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      Outdoor dining on New York City streets becomes permanent

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      New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has made the Open Restaurants Program, which allows restaurants in the city to extend seating onto streets, sidewalks and public spaces, permanent following the coronavirus pandemic.First temporarily initiated in June to allow restaurants to continue doing business while adhering to social distancing restrictions, the programme will now be a year-round fixture, De Blasio announced on 25 September.
      The Open Restaurants Program, which has seen outdoor dining spaces pop up across the city, will boost the capacity of restaurants as they open indoor dining at 50 per cent capacity as New York gradually reopens after the coronavirus lockdown.
      Restaurants allowed to heat outdoor spaces and build tents
      Under the scheme, eateries are allowed to extend seating onto sidewalks and roadways, or onto adjacent outdoor spaces with their neighbours’ consent. Establishments must follow a list of requirements for an Open Restaurant design, which include a clear path on the pavement, a maximum distance from the curb and a required height of enclosing barriers.
      De Blasio’s extension will also introduce guidelines for restaurants to heat outdoor areas during the colder winter months, which will be released by the end of September.

      David Rockwell unveils kit to build restaurants on streets following pandemic

      These regulations will allow the installation of electrical heaters on both sidewalks and roadways, and propane and natural gas heaters only on pavements. Propane will require a permit from New York City Fire Department.
      Restaurants will also be able to build tents, ranging from partial to full enclosures, in order to keep diners warm.
      Outdoor seating enables safe dining amid pandemic
      Food establishments will have to apply online for permission to become an Open Restaurant. Three or more restaurants on a street that is closed to traffic can also apply together to expand outdoors in another option known as Open Streets: Restaurants.
      Following the city lockdown, more than 10,300 restaurants citywide reopened with activities outdoors over summer, according to the New York Times, allowing them to stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.
      A number of architects and designers also came up with creative ways for restaurants to allow safe dining post-Covid-19. In May, ahead of New York’s outdoor dining programme, designer David Rockwell created a kit of parts to turn the city’s streets into outdoor restaurants with socially distanced dining.
      His firm, Rockwell Group, later built a pro-bono DineOut NYC project (pictured top) comprising 120 seats for restaurants on Mott Street in Chinatown.
      Arts centre Mediamatic also developed a socially distanced dining experience in Amsterdam where guests sit in their own greenhouse and hosts wear face shields.
      Photograph of DineOut NYC is by Emily Andrews for Rockwell Group.

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      French interior designer Christian Liaigre dies aged 77

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      Christian Liaigre, who fashioned homes for the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Calvin Klein, has passed away at the age of 77.The French creative and founder of design studio Liaigre, died on Wednesday 2 September. As an interior designer, he was revered for his restrained aesthetic approach.
      Employing clean lines and natural materials throughout each of his projects, Liaigre’s style was seen as particularly unusual when he emerged in the 1980s.
      “Christian Liaigre preferred to let his designs speak for themselves,” said Liaigre’s studio in a statement.
      “He created furniture and objects that reflected his dedication to beauty, a search for balance, an accuracy for proportions and perfection in the detail,” added the studio.
      “His luxurious no-frill designs impressed a demanding international clientele on a quest for authenticity.”
      Liaigre had few public-facing projects
      Born in 1943 in the French coastal city of La Rochelle, Liaigre started developing his knowledge of the design sphere when he enrolled in art school Beaux-Arts de Paris at age 17, before going on to study at L’ecole des Arts Décoratifs.
      Liaigre established his eponymous studio in 1985 and opened the doors to his first showroom on Rue de Varenne in Paris’ seventh arrondissement.

      Five luxury villas around the world by French interiors studio Liaigre

      Initially, the late designer only made furnishings but soon went on to develop entire interiors for residences, holiday homes, offices, as well as the cabins of jets and yachts.
      His rare public projects – such as the 1990 overhaul of Paris’ Hotel Montalembert, and 1997 revamp of New York’s Mercer Hotel – meant that Liaigre was known on both sides of the Atlantic, yet he largely preferred to work with a roster of private clients.
      “Surrounded by the best craftsmen, he imagined and delivered spaces that expressed simplicity, sincerity, a modern and timeless style, alongside a natural attention to wellbeing,” said his studio.
      Liaigre eventually stepped down from his studio in 2016, handing over the position of creative director to long-term collaborator Frauke Meyer.
      “His taste and style was unmatched”
      When studio Liaigre announced their founder’s death over Instagram, tributes poured in from notable industry figures. Designer Ronan Bouroullec recalled meeting Liaigre at L’ecole des Arts Décoratifs and him showing interest in one of Bouroullec’s early furniture models.
      “He was so gentle, so simple and nice with me. Someone formidable,” Bouroullec wrote in a comment.
      Hotelier Ian Schrager also commented, “there is only Christian [Liaigre] and no one else”.
      “The world is less without him. To me, he was the best and most talented designer in the world.” Schrager continued. “His taste and style was unmatched and his refined simplicity and elegance stood above everybody else.”
      Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen additionally took to Instagram to celebrate the life of Liaigre, revealing he had been a fan of the late designer’s work since the end of the 1980s: “Since then, he’s been a great source of inspiration to me, not only as a creative mind but also as an overall stylish yet humble human being.”
      Liaigre continued to design luxury homes in countries around the world after its founder retired in 2016.

