The MoMA Design Store in Soho, New York, has reopened following a renovation by Brooklyn-based Peterson Rich Office. Built in 1884, the cast iron and masonry building has been carefully restored to its original footprint, a move that re-centers circulation and opens views into the interior from Spring Street. The updated store creates a contemporary new framework which celebrates the 19th-century ‘messiness’ of its historic home at 81 Spring Street.

designboom attended a preview ahead of the public opening on September 27th, 2025, where lead architects Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich spoke about the design process and goals for the project.

‘We got a wonderful brief from MoMA,’ says Nathan Rich. ‘The first goal was to create a meaningful dialogue between the Design Store and this historic building. The second was to connect with the public, literally bringing the street in. And the third was to showcase the products themselves in special ways.‘

windows reopened to Spring Street create a stronger dialogue with Soho | images © Eric Petschek

historic details revealed

The MoMA Design Store renovation emphasizes the building’s authentic details, exposing cast iron columns, brickwork, and even portions of the original tin ceiling. Layers of later alterations were stripped back to allow the historic textures to read clearly against new interventions.

‘What we love about working in older buildings is peeling back the layers,’ explains Miriam Peterson. ‘The ceiling had been dropped, columns were covered, and the facade was blocked off. One of the first things we did was reveal the brick and arches and look at archival drawings to relocate the entrance to its original center position.’

The facade, once painted a muddy brown color called Afternoon Tea, has been restored to black with approval from the Landmarks Commission. ‘That subtle change reframed the interior from the street,’ Peterson adds. ‘It creates a stronger frame through which to view the store, while resonating with the masonry context of the neighborhood.‘

perforated steel shelving in MoMA’s signature blue brings a flexible backdrop for products

a contemporary framework

Inside the MoMA Design Store, the 6,600-square-foot space is organized through a system of flexible casework and display structures. Perforated steel shelving finished in MoMA’s signature blue, vitrines, and movable islands establish rhythm and variety, while casters allow the lower level to be cleared for talks and gatherings. A new perimeter shelving system by Rareraw, a Korean family business making its U.S. debut, integrates lighting into a versatile framework.

The architects emphasized adaptability and narrative potential. Nathan Rich describes the approach: ‘Everything here was made by brilliant creators. The store itself should help tell those stories — signage, displays, and layout all work to feature the products in meaningful ways.‘

historic cast iron and masonry details are revealed throughout the space

connecting store, street, and museum

The reopened windows and re-centered entry reinforce the link between the store and the streetscape, creating transparency and drawing the public in. This connection extends to the north wall, now home to a rotating Modern Mural program. The opening installation, LOVE NYC by Nina Chanel Abney, echoes Soho’s urban fabric while referencing MoMA’s collection, turning the wall into both an interior focal point and a street-facing canvas.

‘The mural announces from the moment you walk in that this is MoMA,’ Peterson says. ‘It frames the threshold between street and store, reinforcing the connection between the Design Store and the museum.’

The renovation balances a reverence for the building’s industrial heritage with the precision required of a retail environment. Exposed tin ceilings and rough masonry contrast with crisp steel shelving and controlled lighting. Peterson notes: ‘We embraced the messiness of the old building and saw it as part of the palette that directly engages with the new products.‘

the north wall features Nina Chanel Abney’s Love NYC mural

The news comes shortly after the opening of MoMA’s bookstore in Seoul. Residents and visitors in the Korean city will find the new space in the Dosan Park area of Gangnam, the fast-growing and now-iconic neighborhood south of the Han River. See designboom’s coverage here.

project info:

name: MoMA Design Store | @momadesignstore

renovation architect: Peterson Rich Office | @peterson_rich_office

location: 81 Spring Street, New York, NY

client: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) | @themuseumofmodernart

mural artist: Nina Chanel Abney | @ninachanel

completion: September 27th, 2025

photography: © Eric Petschek | @cb

The post MoMA design store renovation celebrates messiness of 19th-century new york appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Artist Cj Hendry is back with a second edition of her plush Flower Market, the interactive installation which has just transformed New York City‘s Rockefeller Center into a landscape of hand-crafted flowers. New Yorkers and visitors are welcome to explore the space and curate their own bouquet for just one weekend from Friday, September 19th until Sunday, September 21st, 2025 from 10am-7pm.

