All posts by Roger Grody

international real estate

The Booming World of International Real Estate

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The world may be shrinking, but the international luxury market is ever-expanding. While foreign buyers continue to invest in high-end properties in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, American buyers continue discovering luxury markets around the globe. Fueled by maturing economies, rich cultures, and spectacular environments, there are diverse international frontiers for luxury buyers.

Foreign Real Estate Markets Are Thriving In Global Glamour

In major cities throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, there are robust luxury real estate markets, even in places where free enterprise has not always been a foundational principle. Bob Hurwitz, founder and CEO of Hurwitz James Company, a global luxury real estate firm headquartered in Beverly Hills. He estimates that more than 60 percent of wealthy Americans already own foreign properties. Hurwitz, who represents both American and foreign buyers, maintains that investment motivations are diverse and transcend economics. “For properties that aren’t priced in the stratosphere, it’s often a combination of the desire to invest in a different country and enjoy an appealing lifestyle, usually at a significant discount to something similar in the States,” he says.

Hurwitz explains that most ultra-wealthy individuals still work, and being able to do so remotely makes living overseas a seamless proposition. “For pricy trophy properties, there’s yet another dynamic and that’s the cachet of owning a showplace as one of your assets,” says Hurwitz. Among his company’s current listings — one truly representative of that rarefied real estate category. A sprawling Swiss castle near Lake Geneva, offered at approximately $58.5 million. “It’s an amazing estate, once owned by the Italian royal family and built in 1625,” reports Hurwitz.

Refined Culture and World-Class Architecture

Paris’ combination of world-class architecture and refined culture can result in staggering real estate prices. As a result, some buyers — 12,000 Americans moved to France in 2023. Lorraine Gemigniani of San Francisco Bay Area-based Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Drysdale Properties now resides in the Loire Valley and specializes in luxury French real estate. Illustrating the nation’s affordability (outside of Paris), the agent jests, “You can buy a petit château in the Loire Valley for $1 million, but could hardly find a carport for that amount in Tiburon [Marin County, California].”

The debut of its Opera House in 1973 signaled a new era for Sydney, Australia, where a world-class city blossomed around the iconic structure. The pandemic stalled the luxury market, but lower interest rates, perceptions of good value. A return of investors from China are contributing to making 2024 a banner year for high-end real estate in Sydney. “I love Sydney,” quips Hurwitz, who observes, “The city’s luxury market is very strong with demand and prices rising.” A 28,800-square-foot waterfront mansion in exclusive Point Piper, listed by Forbes Global Properties. Expected to yield at least $134 million, shattering Sydney’s existing record sales price. Further afield, in French Polynesia, the Hurwitz James Company offers Villa Aquamaris for $52.5 million. An extraordinary beachfront property in Bora Bora featuring the largest private aquarium in the world.

Dubai has become an international metaphor for an over-the-top lifestyle encompassing seven-star hotels. Gold leaf-covered steaks, and fleets of Lamborghinis. The dynamic United Arab Emirates metropolis also showcases mind-blowing residential properties. From private villas to penthouses with unbridled amenities. Helena Moyas de Forton, managing director at Christie’s International Real Estate, her responsibilities encompass Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. She reports that the total value of sales in the city during the first half of 2024 was approximately $63.5 billion. Easily eclipsing the previous record for any six-month period in Dubai.

dubai hotel
Dubai international real estate
Images Courtesy Of Four Seasons Private Residences DIFC and H&H Development

Insights from the Middle East and Europe

Buyers from the Middle East and Europe continue to fuel a boom in central Dubai. De Forton reports luxury buyers are also drawn to a resort lifestyle in outlying Ras Al-Khaimah. A 6,700-square-foot contemporary beachfront villa on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah is currently offered by Christie’s for about $12.3 million. While forthcoming residences at Four Seasons Private Residences at Dubai International Financial Centre include an extraordinary penthouse priced at about $57.2 million. While branded residences bearing the names of luxury hospitality, fashion, or automotive brands are particularly popular in Dubai. De Forton reports the trend is expanding to emerging markets such as Bangkok, Thailand.

Courtesy Of Hurwitz James Company

Lisbon was long overlooked in favor of more iconic European cities, but that has changed, with American and European expats now flocking to Portugal. “Lisbon is really at the apex in terms of appeal to foreign buyers, Americans in particular,” says Hurwitz. Despite the expiration of some favorable tax incentives for foreigners, de Forton confirms Lisbon remains in demand. “Because of the [shared] language, Portugal has always been popular with Brazilians. The luxury market has been strong even though the broad market was softer in 2023,” she advises. Concurring is Carlos Mangas, business manager at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Atlantic Portugal, who says. “Luxury residences are selling very fast, and if Lisbon had a greater availability of new developments, they’d sell out before construction was finished.”

Mangas suggests affluent Brazilians also appreciate the safety of Lisbon and its versatility. “American buyers’ perception of Portugal is of castles and ancient villages, so they’re amazed when I show them modern penthouses or homes,” he says. Not far from the capital, the oceanfront communities of Estoril and Cascais are also experiencing a robust luxury market. With sleek contemporary architecture, this “Portuguese Riviera” is somewhat reminiscent of Malibu, California. Mangas reports that Brazilians are primarily driving that market. But proffers, “Once Americans discover the area, it won’t stop.”

Courtesy Of Hurwitz James Company

According to de Forton, the high-priced London market is rebounding, and the Spanish capital is trending. “Madrid is one of the most attractive markets at the moment, although prices are increasing and there’s not much inventory,” she says. In Marbella, on Spain’s fashionable Costa del Sol, DDRE Global — the firm founded by Daniel Daggers. Netflix’s “Buying London” fame — offers a nine-bedroom villa for approximately $25.65 million.

International AI In Real Estate

According to leading universities and trade associations, artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the real estate industry. Its potential value is particularly pronounced in international transactions. Through analyzing global trends, navigating bureaucracies or languages, and negotiating contract terms. Practical applications for overseas house-hunting are emphasized by Dana Bina, chief technology officer at Christie’s International Real Estate. “International real estate transactions benefit from generative AI by allowing consumers to determine possibilities for particular spaces using product-visualization tools,” she says.

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Classic Pinball Machines are Collector’s Items

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In an era of virtual reality and high-tech video games that immerse players into incredibly realistic battlefields or Formula One racetracks, one might think the classic pinball machine is hopelessly antiquated. But with new generations of admirers, the silver ball rolls on while vintage machines are enduringly hot collectibles.

Jon Chad, an illustrator and educator who uses an engaging comic book style to enlighten readers, is author of Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball, an account of the pinball machine’s unique role in American culture. In his book, Chad describes a 1942 ban on pinball machines in New York City (a prohibition that lasted 30 years), with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia destroying more than 11,000 machines, dumping many into the Hudson River. Despite the largely unfounded hysteria, the author reports, “In the American subconscious, there are still images of gambling and the criminal world associated with pinball.”

 

The machines that dominated arcades in the 20th century (when not prohibited) were inspired by bagatelle, a modification of billiards that emerged in 18th century France. “Pinball may be derived from bagatelle, but the game we see today is almost entirely a product of American invention and ingenuity,” reports Chad. The coin-operated games that drained the pockets of American youth debuted in the 1930s and their electromechanical (EM) technology — featuring wired switches, relays and lights — presented a dynamic experience accompanied by the game’s quintessential chimes and bells.

The player-controlled flippers that revolutionized pinball were introduced by Gottlieb, a venerable manufacturer, in a 1947 Humpty Dumpty-themed machine. In the 1950s, machines were referred to as “wood rails” because of their distinctive wood side rails, and many presented the eye-popping illustrations of the great pinball artist Roy Parker. The microprocessors of early computers were integrated into “solid- state” pinball machines in the 1970s and more advanced digital technology was introduced in the 1990s. But with competition from portable video game devices like PlayStation, America’s love affair with the addictive pinball machine was severely challenged.

 

However, pinball machines have experienced another renaissance in the last decade, with machines offering special effects that never could have been imagined in prior eras. Advanced technologies and contemporary themes have attracted a new generation of players accustomed to digital gaming. Meanwhile, the nostalgic value of the garishly appointed machines continues to fuel a massive market for collectors.

What makes pinball machines so beloved by collectors are the colorful pop culture themes that essentially time-stamp them to an era, reinforcing their sentimental value. Machines with art depicting Evel Knievel, the rock band Kiss or Playboy magazine resonate with those who came of age in the 1970s, while the superhero Flash Gordon and horror personality Elvira adorned machines released in the 1980s.

