ICFF and WantedDesign launch a new virtual event, another popular Manhattan restaurant closes its doors for good, and AIA New York calls for criminal justice reform. All this and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Kenzo Takada dies at 81
Japanese designer and fashion titan Kenzo Takada died October 4th in Paris from complications related to the novel coronavirus, reports the New York Times. He was 81. The young Takada intended to spend only six months in Paris when he arrived in January 1965, but he went on to make it his home for nearly 60 years. The son of hoteliers, he earned a degree from Tokyo’s Bunka Fashion College—where he was the school’s first male student—and was awarded the prestigious Soen Prize in 1960 by Japanese fashion magazine Soen. Takada opened his first store in 1970 and held his first show shortly thereafter. Although Takada sold the brand to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 1993 for $80 million, he remained the designer for six more years. After releasing his archives to support the publication of a comprehensive coffee table book in 2019, Takada launched the luxury home and lifestyle brand K3 earlier this year to pursue his passion for interior design.
AIA issues statement on criminal justice reform
A letter penned by the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) New York chapter board of directors calls upon the architecture community to refuse commissions for the design of U.S. prisons until more “comprehensive policy changes are made on a national scale” to address the system’s racism. “For too long, architects have been complicit in upholding intrinsic racism within the American criminal justice system,” the letter reads. “While many architects have attempted to mitigate injustice by applying their professional skills to associated built structures, ultimately it is beyond the role of design professionals to alleviate an inherently unjust system.” The letter from AIA New York also outlines several initiatives for members to take action, including the push for government advocacy to limit the construction of new prison facilities. Read the full letter here.
ICFF and WantedDesign Manhattan partner on CLOSEUP
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and WantedDesign Manhattan have announced the launch of a new virtual design platform: CLOSEUP. The two-day trade event will connect the A&D community with brands and North American studios while providing design professionals access to source products from local and international manufacturers in a lively interactive format October 28–29th. Streamed from a set in Brooklyn, CLOSEUP will showcase new product collections from 27 companies via prerecorded video presentations. Registration is now open for the event.
Eddie Huang shutters Taiwanese haunt Baohaus
Chef and TV personality Eddie Huang has announced the closure of his signature Taiwanese concept, Baohaus. The hotspot, which rocketed Huang to fame, first opened in New York’s Lower East Side in 2009 and expanded to Los Angeles before shuttering eventually there as well. Eater NY reports that Huang confirmed the news in a sentimental Instagram post: “I opened this restaurant to tell my family’s story through food at a time when no one was giving Asian-Americans a chance in TV, film, books, or media generally,” Huang writes. “I told people not to call me a chef because I knew this was just the jump-off and it doesn’t stop with its closing.”
Planning for the future
We found four urban planning concepts that are rethinking how we live. Take V-Plaze. A Lithuanian skatepark, playground, and urban living room, Berlin firm 3deluxe wanted it to foster a design-driven sense of community. Meanwhile, a new urban park in the Tultitlán section of Mexico City is designed by locally based Productura to instill artful interventions throughout the Hogares Castera housing unit. Swedish firm White Arkitekter is also devising a medley of public spaces that respond to the local environment. Known as True Blue, the plan for Bergen, Norway is poised for completion in 2023. And stateside, Foster + Partners, Gensler, and Rios are collaborating on the Los Angles mixed-use development One Beverly Hills. The 17-acre concept will repurpose and expand the site that houses the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills to develop residences and outdoor living. Read more at Hospitality Design.
