Current design happenings worth seeing and doing.
SEE THIS: Robert A.M. Stern’s 20 East End Avenue
Known for elegant monoliths that hearken back to the old Gilded Age, Robert A.M. Stern’s newest building, set to open on 80th and East End in 2016, will offer residents a more scaled-down version of pre-war living.
The 43 units will start at just 2,000 square feet (and $4.5 million) and will have access to amenities like a curated library, a party kitchen and a wine cellar with temperature-controlled armoires for each dwelling.
More enticingly, Stern has designed not just the skeleton, but the insides of the 17-story building, as well. “Our approach was that the interior design and the architecture should really complement one another, and that is difficult to do with two competing talents,” says Edward Baquero, president of Corigin Real Estate, the developers.
“So we hired Bob Stern to do both.” Key Stern elements include the lobby’s grand stair-case, patterned floor and the billiard room. The sales center, at 744 Madison Ave., will open before the end of the year, with sales unofficially beginning this week. 20eastend.com
DO THIS: International Fine Print Dealers Association’s Print Fair
With sales of major artworks beating out record prices year after year, owning a Ruscha or a Bacon might seem out of reach.
Not so at the 23rd-annual Print Fair, which runs from Nov. 6 to 9 at the Park Avenue Armory. Prints start as low as $1,000 for original works by blue-chip artists such as Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst, Donald Judd, Chuck Close and Henry Matisse.
“This year (the Fair) is bigger and better than ever, with a greater participation of international dealers and a wider assortment of historic and cutting edge works of art,” says Dick Solomon, President of Pace Prints. Daily admission $20; printfair.com
BUY THIS: Commune Coffee Table Book
“Commune” ($60; Abrams) is actually soft-bound, but encased in a graphic slipcover; inside are images of projects that define the firm’s California-cool aesthetic. “Commune started as a very personal project: friends and family wanting to work together on projects they felt passionate about and in a way that best suited their mixed backgrounds,” explains co-founder Roman Alonso.
“The book is a very visual and personal document, written from a purely personal point of view, less of a monograph and more of a magazine.” Especially for us East Coasters, it evokes a West Coast utopia. “The book perhaps offers a different view into the way we all can live, without rules and with things that have a soul and are crafted by human hands,” Alonso says. abramsbooks.com
SUPPORT THIS: The High Line Shop
The High Line Shop was quietly introduced as an e-commerce site to promote the refurbished railroad and sell branded T-shirts and coffee mugs.
On Nov. 7, it is being christened as a proper shop in the Chelsea Market for hand-selected goods that reflect the park’s notion of purposeful reuse.
“We wanted to find designs that, like the High Line, are functional, beautiful and inspiring,” says Melina Shannon-DiPietro, Director of High Line Food & Revenue. “We chose pieces that reflect the High Line’s vision, mission and design sensibility, allowing visitors to take a piece of the High Line home.”
Among the 70 or so objects for sale, look for toys from Areaware, paper goods from Sesame Letterpress, candles from Apotheke and the same tools used by the High Line gardeners. Every purchase supports Friends of the High Line, all just in time for the holidays. thehighline.org
FIND THIS: DDC
DDC has long been the exclusive retailer for hyper-cool Istanbul design studio Autoban. Now through the end of November, Autoban’s curvy wooden tables and spider-shaped chandeliers will have serious pride of place in their own 1,050-square-foot “residency” at DDC.
Key pieces like their dark oak “Cloud Table” ($15,665) are in the USA for the first time.
“Every piece of furniture tells its own story,” says Seyhan Ozdemir, one of Autoban’s founders. “They are not just functional products; they also positively affect the people who use them.” See for yourself, and take something gorgeously sinuous home. 136 Madison Ave.; ddcnyc.com