An architectural icon in Tokyo is set to be dismantled, Paris plans to honor a late artist, and restaurant staff shortages continue. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Restaurant workers are leaving the industry in droves
According to NPR, every month of 2021 thus far has seen 5 percent of the U.S. restaurant workforce leave their jobs behind. As dining restrictions have lifted, there are now 1.2 million open positions in the industry, with workers and industry veterans citing extremely low pay and a lack of benefits. Over the past 10 years, the average hourly wage for restaurant workers has risen from $10 to just over $15 this past May, a month when an estimated 706,000 employees hung up their hats. Employers are starting to take note, however, with major chains advertising higher wages and some employers even paying interviewees just to come in.
Arc de Triomphe will soon honor late artist Christo
Bulgiaria-born artist Christo Vladimirov Javacheff sadly died in 2020 before he could complete his ambitious “L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped” project in Paris, conceived with his co-designer and wife Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, which the National News reports he had been dreaming of for decades. The artist’s nephew, Vladimir Javacheff, is working with the Pompidou Centre and French authorities to complete Christo’s vision and wrap the city’s iconic symbol in nearly 270,000 square feet of silvery-blue fabric. The target for the full unveiling is currently set for September 18th and the exhibit will run through October 3rd.
Jorge M. Pérez’s art-filled mansion goes up for sale
Photo by Nick Garcia
Art collector and Related Group CEO Jorge M. Pérez is asking $33 million for his mansion in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood, reports ARTnews. As a vocal supporter of Latin American artists and their works, the real estate developer has filled the 10,152-square-foot home, located on a one-acre property, with notable pieces both indoors and out over the past 25 years. Thanks to a $35 million donation and continued support, the Miami Art Museum was renamed the Pérez Art Museum Miami, which he spoke about at length in an interview with us late last year.
Tokyo’s landmark Nakagin Capsule Tower to be disassembled
An icon from architect Kisho Kurokawa, the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo’s Ginza neighborhood, built as part of Japan’s postwar metabolist movement, is to be disassembled after falling into disrepair, reports Dezeen. After owners and residents failed to find a buyer willing to complete the restoration, they sold their units, though are also crowdfunding to renovate the capsules so they can be relocated elsewhere in the city, with some likely to be donated to museums.
Join us at HD Expo for conversations with Venus Williams, Steve Wilson, and Todd-Avery Lenahan
Photo by Kevin Sturman
The return of HD Expo in Las Vegas is just a month away and we’re getting excited for a series of featured conversations at the August 24+25th show that are sure to be informative and inspirational. Venus Williams, tennis star and owner of V Starr Interiors; Steve Wilson, cofounder of 21c Hotels, which designed this year’s HD Social Hub; and Todd-Avery Lenahan, president and CCO at Wynn, will each sit down in conversation with HD editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen. Register now to ensure you don’t miss it.
