We round up some of Design Miami’s most interesting collaborations and installations, Björk set to launch multimedia exhibit in conjunction with her next album, and last call for HD Expo + Conference 2026 presentations. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Everything you’re missing at Design Miami
The Future Perfect booth at Design Miami; photo by Joe Kramm
Couldn’t make it to Design Miami this week? Me neither, but I’ve got you covered with a little roundup. This year marked further emphasis to spotlight new voices, Vogue reports, with Art Basel’s Nova and Positions sections featuring work from the last three years as well as work from younger artists. Industry collabs abounded as usual, with fashion glitterati like JW Anderson, Jimmy Choo, and Zegna getting in on the action through artist partnerships. Marc Jacobs’ Joy artist capsule in particular stands out with its showcase of work by Derrick Adams, David Shrigley, and Hattie Stewart—as does Crosby Studios’ partnership with Clive Christian Perfume. The Future Perfect also earns high marks for its stacked booth highlighting work from D’Haene Studio, Ian Collings, Autumn Casey, and Floris Wubben. The debut of Villa Paula’s first Miami gallery was also steered by Future Perfect, housing work from Orior, Chen Chen & Kai Williams, and Källermo.
All eyes, however, were on two major activations. Design diva extraordinaire Es Devlin unveiled her monumental rotating “Library of Us” at the Faena Beach hotel, while Argentinian artist Pilar Zeta authored the colonnade-style beachfront installation “The Observer Effect” at the Shelborne by Proper. Also, in case you somehow missed it, Beeple made all of our least favorite oligarchs (plus Warhol and Picasso) into robot dogs. You weren’t planning on sleeping tonight, were you?
Architect Frank Gehry dies at 96
The Gehry-design LUMA Tower in Arles, France; photo by Tupungato/Adobe Stock
The New York Times reports that American architecture titan Frank O. Gehry died today at his home in Santa Monica, California following a brief respiratory illness. He was 96. A winner of the Pritzker Prize in 1989, Gehry burst into architectural consciousness in 1978 with the completion of a quaint Santa Monica bungalow he renovated and would reside in for four decades. The project was his first to receive public attention for a dynamic construction approach, seeming to signal a pivot in the vernacular—for better or worse. Founded in 1962, his eponymous practice steadily rose in prominence for projects both humanizing and emotional in their democratic potentials. His magnum opus, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, generated its own architectural term—the Bilbao Effect—to describe the influence of the sculptural design’s expressive gestures. The building is said to have even moved Philip Johnson to tears upon completion.
Gehry’s signature fluidity distinguishes a large swath of projects in a portfolio unmistakable in their shared language. Greatest hits include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; New World Center in Miami; Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris; and the renovated Philadelphia Museum of Art. A good summary of his legacy was distilled during a 2014 Spanish press conference, when Gehry famously flipped off a journalist for asking him if his own architecture was about spectacle. RIP king!
Björk to launch 2026 Iceland exhibition
Björk at Coachella 2007; photo by Redfishingboat/Flickr
Mother Earth herself is blessing us mere mortals with her art. That’s right, Björk has announced plans for a multimedia exhibition at the National Gallery of Iceland as part of the Reykjavik Arts Festival in 2026. Artnet reports that the exhibit, titled “Echoalia,” will draw upon themes of her upcoming album, which is yet untitled. Two installations previously launched alongside the release of her 2022 album Fossora will receive their own galleries, as will the entrancing work of James Merry, the master embroiderer behind many of the pop icon’s artful masks. If, like this writer, you too have Björk lyrics tattooed on your arm, reach out and let’s coordinate flights to Iceland for next year!
Trump Administration declassifies architecture as professional degree
Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
In the latest news that doesn’t make a damn lick of sense, the Trump administration is seeking to delegitimize architecture degrees in the U.S. As part of the Big Beautiful Bill Act, the regime has overhauled the student reimbursement, which has led to significant changes in federal student financial aid programs, Archinect reports. Under the bill’s Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), annual loans to new student borrowers are capped at $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students. Terms for the qualifications of a professional degree under these measures place architecture degrees in the first camp, separate from professions like nursing, physical therapy, accounting, and engineering in the second camp. New architecture students enrolling in RAP will now be limited to borrowing $20,500 per year and $100,000 overall.
Submit your HD Expo presentations today!
Elizabeth Blau, Blau + Associates and Lin Jerome, Refined Restaurant Group at HD Expo 2025; photo by PWP Studio
Are you ready to inspire, educate, and connect with the greatest names in our industry? Hospitality Design is looking for dynamic speakers, bold presentation ideas, and engaging formats for HD Expo + Conference 2026. Whether you’re a visionary creative, strategic thinker, or changemaker reimagining our future, it’s now your chance to take the stage and begin a new dialogue. The deadline to submit presentation proposals closes December 31st, so don’t wait! Share your idea today, and we’ll see you at Mandalay Bay May 5-7th, 2026. For more info, click here.