 

Insisting the game is very much alive, Chad states, “In-person pinball scratches a different itch than video games,” and suggests the quirky variables of brick-and-mortar settings, such as the floor the machine sits on, enhance the experience. “It plays differently every single time, something you can’t get from a video game,” he says. While Chad appreciates the distinctive sounds of the EM era, the author favors the more expressive storytelling that emerged in machines during the 1990s.

Stern Pinball, a business whose lineage dates to the early 1930s, is the world’s largest pinball machine manufacturer, based in the recognized capital of the game, Chicago. Stern’s titles reflect both pop culture icons (e.g., Star Wars, Elvis, James Bond) and contemporary themes (e.g., The Mandalorian, Foo Fighters). “At Stern Pinball, our machines are always evolving and improving, inspiring a lifetime love of games for folks all over the world,” says Seth Davis, the company’s CEO.

 

While some collectors are enamored with nostalgic machines from the last century, Davis reports, “Without question, this current era of pinball machines is my favorite.” Referencing a new platform that connects the entire universe of Stern Pinball machines, he adds, “What we’ve been able to accomplish with Insider Connected is just the tip of the iceberg, evolving the entire pinball gaming experience for gamers around the world.”

Addressing the challenge of balancing tradition and new technology, Davis states, “Stern Pinball is always working to create a better experience for players, by changing the landscape of the gaming industry while still honoring classic, iconic pinball designs.” Emphasizing the game’s international appeal — Stern Pinball machines are distributed in 50 different countries — Davis adds, “Through technology such as Insider Connected, we’re connecting players globally, which helps the game prosper outside of the U.S.”

 

Residing outside Richmond, Virginia, Taylor Reese is a respected pinball machine collector, restoration specialist, competitive player, and pinball podcaster. “Some people really love the classic machines, drawn by their nostalgic themes, artwork and layout of the games, but I love the modern machines,” reports Reese. The pinball enthusiast reports that Attack from Mars (released in the 1990s) and Godzilla, a contemporary machine that also happens to be a personal favorite of Davis, are among the most prized machines in his own impressively decorated game room. Suggesting the physicality and unpredictability of pinball has an enduring appeal in the digital age, Reese states, “Every time I step up to play, I have no idea how the game’s going to end.” He adds, “Unlike video games, pinball feels more like an event, and people are looking for ways to socialize after spending so much time staring into screens.”

Roger Grody

A native of Upstate New York but longtime Southern California resident, Roger is an award-winning lifestyle journalist specializing in food/wine, architecture/design and travel. A former city planner, he has a passion for writing about cities and the evolution of neighborhoods, documenting Los Angeles and other California destinations in Fodors, Gayot and DK travel guides. In addition to Unique Homes and its sister publications, Roger’s work has appeared in California Homes, Westways, Sunset, Hemispheres, as well as other lifestyle publications or websites. A resident of Pasadena, California, Roger holds a J.D. degree from Arizona State and M.A. from The University of Chicago.

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The Cubicle Reimagined

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Transformed by technology, world-class design and a pandemic, the workplace has evolved into much more than a warehouse for employees.

Seas of cubicles long believed to be the model of efficiency in the American workplace — a more advanced iteration of the typing pools that preceded them — presented an uninspiring, even dystopian environment for employees. But then, innovative corporations, led by technology and entertainment industry enterprises, pioneered flexible spaces that look more like resorts than offices. Today, designers continue to push the envelope in an era when some employees are still thousands of miles from headquarters.

 

Gensler is a global architectural firm whose portfolio includes megaprojects like the 127-story Shanghai Tower (China’s tallest) and Fortune 500 corporate headquarters. Natalie Engels, design director and principal at Gensler, reports that the firm’s own survey research prior to the pandemic revealed the workplace simply was not working, and that COVID was a catalyst for long-overdue changes. “Returning to work provided an opportunity to focus on how teams collaborate, and how to create an inclusive experience for all members, whether participating in-person or virtually,” says Engels, who has reshaped workplaces for Amazon, Hewlett-Packard and Adobe.

 

Engels explains that more flexibility is being incorporated into workplace design, with assigned spaces for individual work, collaborative spaces for teams, quiet deep- focus spaces away from distractions, and engaging environments for socialization all recognized as essential. The corner office still exists, but Gensler increasingly designs for a more inclusive, team-based dynamic, advises Engels, who states, “The human factor — the need to be around other people regardless of role or title — is driving those decisions.”

Among Gensler’s notable workplaces is Silicon Valley’s corporate headquarters for NVIDIA, the high-flying chipmaker leading the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Its amenities include diverse dining options, a fitness center and a room for employees to blow off steam with video games powered by NVIDIA’s cutting-edge chips. While technology firms first introduced amenity-rich campuses, Engels notes that food-and-coffee, wellness centers and outdoor spaces are now de rigueur across all industries. While some companies insist on immersing employees in their corporate colors, Engels notes that traditional grays and beiges of workplaces are being replaced by more saturated jewel tones that evoke emotional responses. “Artists from the local community are often commissioned to provide murals or sculptures, which can be quite large, and digital art can create personalized content for specific visitors,” reports Engels.

HOK, another architectural firm with signature projects on multiple continents, has dedicated an entire division to reimagining the office environment. Interior designer Kay Sargent, global director of HOK’s WorkPlace practice, reports, “COVID may have shined a spotlight on it, but the workplace has fundamentally changed over the last decade.” She adds, “It’s no longer a place to sit in one spot all day but a more human- centric environment in which to connect with colleagues.”

Sargent suggests the once-ubiquitous cubicle, which can inhibit productivity, creativity and morale, is disappearing in favor of more fluid seating arrangements. “Not only does the lack of assigned seating maximize real estate, but it also maximizes human efficiency and potential,” explains the veteran interior designer. She adds, “If you’re going to ask workers to return to the office, their leaders have to be there as well, fully accessible and integrated with their staff.” To ensure inviting environments, new workplace designs are laced with elements of hospitality, reports Sargent, who reports the lobbies of some corporate offices are nearly indistinguishable from those of hotels.

If employees are going to be genuinely excited about returning to the office, then the workplace should be as attractive as home. Outdoor spaces, varied culinary offerings, areas accommodating quiet and wellness, and “lifestyle studios” are among the amenities HOK’s recent projects are equipped with, advises Kay Sargent. Even hobbies that employees developed during the pandemic can be enjoyed in the workplace, with commercial kitchens accommodating cooking classes and newly created libraries hosting book clubs. At HOK’s own St. Louis offices, equipment in an architectural modeling studio is now utilized by employees pursuing various crafts adopted while confined to home.

 

CBRE is an international leader in commercial real estate, and its in-house team of architects and interior designers advise clients on workplace design trends, especially now that employers are requiring workers to return to the office. In the company’s latest U.S. Office Occupier Sentiment Survey, CBRE found that 67 percent of employers indicated they are now more concerned about workplace quality than before the pandemic, with a particular focus on amenities. With commuting top-of-mind, 59 percent of companies favored buildings near public transit, and sustainability issues were particularly important to large corporations with carbon reduction commitments. Sixty-six percent of respondents indicated they were moving away from individual seating assignments toward more flexible spaces that enhance collaboration.

 

“Workplace design has changed dramatically since the pandemic, and employees have been at the forefront of those changes,” says Karen McCallum, managing director for CBRE’s Design Collective. Insisting the quality of the workplace is a key element in recruiting and retaining top talent, she suggests the office needs to reflect a genuine magnetism. “It has to make you want to get up in the morning, get ready and endure the commute…in other words, working with colleagues in the office needs to be better than home.”

Like her peers, McCallum reports a major shift from assigned to unassigned seating, a concept reflected in CBRE’s “Workplace 360” model for its own offices. “Some level of privacy may be required, but farms of ‘Dilbert cubes’ are generally no longer necessary,” advises McCallum, while noting some private “focus pods” are essential. “It’s really about giving employees a choice about how they desire to work on any given day,” says the designer.

And while many employers have retained plush accommodations for high-ranking executives, McCallum reports, “Some progressive companies have moved toward a transparent, non-hierarchal solution in which executives sit in the same seats as subordinates.” McCallum notes that CBRE clients appreciate open floorplans, which consume less real estate and create more dynamic environments.

“Hospitality-inspired environments, more elevated spaces tailored for employees, create that ‘better than home’ experience,” says CBRE’s McCallum. She states that a wellness room — it can provide an opportunity for yoga, meditation or prayer — has become an almost indispensable feature and savvy employers recognize that once-exotic amenities like specialty juice bars, baristas and pop-up chefs have value. Other designers report that tech- free nap rooms are increasingly common, as evidence suggests short snoozes benefit health and morale, and that there is a legitimate nexus between fitness centers with massage therapy and productivity. Some companies make accommodations for employees who wish to bring their dogs to work.