This year’s opening comes one year after the Flower Market’s viral debut. That first iteration occupied the minimalist Louis Kahn-designed park at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island before it expanded to Brooklyn’s Industry City to accommodate swelling crowds. Those previous sites were certainly less central than this year’s prime spot in Midtown Manhattan — the elongated greenhouse sits beneath the plaza’s row of world flags and overlooks the sunken courtyard which, during the winter months, hosts the city’s most iconic ice rink.

Twenty-seven new plush flower designs are introduced this year, each produced with the same attention to quality and detail that defines Cj Hendry’s varied practice. Visitors are invited to select a flower to take home, with all additional flowers available for just $5 USD. This way, the installation extends beyond its setting and out into the rest of the city. ‘It was so lovely to see every other person below 14th street carrying a bouquet of flowers,’ writes a commenter on social media.

Cj Hendry’s Flower Market 2.0 arrives in Rockefeller Center | image © Cj Hendry Studio

Cj hendry is ‘dialing it up to 100’

With its new location in Rockefeller Center, Cj Hendry’s Flower Market is still an immersive, greenhouse-like environment. Inside, a series of original artworks by the artist’s studio, editioned floral wall sculptures, and a line of limited-edition merchandise — including totes, t-shirts, and caps — extend the project into multiple formats.

A satellite Flower Cart at Top of the Rock, open daily from early morning until midnight, even brings the work into dialogue with one of the most well-known observation decks in New York. Moreover, a limited 28th plush flower design is being offered exclusively at Top of the Rock as an add-on to ticketed entry.

Hendry describes last year’s Flower Market as ‘chaotic and beautiful,’ a spontaneous exchange between her artworks and the city, so that interaction and collection become part of the art. This Flower Market 2.0 version channels that same energy into a context which is even more chaotic. ‘We’re dialing everything up to one hundred,’ she says.

the installation is open from September 19th — 21st, 2025 | image © Cj Hendry Studio

visitors are invited to select a flower to take home, with more available for purchase | image © Cj Hendry Studio

this new edition introduces twenty-seven new plush flower designs | image © designboom

a limited 28th flower design will be available exclusively at Top of the Rock | image © designboom

the Flower Market is an immersive, greenhouse-like environment | image © designboom

original artworks and editioned floral wall sculptures will be on view | image © designboom

a Flower Cart satellite location will be open from morning to midnight | image © designboom

project info:

name: Flower Market

artist: Cj Hendry | @cj_hendry

location: Rockefeller Center, NYC

dates: September 19th — 21st, 2025 (10am-7pm)

photography: © Cj Hendry Studio, © designboom

The post Cj hendry’s flower market returns to NYC, this time at rockefeller center appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

SAW.Earth has directed a student workshop to create an ellipsoidal greenhouse, optimizing solar exposure for the Scholes Street Community Garden in Brooklyn, NY. Over 4 weeks, with students from the New York Institute of Technology Graduate School of Architecture and Design, the team constructed an ellipse-shaped greenhouse with tiered wooden shelving to maximize area along the sun path of the garden.

all images by Dan McMahon

SAW.Earth collaborates with students on the greenhouse design

Students, along with the design team at SAW.Earth, used cedar wood and copper flashing to allow for subtle aging over time. This marks the sixth completed permanent structure SAW.Earth’s program at NYIT SoAD has built, creating structures for community gardens throughout NYC.

Ellipsoidal Greenhouse designed for a Brooklyn community garden

created through a workshop led by SAW.Earth

built in collaboration with NYIT architecture graduate students

the structure optimizes solar exposure for plant growth

shaped as an ellipse to follow the sun path

tiered wooden shelving maximizes interior growing space

cedar wood used for natural durability

elliptical geometry enhances light distribution inside

workshop provided hands-on construction experience for students

structure combines functionality with material longevity

designed to support the Scholes Street Community Garden

project info:

name: Ellipsoidal Greenhouse
architect: SAW.Earth | @saw.earth

project team director: Drew Seskunas/SAW.Earth

students: Rayhaan Albuquerque, Yeisy Batista, Devam Desai, Michelle Jungreis, Matan Lobel, Yuan Luo, Angela Madrigal, Mert Osar, Anjali Nilesh Patel, Hetvi Gauravkumar Patel, Meet Hareshkumar Patel, Alicia Daniela Perozo Maldonado, Finley Yaoming Richard

photographer: Dan McMahon | @mcmahon_photo

The post ellipsoidal greenhouse by SAW.Earth and design students brings sunlight to brooklyn garden appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Herzog & de Meuron restores one of New York’s iconic examples of urban Brutalism, the Breuer Building, set to open to the public in late 2025 as the new global headquarters of Sotheby’s, marking the latest chapter in the life of a structure that has continually adapted to house some of the city’s most significant art collections.

