Practice

When psychologist Barry Schwartz gave his TED Talk about “The Paradox of Choice,” exploring how bein g bombarded with too many options can cause anxiety and take up too much of our time, he may have been onto something. Case in point: paint centers can overwhelm some patrons with entire color libraries presented right off the…

For the last 50 years, designs for company headquarters have been dominated by thick slices of moder nism in steel and glass, from SOM’s iconic Lever House in Manhattan to Kohn Pedersen Fox’s glittering Samsung HQ in Seoul. The brief for such projects remains the same today — to formulate a structure that can come to…

Dear Mayor de Blasio, A week has passed since New York’s Police Commissioner William J. Bratton sugg ested ripping up the plazas of Times Square in an effort to curb the proliferation of “desnudas” and street performers panhandling in the area. By now, I trust that you have taken the time to consider the terrible effect…

We’re living in a time where it’s becoming more commonplace to have (and demand) multipurpose spaces and multifunctional devices and furnishings. So it’s no stretch that lighting manufacturers would conceptualize products serving a purpose other than just illuminating. While some of them take advantage of the fact that the luminaire is electricity-powered (think: charging ports…

We reached out to six architecture and interior design professionals to weigh in on their favorite b ath fixture or fitting, at the moment. Here’s what they had to say. Erin Ruby: Principal, Erin Ruby Design, New York City“White Rectangular Ceramic Bathroom Sink KCV-122 from Kraus. I used this in combination with their Ramus Single Lever…

Anssi Lassila has been a busy man, of late. The Finnish architect has scarcely had a chance to enjoy the all-too-short Finnish summer — the weather finally turned at the beginning of the month — as the long days can also mean longer hours in the office. As the chair of the most recent Alvar…

The term “wireless” can be a bit misleading when describing lighting-control products: oftentimes th ey still require tinkering with wires, albeit existing ones. But electronics and lighting giant Philips has just unveiled a true, straight-out-of-the-box wireless dimmer-switch system that doesn’t require installation of any kind. Giving “The Clapper” a run for its money, the user-friendly Philips…

When William Morris completed the Red House in 19th-century London, he may not have realized the inf luence it would have on Arts and Crafts architecture across Britain, let all alone the rest of the world. However, the ideals associated with that movement have traversed the globe in the succeeding decades, and this is no more…

When New York City’s Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum underwent its redesign and renovation, it took the opportunity to address a major necessity: a substantial freight elevator for transporting monumental works. But the firms leading the project — Gluckman Mayner and Beyer Blinder Bell — needed to make the new lift accessible while preserving the…