From groundbreaking sculptures meant to challenge our worldview to the a sprawling mall in New Jersey and everything in between, here are the biggest things happening in and around our industry this week.
There goes the neighborhood
It’s no secret people are looking for a sense of community and a way to connect with likeminded individuals. For the past few years, the Summit series, dubbed “Davos for Millennials,” has been one of the pioneers of bringing the best and brightest minds together. Now, taking it to next level, they’re launching their own Horizon neighborhood in Eden, Utah, nestled among the snow-covered hills of the Powder Mountain. Finding its perfect match in Halifax, Canada-based studio MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple, a firm specializing in designing similar village-making projects, Horizon, when complete, will comprise 30 cottages built on stilts that are densely clustered together to reflect the new urbanism principles. Principal Brian MacKay-Lyons told HD in our September issue that the bridges make up his favorite moments. “Passing under them and through the courtyards they create between the homes allows for chance encounters with your neighbors,” he said. “[They] become part of a whole procession into a cabin. You have that bit of vertigo, then, as you step into the great room, you go, ‘holy mackerel.’ This is a calm, simple place, but these experiences leave you with a strong memory.”
Welcome to the jungle
Fashion designer turned hotelier Wilbert Das has created a modern vacation home Casa Cajueiro as an homage to his beloved Brazil, according to The New York Times Style Magazine. Das’s fascination with the country goes back to 2004, when he first visited Trancoso, a small beach town in Bajia, and fell in love with it. Since then, he has been pioneering the rustic-modern design movement by crafting tasteful residences for private clients, as well as overseeing the design of his own hotel brand, Uxua Casa Hotel & Spa. It was in 2015 when he was approached by a friend to create this contemporary, 12,000-square-foot, six-bedroom vacation home that not only overlooks the jungle, but also acts as an extension of it. The project took him four years to complete, but the stunning result seems to be worth it.
Kehinde Wiley makes a powerful statement
Los Angeles-based artist Kehinde Wiley (known for painting the official portrait of Barrack Obama for the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC) unveiled his powerful, statement-making sculpture Rumors of War in Times Square this week as a response to the proliferation of Confederate statues around the country. Here, a young African American figure, dressed in streetwear, sits atop a horse “in a striking pose reminiscent of statues of Robert E. Lee and other Confederate figures,” says Gothamist. To him, the works is about how violence, power, and beauty intersect in today’s society. During the unveiling Wiley, talked about his inspiration. “The story starts with going to Virginia and seeing the monuments that line the streets,” he said. “But it’s also about being in this black body. I’m a black man walking those streets, I’m looking up at those things that give me a sense of dread and fear, what does that feel like physically to walk a public space and to have that your state, your country, your nation say this is what we stand by. No, we want more. We demand more.” The piece will stay in Times Square for two months before being permanently installed at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.
Caption by Hyatt enters the fray
Brand proliferation in the industry continues with Hyatt’s newest entrant in the lifestyle space, Caption by Hyatt. The latest from the hotel giant, which recently acquired Two Roads Hospitality, will contain familiar tropes: communal areas, distinctive F&B concepts, and lively public spaces. “We aim our new brand to be a global growth driver domestically and internationally in dense urban markets, emerging neighborhoods and high foot traffic areas too” says Jim Chu, global head of development of Hyatt. With business travelers in mind, the new brand is aiming to set itself apart by tapping Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group to help create and refine its F&B program, according to Skift.
American Dream goes big
When we think of the suburban mall, it conjures a sense of nostalgia. But thanks to online retail and outdoor shopping centers, the American mall has seen better days. Yet, a new sprawling 3 million-square-foot space with indoor slopes, waterslides, roller coasters, F&B outlets, and department stores is set to change all that. In the works for more than a decade, the American Dream mall in New Jersey is the brainchild of Triple Five Group out of Edmonton, Canada. Known for designing the Mall of America in Minnesota, the group is hoping to recreate that same magic on another massive scale. “We are building something that no other developer in the country has done yet … the Simons, the Westfields, the [Brookfields]—they are all good shopping center developers. But the world today is not about shopping centers, it’s about experiences,” Triple Five President and CEO Don Ghermezian said in an interview with CNBC. When it opens next month, it will have us rethinking what the mall can and should be today.