 

Technology firms ushered in the amenity- rich workplace but even venerable, old-school companies like Norfolk Southern — with roots in the early 19th century, the railway is hardly a cutting-edge startup — showcase unconventional offices. HOK equipped the corporation’s Atlanta headquarters with a food hall offering eclectic cuisines, daycare center and game room. A focal point of the sleek aesthetics is a sculptural staircase that evokes the very essence of the brand: movement. HOK’s Kay Sargent reports, “Spaces should be a reflection of the culture, representing the brand and connecting people to the mission,” and notes that in addition to the stairway, the graphics at Norfolk Southern headquarters also convey a sense of motion.

 

With technology clients like PayPal, Dropbox and GitHub, Rapt Studio has developed a reputation for creative office spaces that reflect their clients’ corporate cultures. At the Southern California headquarters of Vans, the sneaker company famous for its iconic checkerboard slip-on, Rapt created a laid-back environment consistent with its ethos, complete with street art and an amenity package that includes a studio for recording music. Skateboarding, integral to the company’s heritage, is an accepted mode of transportation throughout headquarters.

Gensler’s Natalie Engels offers an aspirational characterization of the emerging workplace: “The future of work must be a destination rather than an obligation, and create opportunities for engagement, interaction and fun.”

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Beyond Fish and Chips

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Once lamented, even ridiculed, for its uninspired gastronomy, the culinary landscape in the British Isles has dramatically evolved.

The Brits have long been the butt of jokes about their inadequate cooking skills, despite their proximity to the renowned gastronomy of France, across the English Channel. The portrayal of the British being capable of turning out nothing more compelling than fish-and-chips or shepherd’s pie was never entirely fair. But with Michelin stars multiplying in London and popping up across the countryside, that stereotype is now history.

Susan Low, an American-born journalist now based in London, is a food writer and restaurant critic whose work has appeared in The Good Food Guide, The Independent, Time Out, and the BBC Food website. “Britain was the first country to industrialize, and the repercussions from that are still being felt,” says Low, who cites symptoms of intensive farming methods and ultra-processed foods. “Yet it must be remembered that Britain has always produced some very fine foods, from pasture-fed beef and lamb to great cheeses,” she says.

Low suggests two catalysts contributed to what we refer to as the British culinary renaissance: affordable international travel and the media. “In the 1990s, ordinary people began to travel abroad more as low-cost travel grew,” she says, suggesting regular visits to places like Tuscany and Provence exposed Brits to lifestyles centered around good eating. Regarding the media, Low says, “Restaurant criticism, wine writing, recipe columns, and food-centered travel journalism burgeoned, helping to fuel interest in eating out and cooking at home.” She adds, “Soon, competitive cooking programs took over the airwaves and ‘celebrity chefs’ became dinner party topics.”

Americans should recognize the renaissance occurring in British cooking, because it already happened here. Forty years ago, the U.S. was also viewed as a culinary desert, where steak-and-potatoes or overcooked fish constituted special occasion fare. It took a new generation of chefs — revolutionaries like Alice Waters, Jonathan Waxman and Jeremiah Tower — to shape what was first referred to as California Cuisine. That eventually morphed into New American cooking, showcasing local seasonal ingredients and an appreciation for classic French technique. Now world-class food is found not only in New York and San Francisco, but places like Cleveland and Portland as well.

 

In the 1980s, visitors may have adored London for its royal landmarks, sense of history and charming pubs, but serious diners quietly scoffed at the city’s culinary resources. Even Michel Roux, Jr., owner of the city’s venerable Le Gavroche (the first UK restaurant to earn a Michelin star), acknowledged that tourists would revel in the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, take in a show and then flee to more promising dining cities.

As London emerged as the world’s dominant financial capital in the 21st century — a status that has arguably been compromised by Brexit — the city began attracting more high-end chefs. As the prices of luxury real estate in the city surpassed Beverly Hills or Manhattan, so too did demand for sophisticated cuisine. It was this environment that created rock stars out of local chefs and propelled some to international celebrity status.

There are currently 74 Michelin-starred restaurants in London alone, which includes five kitchens attaining the ultimate honor of three stars. Local heavyweights Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal are household names far beyond the British Isles, while French icons Alain Ducasse and Hélène Darroze have jumped the Channel to earn a loyal following in a city once dismissed by haughty Parisians. Surprisingly, almost two- thirds of the 188 UK restaurants with at least one Michelin star are outside of London.

Anybody with a streaming service and a weakness for reality television has probably come across the BBC production of Great British Menu, which presents the creativity and technical proficiency of young chefs from throughout England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Culinary experts, even devoted Francophiles, now concede the gastronomic gap between Paris and New York has contracted, and the same can be said of the once-enormous disparity of culinary talent between Paris and London (despite their proximity). Furthermore, Dublin, Edinburgh and Manchester are experiencing their own dining renaissances, just as Philadelphia, Atlanta and Houston have.

The Lanesborough in London is a neoclassical luxury hotel sharing rarefied credentials with Le Bristol in Paris, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on the Riviera and other palatial properties of the Oetker Collection. There, acclaimed British chef Shay Cooper offers a modern interpretation of British cuisine at The Lanesborough Grill, the new restaurant occupying one of the most elegant, art-laden dining rooms in the city. Cooper’s seasonal menu honors artisanal producers in updated presentations of iconic British classics such as beef Wellington.

 

“Our style of food is rooted in tradition, with familiar and comforting themes at heart, all the dishes carefully considered to give them appeal yet presented in an elegant and contemporary way,” says Cooper. Cooking at one of the city’s most prestigious hotels, surrounded by royal palaces, Cooper is conscious of balancing progressive cooking with the expectations of clients who appreciate a luxurious experience steeped in tradition. Lauding the abundance of world-class ingredients from throughout Great Britain, Cooper reports, “The Lanesborough Grill showcases all of this, such as Wye Valley asparagus, Lindisfarne oysters, Welsh lamb from the Rhug Estate, and incredible cheeses from Cornwall, Devon and Northern Ireland which change on a seasonal basis.”

At London’s Apricity, chef/owner Chantelle Nicholson is committed to local sourcing and sustainability, using only produce at the height of its season from small- scale farmers, along with foraged ingredients. Nicholson’s menus celebrate British vegetables, regeneratively ranched meats and sustainably caught seafood from across the British Isles. The wine list, championing English vineyards and winemakers, represents producers dedicated to biodiversity and natural production.

While the London dining scene naturally receives the most attention, the British culinary renaissance extends deep into the countryside, and the recently released 2023 Michelin Guide for Great Britain & Ireland revealed 20 new one-star and three new two-star establishments. Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, commented on the bushel of new stars: “In every region of Great Britain and Ireland, you can now find hugely talented chefs calling out to gourmets with their exquisite and accomplished cuisine.”

 

Retaining their stars in 2023 are a pair of restaurants outside Liverpool — Michelin two-star Moor Hall and neighboring one-star The Barn — that showcase modern British cuisine. Chef Mark Birchall, who celebrates the bounty of Britain, states, “Our inspiration comes from our natural setting — our garden, the farms we’re surrounded by and the artisans who produce everything, from our tableware to rearing the cows for our milk.” The chef adds, “Earlier in my career I thought it was all about expensive produce from overseas. I’m sure Sicilian tomatoes are the best, but maybe not after traveling 1,300 miles!”

Just as the American food revolution was partially driven by cultural diversity — newly discovered ingredients from ethnic markets in various Asian and Latino communities has transformed the cuisine in major cities — so too has immigration influenced British cuisine. Curry houses now outnumber fish-and-chip shops in London and, thanks to the nation’s large Indian community, chicken tikka masala (an anglicized creation) is now often regarded as the British national dish.

 

“It’s impossible to overestimate the positive contribution made by a more diverse food culture in Britain,” says food writer Susan Low. “In cities such as London, Bristol and Birmingham, the adventurous can enjoy cuisines from countries around the globe, and the cross-pollination of ideas, along with a growing respect for diversity, is a main driver of the current food scene.” As an example, Low cites London-based JKS Restaurants, operated by three siblings with South Asian heritage. “Their restaurants, such as Hoppers, Bao and Gymkhana, have done so much to promote and popularize a more diverse approach,” she reports.

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Fashion Beyond the Runway

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To casual observers, fashion trends are shaped by iconic designers, glossy magazine covers and social media posts by celebrities. But in truth, a myriad of forces are at play.

 

The fashion industry has always been fiercely competitive, but in a complex cocktail of design, technology and politics, the length of skirts or widths of ties no longer define what is in style. Consumers, armed with vast new resources, are finding inspiration beyond the latest collections of the designer boutiques lining Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive. The fashion industry, constantly evolving, has been democratized and digitized.

