Thomas Phifer Designs The Museum of Modern Art Warsaw

Celebrated architect Thomas Phifer has worked on dozens of cultural institutions across the U.S., most notably completing expansions to the Glenstone in Potomac, Maryland, and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, plus myriad residential commissions. But he hasn’t done a project in Europe. Until now, when Thomas Phifer and Partners has designed not one but two buildings in Poland: the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw and the TR Warszawa Theatre. The former has just bowed, marking not only a milestone for Phifer but also for the museum, or MSN (the Polish acronym for Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej), which hasn’t had a permanent home since its founding in 2005.

And what a home it is. The three-story structure is on Plac Defilad, the largest public square in Europe. Beyond its facade of crisp-white architectural cast-in-place concrete, the 213,000-square-foot interior features a series of “city rooms,” their expansive windows overlooking the plac, and a monumental staircase connecting all the galleries. Those are now installed with “The Impermanent: Four Takes on the Collection,” the MSN’s inaugural exhibition drawn from its 4,300-plus holdings, which spans pieces from the 1950’s to today,  focusing on how artists have interpreted modernism and its political, economic, and creative implications and revealing the changes across the visual arts in the last seven decades. “The galleries serve as catalysts for Warsaw’s cultural renaissance,” Phifer says. “We imagined the building as a vitrine of light, not only a museum but also a town hall where Varsovians and visitors can participate in the life of the city.”

Inside The Museum of Modern Art Warsaw

Explore A Vibrant Photo Exhibit At Villa Medici In Rome

Italy is a hotbed of creativity every spring, thanks to the Salone de Mobile in Milan and the Biennale di Venezia in Venice. This year, fairgoers may want to add a stop in Rome for “Chromotherapia: The Feel-Good Color Photography” at Villa Medici. According to the American Medical Association, it may even be healthy for them to do so, as color can impact mood, cognitive function, anxiety levels, and overall psychological well-being. Indeed, even just a gander at the rich reds in images by Martin Parr and William Wegman, who are among the 19 artists featured in the exhibition showcasing more than 200 works categorized into seven “chapters,” can energize and stimulate, while Adrienne Raquel’s petal pink and crisp white have a more clarifying affect. The show is cocurated by Villa Medici director Sam Stourdzé and artist Maurizio Cattelan, the latter also con­tributing a photograph created with Pierpaolo Ferrari, cofounder of the magazine Toiletpaper. Fittingly, the subject is covered in spaghetti.

In Bloom: Flowers Take Center Stage In A London Exhibit

With spring upon the northern hemisphere, floral-themed exhibitions are abloom in the U.S. and Europe. In “The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism” at New York Botanical Garden, for example, thousands of the tropical specimens cluster around vivid partitions inspired by Luis Barragán; at Denver Botanic Gardens, “Finding Light” features Anna Kaye’s charcoal depictions of forest plants regrowing after a wildfire.

Perhaps the most extensive of these shows is “Flowers–Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture” at Saatchi Gallery in London. It’s compre­hensive not only in size—with more than 500 works by 150 international artists, both established and emerging—but also in scope, ranging from the subject’s influence on painting, sculpture, film, fashion, and decor, organized among nine separate galleries. Among the standouts is Jo Grogan’s Best Chair, sprouting ceramic tulips, a Victorian-meets-punk ensemble by Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, and an engaging 35-foot-high entry mural by Sophie Mess, titled Journey of Progress. “The beauty and symbolic power of flowers,” say exhibit cocurators Katherine Benson and Rosie Grant, “invite reflection on the human experience.”

Discover AvroKO’s Bold Creative Hub For Innovation

It’s a trendlet. Firms investing in spaces beyond their offices for experimentation, community, and curation. There’s RW Guild by Roman and Williams and Ken Fulk’s namesake retail bungalow. The latest is Host on Howard, a long-brewing concept by Giants firm AvroKO founding partners Kristina O’Neal, Adam Farmerie, William Harris, and Greg Bradshaw, who count Danny Meyer, Ian Schrager, 1 Hotels, and LVMH among their clients. “It’s our love letter to hospitality,” O’Neal says, pointing to the “huglike” arches and intimate horseshoe-shape bar defining the 1,500-square-foot gallery, located on the ground floor of the SoHo building (on Howard Street) where AvroKO’s studio is. Sprinkled throughout are what she calls “tools for gathering,” high-design solutions for entertaining: bar trolleys, soft-glow lighting, furniture—all custom and available on HOH’s website. Also on display are objets and artworks selected or made by the team; they’re currently surrounded by walls painted a progressively darkening dusty green for “The Paradisa,” the Eden-themed inaugural exhibition. So far, it’s backdropped a Lunar New Year celebration, salons, and book launches. “We hope,” O’Neal adds, “we’re creating experiences that foster a more connected world.”

