Wednesday: Microdesign and Macrostarchitecture

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:30:04 -0400

Mrs. Ivana

For $250 per hour (or $450 per room) decorators named microdesigners (aka accessorizers) will rearrange your Fifth Avenue apartment's "household knickknacks." It's all the rage, so now there are enlightening community college classes teaching tablescaping. (WSJ)

The Voice's Best of NYC issue lists Astor Place Tower as "the best example of a building that never should have gone up." Plus, Clinton Hill's Broken Angel Building is "the best home turned hot movie set." Hot? Does VV know the ancient place suffered a horrendous fire this month? (Village Voice)

Japan's Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa are working on their dizzy new New Museum. If you spend too much time staring at the stacked-box framing on Bowery below Houston, it might just freak you out. (Curbed)

America is finally stealing New York's celebrity real estate secrets. But is every urban (or suburban) development with a Hollywood (or sub-Hollywood) name attached to it a roaring success? There's been failure for Ivana, George and Brad--but victories for Martha, Shaq, Nikki, Andre and Steffi. (Forbes, via The Real Deal)

In this uncertain and turmoil-filled world, it's nice to know that hip Americans still enjoy buying a Parisian pied-a-terre or two. Paris' statistics are convincing: prime real estate sells for $645 per square foot, compared to $1,900 in Manhattan (and $2,300 in London). But be warned that the French co-op boards aren't fun, and chic neighborhoods still have chic prices. (International Herald Tribune)

- Max Abelson

Observer » Wednesday: Microdesign and Macrostarchitecture

Wednesday: Microdesign and Macrostarchitecture