Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i Architectural Digest

“Architecture materializes culture, but to impact culture it has to represent and argue for a broad cohort of communities. Diversity is key.”—Mónica Ponce de León, Dean, Princeton School of Architecture This is the Star Power issue, and it was our own star editor Sam Cochran who informed me that the deans of the architecture schools at an astonishing five Ivy League universities, among other top programs, are now female. Certainly this is a significant triumph and major step forward in a traditionally male-dominated field, and I find the words of these five intellects (all luminaries, but mercifully not a “starchitect” in the lot) enormously inspiring, refreshing, and compelling. “Our mandate is to identify questions that are relevant and urgent, questions like ethics, climate change, and housing,” says Harvard’s Sarah Whiting.…

“You true a wheel to make sure it’s perfectly round,” says Josh Metersky, explaining the engineering term that he and his boyfriend, Aiden Bowman, chose when naming their design firm. Bowman finishes the thought: “It’s making something into its intended shape.” The moniker is fitting considering their slick, highly edited output. Metersky, a mechanical engineer who cut his teeth working for New York lighting designers Ladies & Gentlemen Studio and Bec Brittain, and Bowman, an alum of AD100 firms BIG–Bjarke Ingels Group and wHY Architecture, founded Trueing more than three years ago when they entered a glass-and-brass table lamp into a design competition. Their piece didn’t win, but when images appeared online, sales inquiries started rolling in. Since then, the duo has designed hooks made from leftover dichroic glass, with…

Vaseline glass, invented eons ago yet largely unused today, is a unifying element at Verōnika, the new Manhattan restaurant that Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of the AD100 design firm Roman and Williams created on Park Avenue South. “I love reintroducing old techniques into the cultural conversation,” says Standefer, calling the bar chandeliers’ handmade, ribbed, flowerlike glass shades “almost spooky but in the best way.” Located inside an 1894 Renaissance Revival building that houses a branch of Stockholm’s Fotografiska museum of photography (Veronica is the medium’s patron saint), the eatery has a Mitteleuropean vibe, thanks in part to lighting that seems to reference the 1960s as much as it does Art Nouveau. Mushroom-shaped lamps sprout from the bar, vertical sconces cling to walls, and egg-shaped lamps powered by diode batteries…

“I’d rather have a good mattress than a car,” says Rodman Primack, who directs clients to Coco-Mat’s Proteas model, stuffed with eco-friendly coconut fiber, horsehair, eucalyptus, and more (COCO-MAT.COM). “It’s the best investment for your health.” Monique Gibson couldn’t agree more. “A beautiful bedroom is not enough,” she says, recommending Savoir’s No. Two mattress (SAVOIRBEDS.COM). “There are hands tailoring each bed to your body.” Whereas India Mahdavi chooses Tempur-Pedic (TEMPURPEDIC.COM) for a good night’s rest, Joe Nahem swears by Vispring (VISPRING.COM). “All the springs are tied and sewn by hand,” he explains. “Plus, they use all-natural materials like sheep’s wool and horsehair.” After rave reviews from his clients, he splurged on one for himself. “I now dread getting out of bed,” he says. But a great mattress doesn’t have to…

Items pictured but not listed here are not sourceable. Items similar to vintage and antique pieces shown are often available from the dealers listed. (T) means the item is available only to the trade. SPACE CRAFT COVER, PAGES 66–75: Interior architecture and interiors by Axel Vervoordt; axel-vervoordt.com. Landscape design by Wirtz International Landscape Architects; wirtznv.com. Select architecture by Claudio Silvestrin Architects; claudiosilvestrin.com. Select interiors by Vincent Van Duysen; vincentvanduysen.com. PAGES 72–73: In breakfast corner, custom walnut table by Axel Vervoordt; axel-vervoordt.com. In kitchen, ceramic vases by Shiro Tsujimura from Axel Vervoordt. Custom island by Axel Vervoordt. PAGE 74: Limestone cocktail table by Axel Vervoordt; axel-vervoordt.com. SHAKE IT UP PAGES 76–87: Architectural design and interiors by Patrick Mele; patrickmele.com. Styling by Patrick Mele and Radha Mehta; jaggajewellery.com. Contracting by CC Construction;…

It was 1982 in the remote desert town of Marfa, Texas, and Rainer and Flavin Judd, daughter and son of artist Donald Judd, had just moved into rooms of their own. Don, as they call him, made each of them a desk, but as Flavin explains, “Once you have a desk, you need a chair—a place to sit and do your homework.” In no time, their father sketched one (actually, there were 10 variations) and took the plans to a carpenter to have seats hewn in pine from a lumberyard. The design couldn’t have been simpler, made entirely from flat pine boards. But in that cubic volume beneath the seat, the artist experimented: In one version he placed a shelf, in another a slanting board; another was solid on the…