“My clients are high-achieving women,” notes personal stylist Hanna Lee, who reports corporate CEOs, attorneys, physicians, and entrepreneurs, as well as occasional celebrities, seek out the personal styling and shopping services of her Chicago-based Hanna Lee Style. Despite being thousands of miles from Paris or Milan, Lee is well positioned to observe trends on the front lines of the fashion industry. “With people now returning to the office, they’re discovering their wardrobes need attention,” reports Lee of current demand for her services. She adds, “People became accustomed to Zoom meetings during the pandemic, so now they’re comfortable having me conduct style consultations that way.”

Among the major trends cited by Hanna Lee is the growing interest in conscientious apparel. Not only are sustainable materials like hemp, bamboo linen and organic cotton in demand, but consumers are seeking ethically produced clothing. Brands are expected to provide safe and humane working conditions, offer living wages and invest in housing or health care in their workers’ communities. To accommodate interest in sustainable products, Lee’s website promotes fashion labels — representing various price points — that appeal to clients with those sensibilities.

The global ethical fashion market, valued at $8.17 billion in 2023, is expected to grow to $11.12 billion by 2027, with many iconic brands among the prominent players. “Who says sustainability can’t be sexy?” asked designer Stella McCartney of her eco-friendly BioSequin jumpsuit featured on the April 2023 cover of Vogue, worn by model and environmental activist Cara Delevingne. Good On You, a website promoting ethical fashion, provides a handy mobile app for shoppers, which rates every imaginable brand on their efforts and provides favorably rated alternatives to underperforming labels.

Regarded as “deadstock” in the fashion industry, overstocks, ends of bales and offcuts are typically discarded, even burned. But UK-based Bee & Alpaca puts some of the industry’s estimated $120 billion of annual waste to good use, creating stylish, sustainable clothing. Founder and CEO Deniz Dincer states, “It seems trivial to label fabric as deadstock, waste or excess. Instead, Bee & Alpaca upcycles these into exclusive and limited-run clothing lines.”

Closely related to sustainability, secondhand clothing is another macro-trend in the fashion industry, no longer reserved for college students, struggling artists or single moms on a budget. “Initially, I was reluctant to ask clients if they were open to secondhand … would they feel it was beneath them?” recounts personal stylist Lee, who has been wearing timeless pieces from her grandmother for years. “But when I mention it, people love the idea, as it’s great in terms of both value and the environment,” reports the stylist, who is a fan of Poshmark, thredUP and Chicago-based North Shore Exchange, which donates 100 percent of profits to local charities.

Occupying the intersection of technology, social media and secondhand merchandise is Poshmark. The company’s online platform connects sellers of new or good-condition luxury merchandise — names like Hermès, Fendi and Prada are among the nearly 10,000 brands represented — to interested buyers. More than 100 million users prefer Poshmark to the traditional shopping experience, avoiding the steep prices and pretenses of luxury designer boutiques. “Consumers are looking for a marketplace where they can sell and shop, in addition to having social experiences — this is what sets us apart and draws people to Poshmark, explains Chelsey Nordyke, the company’s merchandising and curation manager. “Our customers are looking for value and as inflation continues to be top of mind for many, shopping secondhand allows them to find a wide variety of items at more affordable prices,” she says.

Identifying current trends, Nordyke reports, “We’re seeing bags take off on Poshmark, specifically ones that lean into the ‘quiet luxury’ trend,” noting that Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel are labels that consistently perform well. “These classic bags are the epitome of quiet luxury,” says the e-commerce executive of an aesthetic Vogue called the year’s hottest trend, explaining the items feature neutral palettes while forgoing conspicuous logos. “Consumers are choosing minimalist luxury pieces that embody the status symbol, but without the blatant call for attention,” says Nordyke. Lee suggests the quiet luxury trend emerged several years ago, but that celebrity social media posts have made it suddenly au courant. “The Row is a quiet luxury brand with very timeless pieces and incredibly high-quality fabrication,” she states.

“The typical Poshmark buyer is sustainability- and value-focused,” reports Nordyke, explaining that Gen Z consumers, in particular, are normalizing thrifting as an accepted means of updating wardrobes. “We’re constantly looking for ways to bring sustainability to the forefront of users’ minds and highlight companies that focus on ethical production and fair trade,” says Nordyke. She reports that virtual, sustainability-themed Posh Parties showcase brands (e.g., Patagonia, Cuyana, Veja) that employ eco-friendly materials and responsible production practices.

 

Pantone — the New Jersey-based company is the world’s preeminent authority on color in all industries — works with fashion designers and fabric suppliers to ensure accuracy of colors. Every year the company designates its “Color of the Year,” and for 2023 that honor went to Viva Magenta 18-1750, a bold, Barbie esque shade described by Pantone as “brave and fearless, whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration.” Reflecting the company’s particularly emotive characterizations of color, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, states, “Invoking the forces of nature, Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta galvanizes our spirit, helping us to build our inner strength.” In Chicago, Lee reports, “I feel like people are wanting more colors and patterns than before.”

 

While consumers learned to shop exclusively online during the pandemic, Lee finds that the pendulum may be swinging back. “It’s still very difficult to accurately size online, and there’s nothing like the touch and feel of clothing,” she says. “People have also started to crave the in-person experience,” adds the stylist. Nevertheless, technology is a powerful force shaping the fashion industry and one tech-driven trend is the emergence of the metaverse as a very real place for brands to market their wares. While most shoppers are still clueless about the metaverse, the increasingly realistic digital environments offered by platforms like Roblox and Decentraland are relevant to younger Gen Z buyers. Prada, Burberry and Ralph Lauren are just a few of the hundreds of brands with a presence in these virtual worlds. Major labels of every price point are realizing that significant investments in the metaverse will pay dividends by capturing the attention of a new generation of consumers.

Chicago-based stylist Hanna Lee in a dress from online platform thredUP.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is another technology development that can highly personalize the shopping experience. At Sephora, a facial scan can instantly identify the best makeup color for a particular customer, while Rebecca Minkoff boutiques are exploring AI to enhance the touchscreen smart mirrors they pioneered almost a decade ago. RFID technology can record what items a particular customer tries on, and smart mirrors can suggest alternative colors and sizes.

 

Designers, marketers and logistics specialists are joining retailers in their embrace of AI in the fashion industry. In partnership with AI creative specialists Maison Meta, Manhattan’s Spring Studios — the SoHo facility annually hosts iconic designers like Calvin Klein and Diane von Furstenberg — recently presented the first-ever AI Fashion Week. Its catwalks were transformed into high-definition screens and avatars stood in for supermodels to showcase AI-generated collections from emerging designers.

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Orange is the new Rosé

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If the wine you’re presented possesses a rusty, amber hue instead of pink, it’s not the flattering lighting. Rather, your trend-conscious host has selected a bottle of fashionable orange wine.

Rosé wines, a favorite summertime import from Provence, are now ubiquitous, mass-produced from Australia to California for a growing market of wine drinkers looking for something refreshing, but more memorable than a standard Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Now, orange wines — they have been produced for millennia, but are just now entering the consciousness of American wine lovers — are occupying entire sections of wine lists.

Orange wines, also known as skin-contact wines, are the result of winemakers leaving skins in the juice during the fermentation process of white grapes, which creates golden, rusty hues that often appear orange in a glass. Orange wines differ from rosés, which are produced from red grapes whose skin imparts a warm blush. In general, orange wines are more textured than whites, with pleasant acidity and modest to moderate tannins.

Tracey Rogers, co-founder and winemaker at<br /> pioneering orange wine producer Donkey &<br /> Goat; a bottle of her Stone Crusher, made from<br /> Roussanne grapes.

Several trends are contributing to the drink emergence of orange wines, including the increasing popularity of rosés, accelerated imports from Eastern European nations such as Slovenia, Croatia and Georgia, and a preference among consumers for naturally produced wine. The geographic diversity of orange wines is impressive. Recommended wines cited in a recent Wine Enthusiast article included vintages from Portugal, Austria, Australia, South Africa, California, and Washington.

In California, young winemakers dedicated to creating natural products are increasingly experimenting with orange wines, which have traditionally been made with no preservatives or other additives. After learning the art of crafting natural wines from pioneering French winemaker Éric Texier in the Rhône Valley, Jared Brandt and Tracey Rogers founded Donkey & Goat in 2004, the first natural winery in Berkeley. Others have followed, coalescing around Donkey & Goat to make a small section of Berkeley a hub of California’s natural wine industry.

