The Vessel, a 150ft-tall labyrinth of staircases designed by Thomas Heatherwick for New York's Hudson Yards development, is to reopen tomorrow with a raft of new security measures. The Vessel was closed in January 2021, after three people had killed themselves in less than a year by jumping from the structure. Prior to the structure having opened in 2019, both city residents and critics had raised concerns over the design, citing the structure's height and waist-high barriers as a safety risk. Following the deaths at the structure, New York's Community Board 4, which covers Hudson Yards, had ..read more

Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the Brazilian Pritzker Prize-winning architect, has died, aged 92. Mendes da Rocha had been ill with lunge cancer and passed away in São Paulo, the city in which much of his work was built. Born in 1928 in Vitoria, Brazil, Mendes da Rocha rose to prominence as part of the Paulista School of modernist architects. His work included the saucer-shaped the Paulistano Athletics Club (1957), the Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of São Paulo (1975), the subterranean Brazilian Sculpture Museum (1988), and the renovation of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (1993 ..read more

Ken Garland, the graphic designer who launched the ‘First Things First’ manifesto and redesigned the peace symbol, has died aged 92. Born in Southampton in 1929, Garland trained at London's School of Central Arts and Crafts before serving as the art editor of _Design Magazine_ between 1956 and 1962, published by the Council of Industrial Britain. In 1962, he set up his own company, Ken Garland & Associates. Garland's new company notably produced work for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, including redesigning the movement's peace symbol which had originally been created by the textile ..read more

The architect Stefano Boeri has been appointed the curator of this year's Salone del Mobile trade fair. Boeri, who is also the president of the Triennale Milano museum, is being placed in charge of a revamped format that will include the option for visitors to the fair to buy products at discounted prices. Boeri said “The event we are working on will in effect be an unmissable event, open to both operators and the general public. “In addition to the recent and best innovations of the companies, high-quality design products will be hosted for sale at prices dedicated to the occasion, to respon ..read more

Lilli Hollein, the co-founder and former director of Vienna Design Week will head up MAK – Museum of Applied Arts from September 2021. “To get to head the MAK, one of the most beautiful and oldest museums of applied arts in the world with its unparalleled collection and to position it as an institution that communicates actively in manifold ways and cooperates internationally, is one of the most wonderful tasks I can imagine,” said Hollein in a statement. Hollein succeeds Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, who became the MAK’s director in 2011, and who has been instrumental in introducing topics surr ..read more

Maison & Object, the Paris-based design fair, has confirmed that its September 2021 edition will go ahead as planned. The fair will run from 9 to 13 September at Paris Nord Villepinte. The dates coincides with Paris Design Week, which runs from 9 to 18 September. “In order to definitively confirm the September 2021 edition, we were impatiently awaiting for the green light from the French government,” said Philippe Brocart, Maison & Objet's general manager. “It’s now official: fairs and exhibitions will be able to be held again as of June 30th, 2021, with no capacity limit. We are ther ..read more

Helmut Jahn, the German American architect who rose to prominence as the eighth member of the Chicago Seven, has died after being struck by two vehicles while riding his bicycle. He was 81. Jahn was killed while riding through Campton Hills. a village near to Chicago. According to local police, Jahn approached a T-junction “and failed to stop at the posted stop sign” before he was hit. Over the course of his career, Jahn made a huge contribution to the architecture of his adopted city of Chicago. He designed the James R Thompson Center in the city's downtown as well as United Airlines Termina ..read more

The Spanish architect, educator and theorist Rafael Moneo has been awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest accolade of the Venice Architecture Biennale. The Golden Lion is awarded to architects in honour of their lifetime’s work. Moneo, 83, who won the Pritzker Prize in 1996, was nominated for the Golden Lion by the Lebanese architect Hashim Sarkis, who called him “one of the most transformative architects of his generation”. “Throughout his long career, Moneo has maintained a poetic prowess, reminding us of the powers of architectural form to express, shape but al ..read more

Claudio Luti, president of the Salone del Mobile trade fair, has resigned, throwing plans for the September event into doubt. Luti is reported to have resigned over fears that the event would be severely diminished, with fewer exhibitors and attendees as a result of Covid-19. The 2020 edition of the fair had to be cancelled as a result of the pandemic, while the 2021 edition has been moved from its traditional April time slot to September. Luti, the CEO of Kartell, is said to have cited a lack of unity among the trade fairs various stakeholders, stating that “The common will of purpose ..read more

The fashion designer Alber Elbaz has died after contracting Covid-19. He was 59. The former fashion director of Lanvin, Elbaz was credited with revitalising the historic house during his tenure there between 2001 and 2015. More recently, he launched his own brand AZ Factory. Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Elbaz grew up in Israel where he studied design at Tel Aviv's Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art. After a spell in the Israeli military, he moved to New York where he became the assistant designer of Geoffrey Beene. In 1996, Elbaz moved to Paris where he became head of prêt-à-porte ..read more