Shoppers, rejoice! The North Carolina–based furniture company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams has partnered with the U.S. textile giant Kravet to offer some 340 additional upholstery choices, more than half of them treated with a stain-retardant finish. “Personalization is really important to our brand,” says Williams, keen to offer customers “more opportunities to express themselves at home.” From luxurious velvets to graphic jacquards, fresh looks for your new sofa, chair, or bed can be delivered in 10 to 12 weeks. mgbwhome.com…

Beach-body season seems to arrive earlier and earlier each year. But fear not, help is on the way. Designed by creative multi-hyphenate Yves Béhar, the new exercise system Forme is an all-in-one strength-training studio that blurs the line between home and gym. “Our philosophy was to make a fitness machine that’s fully integrated into the home without it being an eyesore,” he says of the device, which doubles as a mirror when not in use, with a minimal footprint. Activated, however, the machine comes to life. Hidden resistance handles can be engaged for anaerobic exercises—perfect for physical therapy and strength training—while a ballet barre can be added for pliés and élevés. And for anyone in need of guidance, Forme features an interactive display with a video instructor to help you…

“You shouldn’t even be an architect if you haven’t been to Japan.” Thus a client admonished AD100 honoree Gil P. Schafer, who, indeed, had never been but planned to attend a conference there. Given the client’s and her husband’s latest request—to transform an unfinished, barnlike gym at their coastal Maine retreat into a Zen yoga and meditation studio—Schafer used the journey as a listening tour. “I like being given a new architectural language to learn to speak with some gracefulness and not complete clumsiness,” he says, adding that his excursion and in-depth research back home taught him “that you can say a lot with less—and as I get older, I’m trying to learn that.” The 650-square-foot heart-pine structure that resulted stands amid a leafy grove, its spare elegance a vest-pocket…

“A small kiosk for contemplation and silent rest” is how AD100 landscape designer Fernando Caruncho describes the Japanese-style wood pavilion, as crimson as a geisha’s lip rouge, that he erected in Normandy, France. The rolling, artfully planted acreage, once owned by the eminent Gallimard publishing family, is now the retreat of a film producer and his decorator wife. They asked the Madrid-based Caruncho to include a getaway within a getaway in his plans, a destination that would be a leisurely stroll away from their incongruously American-looking 1950s white-shingled house. His concept was a pavilion inspired by a Japanese monastery. There was one particular challenge, though—the best site, embraced by a grove of towering black poplar trees, is in a flood plain. Every few years, the adjacent river, a tributary of…

Step off the elevator into Niki Bergen and Andrew Zuckerman’s Manhattan apartment, and you’re instantly blitzed with images from nature—nature like you’ve never seen it before. At the far end of the hall, a nine-foot-tall grizzly bear rises up on its hind legs, locking eyes with you. Nearby, a ghostly snowy owl spreads its wings, frozen in mid-flight. Then there’s the expanse of floral wallpaper, arrayed with fanciful cannonball and Pride of Burma blooms. This wild kingdom makes quite a first impression, and it continues throughout the 3,300-square-foot loft that the couple share with their three children in Chelsea. Everything is a thoughtful expression of personal and professional passions, explains Zuckerman, a photographer and filmmaker whose work explores the intersections of nature, culture, and technology. Captured in ultra–high resolution, against…

J. MEEJIN YOON Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning “In the last decade, the discipline has significantly transformed in terms of practice and research,” notes the Korean-American architect, who was named dean in 2018. “I’m optimistic about architectural education going forward and the role of the academy as a leader around critical social and environmental issues, as well as emerging technologies and their impact on the built environment.” At Cornell, where she studied architecture as an undergraduate, Yoon has shifted discourse to encompass a more global perspective, while expanding the university’s interdisciplinary programs. (She recently helped launch a pilot partnership with the Cornell Tech campus in New York City to develop innovative products, among other initiatives.) She has also trained students’ gaze on new breakthroughs in artificial intelligence,…

“I was pulling my hair out a lot during the process,” says Paul. “But living in a place that you built is a dream come true.” Sun Valley it is not, and that’s the way Aaron Paul likes it. In this Idaho village on the shores of a pristine glacial lake, there’s no Allen & Company conference, no symphony, no arts center, no Hemingway pilgrims, and no traffic. The attractions here appeal more to trekkers than jetsetters: whitewater rafting, hot springs, skiing, and restaurants that skew toward cheeseburgers, fries, and huckleberry ice cream. Aside from Paul—the award-winning actor, who will appear in the new season of Westworld this month and is lauded for his roles in Big Love, BoJack Horseman, and, most famously, Breaking Bad—the biggest local celebrity is a…