The restoration, in collaboration with local firm Platt Byard Dovell White Architects (PBDW), embraces a ‘light-touch’ approach, retaining Breuer’s original materials and spatial intentions while updating infrastructure to improve accessibility, curatorial flexibility, and the visitor experience. The character-defining features of the building remain intact, including bush-hammered concrete walls, coffered ceilings, mahogany finishes, and bluestone floors. Yet new interventions, such as a discreetly inserted elevator and revamped lighting systems, prepare the building for diverse programming. 

UPDATE August 12th, 2025: Sotheby’s announces the opening date for this worldwide headquarters as Saturday, November 8th, 2025. The opening will be free and open to the public and will coincide with an exhibition of Modern and Contemporary art.

‘On November 8, we will be honored to welcome the global art community back into this remarkable museum quality space,’ comments Charles F. Stewart, Sotheby’s Chief Executive Officer. ‘On behalf of all of us at Sotheby’s, I extend our gratitude to our partners Herzog & de Meuron for their brilliant work in amplifying the Breuer’s historical and material legacy for the Sotheby’s era. They have devoted the same level of care and respect to the building as you would a great work of art. I’d also like to thank the New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee for their support and praise for our ‘spectacular’ use of the space. We think visitors will agree.’

945 Madison Ave, New York, Ny, Usa, Marcel Breuer, 1966 (As The Whitney Museum) | images courtesy of Sotheby’s

A New Chapter for new york’s Brutalist Icon

Originally completed in 1966 by Bauhaus-trained architect Marcel Breuer for the Whitney Museum of American Art, the inverted ziggurat form, with its recessed windows and robust concrete facade, was designed to provoke. Since its opening, the building has served as a home for art, temporarily housing the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Collection after the Whitney’s departure in 2014. Now, nearly 60 years later, Sotheby’s takes over as steward of the building’s next phase, preserving its cultural role while offering free public access for the first time in its history. 

The project embraces the contradictions of the building, retaining the severe materiality of the lobby, including bronze, concrete, and wood finishes, but now integrates vitrines and display counters in dialogue with Breuer’s original benches. On the gallery floors, the design team at Herzog & de Meuron reinterprets the irregular window openings as curatorial assets, using them to organize the space and reintroduce a connection with the street. Formerly dim interiors are brightened through layered lighting strategies that allow the building to support new media and a wider range of exhibitions.

© Frank Stella / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York, © 2025 The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

a shift from museum to auction house

According to Jacques Herzog, the firm sees this project as part of a long-standing practice of working with existing buildings. ‘We have always admired the Breuer Building,’ he notes, describing it as ‘an architectural icon of postwar modernism.’ Like their earlier work on the Park Avenue Armory, the design team approaches this intervention with a sense of excitement and responsibility, aiming to restore lost spatial clarity and make the building relevant for a new audience and function.

As the city continues to grow and build in all directions, the transformation of the Breuer Building offers an approach that values the past while shaping the future. Once a museum and soon to be an auction house, the building is shifting from one part of the art world to another, remaining a striking presence.

Willem de Kooning: © 2025 The Willem de Kooning Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Ellsworth Kelly: © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery. Joan Mitchell: © Estate of Joan Mitchell

© 2025 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc., Courtesy David Zwirner, This rendering includes a reproduction of Georgia O’Keeffe’s, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, 1932, that will not be on view on Sotheby’s © 2025 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Jackson Pollock: © 2025 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Lucio Fontana: © 2025 Estate of Lucio Fontana / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY

recessed windows punctuate the robust concrete facade

Herzog & de Meuron restores the Breuer Building

project info:

name: Sotheby’s Global Headquarters

building: The Breuer Building (originally Whitney Museum of American Art)

original architect: Marcel Breuer (1966)

renovation architect: Herzon & de Meuron | @HerzogdeMeuron

executive architect & preservation: Platt Byard Dovell White Architects (PBDW) | @pbdwarchitects

location: 945 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, USA

site area: 1,200 square meters (12,916 sqft)

gross floor area (GFA): 7,268 square meters (78,232 sqft)

client: Sotheby’s | @sothebys

design team: Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Wim Walschap (Partner in Charge), Philip Schmerbeck (Associate, Project Director), Jackie Bae (Associate, Project Manager), Bethany Herrmann (Project Designer), Farhad Ahmad, Marija Brdarski, Javier de Cárdenas Canomanuel, Sebastian Frowein, Nathan Mehl, Melodie Sanchez

structural engineering: Silman Structural Solution / TYLin

MEPFP engineering: AMA Group USA

lighting design: Tillotson Design Associates

AV & low voltage consulting: TMT Technology

acoustic consulting: Eligator Acoustics Associates

geotechnical consulting: Langan Engineering and Environmental Services

vertical transportation: DTM Inc.

