Starchitect Seating

Zaha Hadid has launched her first line of outdoor furniture.  A true departure from the bulky Adirondack chair, this installation feels flavoured by the Head of the Charles.

The Fourth Plinth Project

I'm all over the Fourth Plinth Project in London's Trafalgar Square.  In each corner of the open space supports  a sturdy plinth featuring expected gubernatorial sculptures - except for the fourth plinth which has never been trimmed with a stone occupant. 

Fantastically, London deemed this site as an excellent depot to house art installations.  The recent winner of the Fourth Plinth Project is local talent Antony Gormley.  His bid invites volunteers to take over the plinth for one hour segments to do whatever they please.  The imaginations of these participants is extraordinary.

monkeying around

Artist Allen Hirsh was recently interviewed by the New York Times to discuss his muse; a monkey named Benjamin. Relying on a mix of mediums, he has depicted this capuchin monkey tirelessly. My fav were the two pieces he set in the landscape.

Using the urban fabric of SOHO as a canvas, he erected giant sized photos of Benjamin on flat and perpendicular planes.

Located above the "hidden" entrance to trendy La Esquina Restaurant, is another portrait but this time, an elevation crafted from aluminum.

Small contributions to New York City's expanse reduce the scale of anonymity and play into context the need for intimacy in an urban setting.

Diamond in the Rough

The Natural History Museum of Utah has recently updated it's score by the hand of Todd Schliemann of Ennead Architects. The harmonious dialogue it plays with the surrounding Wasatch Mountains is fantastic. Relying on a simple palette of materials (stone walls and copper roof), Schliemann was able to sew the mammoth structure into the natural environment with scaled sensitivity. Love it.

Night Light

Jean Nouvel has designed the sleekest of stables for the restored horses on Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn.  Simply, he built a glass pavilion (think Paxton) over the attraction to allow for year-round entertainment.  (In summer months, the panes pull back, to allow the occupier of the space to fully access the interior space).
Now for the bomb.  At night, screens are draped across the building's facade and projectors from within the carousel cast shadows of the horses twirling by. Genius.

Pipeline

The stone slide in Central Park has to be the best organic ride New York City has to offer.  Children love heading to this playground for thrills and I love how they swap out cardboard "sleds" with  strangers to improve speeds and heighten luge-like experiences.

The Goods

It's rare treat to return to a completed site when it is in full party mode and jamming with occupiers.  My months of graphite and paper concepts suddenly springboard to life.   Each guest's use of the space is a host of my drafting board soliloquies.  Love it.