This Miami Installation Offers A Tribute To The Ndebele Tribe

It was a year of milestones for the week-long affair collectively known as Art Basel Miami Beach/Design Miami. The latter celebrated its 20th anniversary, featuring some 45 international galleries under the theme Blue Sky, emphasizing imaginative concepts. Outside the convention center where it’s held, a jewelry-themed installation did just that. It was part of “Pearl Jam” by 34-year-old architectural and urban designer Nicole Nomsa Moyo, the cluster of interactive, boldly hued pearl trees a tribute to the Ndebele, a tribe in South Africa, where she was raised, and the winner of the Miami Design District’s Design Commission, itself in its 10th edition. “Pearl Jam,” Nomsa Moyo says of the title, “symbolizes a fusion of heritage and artistic evolution, the ‘pearl’ representing women like me in Ndebele culture and their timeless artistry in jewelry, clothing, and architecture, the ‘jam’ conveying a dynamic re­imagining that yields a new form of cultural art.” Those new forms appear all over town: in Paradise Plaza as giant pearls of recycled aluminum, as earrings of South African–sourced glass beads dangling from trees, and as a large de-constructable necklace, aka a modular bench, in the Palm Court that stands near the site’s iconic Buckminster Fuller dome. “The installations,” adds Nomsa Moyo, who’s now based in Toronto, where she moved after earning her master’s in architecture from Carleton University in Ottawa, “reflect the power of art to transform spaces and connect people.”

Malian Architect Cheick Diallo Hosts Debut U.S. Solo Show

His furniture pieces are in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in Manhattan, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (as well as France’s Centre Pompidou and Germany’s Vitra Design Museum). Yet Malian architect Cheick Diallo has yet to have a solo gallery exhibition in the U.S. That changes this winter with “Taama” at Southern Guild Los Angeles.* “It refers to my long path of discovery, creation, and experimentation, and that creating itself is a journey, one that takes commitment and courage to continue,” Diallo says of the show’s moniker, which means voyage in Malinké.

That’s what visitors will go on at the gallery, where his 25 works on display, mostly sculptural seating, range from the early 1990’s, after Diallo graduated from the École d’Architecture de Rouen and ENSCI, Paris, to today. All reflect his studio practice, which centers on a revival of West African craft and what he calls “poor” materials—locally sourced detritus such as bottle tops, fishing wire, leather scraps, and old tires. One of Diallo’s most famous designs, the 2002 Ségou rocker, is handwoven of nylon thread; his recent Tête de choux, which resembles a head of cabbage, is made from paper. “Even after all these years,” reflects the 64-year-old, “I’m still learning.”

* At press time, Southern Guild L.A. was unharmed by the California wildfires and its exhibitions were going ahead as planned.

Technogym Showcases 40 Distinct Benches To Honor Anniversary

Since its founding in 1983 by Nerio Alessandri, Technogym has been laser-focused on wellness, through its high-end sports equipment, sustainability-driven Italian headquarters, and commitment to social and economic health for all; in fact, its Instagram hashtag is #letsmoveforabetterworld. In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the brand launched “Design to Move,” an exhibition that debuted during Milan Design Week last spring and culminated this fall during London Design Festival at the new Piccadilly boutique (its concept and that of all stores worldwide developed by Antonio Citterio). The project, a collaboration with architect Giulio Cappellini and curator Bruna Roccasalva, showcased 40 Technogym benches interpreted by 40 international creatives, the U.K.’s Kelly Hoppen, Nigeria’s Myles Igwebuike, and Spain’s Patricia Urquiola among them, 15 of which were auctioned via Sotheby’s in September, and the remainder available for purchase at Technogym.com, all proceeds going to UNICEF. So far, more than $300,000 has been raised.

Explore Paul Rudolph’s Enduring Legacy At The Met

His Harvard GSD classmates included I.M. Pei. He taught Norman Foster at Yale University. And, with a portfolio encompassing residential and commercial projects stateside and abroad, his clients ranged from Halston to Tuskegee University to the Niagara Falls Public Library. This history and more are explored in “Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the institution’s first such exhibition since its 1972 Marcel Breuer survey, and particularly meaningful, as Rudolph’s 1952 Sanderling Beach Club in Sarasota, Florida, was destroyed by Hurrican Helene four days before the exhibit’s opening.

It features over 80 works in various scales, from small objects that Kentucky-born Rudolph collected throughout his life to work-related models, furniture, material samples, and colored pencils used for his “intricate, visionary drawings,” curator Abraham Thomas notes. Photographs are included too, spanning the architect’s 1950’s Sarasota Modern houses to his later, brutalist works, such as Yale’s Art and Architecture Building (now Rudolph Hall) and Temple Street Parking Garage, both in Connecticut and completed while he chaired the school’s architecture department. Of the latter, famous for its organic, poured-in-place concrete form, its sodium lights recently replaced with LEDs, he said: “I wanted to make a building which said it dealt with cars and movement. I wanted there to be no doubt that this is a parking garage.”

5 Premier Residential Communities Offering Enriching Amenities

From Atlanta to São Paulo, new-build to retrofit, today’s residential developments boast enriching amenities, whether man- or Mother Nature–made.