life safety: Homes Keogh Associates

code consulting: Gillman Consulting Inc.

waterproofing & special inspections: Socotec Engineering, Inc.

contractor: J.T. Magen

The post sotheby’s HQ to open november 2025 in NYC herzog & de meuron-restored breuer building appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

In Harlem, New York, a new building for the Studio Museum will take shape as a significant addition for the institution. The contemporary structure, designed by Adjaye Associates, is currently under construction on its original site. The museum’s new home replaces the adapted commercial building designed in 1982. This project, the museum’s first custom-built facility, is a result of a public-private partnership with the City of New York. It will enable the museum to expand its exhibitions, programs, and public spaces while establishing a prominent architectural presence in the Harlem community.

The design of the new Studio Museum draws inspiration from Harlem’s rich cultural and architectural heritage. Adjaye Associates looked to the neighborhood’s churches, theater stages, and brownstone stoops to shape the building’s relationship with its surroundings. A facade of dark grey precast concrete, with sandblasted and polished finishes, is interspersed with glass elements. This design plays with apertures, frames, and doorways, creating a visual collage that references the masonry architecture of the neighborhood. With its porous nature, the building allows the street life of Harlem to connect with the activity inside, breaking down barriers between the museum and the community.

UPDATE August 6th, 2025: The Studio Museum in Harlem announces November 15th, 2025, as the public opening date for its long-awaited new home at 144 West 125th Street. The 7,600-square-meter building is set to open with a full-day community event, inviting visitors to explore the reimagined spaces of the museum, from state-of-the-art galleries and rooftop terraces to education workshops and the monumental public stoop designed for talks and performances. The inaugural season will feature exhibitions by Tom Lloyd and the museum’s artist-in-residence program, alongside archival material and new commissions by artists of African descent. 

exterior view of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building | image © Dror Baldinger FAIA | , courtesy of the Studio Museum in Harlem

studio museum: a welcoming link to the community

At street level, a large, double-height window blurs the boundary between the sidewalks of Harlem and the Studio Museum’s interior. This transparency reflects the institution’s goal of being open and accessible to the public. Inside, a prominent feature is the ‘reverse stoop,’ a stepped area at the front of the building that leads visitors down into the museum. This architectural element creates a generous public space for gathering and socializing while paying homage to the social significance of Harlem’s stoops and churches.

The new Adjaye & Associates-designed building offers 82,000 square feet of space across five stories, representing a significant increase in exhibition and public areas. The architects organize the galleries to accommodate a wide range of artworks, from large-scale installations to smaller, intimate pieces. By integrating the exhibition spaces with educational areas, the museum fosters an organic flow between creativity, production, and learning. The expanded facilities also include artist-in-residence studios, communal spaces, and flexible areas for programs and events.

One of the museum‘s most exciting features is its rooftop terrace, which offers sweeping views of Harlem and the city beyond. This outdoor space will host events and programs, designed in collaboration with landscape firm Studio Zewde. The terrace enhances the museum’s role as a community hub, providing a unique vantage point for visitors to experience Harlem.

images © Albert Vecerka

Inaugural Exhibitions: Celebrating the Museum’s Legacy

Opening in the fall of 2025, Harlem’s Studio Museum will inaugurate its new home with a series of exhibitions that pay tribute to its legacy. A major highlight is a comprehensive look at the work of artist Tom Lloyd, whose solo show opened the museum in 1968. This exhibition, the first institutional solo show of Lloyd’s work since that time, will include a range of pieces, from his pioneering electronic sculptures to found-object artworks and archival materials documenting his activism.

