DESIGN DISPATCH

Storm King Art Center to Undergo a Major Refresh, and Other News

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View of Mark di Suvero works at Storm King Art Center. Image courtesy of Storm King Art Center

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Storm King Art Center enlists a powerhouse design team for a $45 million refresh.

“Storm King Art Center will embark on a $45 million refresh of its renowned open-air museum spanning 500 acres of mountain-flanked forest and meadow in New York’s lower Hudson Valley. The capital project will bring a host of new features and upgrades—visitor pavilions, a relocated parking lot, infrastructural improvements, and an art conservation and fabrication facility among them—to the sexagenarian sculpture park so that it can better accommodate continued growth. With work slated to commence later this year, Storm King has assembled a formidable team of global firms to helm the design of the ambitious undertaking including heneghan peng architects, WXY architecture + urban design, and a pair of lauded landscape architecture practices: Cambridge- and New Haven–based Reed Hilderbrand and the London-based Gustafson Porter + Bowman.” [H/T The Architect’s Newspaper]

Facebook will phase out its live shopping feature in favor of short-form video content. 

“On Oct. 1, Facebook is shutting down its live shopping feature, according to a statement by Meta. Users will no longer be able to host shopping events on the site, create product tags or playlists in videos. Instead, Meta will focus on its short-form video product, Reels, citing shifting viewer behaviors.” [H/T Business of Fashion]

Metadestilería by Rojkind Arquitectos. Image courtesy of Rojkind Arquitectos

Rojkind Arquitectos envisions a “metadestilería” in the metaverse for José Cuervo.

“As part of an initiative for Tequila José Cuervo, Rojkind Arquitectos presents its new and first project of the metaverse under the name “Metadestilería” (Metadistillery) which is based on a design exercise that responds to the function of objects with respect to human needs within specific contexts with the challenge of creating unique experiences through objects and architecture.” [H/T ArchDaily]

New York developers are eyeing building casinos at Hudson Yards and Coney Island.

“New York City developers and gaming operators are putting their chips on the table in a frenzied bid for the right to open local casinos, including in Times Square and Hudson Yards. Some of the other sites being eyed are Willets Point near the Mets Citi Field ballpark and Coney Island, according to sources familiar with the plans. The state Gaming Commission is authorized to issue up to three licenses in the Big Apple downstate region, and Mayor Eric Adams has said he wants at least two of the licenses given to the city. Real-estate giants Related Companies in Hudson Yards and Vornado and SL Green in Times Square are interested in forming partnerships with casino behemoths such as Hard Rock, Sands and Wynn for local venues, industry and government sources said.” [H/T New York Post]

Tinder shelves ambitions to launch a virtual currency and metaverse-based dating.

“Dating giant Match Group announced a series of changes to Tinder’s management team alongside the announcement of disappointing second-quarter earnings. Notably, Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg will be departing the company after less than a year in the top job. Match Group is also killing Tinder’s plans to adopt new technology, like virtual currencies and metaverse-based dating. As part of Tinder’s revamp, its “dating metaverse” ambitions have been dramatically scaled back. The company had been planning to leverage its Hyperconnect acquisition to create a new form of online dating in a virtual environment, but those ideas are on pause as Match Group now has to address broader issues.” [H/T TechCrunch]

Telfar bag. Photography by Daniel Zuchnik

Interest in Telfar bags surges after Beyoncé name-dropped the brand on Renaissance.

“Beyoncé’s final words on Renaissance, her record-breaking new album? ‘This Telfar bag imported / Birkins, them s—t’s in storage / I’m in my bag.’ And it would appear the superstar’s fashion-forward fans are taking that line seriously: On July 29, the day Renaissance dropped, Telfar saw a whopping 85 percent spike in views on popular luxury resale site The RealReal, the platform confirmed. Views for the Black-owned brand were also up 131 percent during the weekend of the LP’s release, compared to the same time period in 2021.” [H/T Page Six]

Kengo Kuma will build Italy’s largest wooden building at Rizzoli’s former Milan HQ.

“Milan is filling its urban gaps one by one. Thus, the abandoned building that once housed the publishing company Rizzoli—in Crescenzago, a district of the North-East suburbs of the city—will become a ‘green workspace,’ signed by Kengo Kuma & Associates and developed in collaboration with botanist Stefano Mancuso. In place of the former Rizzoli will be ‘the largest wooden building in Italy,’ with offices, co-working spaces, a supermarket, a medical center, and several other services.” [H/T Domus]

Westworld. Photography by John Johnson, courtesy of HBO

Today’s attractive distractions:

Tabasco’s spicy new visual identity stays faithful to its diamond-shape logo.

Xochitl Gonzalez posits that the sound of gentrification… is no sound at all.

Breathtaking footage shows a rare type of shark walking on land using fins. 

Westworld’s spooky AI hosts seem to be letting their hair down this season.

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