Sam Bogue, beverage director at Flour + Water<br /> Hospitality Group, with an orange wine that he<br /> believes pairs well with pasta dishes such as<br /> Penny Roma’s cacio e pepe.

Because of the winery’s dedication to natural production, Donkey & Goat has been a leader in the California orange wine movement, currently offering a skin-contact Grenache Blanc from vineyards in El Dorado County and a Pinot Gris from Anderson Valley grapes. Donkey & Goat’s 2019 Stone Crusher is made from skin-fermented Roussanne, a Rhône Valley varietal gaining a foothold in California, and features stone fruit notes while exhibiting an appealing golden hue.

“Younger wine drinkers tend to gravitate toward natural wine and if your starting point is natural wine, it won’t take long before you hear about orange wines,” says Rogers, who herself appreciates the versatility of these products. Noting that their textural and aromatic qualities can vary greatly, the winemaker reports, “In very general terms, skin contact wines can hold up to more heat, such as Thai cooking, than traditional direct-press wines.”

The tourism bureau in Sonoma County has recognized that orange wine is having its moment, and its website provides a guide to local wineries specializing in skin-contact products. The selection ranges from major producers such as DeLoach Vineyards and Pellegrini to boutique operations like Joseph Jewell Wines and Two Shepherds. The trend is also gaining traction in Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine region.

Sam Bogue serves as beverage director for Flour + Water Hospitality Group, where the culinary talents of co-chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow draw diners to San Francisco restaurants Flour + Water, Penny Roma and Flour + Water Pasta Shop. Bogue appreciates the synergies between orange wines and pasta dishes. “They have the acidity of white wines, but with enough tannins to hold up to richer sauces or proteins,” says the experienced sommelier. Noting that grape skins act as a natural preservative, appealing to environmentally conscious consumers, Bogue adds, “These wines represent what younger wine drinkers are trying to get into their glasses these days.”

Penny Roma cacio e pepe

Bogue has been developing Pasta Water wine, a collaboration between Flour + Water Hospitality Group and Subject to Change Wine Co., which specializes in orange-hued skin-contact wines. The Richmond, California-based winery has proven successful in producing natural wines to scale, says Bogue, who reports that Pasta Water (released this spring) is created from Malvasia Bianca grapes, an aromatic Mediterranean varietal. In addition to their ability to pair well with Flour + Water’s signature pasta dishes,

Bogue notes that orange wines tend to be refreshingly unpretentious. “With Pasta Water, we’re trying to make a wine you don’t need to overthink, trying to make the world of wine a bit more playful.”

Sam Bogue, beverage director at Flour + Water<br /> Hospitality Group, with an orange wine that he<br /> believes pairs well with pasta dishes such as<br /> Penny Roma’s cacio e pepe.

Subject to Change Wine Co. was founded in 2017 by Alex Pomerantz, intent on establishing a winery dedicated to the production of natural wines. “I observed how much natural wine consumed here in California was actually imported wine,” says the winemaker, who adds, “We didn’t have a terroir problem, but more of a wine philosophy problem.”

In addition to Pasta Water, which is one of four private labels, Subject to Change’s playful lineup of orange wine includes Disco! and Pet Nap, both made from Mendocino County Sauvignon Blanc. Pomerantz believes Rhône Valley varietals are well suited for orange wine production, and his Unsung Hero is crafted from a blend of Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. “Orange wines are the red wine drinker’s white wine,” suggests Pomerantz, who explains, “They have the flavor profile of white wine, but the texture of red.”

Subject to Change’s winemaker advises that while orange wines have ancient origins, they remain a commercial novelty in the U.S. and demand is still accelerating. “We’re confident the category will continue to expand, and we genuinely love making and drinking these wines,” says Pomerantz.

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Templates for the Written World

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Fundamentally, libraries are simply communal repositories for books, but that utilitarian function is often expressed in architecture that elevates the human spirit.

The first library was built by the Assyrians more than 2,500 years ago in what is now Iraq, and billions of dollars continue to be poured into the construction of extravagant libraries today, despite our full embrace of the Digital Age. Modern libraries not only provide welcoming public gathering places, but their innovative architecture can excite the imagination before even cracking open a book. Kenneth A. Breisch, Ph.D., associate professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Southern California (USC), has authored several books on the evolution of American libraries, including the lushly illustrated American Libraries 1730-1950. He reports that early American libraries were typically private, with no public access to books, and that the Boston Public Library — its flagship is an imposing Renaissance Revival building (1895) — was the first major institution to lend books to the public.

The grandiosity of library buildings conveyed wealth, explains Breisch, who notes, “In Europe, the concept of library design in the Baroque period was to surround gentlemen readers with a luxurious display of books and architecture.” A prime example is Prague’s stunning library hall (circa 1727) at the Klementinum, originally built as part of a Jesuit complex and now occupied by the National Library of the Czech Republic. Ornate ceiling frescoes by German artist Jan Hiebl, giant globes and spiraled mahogany columns with gilded accents contribute to an environment known as the “Baroque Pearl of Prague.” Some believe this venue is the most beautiful Old World library.

Many of the most inspiring structures in Europe are cathedrals, featuring extraordinary expanses of stained glass, and royal palaces with exquisite ornamentation. However, the continent’s historic libraries reveal architectural achievements equal to those created by any archdiocese or monarchy. Acknowledging
religious architecture’s influence on library design, USC’s Professor Breisch suggests, “In some of the grand libraries in Europe, the forms of the cathedral were adapted for the library, with stained glass replaced by walls of books.”

Some families attempt to visit every major league baseball stadium in a single season, others have more intellectual aspirations. In his book, The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders, author Stuart Kells documents his family’s tour of the world’s great libraries. In this loving treatise of history, architecture and human nature, Kells states, “Every library has an atmosphere, even a spirit. Every visit to a library is an encounter with the ethereal phenomena of coherence, beauty and taste.”

Paris has no shortage of magnificent buildings and a notable landmark in the second arrondissement, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France’s Richelieu site, is dedicated to books. The building’s Salle Ovale, an elliptical reading room with soaring glass ceiling, long wood tables and cushy club chairs, recently reopened after an ambitious, protracted makeover on the occasion of the library’s 300th anniversary. Equally spectacular, with a ceiling that bookworms equate to the Sistine Chapel, is the adjoining Galerie Mazarin in which priceless maps, postage stamps and manuscripts are displayed for the public.

 

Mortlock Wing of State Library of South Australia

Midtown Manhattan’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, more commonly known as the main branch of the New York Public Library, is a Beaux-Arts landmark conceived in the late 1890s to compete with the palatial libraries in European capitals. The cavernous Rose Main Reading Room features an ornate, muraled ceiling and two long rows of 1,500-pound bronze chandeliers. “This is one of the great libraries of the world and the reading room is a magnificent space that has been beautifully restored, “ says USC’s Kenneth Breisch.

At the State Library of South Australia, in Adelaide, visitors are awed by the interior of the Mortlock Wing, a stunning example of French Renaissance architecture completed in 1884. The long chamber is surrounded by balconies of wrought iron balustrading with gold embellishment, while the glass-capped roof invites natural light. In contrast, a new era of Australian library design is reflected in community facilities in the Sydney suburbs of Bankstown and Surry Hills. Both were designed by fjcstudio, a firm whose sleek libraries across the country have given reading Down Under new sex appeal. “The building became a truly shared place where the whole community could meet and use in different ways,” explained the design team in a narrative on the Surry Hills library for ArchDaily. The architects, headquartered in Sydney, further noted that it was important for the building to reflect the community’s values.

The Piccolomini Library, inside the Gothic cathedral in the Tuscan city of Siena, was built in honor of Pope Pius II. The most memorable features of the library are not priceless collections of books and manuscripts, but remarkable frescoes lining the walls and ceiling, painted by Italian master Pinturicchio and his workshop at the outset of the 16th century. In the center of the room stands a single marble sculpture, a replica of “The Three Graces.”

As the Australian examples demonstrate, not all great libraries are baroque palaces, and some of the most significant are modern structures whose minimalist tendencies are well suited to the functions for which the library is designed. In the 21st century, with virtually every factoid available at the touch of one’s smartphone or tablet, the role of the library has evolved. Public library administrators report that facilities continue to be well attended, but fewer patrons are passing through their doors strictly to find a book.

