Rare Tiger Bamboo Wraps the Reimagined Casa Loewe Barcelona, and Other News

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Rare Tiger Bamboo Wraps the Reimagined Casa Loewe Barcelona

Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV has wrapped Casa Loewe Barcelona in 6,000 strips of tiger bamboo as part of the boutique’s eye-popping makeover. The twisting installation, named “Yūgo,” nods to the organic forms of the fashion label’s beloved handbags, shoes, and womenswear and is part of the artist’s effort to bring attention to the effect of environmental pollution and climate change on the disappearing tiger bamboo (torachiku) forests, which only grow in one valley on the Japanese island of Shikoku. Eschewing glue for the bamboo’s high tensile strength, Chikuunsai IV reuses the highly renewable strips for future installations. He joins a cadre of artists and designers who contributed to the revamp, from Catalan artist Aurelia Muñoz’s soaring macramé sculpture to pieces by Japanese ceramic artists and Loewe Foundation Craft Prize finalists Sakiyama Takayuki and Tomonari Hashimoto.

Stefano Boeri Architetti will redevelop an archaeological site in Durrës, Albania.

“Stefano Boeri Architetti and SON Architects are announced as winners of the tender organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) for the conservation, presentation, enhancement, and planning for the Archaeological Excavations of the Roman Amphitheatre, the Byzantine Forum, and Roman Baths in the historic center of Durrës. In support of the long-term vision for the city of Durrës, the winners will also be responsible for designing a series of urban pathways with the aim of reconnecting the main historical attractions with the waterfront and the city’s port.” —[H/T ArchDaily]

An unprecedented amount of dead fish waste is piling up and polluting the oceans.

“In February 2022, a Dutch-owned fishing trawler released a silvery stream of 100,000 dead fish, which carpeted several thousand square meters of ocean off the coast of France. The vessel’s owners blamed the discharge on a faulty net. Environmental groups alleged that the fish were intentionally dumped. Whatever the truth, that spectacle of squandered sea life was the tip of the iceberg: figures from WWF show that in 2019, at least 230,000 tonnes of fish were dumped in EU waters. Most of the waste—92 percent—is related to bottom-trawling, a fishing method that scrapes the seafloor, indiscriminately scooping up everything in its path.” –[H/T The Guardian]

Airbnb’s biggest redesign to date prioritizes individual properties over location.

“No matter where you begin the process of booking your next vacation, it’s always the same: You type where you want to go into a search bar, then you choose your rental from the available options. And that’s even been true for Airbnb, the gargantuan home-sharing platform that’s booked 10 million years’ worth of stays to date. Today, that paradigm changes, as Airbnb unveils its most significant redesign since its startup days. The new design de-emphasizes the importance of the search bar that asks where you want to go, and instead nudges you to pick from 56 “categories” that unpack what you want to do when you get there—wherever there is.” —[H/T Fast Company]

After more than two decades, Apple is officially discontinuing production of the iPod.

“Apple has announced that, after more than 20 years, it is officially discontinuing the iPod. According to a statement, iPod Touches—the last remaining model—will remain on sale through the company’s website, Apple stores, and authorized resellers ‘while supplies last.’” —[H/T Pitchfork]

Only eight percent of Manhattan office workers have returned to the office full time.

“The best-laid plans for a full-time return to the office remain bedeviled by Covid-19 case rates and a workforce reluctant to go back to their commutes, according to data published this week by the Partnership for New York City, a business advocacy group. Just 8 percent of Manhattan office workers are back in the office five days a week, and 28 percent are still fully remote, according to the group’s new survey of more than 160 major employers in New York. The new survey’s most significant finding, according to the partnership’s president, Kathryn Wylde, is that 78 percent of workplaces have adopted a hybrid model, allowing a mix of remote and in-person work.” —[H/T The New York Times]

TikTok’s staffers complain of an overly demanding work culture and sleep deprivation.

“With a seemingly bottomless feed of goof-offs, dance-offs and good-natured pranks, TikTok bills itself as the happiest place on the internet. Fueling its success: an exacting management style and demanding internal culture that belie its buoyant public image, say employees at its U.S. offices. The employees, many of them veterans of other major tech companies, say TikTok emphasizes relentless productivity and secrecy to a degree uncommon in the industry. As TikTok continues its torrid growth, those conditions are increasingly a source of tension at U.S. offices of the app, a unit of Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. Founded just six years ago, TikTok recorded the most downloads of any app through the first quarter of 2022, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower.” —[H/T The Wall Street Journal]

Today’s attractive distractions:

A group of architectural pavilions are popping up in the Louvre’s historic rooms.

The New York Times dives into the intensely private human urge to collect items.

A spirited couple transforms their home into a full-on Takashi Murakami gallery.

Jacquemus unveils a surrealist interpretation of his own bathroom at Selfridges.