Residential Developments From Atlanta to São Paulo

One Domino Project by Selldorf Architects

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The latest addition to the redeveloped 11-acre Domino Sugar Factory site in Williamsburg is composed of 39- and 55-story towers sheathed in iridescent tiles developed by COR Architecture + Design that reflect sunlight and the waterfront. That outdoor con­nection continues inside, where amenities, located in the shared five-story podium, include a cedar-lined sauna, a 50-foot pool surrounded by verdant Sicis mosaics, its glass oculus glimps­ing the fitness center above, and a coworking lounge in a dusk palette. Likewise, residences feature such natural materials as teak for cabinetry and Carrara marble for countertops, as well as pieces from Vica, the furnishings collection by Interior Design Hall of Fame member Annabelle Selldorf.

Oscar Ibirapuera by Fernanda Marques Arquitetura and Perkins&Will

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The city’s iconic Ibirapuera Park, completed in 1954 by Roberto Burle Marx, was the muse for this pair of new 14-floor buildings, with architecture by Perkins&Will and interiors and select furniture by local architect Fernanda Marques. The nods to tropical modernism begin with the facade, some elevations shaded by HPL wood-look brise-soleils, and the entry, where a nautical-rope bench by Indio da Costa keeps company with native plants and Brazilian cumaru planks. Tauari, another local wood, defines the dry sauna, among the suite of perks that include indoor and outdoor pools, the shape of the latter’s deck echoing that of the Oscar Niemeyer–designed lake within the park, of which many residences have unobstructed views.

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Sora at Spring Quarter by Cooper Carry and Fogarty Finger

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“A light in the urban forest” is how Fogarty Finger describes this structure, its first multifamily project here, for which it handled interiors, with Cooper Carry architecting the 29-story base building. Colors, materials, art, and furnishings tie to the city, its vast tree canopy, or nature in general. Take the sunlit, double-height lobby, where a solid-oak stairway leads to the mezzanine library, one wall hosting a Christina Kwan mural, fronted by a side table from B10 Union, artist and furniture maker local. Additional amenities are grouped on the 10th and 11th floors; the former is where residents can lounge in sophistication on Space Copenhagen’s Infinity sectional gazing at works by Caomin Xie and Eric Moore, both also Atlanta-based, under Stickbulb’s Diamond fixture, or scale the fitness center’s 20-foot climbing wall painted leafy hues.

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Aman Residences by Yabu Pushelberg 

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Occupying the top levels of Pelli Clarke & Partners’s 65-story Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, the tallest residential building in Japan, a quiet luxury pervades the public spaces, spa, and six-bedroom penthouse, achieved via this firm’s signature employ of exquisite materials, blue-chip art, and sumptuous self-designed furnishings. Witness the travertine envelope and Dennis Lin sculpture in the lobby, and the 20-foot oak ceiling, slender Tatsuya Tokura plasterwork, and softly rounded Lombard Street sofas in the La Maison living room. Also curvaceous is the orb composed of waterproof plaster protruding over the 82-foot heated pool, part of the 15,000-square-foot Aman Spa, like the belly of a whale, the indigo ceramic screens made locally.

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Renata Sampaio Building by Metro Arquitetos

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First designed as a commercial entity by architect Oswaldo Arthur Bratke in 1958, the 13-story edifice has been converted to mixed-use, offering cafés, event spaces, and residences, ranging from studios to three-bedrooms, for short or long stays, furnished with vintage and found pieces as well as those by Metro Objetos, the firm’s product division. The angular swimming pool is new, occupying an existing terrace, now planted with native palm trees and guaimbés, but the concrete breeze-block facade is original, albeit repainted and repointed. It’s chiaroscuro effect inspired the lobby’s black granite flooring and ebonized cedar paneling.

Discover Storied Works By Sottsass On Display In Paris

For its second year, Design Miami.Paris was held at the L’hôtel de Maisons, where exquisite vintage and new furnishings for sale included Jean Prouvé’s 1952 prefab Carnac House, Anna Le Corno’s Undergrowth desk composed of mycelium, and a series of vivid, shapely totems made and named after noteworthy historical, literary, and mythical women by Ettore Sottsass for Sèvres. To celebrate the latter collection’s 30th anniversary, the centuries-old French porcelain manufacturer has mounted “Sottsass | Sèvres Tempus 1994–2024,” a coinciding and still-on-view exhibition at its Paris gallery, reintroducing the same 14 sculptures shown at Design Miami.Paris, plus one wonderful surtout, or table centerpiece.

“Sèvres by Sottsass is the most powerful expression of Sottsass’s genius and his dream of eternity,” architect and exhibit curator Charles Zana says of the Memphis Group founder. In fact, the Sèvres pieces, which have such titles as Cléopâtre, Joséphine, and Juliette, boast hues and shapes that are Memphis reminiscent—and showcase the Italian icon’s ceaseless quest for balance in form, confrontation of materials, and exploration of color. They’re also part of the Musée nationaux de Sèvres’s permanent collection.