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      Brave Ground named Colour of the Year for 2021

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      Paint brand Dulux has unveiled a “reassuring” earthy beige hue called Brave Ground as its colour of the year for 2021.Brave Ground was selected as an “elemental” hue that reflects “the strength we can draw from nature, our growing desire to align more with the planet and looking towards the future” – particularly in a world still dealing with the challenges of the coronavirus crisis.
      Dulux decided on the shade after months of working with paint company AkzoNobel, and a roster of trend forecasters, design specialists, editors and architects from across the globe.

      “As a result of the global pandemic many people’s priorities are shifting significantly, to focus much more on their well-being,” explained creative director of Dulux UK Marianne Shillingford.

      “Colour can play a significant role in this – and with the calming, restorative and natural tones of our ColourFutures 2021 palettes we hope to empower professionals to create spaces where occupants can reflect, recharge and recalibrate.”

      “The past year has seen how we live and work utterly transformed,” added Heleen van Gen, head of AkzoNobel’s Global Aesthetic Centre in the Netherlands.
      “We have gone through the most uncertain of times, so it’s understandable that we see reassuring, natural tones returning, which can be used to create the calm and sanctuary people require.”

      As well as offering a sense of tranquillity, Brave Ground is also intended to be a versatile colour that can be applied to a variety of different settings. Shifting in tone throughout the day, the colour creates what Dulux and AkzoNobel describe as “subtly responsive environments”.

      “Could all things ‘green’ be the glue that sticks us back together?”

      The two companies have additionally developed a handful of complementary colour palettes that can “sit comfortably” alongside Brave Ground – among them is Expressive, a collection of striking reds and pinks, and Timeless, a warm group of yellows and ochres.

      Brave Ground is slightly more muted in appearance than Tranquil Dawn, a cool-green shade that Dulux selected as its colour of the year for 2020.
      At the time of its unveiling, interiors writer and former ELLE Decor editor-in-chief Michelle Ogundehin said in an opinion piece for Dezeen that the paint brand “could have been bolder” and opted for a stronger hue that more acutely reflected mounting global unrest.
      American company Pantone is yet to announce its 2021 colour of the year – last year it chose Classic Blue, a “universal favourite” hue that is meant to “brings a sense of peace and tranquillity to the human spirit”.

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      OMA designs glass volume to top Tiffany & Co's New York flagship store

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      OMA New York, led by Shohei Shigematsu, has unveiled its design for a glass addition to top the historic Tiffany & Co store on Fifth Avenue in New York City.The project involves the preservation of the jewellery brand’s 80-year old flagship location, a renovation of its ground floor and the construction of a rectangular glass volume that will span three storeys, adding space for hosting exhibitions and events.
      Built in 1940 by Cross & Cross, the existing limestone facade of the Tiffany & Co building is marked by its grid of windows and scalloped edges. In 1980 an upper volume was added to the building to house offices, which will be demolished and replaced by the new glass structure as part of this latest renovation by OMA.

      “Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue Flagship is more than a retail space, it is a destination with a public dimension,” said OMA Partner Shohei Shigematsu. “The new addition is informed by programmatic needs of the evolving brand – a gathering place that acts as a contemporary counterpart to the iconic ground level space and its activities.”

      “The floating volume over an existing terrace provides a clear visual cue to a vertical journey of diverse experiences throughout the building,” he added.
      OMA’s design plans to form the new volume using two stacked glass structures. The lower one will comprise a recessed box covered with glass windows, while the upper portion will be wrapped with slumped glass walls modelled after the building’s decorative parapet.

