What’s Happening: Bedrock, the real estate firm breathing new life into downtown Detroit, is wrapping up its most ambitious project yet: a top-to-bottom transformation of the historic Book Tower into a residential complex under the halo of one of the city’s most dazzling landmarks.

The Download: Few buildings on the Detroit skyline carry as much history as the Book Building, an Italian Renaissance–style structure designed by architect Louis Kamper that rose in the mid-1920s during the then-bubbling auto industry’s meteoric rise. The building, along with the storied Book-Cadillac Hotel, became one of the crown jewels of the Book brothers’ investment in downtown that aimed to transform the once-ragged Washington Boulevard into a tony destination akin to Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. An adjoining 500-foot-tall tower followed a decade later, cementing the Book Building as one of Detroit’s most prestigious addresses.

The structure cycled through numerous tenants and owners across its lifetime, but has sat abandoned since the late ‘80s as automotive fortunes fizzled and Detroit’s population waned. What was once a harbinger of the city’s prosperity—and its eventual decline—is emerging as a symbol of its rebirth thanks to a $300 million investment by Bedrock, the real estate firm credited with stoking downtown Detroit’s newfound vitality. Under the leadership of native son Dan Gilbert, the firm is undertaking a meticulous revamp of the building’s interior, enlivening drab offices into a residential complex they hope will further galvanize the city’s resurgence.

Transforming the 38 stories took more than deep pockets and design ingenuity—it also required preservation chops. Former tenants covered up the interior’s lavish Art Deco details with nondescript walls and cubicles to maximize office space, obscuring a breathtaking 6,000-piece stained glass domed skylight and a three-story atrium. Restoring the glistening centerpiece was no small feat—the prolific New York firm ODA, tapped to lead the renovation, was tasked with painstakingly disassembling and restoring its elements piece by piece.

Bedrock views the undertaking as a worthy endeavor to preserve an overlooked monument to Detroit’s heyday. It also sweetens the deal of renting the 229 apartments and 117 Roost hotel rooms above, which will enjoy such amenities as a French restaurant, sake pub, and rooftop lounge. “We had to weave our desire to restore the original slate of what it was with our creative freedom to build something that makes sense,” ODA principal Eran Chen tells Fast Company. “It was clear from the get-go that if we could convince the client to restore this thing to a ’T’ and build it the way it used to be, it would be an attraction for ages to come.”

Bedrock’s steadfast belief in architectural heritage has inspired Gilbert to spend the past decade buying up lots and gradually reshaping the city center. That formula worked at the Shinola Hotel, a joint venture with the local heritage brand that transformed the historic Woodward Building into one of Detroit’s most rarefied stays. Bedrock recently acquired the shuttered Omni Detroit Hotel’s former River Place site and is wooing Apple to fill three storefronts nearby.

In Their Own Words: “Sure it’s expensive, but if you’re expecting a building to have long-term value, you want to create that value from day one so it will appreciate over time,” says Kofi Bonner, CEO of Bedrock. “What better way to make the point that Detroit is back? We can take abandoned buildings and bring them back to life.”

Surface Says: The Detroit comeback story is like catnip for the media, but we’re going to keep going back to the well until it happens for good.

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Editions aren’t a common sight at Frieze New York, but this year’s attendees had the opportunity to acquire limited-edition fine bone china designed by the market’s leading artists. Thanks to the Coalition for the Homeless, Prospect New York, and 40 participating artists and estates, the Artist Plate Project gave Frieze attendees first pick of limited-edition plates by the likes of Rashid Johnson (pictured), Mickalene Thomas, Derrick Adams, and more. The initiative, co-founded and curated by Michelle Hellman in 2020, has to date raised more than $4.5 million to benefit the Coalition for the Homeless. Couldn’t make Frieze? Surface readers can shop the plates now at Artware Editions.

Last week, a lively group of artists, museum directors, curators, and collectors gathered for a cocktail reception hosted by collectors and philanthropists Komal Shah and her husband, Guarav Garg, at the Bowery Hotel in New York. The occasion toasted the release of “Making Their Mark: Art by Women in the Shah Garg Collection,” a new book that explores the vision and range of women artists in their collection from Joan Mitchell to Julie Mehretu. Guests enjoyed cocktails and canapés while mingling with a multitude of artists featured in the book.

When was it? May 18

Where was it? The Bowery Hotel, New York.

Who was there? Theresa Chromati, Charles Gaines, Jennifer Guidi, Magdalene Odundo, Tschabalala Self, Naomi Beckwith, Noah Horowitz, JiaJia Fei, Erin Christovale, and Anicka Yi.

An amalgamation of skyscapes captured in Sicily, Indonesia, Thailand, and New Zealand, the Vienna-based artist’s new body of ambient, fresco-like works serve as sensory portals into the skies above far-flung places.

Here, we ask an artist to frame the essential details behind one of their latest works.

Bio: André Hemer, 41, Vienna/New York.

Title of work: Troposphere #9 (2023).

Where to see it: Hollis Taggart, New York, until June 24.

Three words to describe it: Sundown, spaces, portal.

What was on your mind at the time: Moving between places, both in mind and body—and having that residue of experience stay with you into the next place and beyond. Painting that captures time and place like a palimpsest.

For more than a decade, the European Cultural Center’s “Time, Space, Existence” exhibition has invited architects to explore their work’s relationship with the show’s title themes at the Venice Architecture Biennale. This year, the organization has selected Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and Marinaressa Gardens to host an international roster of architecture talent. An invitation to participate led Hacin, now in its 30th year of practice as the homegrown firm behind some of Boston’s top bars, restaurants, and residences, to create a window into the city for a global audience.

Most of the time, sidewalks in New York are covered in piles of trash bags, ensuring the city constantly smells like reeking garbage and is overrun with rats. Occasionally strewn among the trash, however, are pieces of discarded furniture and home goods ripe for the picking. Shopping this way on city curbs is called “stooping”—and it has become somewhat of a culture among thrifty New Yorkers eager to unearth their next treasure. Instagram accounts dedicated to stooping have gained steam advertising streetside finds, whether a vase of pampas grass, a giant stuffed animal, or a whole vending machine.

This was the experience of Amanda Joy (@yafavv.mandaa), a young TikToker who stumbled across her dream couch. She identified the cobalt blue item as the Bubble Sofa, a bulbous statement piece designed by Sacha Lakic that has quickly become one of French furniture brand Roche Bobois’ most recognizable products. Joy did what she thought any New Yorker would do when discovering a free sofa that retails for around $8,000—she enlisted the help of her father to pick it up, deep-clean it, and move it into her apartment, excitedly documenting the entire process on TikTok.

Dedon’s story begins with a pioneering idea and an inspired vision. The idea—to create handwoven furniture using a sophisticated synthetic fiber, weather-resistant and aesthetically refined—revolutionized the outdoor market. The vision of outdoor living rooms furnished with the same attention to looks and comfort as those inside the home has changed the way we live outdoors, enabling people worldwide to enjoy life together under the open skies.

Surface Says: Dedon’s architectural, hand-woven outdoor furniture wins our heart for its sense of whimsy. From its suspended loungers inspired by nests to the Rilly Collection’s cocoon-like pool chairs, the brand’s distinctive lens stands out.

An offbeat museum tour lets visitors get up close and personal with the artwork.

A guitar Kurt Cobain smashed during the Nevermind sessions is up for grabs.

Luxury picnics are in, bringing macaron towers and string quartets with them.

At $6,400, Japanese byakuya is by far the world’s most expensive ice cream.