Today’s public library has a full calendar of readings and seminars, with musicians, scientists and actors presenting their stories in a place where once only silence was tolerated. Seattle’s Central Library, designed by noted Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas of OMA and Seattle-based LMN Architects, opened in 2004. Despite mixed reviews of the monolithic glass-and-steel structure from architecture critics, administrators report that use of the library has far exceeded expectations. LMN Architects partner Sam Miller suggests the library’s unique “book spiral,” a continuous four-story ramp, is a revolutionary way of organizing a multi-floor media collection into a single, continuous loop that retains its organizational structure as the collection grows. USC’s Kenneth Breisch suggests the Seattle facility is an ideal example of a modern library providing full access to virtually the entire collection, a practice its 17th and 18th
century predecessors never anticipated.

“The main floor public space is aptly named the “Living Room” and really functions as such for the city of Seattle,” says Miller. “The library is an extroverted contributor to the life of the city, indoors and out, and welcomes the public into light-filled rooms that astound,” he says. Breisch reports this role of gathering place is another important aspect of the modern library, whose design is more inviting and inclusive than its cloistered antecedents. Oodi, the central library in Helsinki, Finland, is a sleek, sustainable study in glass and wood, with an open-plan reading room on the upper floor nicknamed “Book Heaven.” But this library takes its role as a communal space seriously, incorporating a café, restaurant, movie theater, recording arts studio, and rooms for various creators, whether their medium is a traditional craft or computer-generated 3D printing.

The MVRDV-designed Tianjin Binhai Library in China is among the world’s most futuristic library buildings and its interior is a seductive study in curves somehow squeezed into a more conventional glass exterior. Books are stacked in shelves sleekly integrated into sweeping walls, and a massive, luminescent
globe — it actually serves as a spherical auditorium — is the focal point of a brightly lit atrium.
“We opened the building by creating a beautiful public space inside; a new urban living room is its center,” explains Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV, another cutting-edge Dutch firm that designed this library. “The angles and curves are meant to stimulate different uses of the space, such as reading, walking, meeting, and discussing. Together they form the ‘eye’ of the building: to see and be seen,” says Maas.

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Aquatic Accomodations

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There is no greater magnet for the hospitality industry than the sea, with towering hotels crowding the world’s finest stretches of beach, from the Côte d’Azur to Waikiki. For most travelers, a view of the ocean is the ultimate amenity, but luxury hotels that float or are submerged beneath the surface of the sea provide otherworldly experiences.

Floating is a term of art. There are some hotels that literally float, like The FloatHouse River Kwai in Thailand or the Off Paris Seine that is moored on the banks of the City of Light’s signature river. Others merely provide the illusion of floating, such as tropical overwater bungalows — these are quintessential French Polynesian accommodations but are found in the Maldives, Seychelles and Caribbean as well — where the design is fully integrated with the sea. Yet another category are hotels whose rooms or restaurants are submerged in the sea, providing guests with the underwater experience of coexisting with tropical fish amidst a coral reef.

The clubby Off floats on the Seine between the Right and Left Banks of Paris, not far from Gare d’Austerlitz in the up-and-coming 13th arrondissement. While the neighborhood is buzzing with fashionable bistros and nightspots, the barge-like Off provides an onboard restaurant and bar, even a lap pool. Those who splurge can choose between two fashionable suites whose décor was authored by designers Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman.

Exotic species viewed from an elaborate underwater suite at Atlantis, The Palm. Above image and featured image:  © ATLANTIS, THE PALM; photos by Victor Romero

An underwater guestroom at The Manta Resort off the coast of Tanzania. Photo courtesy of the Manta Resort.

With its recent grand opening, Resorts World’s glitzy new $4.3 billion property is the latest hot spot on the Las Vegas Strip, but the company’s resort on Sentosa Island, Singapore is even more elaborate. It encompasses multiple hotels — among them the elite Crockfords Tower, the postmodern Hotel Michael and Hard Rock — along with several theme parks, a convention center and casino. The property’s Beach Villas hotel offers 11 two-story Ocean Suites that immerse their guests into an exotic ocean habitat. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide an undersea view of more than 70 species of marine animals amidst luxury accommodations enhanced by personalized butler service.

Offering the best of both worlds is The Manta Resort in Tanzania — it is located on Pemba Island amidst some stunning turquoise-hued waters — and its three-level floating suite is anchored to the ocean floor off the coast of Africa. Above water, guests enjoy a gentle rafting effect and panoramic views, but in the bedroom below they are treated to the eyepopping aquatic habitat of this corner of the Indian Ocean. Pemba Island is one of the world’s premier diving areas, but guests at The Manta’s underwater room can experience the same thrills without ever putting on a wetsuit. 

The Manta Resort’s own Kwanini Foundation is actively involved in protecting the rich marine habitat of Pemba Island, whose reefs are among the most diverse in East Africa. Rapidly increasing population is creating an unsustainable demand for fish, and the foundation is fighting to eliminate destructive practices like dynamite fishing near vulnerable reefs, as well as educating people on climate change and plastic pollution. These conservation efforts not only preserve the natural beauty of Pemba Island, but ensure the magic of The Manta Resort’s underwater accommodations as well.

Perhaps the most audacious example of a hotel with an underwater feature is the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland in China. Constructed at an artificial lake created at an abandoned quarry, most of the sleek, curvaceous structure is technically below grade, with 16 stories built into a subterranean cliff. All of the 336 rooms benefit from spectacular views of the lake and the property’s dramatically illuminated waterfalls and fountains.

One spectacular two-level suite at Shanghai Wonderland features an enclosed living room with outdoor terrace hovering just above the water, while its bedrooms are submerged beneath the lake’s surface, encased in a giant underwater aquarium. Lin Wang, chief marketing officer for IHG, Greater China, commented: “We’re delighted to be joining forces with Shimao Group [developer] again to open InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland — an architectural masterpiece that’s a wonder and beauty in the global hospitality industry.”

When it comes to underwater hotel restaurants, New Zealand civil engineer Mike Murphy is a pioneering force responsible for some of the most dramatic designs. His first underwater restaurant project, Ithaa, opened in 2005 and remains a stunning dining space in the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort. A decade later, Murphy completed the design for his largest underwater dining venue, named 5.8 Undersea Restaurant — it sits 5.8 meters beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean — at the Hurawalhi Island Resort in the Maldives. “Many projects must be canceled, as the sites aren’t suitable or the client desires a room size that’s unrealistically large,” explains Murphy of his niche specialty. 

Despite his disciplined training as an engineer, Murphy appreciates the visceral reaction people experience in these underwater spaces. “Their mouths open in awe, they almost gasp in wonder at the beautiful underwater scene in front of them,” he says, and adds, “I, too, always get this feeling when I go down into these undersea rooms.”

The Hurawalhi project benefitted from advancements in fabrication, transportation and the availability of larger crane ships, reports Murphy, who notes these ventures work best in locations protected from severe waves or storm surges, generally inside a coral reef or protected harbor. “The design of the acrylic windows and arches is very important,” says the engineer, who explains, “The deeper you go in the water, the greater the pressure, and hence the thicker you must make the windows … and the more expensive it gets.” 

Murphy designed the largest underwater project to date, a villa at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island called The Muraka, a spectacular suite whose room rate begins at $9,999 per night. “Driven by our inspiration to deliver innovative and transformative experiences to our global travelers, the world’s first undersea residence encourages guests to explore the Maldives from an entirely new perspective below the surface of the sea,” said Ahmed Saleem of the Crown Company, which collaborated with the engineer on the
$15 million project. Murphy, who retired a few years ago at age 70, continues to receive proposals for projects and is hoping his design for the world’s first revolving underwater restaurant will be realized.  

Above, the view from an Ocean Suite at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore. Photo courtesy of RESORTS WORLD SENTOSA SINGAPORE.

At far left, an underwater suite at the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland. 

Above, the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, constructed at an abandoned quarry. Photos courtesy of InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland.

The FloatHouse River Kwai is a bona fide floating resort in Thailand, a country where floating homes and markets are not particularly unusual. The hotel’s string of thatched roof villas is essentially a lengthy pontoon boat parked along the river made famous by the novel and Oscar-winning movie Bridge on the River Kwai. Each villa provides nearly 1,000 square feet of comfort appointed with teak furniture and features a private terrace with a swing from which to lazily watch the slowly passing riverboats.

The luxurious Taj Lake Palace hotel is not technically floating on India’s Lake Pichola, but most certainly appears to be. The artificial lake, which was created in the 14th century, has several islands, and the white marble-clad structure — it was originally a summer palace for the ruling dynasty of Mewar — was constructed on one of them in 1746. The palace was designed in a manner that makes it look like an ornate floating raft, and while the illusion is convincing, nobody gets seasick. The hotel oozes elegance and romance, and the most extravagant suites, with hand-painted ceilings, crystal chandeliers and panoramic water views, are indeed palatial.