      OMA adds iridescent glass escalator to New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue

      The ridged glass requires minimal vertical support and has a reflective surface designed for viewing the city from the interiors while offering privacy looking in from the exterior.
      An outdoor patio for hosting events surrounds the lower, two-storey volume. The existing space is furnished with tables and plants that overlook Fifth Avenue and on to Central Park. Its double height walls are wrapped with smooth glass panes and vertical silver frames to tie the two volumes together.
      “The two spaces of the upper volume that make up the new addition is a moment of clear but complementary contrast to the original flagship,” the studio added. “It is a symbolic ending to the building that reflects an evolved luxury experience that is more a journey than a destination.”

      The project is currently under construction and is expected to complete in Spring 2022.
      Shigematsu leads OMA New York with fellow partner Jason Long. The outpost is intended to function independently from the studio’s international offices, including Rotterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Doha and Australia, as part of an initiative of founder Rem Koolhaas.
      Last year the studio installed a multicoloured escalator inside the renovated Saks Fifth Avenue department store.
      Other recent projects by the New York office include a plan for the 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington DC and a series of galleries inside Gio Ponti’s Denver Art Museum.

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      Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel sets up in-house lab dedicated to generative design

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      Architecture firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel has launched ACPVLab, a research and development unit that will focus on using generative design to develop bespoke interiors.Led by Paolo Mazza and Marco Brambilla – who are both partners at Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel – ACPVLab will use generative design technology to “move beyond off-the-shelf solutions” and create “richer” interiors at a fast pace.
      Generative design involves using computer software to generate a variety of design solutions that meet the pre-set parameters of a given space.
      “Generative design, assisted by artificial intelligence, has now reached a level of accessibility and computational power which allows us to use it for our bespoke design, now supported by more and better-informed decisions,” Mazza told Dezeen.
      “Generative design and its algorithms will improve the speed with which variables such as comfort, people-to-people distance, headcount maximization, sustainability, natural lighting and other environmental and project data can be taken into account during the design process.”

      Wallgren Arkitekter and BOX Bygg create parametric tool that generates adaptive plans

      Using generative design, ACPVLab is setting out to develop its own scripts and software tools that will be able to process a greater amount of input data and therefore consider a wider array of spatial parameters.
      These tools will be able to be to produce different types of spaces including residential, commercial and offices – something which Mazza says is particularly important in light of the global coronavirus pandemic, which has challenged the way in which we can safely use and occupy workspaces.
      “We believe that the change of culture in workplaces is profound and will change the proportions between collaborative and personal workspaces, shifting the weight heavily towards collaborative spaces – social distancing is just one of the many parameters we feed our scripts with,” added Mazza.
      “In its essence, the new tool will allow for a more free, unconstrained and wide terrain of possibilities and configurations within which architects can operate and react quickly to ever-changing needs.”
      ACPVLab joins a growing number of architecture, construction and design companies turning to generative design. Last year, Wallgren Arkitekter and BOX Bygg worked together to create a parametric tool called Finch which can help architects and designers adapt their floor plans to suit the constraints of a given site.
      Phillipe Starck also employed generative design software developed by Autodesk to produce the AI chair for Italian furniture brand Kartell. Autodesk claimed it is the world’s first chair created using artificial intelligence to go into production.
      Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel was founded by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel and is based in Milan.

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      This week, architects designed innovative public toilets for Tokyo

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      This week on Dezeen, we featured three unusual restrooms designed for the Tokyo Toilet project, including Shigeru Ban’s colourful, transparent design.As well as Ban’s restroom, whose transparent walls become opaque when the toilets are in use, designs include Wonderwall’s concrete toilet that references primitive Japanese huts, and Fumihiko Maki’s “squid toilet” which is located in a park known as the Octopus Park.
      The project is being run by the not-for-profit Nippon Foundation and will see 17 toilets being built in total.

      Revit software costs “reasonable” says Autodesk president and CEO Andrew Anagnost
      The CEO of American software maker Autodesk, Andrew Anagnost, replied to criticism from leading architects about the rising cost and lack of development of its Revit application.

      Though he admitted improvements “didn’t progress as quickly” as they should, he called the expense of Autodesk software “certainly reasonable for tools that are at the centre of the daily work of architects.”

      Harikrishnan’s blow-up latex trousers go on sale with “do not overinflate” warning
      Fashion blew up this week, as Harikrishnan’s inflatable trousers went on sale – just six months after the designer showed them at his graduate show – with a warning to “not overinflate” the shiny latex garments.
      Spanish artist SiiGii took the concept one step further with their wearable, inflatable latex lilo, which enables the wearer to float in the ocean without worrying about sun exposure.

