Citing travel restrictions, quarantine regulations, and the uncertainty of staging large-scale events due to the coronavirus, Art Basel has officially canceled the upcoming edition of its Miami Beach fair, scheduled to take place in early December. The news follows Art Basel’s decision to cancel this year’s Swiss and Hong Kong editions, accounting for a major revenue loss for the company and marking the first year in decades without a physical edition of the fair. In its place, Art Basel plans to launch a slate of online viewing rooms.

“It is with great regret and disappointment that we announce the cancellation of our December show in Miami Beach, as we know how crucial our show is for our galleries, as well as for the greater Miami arts community and economy,” says Noah Horowitz, Director Americas for Art Basel. “We thank everyone who shared their insights with us and look forward to returning to Miami Beach next year to deliver a successful show.”

Art Miami Show Group, which runs several of the week’s other major fairs including Art Miami, CONTEXT Art Miami, and Aqua Art Miami, also announced cancellations, though promised to replicate the fair experience online. While the news may disappoint those seeking a return to normalcy, we can’t fault either party for playing it safe. Florida has so far counted more than 633,000 coronavirus cases and 11,500 deaths, placing the state third in the U.S. behind California and Texas in infection count. Staging large gatherings, especially whose success hinges on the viability of global travel, is simply too risky.

Have a news story our readers need to see? Submit it here.

“We used to welcome water like a friend, today we face it with fear,” says the landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom of her home city, Bangkok. Located in the heart of Southeast Asia’s tropical climate, Bangkok’s rapid urban expansion has fostered an unfavorable landscape for the region’s torrential rains. The concreting of the earth has left the city susceptible to flooding, the ground unable to absorb seasonal monsoons.

A product of climate change, rising seas have turned the city into the Venice of Asia—to put it simply, it’s sinking. Voraakhom has made it her mission to reconnect Bangkok with nature, a pursuit that is the focus of the new short film “To Live with Water,” a production by Mercedes-Benz’s global women empowerment initiative, She’s Mercedes, which portrays women taking responsibility for the global challenges of our times.

In 2011, Voraakhom set out to help prevent her childhood home from an underwater future by founding Landprocess, an eco–focused landscape architecture and urban design firm. The studio’s ethos is to find harmony with nature through the construction of multi-functional green spaces. Recently, Landprocess completed Green Rooftop at Thamassat University, where Voraakhom is a professor. What used to be more than 200,000 square feet of unused rooftop space is now Asia’s largest organic rooftop farm. With earthwork mimicking Thailand’s rice paddies, the terrain serves as a multipurpose complex for sustainable food production, renewable energy, organic waste, water management, heat reduction, and public space. “I want to find solutions that represent the needs of our society,” Voraakhom says. “And live with water again.”

When: Until Oct. 4

Where: Artechouse, New York

What: Our surroundings may feel familiar, but they’re forever changed—a concept Fujimoto explores through a kinetic laser performance that takes viewers on an operatic audio-visual journey into the unknown. Set within a meditative soundscape inspired by the silence of Shinto shrines, the installation aims to render intangible feelings as tangible experiences. “I’ve been trying to generate virtual consciousness and, in extension, virtual life in this work, triggering a deeper sense of humanity in ourselves,” says Fujimoto, who hopes that visitors can get in touch with their own sense of being.

Kyriaki Drakotos views her namesake label, which specializes in hand-painted silk textiles, as a world in and of itself. Each item, whether a scarf emblazoned with the symbolism of initials or a forthcoming series of kimonos, is a bona fide artwork that celebrates eccentricity and individualism—qualities absent within today’s mechanized fashion industry.

The demise of department stores seems to be rapidly approaching: Neiman Marcus is grappling with bankruptcy, Lord & Taylor is liquidating its remaining 38 locations, and plans to salvage J.C. Penney have reached an impasse. One statistic, however, paints a particularly dire picture. According to a report by Retail Metrics, department stores are expected to be the worst-performing segment in retail this earnings season—profits are forecasted to drop a staggering 691 percent year-over-year, with losses amounting to $1.2 billion.

While eye-opening, that figure isn’t quite unexpected. The moribund mall is hardly a new phenomenon, and apparel sales have taken a nosedive due to the coronavirus pandemic. With millions unemployed and following stay-at-home orders, fewer consumers care to refresh their wardrobes when they hardly venture outside. For those lucky enough to have the means, splurging on $995 cotton silk sweatpants likely isn’t the most sustainable option.

Reach the design world every morning. Find out more about advertising in the Design Dispatch.

Stickbulb’s sleek, modular LED fixtures are made in New York City with wood salvaged from local buildings and sustainably managed forests. Conceived as a way to “build with light” by design studio RUX, Stickbulb lends itself to endless configurations and customization.

Surface Says: Stickbulb combines a commitment to sustainable lighting with a strong aesthetic, using naturally finished wood to create bold, geometric forms.

Anonymouse creates tiny houses for mice on the streets of Stockholm.

This gargantuan swan-shaped megayacht features a detachable day boat head.

L.A. is crowdsourcing logos for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Ever wonder what Elon Musk might name you if he was your father?