A look at the set of the 93rd Academy Awards, a newly developed ultra-white paint aims to cool buildings, and a Netherlands museum focused on reflection. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
David Rockwell rethinks the Oscars stage for social distancing
Rockwell Group will soon transform Union Station for the 2021 Oscars ceremony; photo by Panic Studio L.A.
It’s a little later in the year than usual, but the Academy is set to hand Oscars out this Sunday to the best Hollywood had to offer during a very different year at the movies. It’ll also be a different ceremony for David Rockwell, who has designed the Oscars stage for the past several events. This year, as reported by Elle Decor, the architect is bringing the red carpet to Los Angeles’ Union Station for a ceremony that may be more akin to the open space of Best Picture frontrunner Nomadland than the typically packed Dolby Theater. Art Deco inspirations and the repurposed front lawn promise to create a once-in-a-lifetime Oscars.
The world’s whitest paint shade fights climate change
Photo by Marco Verch Professional Photographer/Flickr
A team of engineers led by Xiulin Ruan, a professor at Purdue University, have created the whitest paint ever in an effort to lower building temperatures and cut back on air conditioner usage, according to Vice. The polar opposite of materials like Vantablack, which absorbs 99.9 percent of what we know as visible light, this white paint reflects 98.1 percent of sunlight, an attribute that will make buildings it is painted onto cooler in the sunlight, even during the heat of summer.
Upscale New York restaurants are starting to end takeout and delivery options
Momofuku Ko; photo by n8fire/Flickr
As the seasons change in New York, so too does the pandemic. As a result, restaurants are again shifting their offerings. This time last year, the only path to revenue for most establishments in the city was offering takeout and delivery, which meant New Yorkers could order high-end fare from such restaurants as Miss Ada, Carbone, and Momofuku Ko right to their front door. However, Eater reports that many such establishments are ending their takeout and delivery offerings thanks to looser COVID-19 restrictions and a steady vaccine rollout. “It’s time to become the restaurant we were before,” said Miss Ada owner Tomer Blechman.
Tinker Imagineers and Inbo collaborate on Kamp Amersfoort museum
Photo by Mike Bink, courtesy v2com
On the Leusden, Netherlands grounds of the World War II Kamp Amersfoort prison camp—and now the national monument that stands there—architecture firm Inbo and exhibition designer Tinker Imagineers, along with landscape architects Juurlink+Geluk, have constructed a new museum that focuses on the personal stories of those imprisoned at the site. Footprints inside and outside are a recurring motif, while subtle light projections, smoke effects, and mirrors encourage visitors to reflect.
HD unveils the Hospitality Diversity Action Council and first initiatives
Hospitality Design has brought together a group of hoteliers, designers, landscape architects, purchases, and other industry professionals to form the Hospitality Diversity Action Council (HDAC), which will address the issues of systemic and institutionalized racism as they pertain to the lack of diversity in the hospitality industry. Two of its first initiatives will be the inaugural Awards of Excellence program, in which a jury of HDAC members will award nominated industry members in professional excellence, promoting diversity, and affecting change; and the Diversity in Hospitality Scholarship—a partnership with NEWH to support students who identify with under-represented and minority groups—a $5,000 scholarship to be awarded at HD Expo + Conference, taking place this year August 24–25th in Las Vegas.