      Architecture “is more elitist than the most elite university in the world” says Phineas Harper
      Open House and Open City director and Dezeen columnist Phineas Harper inspired a passionate discussion in the comments after accusing architecture of rampant elitism.
      In a Twitter thread, the former Architecture Foundation deputy director compared the percentage of architects from non-state schools in its New Architects 3 publication with the percentage of state school students who went to Cambridge las year.
      “[W]e *need* to start talking about the impact of private schools on architecture,” Harper said.

      Dyson family to make art collection public in home gallery by Chris Wilkinson
      James Dyson, vacuum-cleaner entrepreneur and the UK’s wealthiest person, and his wife Deirdre are set to open their private art collection to the public in an art gallery that WilkinsonEyre’s founder, Chris Wilkinson, has designed for their UK home.
      In Ireland, O’Donnell + Tuomey unveiled a timber and concrete pedestrian bridge, which was built over the River Lee to improve connections to University College Cork. The bridge gives students direct access to an area of green space across the river from the university.

      Snøhetta, Studio Gang and Henning Larsen unveil designs for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
      Competing designs for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, which will be built in Medora, North Dakota, were presented by Snøhetta, Studio Gang and Henning Larsen.
      Proposals include a scheme composed of four angular volumes topped by grass, a building composed of three horseshoe-shaped structures, and a library topped with a huge, curved roof that acts as an extension of the landscape.

      BIG reveals masterplan for “urban lilypads” off coast of Penang Island
      In other architecture news, Dutch studio MVRDV announced its plans to turn a deteriorating concrete factory in China into a creative office space with a maze-like garden on the roof.
      Denmark’s BIG unveiled its masterplan for BiodiverCity Penang, a series of islands in Malaysia that will be connected by a car-free autonomous transport system.

      Step House extension built around perforated birch-ply staircase
      Popular projects on Dezeen this week include the Step House extension with its plywood staircase, Worrel Yeung’s industrial artist studios in historic Brooklyn factory buildings, and Ridgewood, a renovated California house that pays homage to its “flamboyant” modernist architect.
      This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week’s top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don’t miss anything.

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      This week, we unveiled the longlists for Dezeen Awards 2020

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      This week on Dezeen, we revealed the longlisted architecture, interiors and design projects that are in line to win this year’s Dezeen Awards, as well as the studios producing the best work.In total, we received over 4,300 entries from 85 countries for the third edition of Dezeen Awards. There are 302 projects on the architecture longlist, 305 projects on the interiors longlist and 318 projects on the design longlist.
      All longlisted projects and studios are featured on a dedicated page on the Dezeen Awards website, alongside information about each practice.

      IKEA unveils first branded fashion and accessories collection
      In this week’s design news, we revealed to our readers Swedish furniture company IKEA’s first branded clothing and accessory collection, called Efterträda.

      The 10-piece line includes t-shirts, hoodies, bottles, umbrellas, towels and tote bags that are emblazoned with the IKEA logo and the barcode of its well-known Billy shelving system.

      Virgil Abloh and AMO design flexible flagship Off-White store in Miami that “can host a runway show”
      Over in the world of fashion, Virgil Abloh unveiled his flagship Off-White store in the Miami Design District, created in collaboration with AMO director Samir Bantal.
      The store is designed to be flexible, functioning as a fulfilment centre that can easily be turned into a multipurpose events space.
      “The shop can host a runway show, it can host a talk, it can host a cafe,” explained Abloh.

      Beyoncé’s Black Is King film aims to start “a global conversation” says stylist Zerina Akers
      Dezeen also interviewed Beyoncé’s stylist Zerina Akers this week on creating the costumes for the artist’s latest visual album Black Is King.
      Looks included a cowhide outfit by Burberry inspired by the Zulu people of South Africa and a Valentino leopard-print sequined catsuit that took over 300 hours to hand-sew.
      “I wanted to have this global conversation with the wardrobe,” Akers told Dezeen. “I hope that people of all colours recognise and respect the power and beauty of brown skin.”

      Anti-drone antennas set to be built on top of Oscar Niemeyer palaces in Brasília
      In Brazil, the country’s national heritage institute stepped up to protect three Oscar Niemeyer-designed buildings in Brasília. The heritage body condemned plans by the government to install anti-drone antennas on top of the Alvorado, Planalto and Jaburu palaces, saying they would “directly impact” the iconic structures.
      Elsewhere in the city, Italian architect Carlo Ratti revealed the design for a one-million-square-metre high-tech innovation district that will be an extension to Brasília’s masterplan that was created by Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa.