The museum will also present a survey of its permanent collection, featuring works by artists of African descent from the 1800s to the present day. The collection highlights the museum’s longstanding commitment to fostering the careers of Black artists and shaping conversations around contemporary art. Public spaces throughout the building will also feature works by artists such as David Hammons, Glenn Ligon, and Houston E. Conwill, integrating art into the fabric of the museum.

interior view of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building, featuring the Stoop and the lobby | image © Dror Baldinger FAIA, courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem

interior view of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building, featuring the Stoop and the Grand Staircase | image © Dror Baldinger FAIA, courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem

images © Albert Vecerka

Tom Lloyd standing in front of unknown artwork, 1968. courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem

Tom Lloyd, Moussakoo, c. 1968. aluminum, light bulbs, and plastic laminate, dimensions variable. Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of The Lloyd Family and Jamilah Wilson 1996.11; courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. photo by John Berens

Tom Lloyd and apprentices in the artist’s studio in Jamaica, Queens, c. 1968. courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. photo by Reginald McGhee

Rashid Johnson, Bruise Painting ‘Tarmac,’ 2023. oil on linen, 72 × 96 × 1 5/8 in. Studio Museum in Harlem; museum purchase with funds provided by Greg Mondre and Lise and Jeffrey Wilks 2023.19.1. photo by John Berens © Rashid Johnson. courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth

Barkley L. Hendricks, Lawdy Mama, 1969. oil and gold leaf on canvas, 53 3/4 × 36 1/4 in. Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Stuart Liebman, in memory of Joseph B. Liebman 1983.25; © Barkley L. Hendricks. courtesy the Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. photo by Adam Reich

Lorraine O’Grady, Art Is…(Girlfriends Times Two), 1983/2009. 40 digital chromogenic color prints, 16 × 20 in. Studio Museum in Harlem; museum purchase and gift of the artist in honor of the Harlem community 2016.5a-nn. photo by John Berens © 2024 Lorraine O’Grady / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

project info:

project title: Studio Museum in Harlem | @studiomuseum

architecture: Adjaye Associates | @adjayeassociates

location: 144 West 125th Street New York, NY

opening date: November 15th, 2025

photographers: Albert Vecerka | @albertvecerka, Dror Baldinger FAIA | @drorbaldingerphotographer

project team, Adjaye Associates: David Adjaye, Russell Crader, Christina Yang, Pascale Sablan, Camaal Benoit

project team, Cooper Robertson: Erin Flynn, Scott Newman, Jonathan Pietro, Alfia White

landscape: Zewde Studio | @studio_zewde

landscape team: Sara Zewde, Rae Ishee, Naomi Fassil

facade: Thornton Tomasetti

structural (design): Guy Nordenson & Associates

structural (EOR): Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

civil engineer: Langan

vertical transportation: VDA

lighting: Fisher Marantz Stone

sustainability: Socotec

theater: Fisher Dachs Associates

acoustic: Longman Lindsey

construction manager: Sciame Construction

diversity inclusion, compliance: McKissack & McKissack

The post studio museum in harlem to reopen november 2025 with adjaye-designed building appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Just opposite the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan, New York, Selgascano and Curtis Su Associates carve an immersive café for % Arabica behind a narrow, subterranean storefront. The architects transform the 20-meter-long, 3.7-meter-wide space, sitting one meter below street level, into an enveloping wooden interior, where the architecture folds around the body like a second skin. With a ceiling height of just 2.55 meters, the team embraces the compact proportions, amplifying them through a continuous handcrafted surface that wraps across walls and ceiling like a warm cocoon.

images courtesy of Selgascano and Curtis Su Associates

horizontal counter divides % Arabica new york midtown interior

A 10-meter-long counter that organizes the narrow interior of the % Arabica New York Midtown location, running almost the entire length of the space. This single horizontal element serves to divide the wooden shell into two visual zones. In the area above, Spanish architectural office Selgascano and South Pasadena-based Curtis Su Associates paint the timber white to reflect light and brighten the low ceiling. Below, they retain its natural tone, bringing texture and warmth closer to the body.

The extra layer of wood traces the uneven geometry of the existing structure, smoothing its dips, angles, and quirks.  The curving surfaces were scanned, milled, and coaxed into shape. Curtis Su Associates used 3D scanning to map the existing shell and CNC-cut timber panels into continuous curves. These were combined with GRG (glass-fiber reinforced gypsum) to maintain fluid transitions across corners and ceilings. A large mirror by the entrance helps stretch the perspective and gives passersby a brief, disorienting view into the space.

