DESIGN DISPATCH

Crystal Bridges Museum Taps Moshe Safdie for Expansion, and Other News

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

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art expansion. Rendering courtesy of Safdie Architects

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The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art taps Safdie Architects for an expansion. 

Ten years after first opening its doors, the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, will add two buildings outfitted with galleries, studios, classrooms, event spaces, a café, and more. Moshe Safdie, whose concrete and cedar design of the original structure took cues from the surrounding Ozark forest landscape, is teaming up with Coen+Partners Landscape Architects to expand the museum’s interaction with nature, creating new walking paths, outdoor spaces, and art encounters on the surrounding grounds. The project will kick off next year and finish in 2024.

TEFAF New York plans to return next spring, but will permanently scrap its October fair. 

After a two-year hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) will return for its spring modern and contemporary art fair at New York’s Park Avenue Armory next May. This news proved to be bittersweet after the organization also shared that it will no longer host the historical art and antiques program normally held in October. TEFAF Maastricht, meanwhile, is now scheduled to take place September 11–19.

Lil Nas X “Satan Shoes” by MSCHF

To settle a lawsuit by Nike, MSCHF will offer refunds to buyers of Lil Nas X’s “Satan Shoes.”

After Nike sued MSCHF for trademark infringement after they peddled Satan-themed sneakers to promote the latest video by Lil Nas X, the Brooklyn brand is offering refunds to buyers. The purpose of the “voluntary recall,” according to Nike, is to remove the shoes from circulation once and for all. Considering how some of the highly sought-after $1,018 kicks have been selling for up to $15,000 on eBay, however, it doesn’t seem very likely that buyers will be taking up Nike on their offer. 

Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation sues its former executive director for mismanagement.

The Make It Right Foundation, the housing nonprofit that Brad Pitt founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, is finding itself embroiled in more legal trouble. The organization has filed a lawsuit against former executive director Tom Darden III in New Orleans Civil District Court, accusing Darden and other top officials of project mismanagement from 2007 to 2016. The organization set out to build 150 affordable homes designed by top architects such as Frank Gehry, David Adjaye, and Thom Mayne in the city’s Lower 9th Ward, but highly publicized struggles such as tourist rubbernecking, use of substandard building materials, and an unsuccessful attempt by Brad Pitt to remove his name from a class-action lawsuit mired the foundation in continued notoriety.

The upcoming Waldorf Astoria Residences in Miami

The Waldorf Astoria Residences, Miami’s first supertall, has launched sales for condos.

Designed by Canada-based architect Carlos Ott and architect Sieger Suarez, the Waldorf Astoria Residences will be the tallest skyscraper in the southern United States as well as Miami’s first supertall. Featuring nine stacked, offsetting cubes rising 1,049 feet, the property will offer hotel-style amenities and 360 units done up in natural materials by California-based interior design firm Bamo.  

This year’s Guggenheim Fellowships recipients include Tourmaline, Dread Scott, and more. 

The Guggenheim Fellowships, widely considered one of the art world’s most significant grant awards, have named this year’s 184 grantees through the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Among the honored artists are newcomers and established names, including Dread Scott, Tourmaline, Helen Molesworth, and more. A full list of the 2021 winners is available on the Guggenheim Foundation’s website.

Pollinator Park by Vincent Callebaut

Today’s attractive distractions:

This immersive 3D experience raises awareness about declining biodiversity.

Anti-racist activists have been using a stolen confederate monument as a toilet.

Cory Arcangel’s latest feat is essentially a Kim Kardashian-themed video game.

Archaeologists finally unearth the “lost golden city of Luxor” in southern Egypt.

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