Listening rooms are reviving the social ritual of music, the Obama Presidential Center to open with Juneteenth dedication, and the dark side of the world’s most famous restaurant. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Former employees condemn Noma for abuse
René Redzepi; photo by Amy Tang
Once considered the world’s most superlative culinary mecca, Copenhagen restaurant Noma is now the subject of major controversy—and it has nothing to do with the food. The New York Times reports that founding chef René Redzepi was the frequent perpetrator of physical and verbal abuse against his employees. The Times interviewed 35 former Noma employees to compile a timeline of physical punishments inflicted by Redezpi from 2009 to 2017. One incident cited describes Redzepi ordering the entire kitchen staff outside in the middle of a dinner rush to witness him physically assault a sous-chef while hurling homophobic threats at him. In addition to intimidation, body shaming, and public ridicule, nonviolent abuses also included threats of blacklisting staff from fine dining establishments around the world. The famed chef takes partial accountability for his actions in an official statement—emphasis on partial.
The progress and gaps for women in architecture
A villa at Quintana Roo’s Boca de Agua, designed by Frida Escobedo; photo by César Bejar
The architecture industry has advanced with merit since 1991, when Denise Scott Brown’s contributions to Venturi Scott Brown & Associates were overlooked and the Pritzker Prize was awarded solely to her cofounder, Robert Venturi. Women now represent close to half of all architecture students in many countries, with 46 percent beginning their licensure process in the U.S. However, women only account for about 27 percent of licensed architects and nearly 17 percent of firm principals or partners. Regardless of expanded leadership roles in practice, academia, and curatorial platforms, is visibility really sufficient if our institutions continue to transform at a slower pace?
A new deep dive in ArchDaily explores just how far behind the industry really is. A 2017 Dezeen survey of the world’s largest 100 firms found that only three were led by women and 16 had no women in leadership positions at all. Only four female curators have led the Venice Architecture Biennale since its launch in 1980, and five female architects have been commissioned for the annual Serpentine Pavilion during the program’s 26-year history (two firms with female co-leads have also been commissioned). 2018 Serpentine designer Frida Escobedo went on to recently become the first woman ever to design a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Of the six women ever awarded the Pritzker Prize, Zaha Hadid remains the only one to receive the prize individually. Hadid was also the first woman to win the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in its then-160-year history. After more than a century, Julia Morgan also became the first woman awarded the AIA Gold Medal in 2014—a prize only given to Scott Brown in 2016, after her death and shared jointly with Venturi.
What can we learn from the listening room boom?
Acoustic-first listening bar Birds in New York; photo by Ania Fedisz
As the world shrinks further and further into houses, offices, and Amazon trucks, our lack of third spaces becomes only more ominous. The proliferation of listening rooms, however, may reflect a promising shift in tandem with a growing nostalgia and novelty for all things analog. I mean, what a concept to listen to music aloud in a room with your friends and even strangers. According to Dwell, these “analog sanctuaries” were first born out of the booming jazz scene in Tokyo following World War II when listening cafés (ongaku kissa) were all the rage. “Kissa culture” now emerges not only as a boon for the sober or sober-curious, but an ode to the world before we muted each other out in public space. The quality and ethics of streaming have also informed the surge in popularity, affording listeners a new—and hi-fi—way to not only listen to but discover music. Reinterpreting the listening experience as ritual sounds good to me—catch me at Public Records in Brooklyn literally whenever.
Obama Presidential Center slated for Juneteenth opening
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The Obama Presidential Center will make its long-awaited debut in Chicago’s Jackson Park on June 19th, Architect’s Newspaper confirms. Designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in collaboration with Interactive Design Architects and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the forthcoming cultural hub will host a range of opening events organized by the Obama Foundation between June 18th and June 21st. Ceremonies will kick off with a dedication held at John Lewis Plaza, followed by a public inauguration of the campus and museum. The opening date was confirmed in a video message by Barack Obama posted on March 7th, the anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. “You Are America,” the opening words from Obama’s 2015 speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of the marches, is incorporated into the architecture of the museum tower as well.
Last call for submissions!
The Martin chair by 2025 HD/West Elm Student Product Design Competition winner Calvin Ma
Today, Friday, March 13th, is the FINAL DAY TO SUBMIT to the HD/West Elm Student Product Competition and the HDAC Awards of Excellence. Click here to enter the eighth annual HD/West Elm Student Product Competition. Click here to submit a nomination for HDAC’s sixth annual Awards of Excellence.