From the street, very little reveals what’s going on inside. The facade is left mostly untouched, with cracks, patches, and traces of past use still visible. There’s no big sign or formal entrance, just the % Arabica logo, gently placed, marking the entry into an intimate space.

from the street, very little reveals what’s going on inside

Curtis Su Associates used 3D scanning to map the existing shell and CNC-cut timber panels into continuous curves

the extra layer of wood traces the uneven geometry of the existing structure

a 10-meter-long counter organizes the narrow interior

white-painted timber reflects light and brightens the low ceiling

the continuous handcrafted surface wraps across walls and ceiling like a warm cocoon

a large mirror by the entrance helps stretch the perspective

integrated wall niches provide designated areas for display

the curving surfaces were scanned, milled, and coaxed into shape

project info:

name: Arabica New York Midtown

architects: Selgascano | @selgascano, Curtis Su Associates | @curtissudesign

location: New York City, US

area: 74 square meters (approx. 20 x 3.7 m, height 2.55 m)

fabrication, installation: Curtis Su Associates

collaborator: Define NY

client: % Arabica | @arabica.journal

The post selgascano and curtis su envelop % arabica new york café in handcrafted timber cocoon appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

A rare example of space-age residential architecture in New York, the Bubble House at 251 East 71st Street has been listed for sale by Leslie Garfield for the first time since 1973. Originally a 19th-century brownstone, the property was dramatically transformed in 1969 by architect Maurice Medcalfe of Hills & Medcalfe into a beloved modernist townhouse recognized by its Martian-esque facade.

The house’s exterior is defined by a smooth, pale stucco surface punctuated by convex oval windows, Medcalfe’s reinterpretation of the classic bay window. These deeply curved apertures flood the interior with light while forming the feature that gives the residence its popular nickname, the Bubble House. Set among the brick and limestone facades of Lenox Hill’s Upper East Side, the house asserts its difference through form, material, and rhythm, projecting an architectural language more aligned with futurism of the Space Age than historic revival.

Medcalfe’s renovation in the late 1960s came at a moment when modern architecture was beginning to infiltrate even the most tradition-bound New York neighborhoods. His approach to the townhouse typology was both playful and disciplined, rejecting symmetry in favor of curvature and lightness. The building’s facade appears as a shell, closed in its material consistency but animated by the swelling windows that seem to hover over the street.

images courtesy Leslie Garfield

a mid-century home in need of renovation

Inside the iconic Bubble House, the generous proportions and mid-century layout of a New York townhouse are retained. These interiors span approximately 4,736 square feet across four stories plus a basement. The current configuration includes four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a street-level office that allows for flexible live/work arrangements. While the finishes have aged, the structure offers a clear framework for adaptation.

The plan provides large, open rooms with natural light channeled in through the oval fenestration. The resulting brightness and privacy create a foundation that could maintain the building’s architectural identity even through a much-needed contemporary restoration.

the Bubble House in New York is listed for sale for the first time in over fifty years

the bubble house: an upper east side outlier 

Located on a quiet, tree-lined block just off Second Avenue, the Bubble House is within walking distance of Central Park and numerous cultural institutions. Its presence in Lenox Hill — a neighborhood characterized by turn-of-the-century architecture and prewar apartment buildings — offers a study in contrast. Unlike many historic conversions that blend into the streetscape, this residence stands apart, a deliberate interruption that has endured for more than five decades.

That durability is due in part to the consistency of its ownership. After designing and living in the home for several years, architect Maurice Medcalfe sold the property to Rabbi Arthur Schneier, who has maintained it ever since. The listing marks the end of an era and opens a new chapter for a house that continues to provoke curiosity and admiration. 

architect Maurice Medcalfe transformed the 19th-century brownstone into a modernist home in 1969

Although the Bubble House is not officially landmarked, its design has earned cult recognition among architecture enthusiasts. Its distinctiveness lies in its resistance to classification. It is neither a standard modern townhouse nor a nostalgic replica. Instead, it occupies a narrow but compelling territory between residential function and architectural experiment.

With its $5.75 million asking price through Leslie Garfield (see here), the property enters the market as both a collectible and a canvas. Its next owner will inherit a home with architectural pedigree, spatial character, and an enduring sense of otherness in the heart of Manhattan. Whether preserved, restored, or reimagined, the Bubble House remains one of New York’s most singular architectural statements.

the facade features smooth stucco and convex oval windows that earned the home its nickname

natural light enters through the operable windows, creating bright spacious interiors

the residence spans 4,736 square feet across four stories and a basement

the current layout includes four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a garden-level office

located in the Upper East Side, the house contrasts with the neighborhood’s traditional fabric

project info:

name: Bubble House

address: 251 East 71st Street, new York, NY 

renovation architect: Maurice Medcalfe

renovation completion: 1969

listing: Leslie Garfield

photography: courtesy Leslie Garfield

The post new york’s space-age bubble house lists for sale for the first time in over 50 years appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Crosby Studios and floral design studio Flover present Flower Room, a one-day installation staged inside a private townhouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Conceived by Crosby founder Harry Nuriev, the project invited visitors into a fleeting environment where industrial materials and botanical fragments coexist to shape a sculptural silver capsule.

