Mathieu Lehanneur’s Airbnb at Musee d’Orsay. Photography by Frederik Vercruysse…
The Design Dispatch offers expertly written and essential news from the design world crafted by our dedicated team. Think of it as your cheat sheet for the day in design delivered to your inbox before you’ve had your coffee. Subscribe now.
Mathieu Lehanneur Offers an Overnight Stay the Musée d’Orsay
As the designer of the 2024 Paris Olympic torch, Mathieu Lehanneur’s presence will be felt throughout the City of Light when the opening ceremony kicks off in late July. It turns out the Parisian designer has also crafted the best seats in the house. One lucky couple will be able to book a one-night-only stay at the Musée d’Orsay’s clock room that Lehanneur transformed into a bedroom with sweeping views of the city and River Seine. Housing a historic 125-year-old clock, the fifth-floor chamber of the former Gare d’Orsay railway station has never been offered for overnight stays. Lehanneur overhauled the room to his liking, cladding it entirely in warm wood paneling, from the floor’s Versailles parquet to the vaulted ceiling. He also furnished it with a one-of-a-kind “floating” bed, swooping sofas, and rippling side tables, all of his design. Punching bags and dumbbells add a fittingly sporty touch.
“I’ve crafted a unique space that’s both romantic and contemporary, intimate yet sumptuous,” says Lehanneur, who likens the experience to a “daydream.” The stay, which is available to book starting May 21, is part of Airbnb’s newly introduced Icons series, which features 11 stays inspired by art, film, and sports that will be available throughout the year. They include a recreation of the cozy house from Pixar’s Up in New Mexico, a private “living room” performance by Doja Cat, and the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy, which offers a blood-red bed inside a room tricked out with Ferraris and elite trophies. —Ryan Waddoups
Venus Williams. Photography by Laura Metzler, courtesy of the Carnegie Museum of Art…
Venus Williams will host a podcast on art and landscape for the Carnegie Museum of Art.
The Carnegie Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, “Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology and the Contemporary Landscape,” features nearly 100 works exploring environmental photography through diverse artistic expressions. The museum is teaming up with tennis legend Venus Williams, who will host a related podcast about art and landscape to enhance the show’s narrative on ecological impact and artistic innovation. The project will encompass various events and spotlights artists challenging traditional photography norms and colonial narratives.
Maryland is set to receive a $350 million insurance payment from Chubb for the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, triggered by a collision with the cargo ship Dali. This payout, which is part of the policy’s maximum limit, will assist with some of the extensive cleanup costs, although it covers only a fraction of the total damages. Meanwhile, Baltimore is continuing its extensive recovery efforts, involving hundreds of personnel from various agencies, even as it seeks further damages through legal action against the ship’s owners and managers for negligence.
“Untitled Kinetic Sculpture” (2024) by Tuan Andrew Nguyen. Image courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York…
Princeton University’s Art Museum is expanding with a building that will house six large-scale works by the likes of Diana Al-Hadid, Nick Cave, Jane Irish, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen, including site-specific commissions. The artworks aim to integrate with the museum’s architecture and challenge traditional perspectives, reflecting director James Steward’s vision to represent voices not previously prominent on campus. The new building was designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, who personally stepped back from the project after three former employees accused him of sexual misconduct. (He denies the allegations.) His firm, Adjaye Associates, is designing the museum in collaboration with Cooper Robertson.
Peloton announced a major restructuring, including the departure of CEO Barry McCarthy and a 15 percent workforce reduction, as it faces a sharp decline in shares to a record low of $2.71. McCarthy’s efforts to transition Peloton towards a services-oriented model and partnerships, such as with Hyatt Hotels, have not alleviated the company’s struggles with scaling and declining subscriber numbers post-pandemic. The company now aims to cut $200 million in annual expenses and focus on generating positive free cash flow.
President Biden has announced a debt forgiveness plan for 317,000 former students of the Art Institutes, totaling $6.1 billion, due to the school’s misleading claims about employment and salary prospects. The action targets those enrolled from 2004 to 2017, when deceptive practices about career services and inflated job placement rates were prevalent.
