Dolly Parton’s personal archive finds a home in Nashville, Populous imagines a new landmark for Ho Chi Minh City, and a cinematic vision arrives at Zara Home. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Luca Guadagnino partners on Zara Home collection
Pieces from the Baisi Guadagnino collection for Zara Home; photo by Valerie Sadoun
If you’ve ever daydreamed about a vacation in the “I Am Love” house or coveted the cozy, refined abodes featured in “Call Me by Your Name” and “After the Hunt,” your fantasies have become a reality. Film daddy director Luca Guadagnino and production designer and architect Stefano Baisi have unveiled a 200-piece collection for Zara Home. The longstanding creative duo introduce a medley of design goods spanning garments, scents, lighting, furniture, and homeware unified as an “atlas of desire,” Wallpaper reports. While the sumptuous collection doesn’t include exact replicas of pieces from their cinematic collabs, it reflects a range of historical influences, from Viennese Secessionism and French Art Deco to Brazilian Modernism and Italian Radical Design. In case you want to express your gratitude for my commitment to this blog, the Fainting Armchair will definitely look nice in my living room—thanks in advance!
Dolly Parton’s museum opens in Nashville
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As we continue mourning the loss of the singular Dolly Parton, a place of healing now awaits in Nashville. Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum has opened in the Music City with the largest exhibition of Parton’s work and personal effects to date, according to Vogue. The museum traces each decade of the multihyphenate icon’s life in an immersive journey illustrated through items sourced directly from her archive. It even includes her never-before-seen wedding dress. The exhibition spans the entire third floor of the just-opened SongTeller Hotel, which Parton also owned. We will always love you, Dolly.
Populous sets its sights on Vietnam’s biggest stadium
Populous will design the 70,000-seat stadium and 18,000-seat arena at Rach Chiec National Sports Complex; rendering courtesy of Populous
Populous has revealed renderings for its design of the forthcoming national stadium of Vietnam. Slated to rise in the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, Rach Chiec Stadium will outdo the country’s current largest stadium by nearly 30,000 seats. The venue will be developed as part of the 500-acre Rach Chiec National Sports Complex, also designed by Populous. Dezeen reports that the stadium will feature a diamond-patterned façade inspired by the shape of Nipa Palms lining local rivers.
A Brutalist Amherst landmark gets a sustainable second act
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The Merrill Science Center at Amherst College in Massachusetts has received an update by Herzog & de Meuron that better integrates the 1960s Brutalist structure with newer areas of campus. As Azure reports, the project’s scope expanded from nearly 80,000 square feet to more than 118,000 square feet, encompassing a student center, dining hall, support spaces, and other communal amenities. The project supports Amherst’s goals of reaching climate neutrality by 2030, retaining and exposing the original concrete structure and replacing an obstructive upper section with a mass timber addition that houses the student center. Fully electric and connected to geothermal systems, the Merrill Science Center touts energy strategies visible to students, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and saving close to 1,900 tons of embodied carbon and reducing overall waste. Solar power further reduces energy output, while onsite stormwater management, native landscaping, and planted terraces address water use and biodiversity as well. If my alma mater was investing in these kinds of sustainable projects, maybe then they’d get a donation from me!
Boutique Design puts Islyn Studio in the spotlight
New York-based Islyn Studio has been named Boutique Design’s 2026 Design Firm of the Year. Since launching in 2017, founder and creative director Ashley Wilkins has delivered immersive, emotionally resonant hospitality projects embedded in story, context, and sensory richness. Standouts include New York favorites the Tusk bar, Brass restaurant, Now Now NoHo, and Romer Hell’s Kitchen, as well as the recently completed Uchi DC from Hai Hospitality. Wilkins and the Islyn Studio team will be celebrated during the 46th annual Gold Key Awards gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York on November 9th.