      MAD reveals Wormhole Library overlooking the South China Sea
      In architecture news, Chinese studio MAD revealed its design for a library in the Chinese city of Haikou that is intended to be “a wormhole that transcends time and space”.
      Foster + Partners also unveiled visuals of a 39-storey skyscraper that it has designed to be constructed over the Pitt Street metro station, which it is also developing, in Sydney, Australia.

      The Nest at Sossus guesthouse in Namibia features a thatched facade
      Other projects popular among Dezeen readers this week include a Zurich home with lake and vineyard views by Think Architecture, an off-grid guesthouse in Namibia with a thatched roof and a house screened by perforated, black cobogó bricks in São Paulo.
      This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week’s top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don’t miss anything.

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      United in Design aims to provide a “road map” to make the interiors industry more diverse

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      Interior designers Sophie Ashby and Alexandria Dauley have set up United in Design, an organisation that aims to increase racial diversity within the interiors industry.The initiative, which is supported by designers Martin Brudnizki and Joyce Wang, as well as Dezeen columnist Michelle Ogundehin, will invite studios to pledge committing a series of actions to make the interior design industry racially inclusive.
      “Our goal, together with our esteemed steering committee, is to create a UK wide initiative and provide an actionable road map for design studios, magazines and suppliers to follow,” said Ashby and Dauley.
      “We are the definition of grassroots for now, but we are thinking big and in it for the long-haul,” they continued. “We aim to create equal opportunities to those who may previously have been overlooked, side-lined or worse.”

      United in Design was founded by interior designers Alexandria Dauley (left) and Sophie Ashby
      A steering committee comprised of the founders, Brudnizki, Wang, Ogundehin, and a roster of others such as Graeme Brooker, who is head of design at the RCA and Emily Senior, who is digital editor at House & Garden magazine, will determine United in Design’s direction.

      United in Design members will commit to supporting the BAME community
      The organisation aims to support the BAME community in two ways – the first is the creation of a resource hub-cum-online journal, which will provide guidance on how to get a career in interior design and share employment and training opportunities.
      This resource will be overseen by Simon Hamilton, an interior design career coach and former international director of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID).
      United in Design will also ask interior design professionals to commit to its seven-point action pledge.
      Five of the actions focus on commitments to the BAME community: school outreach, career insight days and work experience, mentoring, apprenticeships, and talks with art schools, design colleges and universities.
      The other two actions – diversity training and promoting the work of BAME designers through press and PR – are commitments that professionals will carry out within their own businesses.
      Members will pay an annual subscription fee
      Those that are able to commit themselves to at least three of the seven pledges will become “a member of the United in Design movement”.
      Members will also have to pay an annual subscription fee to the United in Design charity which will go towards funding initiatives and widening their outreach.

      “Hire black designers first and foremost,” say organisers of Where are the Black Designers? anti-racism conference

      The launch of United in Design comes in light of the murder of George Floyd and wave of anti-racism protests across the globe.
      In the days following Floyd’s death – when several creatives were sharing black squares on Instagram to show solidarity with racial equality – Ashby issued a statement that called out “uncomfortable home truths” about the exclusionary nature of the interiors industry. She also addressed her own “blatant failure” of running a diverse design company.
      “The outpouring of energy and sheer drive for change I received in response to this post was the fuel I needed to take it one step further and start to provide actionable avenues for change,” Ashby told Dezeen.
      United in Design “powered by first-hand experience”
      “My passion for United in Design was ultimately powered by first-hand experience of this reality,” added Dauley, who noted the lack of BAME people when she both studied and tutored at the KLC School of Design. “I began outreach to leading industry figures to specifically promote the benefits of addressing inequality.”
      Others in the interiors and wider designer industry are trying to tackle and talk about the issue of inclusivity. Last month, in an opinion column for Dezeen, Michelle Ogundehin shared her personal experiences with racism and said that more open discussions about diversity need to be provoked.
      Interior designer Rukmini Patel and writer Kate Watson-Smyth, who runs interiors blog Made About the House, have recently collaborated to launch the Design for Diversity campaign.
      It asks brands, influencers and publications to post a sticker to their website or social media channels – by using the sticker, they pledge to consider the visibility, opportunity and accessibility of different races, genders and sexualities.
      Visual designer Mitzi Okou and interaction designer Garret Albury also teamed up to organise Where are the Black Designers?, an online conference that looked into the underrepresentation of black talent in the design and education industries.

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