Bar Chimera signals restaurateur Simon Kim’s next big move, host cities face a World Cup booking letdown, and inside the science of dream-driven creativity. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
The FIFA World Cup hotel boom is a bust
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup draws closer, but the crowds don’t seem to follow. At least that’s what the hoteliers in this year’s three host cities—New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco—have to say. According to Forbes, hotel associations in the three metropolitan hubs have yet to see the surge they anticipated for the global sporting event. Initial projections forecasted a $30.5 billion economic boost following a 6.3 percent downturn in international tourism following the 2024 U.S. election. Not only have hotel bookings been fleeting, but FIFA also recently canceled thousands of reserved rooms across North America.
Own Carrie Bradshaw’s closet
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Some things will never change—like our collective envy for iconic character Carrie Bradshaw’s wardrobe. Luckily, Julien’s Auctions is bringing many “Sex and the City” fans one step closer to emulating our antihero’s iconic closet. Artnet reports that hundreds of props, furnishings, and shoes from all three seasons of “And Just Like That…” are already up for bidding online. The auction will conclude with a two-day live event at the auction house’s Gardenia, California location April 30th and May 1st. Many lots have already been pushed past presale estimates, including a faux Rolex worn by Mr. Big engraved with the words, “Me and You. Just – Us Two.” Carrie and Big’s vinyl collection is also up for grabs. For those who don’t have any Carrie in their chart, plenty of fashions and furniture for Mirandas and Charlottes are listed as well. Get it while it’s hot!
Simon Kim’s luxe dining empire expands again
Simon Kim, CEO and founder of Gracious Hospitality Management
The maestro behind COTE and COQODAQ is staging his next act in Manhattan. That’s right—Simon Kim has added a new entry to his culinary empire with Bar Chimera in Midtown. Designed by Rockwell Group, the grandiose F&B concept invites guests to dine beneath the 60-foot-tall ceilings of 550 Madison across three different onsite bars dedicated to wine, whiskey, and martinis, respectively. Grub Street also reports that the space will soon host an omakase concept from chef Masahiro Yoshitake and a new COTE location. A clandestine ninja tunnel will connect each of the spaces, helping to discreetly funnel items to tables as if by magic.
Unlocking the design and creativity of our dreams
Hotel Room #2: Communal Dreams by Carsten Höller, Adam Haar Horowitz, and Seth Riskin; photo by Anna Olivella
Technology is inescapable in our waking life, so why would we ever want it to penetrate our dreams? Well, as far as Adam Haar Horowitz is concerned, a wealth of unlocked potential awaits in our sleep. As CEO of DUST, the cognitive scientist leads a team at MIT’s Fluid Interfaces Lab to develop tools for optimizing the thresholds between wakefulness and sleep when brains produce ideas that are “associative, fluid, and untethered from logic,” Designboom reports. The device known as Dormio is the starting point, conceived to detect this delicate state of our consciousness—then guide it. The state between waking and sleep, known as hypnagogia, was previously obsessed over by the likes of Salvador Dalí and Thomas Edison as well. Among his other recent explorations, Horowitz collaborated with artist Carsten Höller in 2024 for the Dream Hotel, a series of museum installations in which visitors were invited to sleep in different rooms under conditions engineered to produce specific kinds of dreams. Find out more about Horowitz and his team.
HDAC names 2026 Awards of Excellence recipient
Multidisciplinary designer Kamille Glenn has been announced as this year’s HDAC Awards of Excellence honoree. A Brooklyn native who previously served as an associate at Rockwell Group, Glenn is dedicated to unique storytelling within the built environment from the Black gaze. As founder of dsgnrs.wrkshp, Glenn oversees a collective platform developed to disrupt and shift the landscape of design by centering makers of the African diaspora. Impacts include an educational partnership with the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, curated events for NYCxDESIGN, and other community engagement. Glenn’s studio also unveiled a collaboration with chef Marcus Samuelsson last year with the design of Marcus DC in the nation’s capital. Join us on May 5th to celebrate Kamille Glenn and dozens of other honorees at the HD Awards in Las Vegas. Tickets are available now.