In a city that specializes in over-the-top experiences, Dubai’s 1,500-room Atlantis, The Palm offers a 1,775-square-foot underwater suite with floor-to-ceiling windows for viewing the resort’s signature aquarium, stocked with 65,000 marine animals. A guest lying on the bed or relaxing in the marble bath will be mesmerized by sharks, stingrays and vibrantly hued tropical fish sailing past. A private elevator ascends to the suite’s intimate lounge, offering surface views of a lagoon, and guests’ needs are attended to by a dedicated butler.

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Glass Ceilings: Designed to be Broken

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Cover image: ©istockphoto.com / Rost-9D

In the male-dominated field of architecture, women struggle to overcome institutionalized barriers to gender equity.

At her eponymous New York City studio, architect Nina Cooke John creates sophisticated spaces through “high-impact” residential architecture.

Nina Cooke John photo by Ball & Albanese; Below photo by Lisa Russman Photography.

Courtrooms are increasingly occupied by women attorneys and even judges, and world-class hospitals have no shortage of women physicians. But, regrettably, the profession of architecture remains nearly as male-dominated as the halls of the U.S. Senate or Fortune 500 boardrooms. In a field that demands both artistic achievement and construction expertise, gender equity has been painstakingly slow.

There are certainly some bona fide celebrity women architects, such as Jeanne Gang who is dramatically redefining the skyscraper, and Elizabeth Diller whose firm of Diller Scofidio + Renfro created The High Line in New York and The Broad in Los Angeles. They follow Zaha Hadid, the trailblazing Pritzker Prize-winning designer who passed in 2016. The prominence of these women has inspired a new generation of female architects, but that path is still laden with roadblocks.

Despina Stratigakos, Ph.D., vice provost for inclusive excellence and professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo, states, “Architecture is a male-dominated profession by design,” and explains that there was strong pushback when women first started entering the field 140 years ago. “The justifications given then for excluding them from practice, revolving around women’s negative ‘feminine’ influences, became embedded as core values of the professional culture,” says the professor, who reports that a deep-seated bias against women’s abilities continues today.

Stratigakos’ 2016 book, Where Are the Women Architects? was partly inspired by the emergence of a new movement seeking greater gender equity in the profession. “I wanted to raise awareness of this long-standing question and of the voices of activists pushing for answers today,” she explains. “Women have long advocated for greater diversity in architecture, but too often have been ignored by the profession’s leaders,” says Stratigakos.

The professor cites statistics that reflect approximate gender parity among students enrolled in accredited architecture programs in the U.S. but that is not, however, indicative of women’s advancement in the profession after graduation. “Although the gap has shrunk between the numbers of men and women studying architecture, racial and ethnic disparities are slower to change,” adds Stratigakos, who notes that Black women are sorely underrepresented in architecture schools. 

While challenges for women of color can be dispiriting, voices like Nina Cooke John provide inspiration for those entering the field. The Jamaican-born architect, whose New York-based Studio Cooke John specializes in “high-impact” residential architecture — she explains the concept as maximizing and customizing every square inch of the spaces she describes as “machines for living” — and public art.

Cooke John, whose impressive resume includes degrees from Cornell and Columbia, was included in Dwell magazine’s “13 Extraordinary Women in Design and Architecture You Need to Know.” Following faculty positions at Syracuse University and Parsons School of Design, she has returned to Columbia to teach architecture, making the professor well suited to counseling young women entering the field. Informed by her experience as one of the few Black women in her class at Cornell, she advises, “It’s important to speak out and create your own community because support is paramount to your success.” She suggests that if students who feel isolated cannot find that support on campus, they should reach out to practitioners or minority-based professional associations for mentorship. 

After practicing and teaching extensively, Cooke John created her own firm with another woman architect — both mothers of young children who appreciated the flexibility most large firms could not provide — and eventually went solo. She reports, “For many women, it’s about finding your voice and creating an environment that’s difficult to find in a male-dominated firm.” Suggesting women tend to approach the profession differently, Cooke John reports, “When women interact with clients, it’s not so often about ego but listening to the clients and responding to their needs.”

“We interact with the built environment constantly, and while some people view it as in the background, it’s really the foreground of everything we do,” says Cooke John, who adds, “When people engage with one another in public spaces, community-building is much stronger.” Her foray into public art installations further advances her philosophy of placemaking, which transforms relationships between people and the human-made environment.

Julia Gamolina is director of strategy at Trahan Architects, an international firm with offices in New Orleans and New York, whose portfolio includes prominent educational, sports and performing arts venues. She is also founder and editor-in-chief of Madame Architect, an online magazine that celebrates the achievements of women in the field and serves as a digital mentor to young professionals. Explaining that challenges for women are exacerbated by influences beyond their own architectural firms’ cultures, Gamolina observes, “Most professions dealing with the built environment, such as commercial real estate, construction and engineering, tend to be even more male-dominated than architecture.”

The editor of Madame Architect not only laments the lack of gender equity in her industry, but suggests progress is unlikely to be swift. “It’s slow to change because architecture itself takes a long time, from financing and government approvals to design and construction,” explains Gamolina, another accomplished Cornell alumna. She reports the numbers of women in leadership positions is more anemic than overall female participation in the industry, but notes some women start their own firms after becoming mothers.

Other women, reports Gamolina, drop out of the rigorous profession when they have their first child because employers do not offer sufficient flexibility. “It’s not a motherhood problem at all,” insists the architect and journalist, who maintains that lack of flexibility applies equally to fathers and even caretakers of elderly parents. One potential dividend from the pandemic was the recognition by employers that staff can be fully productive working outside the office.

Gamolina believes young women need to understand there are exciting roles awaiting them in architecture beyond design itself, and points to her own director of strategy position at Trahan Architects. “Madame Architect showcases all the career possibilities within the field,” she explains, citing specialties in administration, communications and marketing.

Rosa Sheng is a principal at SmithGroup, whose 15 offices create cultural centers, master-planned cities and mixed-use projects around the globe. Sheng also serves as her firm’s director of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and is founding chair of the Equity by Design Committee created by the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

 

Julia Gamolina is director of strategy for Trahan Architects — the Coca-Cola Stage at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre is a signature project — and is also editor-in-chief of Madame Architect.

Photo of Julie Gamolina by Lily Olsen; Theater photo by Leonid Furmansky.

Equity by Design has conducted three pivotal research studies with the most recent, in 2018, involving a survey of more than 14,000 architecture school graduates. For Sheng, therefore, anecdotal stories from her colleagues are supported by hard data. Her research reveals several “pinch points” in the careers of women architects: pathways to licensure, access and opportunities to leadership positions, caregiving navigation/reconciliation, and pay equity for similar roles or positions. Her committee’s early work focused on the “missing 32 percent,” referring to the attrition rate between women architecture school graduates and those who became licensed.

After giving birth to her second child during the Great Recession, Sheng was experiencing one of those pinch points. “I felt like I couldn’t be a good parent or a good architect,” she recalls defeatedly, and adds, “People say there are barriers, but you don’t believe it until you experience them.” In challenging times, women leave the profession, something Sheng herself considered even after years of success. But her work with Equity by Design has provided a new purpose to complement her passion for the discipline. “It’s that feeling of being swept away by the excitement, like, ‘Wow! There’s something here we can influence and help to change,’” explains the activist architect.

Sheng reports, “In addition to Equity by Design, there are many more women in architecture leading efforts to share experiences, celebrate achievements for justice and equity in the profession, and inspiring a more diverse demographic of architectural practitioners.” She cites organizations like 400 Forward, a nonprofit that inspires women of color to become architects.

“Your success will not be determined by your gender or your ethnicity, but only on the scope of your dreams and your hard work to achieve them.” This is not just any motivational trope, but the words of the great Zaha Hadid, who overcame challenges on both fronts.

Rosa Sheng, a principal at SmithGroup — the UC Davis Teaching and Learning Complex is a recent project — was founding chair of the Equity by Design Committee.

Photo by Scott R. Kline; Building renderings courtesy of SMITHGROUP.

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Streetwise

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Slick, a native of Hawaii, painted this mural on the exterior of the Museum of Graffiti in Miami. 

Photo courtesy Museum of Grafitti. 

Its earliest practitioners were considered criminals, but now the work of some graffiti artists hangs in the nation’s most prestigious museums.

After society’s initial outrage over acts of vandalism in the name of creativity, art enthusiasts begrudgingly acknowledged that some wayward, urban painters were genuinely gifted. Over time, graffiti and street art earned a place in prestigious collections, private galleries and museums like the Museum of
Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

While graffiti is often viewed as an American-born genre, Michael Rooks, a curator of modern and contemporary art at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, provides some historical context. “Graffiti and street art have their origins in the history of 20th century art — from Dada wherein text replaced image to inveigh against WWI on the streets of Zürich, to the Mexican muralist movement’s large-scale murals in post-revolution Mexico City, to Les Affichistes artists whose affiches lacérées (layers of torn posters and advertisements) were literally sourced from the streets and walls of post-WWII Paris.” 