At the center of the installation stands a reflective structure made entirely from aluminum barbecue trays, a recurring material in Nuriev’s work. The silver-toned capsule, previously introduced in his Paris gallery, was filled with the byproducts of floral arrangement including discarded petals, bouquet scraps, and loose blooms arranged in buckets. These remnants, often overlooked in traditional floral displays, were placed in full view around a central table that seems to be discovered mid-use, lending the space a suspended, work-in-progress quality.

Crosby Studios and Flover create a one-night installation in Williamsburg | image © Pauline Shapiro

celebrating the ephemera of floristry

Flover brings its distinctive approach to its collaboration with Crosby Studios by layering the interior with sculptural floral compositions. Its design emphasizes the tension between beauty and decay, integrating its organic forms with the capsule’s industrial shell. Rather than arranging flowers as finished products, The floral design studio highlights the ephemera of floristry as part of the room’s architectural language.

The setting added to the installation’s resonance, as Flower Room was staged inside a townhouse recently designed by the team at Crosby Studios for Compass. This site-specific context extended the dialogue between architecture and interiors, with the silver capsule interrupting the domestic space as a temporary laboratory of creative expression.

the installation took place inside a Crosby Studios-designed townhouse | image © Pauline Shapiro

Material, Memory, and Transformation

With Flower Room, Crosby Studios and Flover highlight the role of residue and repetition in the act of making. By exposing the fragments typically left behind, the team centered the material traces of floristry and construction as worthy of architectural attention. The installation functions as an embodied reflection of process, one in which silvery surfaces and organic forms come together in dialogue.

Though it remained open for just one evening, Flower Room brought together over 230 visitors, including artists, designers, and local creatives. The space’s layered environment demonstrates the experimental spirit of both Crosby and Flover, and obscures the boundary between sculpture, set design, and temporary exhibition.

a sculptural silver capsule is made from aluminum barbecue trays | image © Pauline Shapiro

inside the capsule are silver petals, bouquet remnants, and buckets of loose flowers | image © designboom

a central worktable appears frozen in mid-process | image © designboom

flover transforms the capsule into a layered botanical space using expressive floral compositions | image © designboom

the installation emphasizes discarded materials typically hidden in floral displays | image © Pauline Shapiro

Flower Room welcomed over 230 guests during its one-night run | image © designboom

project info:

name: Flower Room

artist: Flover | @flovernyc

architect: Crosby Studios | @crosbystudios

on view: July 16th, 2025

photography: © designboom, © Pauline Shapiro | @paulineshapirophoto

The post ‘flower room’ by crosby studios and flover gleams with silver blossoms in brooklyn appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Yuge Zhou’s hypnotic work Trampoline Color Exercise takes over 95 billboards in New York City’s Times Square. The moving-image collage depicts leaping gymnasts whose uniforms and identities shapeshift as they flip and tumble on pink gridded trampolines. Created by manipulating aerial vantage points from archival broadcasts of Olympic Games footage, the artwork is a bird’s-eye meditation on the human form and the athletic pursuit of perfection. The mass of figures also reads as an abstract play of primary colors — a timely yet subtle nod to global national flags and fluctuating affiliations in an ever-changing geopolitical climate.

all images by Michael Hull unless stated otherwise

yuge zhou considers complexities of allegiance

Yuge Zhou left her hometown of Beijing for the United States right around the time of the 2008 Olympic games – a monumental event for China. The artist began conceptualizing Trampoline Color Exercise between 2021 and 2024, a period marked by intense political and international divisions. Drawing from personal memories of watching the Olympic Games as a family ritual, being captivated by the athletes’ pursuit of perfection as well as the powerful symbolism of individuals representing their nations, competing on a shared global stage. ‘The Olympics, to me, have always mirrored the dynamics of international relations, especially the tensions and rivalries between global superpowers,’ Zhou notes.

She revisits the visual language of athleticism and pageantry, using it as a lens to explore shifting ideologies and cultural identities. The Olympics, long viewed as a stage for both collaboration and rivalry between nations, here become a symbolic terrain for examining the complexities of allegiance. Working with archival Olympic footage as the starting point, Zhou extracted aerial views of athletes mid-performance and reassembled them into a dynamic visual field as they’re leaping and tumbling on pink gridded trampolines. Their uniforms and identities change as they move across a shifting tapestry of motion and color. Collectively, the mass of figures becomes an abstract composition of primary colors — subtly evoking the national flags of countries that have played outsized roles in shaping recent geopolitical events. The work is currently on view as part of the Midnight Moment program presented by Times Square Arts, the world’s largest public art venue, and plays nightly from 11:57 PM to midnight through June 30th.

