropped hoodie. Each item has been made with Element 2, a fabric created by Pyratex that combines waste from the banana food industry—including leaves, trunks and branches—with organic cotton. The material forms part of Ganni’s Fabrics of the Future, an initiative that develops innovative materials for its clothing collections.” [H/T Dezeen]

Saba Ghorbanalinejad and Iris Lacoudre subtly overhaul Paris’s Galerie Derouillon.

“Galerie Derouillon is a well-known arts haunt in the heart of Paris, and the gallery now has a new home to show off, courtesy of Saba Ghorbanalinejad, in collaboration with Iris Lacoudre Architecte. The emerging architect is behind this fresh reimagining of the interiors—including both art display areas and back-of-house spaces—which merges minimalist architecture and 21st-century functionality. Working with the existing building’s bones and historical, loft-style nature, the architects crafted a plan for the redesign of different exhibition spaces, offices, and storage facilities. The concept spans two levels and unites two distinct parts of the building, which both serve the gallery but each having its own identity.” [H/T Wallpaper]

An Hermès handbag fetches a record-breaking $346,802 at a Paris Sotheby’s auction.

“An Hermès handbag fetched a record price for a Sotheby’s auction, the latest evidence that rare luxury items are increasingly seen as stores of value by investors and wealthy buyers.  The Himalaya Retourne Kelly 25 bag sold for $346,802 in a Paris auction on Thursday. The crocodile-skin handbag in mother-of-pearl white, reminiscent of a snowy mountain landscape, sold for almost three times Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate.” [H/T Bloomberg]

Today’s attractive distractions:

What are the implications of Gen Z-ers never learning to read cursive?

Super Nintendo World is taking shape at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Catalans are defying fear—and gravity—by forming human towers.

Top chefs are breaking down the recent TikTok trend of butter boards.