The evolution of American street art has been well documented in L.A. and New York, but the acceptance of this form of artistic expression has also occurred in Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago, and San Francisco. 

“Bunny Kitty’s Dreamstate Room” is a vibrant, playful work from artist Persue.

Photo courtesy Museum of Graffiti. 

Some street artists are commissioned as muralists, a transition that monetizes and legitimizes their work, before eventually being discovered by curators. Ultimately, gallery representation leads to their art appearing in chic restaurants, hotels and private collections. Artists like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Shepard Fairey — all once confined to the fringes of the art world — became creative celebrities. In L.A., the exclusive fashion boutique of Elyse Walker features artwork by RETNA, one of the most prominent local street artists, while superchef David Chang hangs the work of David Choe in Majordomo, his popular downtown restaurant. The city’s Mayfair Hotel features the work of a different street artist on every floor — resulting in diverse visual experiences for guests — and is a tribute to the depth of talent in the region.

The historic Mayfair, site of the first post-Academy Awards party in 1929, has been transformed into a trendy setting showcasing street art, curated by artist-in-residence Kelly “RISK” Graval. The Louisiana-born artist became one of L.A.’s most influential graffiti stylists and was among the pioneering artists to transition from the street to the gallery, as well as entering the worlds of fashion design and music video.

RISK’s own work is represented by a Buddha-inspired installation on the second floor and one of his murals will eventually soar above the 15th-floor pool deck. “I selected my “Metallic Tissue” series, which consists of a body of work that I paint on panels built out of repurposed spray cans,” reports RISK, who states, “They’re my imprint on society as an artist, my DNA.” He also installed some of his unique neon work in the lobby, which suits the vintage of the building. Overall, nearly 100 pieces throughout the hotel represent the diversity of L.A.-based graffiti artists and muralists like DEFER, Billy Morrison and Shepard Fairey, whose breakout work was the Barack Obama “Hope” imagery from the 2008 presidential campaign.

“There was a time when graffiti artists were a small underground subculture,” explains RISK, but adds, “The powerfully dynamic art sparked a younger generation and it exploded.” He acknowledges that street art festivals and museum exhibits helped elevate the genre within the polite corridors of the art world, but that true recognition has been stubborn.

Neon work from RISK, the artist-in-residence at The Mayfair Hotel in L.A.      Photo courtesy the Mayfair Hotel. 

This untitled painting of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for $110.5 million at auction. Photo courtesy Museum of Graffiti.

“It was time for a new generation to take over. The old guard and practices of art began to change,” insists RISK, who suggests progressive hoteliers are helping idiosyncratic artists to find an audience. “Hotel art was becoming stale, kind of like Muzak in elevators in the ’80s, and needed a new approach,” says the veteran artist. “Boutique hotels like The Mayfair are ahead of the curve and breathe fresh air into an exciting future for art, artists, and art enthusiasts,” says RISK.

 Roger Gastman, an urban anthropologist and historian, is a leading authority on street art who counts The History of American Graffiti and Street World: Urban Art and Culture from Five Continents among his 50 books. Gastman remembers his own discovery of self-expression — through a spray paint can in the early 1990s — as a defining moment in his young life.

Gastman, whose first book, Free Agents: A History of Washington, D.C. Graffiti, documented the local culture he experienced in his youth, reports there is a distinction between graffiti and street art. “Graffiti is very name-based, very ego-driven, while street art is more image-based and involves additional tools and techniques,” says Gastman, but notes that both have their roots in vandalism. “Street art is a safer name and is more digestible to the public, but graffiti and street art are kissing cousins on the same playing field,” he muses.

“So much of this work is fantastic and deserves to be seen in a different light, collected and respected,” says Gastman, who laments, “A majority of galleries and museums still don’t accept this kind of art, look at it seriously or believe it should be shown.” Demographics, however, are driving attitudes, suggests Gastman. “People in their 30s and 40s grew up with graffiti, tattooing and skateboarding — it’s everywhere, in fashion, music and advertising — and it resonates with them.”   

Last year, Gastman spearheaded the New York edition of Beyond the Streets, a massive 100,000-square-foot exhibition of prominent graffiti artists in Brooklyn, following a similar event in L.A. in 2018. “We basically built our own museum and 200,000 people walked through the doors,” he explains, adding, “It showcased graffiti and street artists, giving them respect and presenting their history in the proper light.”

Miami, whose Wynwood Arts District is defined by vibrant, multicultural murals, is a city with a strong tradition of street art, and its Museum of Graffiti pays homage to the approachable medium. Museum co-founder Allison Freidin explains, “Our goal is to celebrate a group of artists previously marginalized because of the stigma associated with graffiti,” and reports the Miami institution is the only one in the world exclusively dedicated to graffiti art. “Previously, there was no place to learn about these artists,” she adds.

Above: The “Wet Paint” exhibit at the Museum of Graffiti in Miami, from artist Persue. Photo courtesy Museum of Graffiti.

At Right: “Party Felix” by Seen, one of many artists showcased at L.A.’s Mayfair Hotel. Photo courtesy the Mayfair Hotel.

Explaining its location in a former shoe warehouse in Wynwood, Freidin reports, “The district’s relevance in the past 10 years is a product of the graffiti art that transformed a sleepy industrial neighborhood into the world-class arts destination it has become,” noting the windowless warehouses made ideal canvases for street artists. The Museum of Graffiti’s own building is entirely wrapped in 14 different murals by acclaimed local and international artists like Shoe, EZO and Abstrk. 

The museum’s interior galleries feature rotating exhibits such as a recent compelling vignette from artist Persue, who famously removed the “Wet Paint” signs that New York City transit workers used to tape to subway cars after painting over graffiti art. Persue sent more than 70 of those very placards to artists around the world to use as canvases, all of which were incorporated into an exhibit whose physical design resembled a New York subway station platform.

Freidin explains that Miami’s graffiti art movement began in the early 1980s when some youth who got into trouble in New York were sent to South Florida to live with grandmothers or aunts. Insisting there is no way to repress the energies of an artist, Freidin reports, “The art erupted like a vengeance.”

The museum co-founder applauds the success of local graffiti artists like José Parlá, whose work moved from the streets of Miami to a mural inside Manhattan’s One World Trade Center, as well as multiple museum exhibitions and commissions in Tokyo, London and Havana. “He was immensely talented and continued to put in the work despite the stigma associated with graffiti art as vandalism,” says Freidin, who adds, “He’s probably one of the biggest names in contemporary art in the world.”

It was not easy for some museum curators to persuade their boards of directors that people previously labeled as vandals should be showcased in world-class fine arts facilities, but Freidin maintains society has evolved. She offers the former criminalization of marijuana as an analogy, citing its progression from disdain to broad acceptance. “It takes forward-thinking arts enthusiasts to take a risk,” and reports major corporations are hiring these artists as creative directors. “They recognize the power of this art,” says Freidin. 

Robert Michael Provenzano, professionally known as CES, is a leading graffiti stylist whose signature aesthetic is now influencing the generation of artists currently emerging from the streets. His art, which began almost 40 years ago in his native Bronx, repeatedly got him into trouble as a young man, but after being flown to Munich to demonstrate his craft at a museum he realized there was a market for his skills. “My friends and I used to have to steal supplies, but now I’m a sponsored artist by a paint company in Barcelona,” says CES of how attitudes toward graffiti art have changed.

CES has since earned commissions from Nike and Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, in addition to collaborating on a mural adjacent to Miami’s Museum of Graffiti, where he was recently headlined. He finds it ironic that the artistic expression that was so strongly discouraged when he was a teenager is now a source of pride for his family. “I had no idea that if I stuck with it all those years, the whole world was gonna dig it,” reports CES.

The High Museum’s Michael Rooks notes, “The migration of some graf artists into the mainstream via museum collections and exhibitions underscores a familiarity with the language of the street that is widely recognized among urban audiences, as well as the influential role it has on global visual culture today.”  He adds, “A fulcrum point in the migration from the street to the museum has to do with an artist’s knowledge and understanding of this legacy and ability to speak with urgency and artistry to contemporaneity.” 

The ultimate measure of acceptance of art is the monetary value it commands in the marketplace. In 2017, an untitled work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who began his career spray-painting walls in Lower Manhattan, sold for $110.5 million to a Japanese billionaire at auction, eclipsing his own personal record of $57.3 million.

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