Yuge Zhou unveils Trampoline Color Exercise

the hypnotic work takes over 95 billboards in New York City’s Times Square

image by DeShaun Craddock

created by manipulating aerial vantage points from archival broadcasts of Olympic Games footage

the artwork is a bird’s-eye meditation on the human form and the athletic pursuit of perfection

Zhou extracted aerial views of athletes mid-performance and reassembled them into a dynamic visual field

the work is on view as part of the Midnight Moment program presented by Times Square Arts

project info:

name: Trampoline Color Exercise
artist: Yuge Zhou | @yugezhou

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom

The post leaping olympic gymnasts form shifting colorfield in yuge zhou’s NYC times square takeover appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

At Pier 36 in downtown Manhattan, Hermès is set to open Mystery at the Grooms’, a sprawling interactive installation that invites visitors into a fictional French estate teeming with theatrical intrigue. The event runs from June 19th through June 29th and transforms a former warehouse into a series of immersive rooms populated by equestrian staff, luxurious objects, and a puzzle waiting to be solved.

The exhibition centers on the Grooms’ House, a domestic world created for the caretakers of the Hermès horses. From the outset, the setting affirms the brand’s equestrian heritage, which dates to 1837 when Hermès was established as a harness and saddle maker. Here, that legacy is restaged with a twist — the horses have gone missing, and it’s up to guests to locate them using a mobile phone-based game that links digital interactivity with physical exploration.

Six rooms — the Head Grooms’ Office, Dormitory, Pantry, Refectory, Laundry, and Stock Room — have been outfitted as richly atmospheric spaces, with subtle shifts in lighting, sound, and scent setting the tone for each interior. Visitors begin their journey in a stylized garden filled with flower arrangements, horse-shaped topiaries, and luminous Hermès motifs tucked into floral displays.

Mystery at the Grooms’ by Hermès can be discovered at Pier 36 in New York City | image © designboom

horses are hidden among hermès objects

Each unique space throughout Mystery at the Grooms’ functions as both a stage set and a showcase of Hermès design. Items from the fashion house‘s sixteen metiers —  including ready-to-wear, ceramics, equestrian gear, and leather goods — are integrated into the narrative, acting as a camouflage for the herd of missing horses.

The Laundry is lined with a rack of monochrome shirts on a conveyor belt, among which a horse-shaped patch peeks out from a sweatshirt. In another, guests lift a silver dome to reveal a mare hiding beneath. The attention to material detail is acute, with polished oak cabinets, custom textiles, and hand-painted tiles reinforcing the spirit of the brand.

Clues might be either visual or tactile. A hidden safe in the office opens only after the correct code is deciphered. In the dormitory, a peephole concealed behind a painting reveals another member of the missing herd. Throughout, the game is timed — visitors are allotted seven minutes per room, and progress is tracked digitally.

the Head Groom’s Office | image © designboom

exploring the world of the grooms

Performers dressed as grooms guide participants through the Hermès-designed house, offering in-character hints to the mystery. One of the recurring voices belongs to ‘Mr. Honore,’ a fictional detective who takes his name from the street where the original Hermès store still stands in Paris. His narration, heard through mobile speakers, adds a theatrical backdrop to the search and turns each design vignette into a moment of investigation.

Beyond the installation’s fictional premise, Mystery at the Grooms’ maintains a steady focus on the tactile and material world. Carrots stand in for knives in the refectory, and sculpted leather saddle bags hang beside handbags and handwoven blankets.

Those who succeed in finding the entire herd are offered a parting gift — a notebook and a coloring book, both designed by Hermès. Originally debuted in Shanghai in late 2023, the installation will soon travel on to Tokyo, Singapore, and Paris.

the Dormitory | image © designboom

the Pantry | image © designboom

the Refectory | image © designboom

the Laundry | image © designboom

image © designboom

the Stock Room | image © designboom

a groom stands in the Head Groom’s office | image © designboom

project info:

name: Mystery at the Grooms’

brand: Hermès | @hermes

location: Pier 36, New York, NY

on view: June 18th — 29th, 2025

photography: © designboom

The post mystery at the grooms’: Hermès brings interactive installation to new york appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.