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Jul 25 2023
Surface
Design Dispatch
Tesla’s Cybertruck hits a speed bump, Devon Turnbull’s listening room, and a blooming fake plant industry.
FIRST THIS
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HERE’S THE LATEST

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Tesla’s Cybertruck Hits Another Speed Bump

What’s Happening: The first Cybertruck has finished production at Tesla’s Gigafactory, but automotive experts pointed out a key visual flaw.

The Download: In late 2019, when Elon Musk unveiled a pre-production model of the Tesla Cybertruck on a stage in California, onlookers were both awed and perplexed. Clearly, the cyberpunk-styled pickup’s sharp, futuristic contours—which resemble nothing else on the road—would take some getting used to, but its unusual exterior would turn out to be the least of Musk’s concerns. To demonstrate the windows’ “unbreakable” strength, Musk asked Tesla chief design officer Franz von Holzhausen to lob metal balls at them. They shattered not once, but twice. “There’s room for improvement,” a sheepish Musk said.


Not even the most painful public relations gaffes (or damning internal reports) could diminish Cybertruck hype among Tesla’s devoted fanbase. Nearly two million people have put down deposits to reserve one in the years since, even as delays pushed back arrival dates until 2024. This month, though, Tesla announced the first Cybertruck had rolled off the production line at its Texas Gigafactory. The tweet doesn’t say or show much, but hawk-eyed automotive experts quickly called out a misalignment on its passenger doors. Tesla is no stranger to quality control issues, but for a closely watched project pitched as heralding a new epoch for how electric vehicles look and feel, the tiniest mishaps can feel like major flubs.

Further shadowing the project is an increasingly crowded market. The Model 3 and Model Y cemented Tesla as a leader in electric vehicles, but building a truck presents drastically different engineering challenges that legacy manufacturers like Chevrolet and Ford—which rolled out its electric F-150 Lightning last year—are well-equipped to handle. (Just don’t ask them to create anything too subversive.) Still, stainless steel isn’t easy to mold, and the Cybertruck’s sharp edges can present issues when it comes to pedestrian safety tests. It’s also unclear if the pictured Cybertruck is a line test or a production-ready sample. At least production is kicking off this year as planned.


In Their Own Words: “There’s no way they’re not going to be able to find a way to get the Cybertruck acceptable for the market,” an anonymous automotive engineer told Wired. “It may not be the quietest EV out there, but who cares? They’re going to sell them. People have been waiting years for them.”

Surface Says: Let’s not dismiss the Cybertruck because of early design flaws—iterative design has never been a particularly easy process. We just hope its horn doesn’t play La Cucaracha.

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What Else Is Happening?

Check-Circle_2x The National Mall will soon host an exhibition of art addressing overlooked histories.
Check-Circle_2xCFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists will compete to sell their collections at Nordstrom.
Check-Circle_2x Brazil’s Instituto Inhotim in Brumadinho unveils a gallery dedicated to Yayoi Kusama.
Check-Circle_2x In his latest Twitter shake-up, Elon Musk plans to replace the blue bird logo with an X.
Check-Circle_2x Thieves steal some of the weird statues from Tim Burton’s stalled Beetlejuice 2 set.


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Designing Delicious: Damian

Designing Delicious is produced in partnership with Dorsia, a members-only platform with access to reservations at the most in-demand restaurants in New York, The Hamptons, Miami, and L.A.

Years before Netflix turned him into a household name, Chef Enrique Olvera was bringing edible transcendence to his native Mexico City at Pujol—a modernist restaurant he opened in 2000 that’s a member of the illustrious Relais & Châteaux and just checked in at number 13 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Olvera has since written two cookbooks for Phaidon (including Tu Casa Mi Casa) and opened a constellation of 12 restaurants north, south, and east of the border, including Manhattan’s Cosme—where dishes include lobster al pastor and conch tostadas—and Jerónimo, within The Madrid Edition hotel.

One of Olvera’s latest boîtes, Damian, is in Los Angeles’ Arts District. Tucked inside a former warehouse, the restaurant combines California’s field-fresh produce with reinvented Mexican mainstays (among them fish tempura tacos with kimchi; dry-aged branzino; and hibiscus meringue for dessert). Helming the kitchen? Chef Jesús “Chuy” Cervantes, formerly of Cosme, turned to Baja California for the menu’s inspiration.

DESIGNER OF THE DAY


An in-demand stylist, set designer, and interior architect, Greta Cevenini often works closely with magazines and design brands—GQ Italia, Max Mara, and CC-Tapis—to create atmospheres reflective of their sensibilities and aesthetic identity. Her role lets her freely mine new sources of inspiration, which come at no shortage in Milan, her current city and the site of her most ambitious project yet: Spazio Pesca, a multifaceted center where creative talents can come together to realize their visions.

DESIGN

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Devon Turnbull’s Listening Room Hits the Right Notes in London

By eschewing nearly every trend in modern electronics, Devon Turnbull masterfully makes custom-built speakers that offer the most premium audio experience around. (Just ask repeat clients Supreme and Public Records.) The speaker sculptor’s latest outing lands at London’s Lisson Gallery, where he opened the immersive HiFi Listening Room Dream No. 1. The setting encourages visitors to “surrender to the act of listening”—easily done given the room’s imposing Neo-Brutalist speakers, meditation seats, and sound-absorptive carpet. Classic vinyl, analog tapes, and jazz maestros are all on the playlist, which will be on repeat until August 26.

CULTURE CLUB

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Magazzino Italian Art Throws a Kickoff Party for Upstate Art Weekend

This past weekend, Magazzino Italian Art brought its founders, patrons, and friends together for Upstate Art Weekend’s largest edition to date. In addition to the summer art festival taking place across upstate New York, attendees also raised a glass—either from local brewery Industrial Arts, bubbles courtesy of Prosecco DOC, or Ritual Zero Proof non-alcoholic drinks—to the newly completed Robert Olnick Pavilion. Designed by architects Alberto Campo Baeza and Miguel Quismondo, it will open this September.

When was it? July 21

Where was it? Magazzino Italian Art

Who was there? Giorgio Spanu, Vittorio Calabrese, Helen Toomer, Hannah Gottlieb-Graham, Miguel Quismodo, Nancy Olnick, and more.

BY THE NUMBERS

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Projected Value of the Fake Plant Industry

Radiohead may have soured an entire generation on Fake Plastic Trees, but “permanent botanicals” are experiencing a surge in popularity. Though it still pales in comparison to last year’s $18.5 billion market held by authentic plants and flowers, the market for faux house plants is expected to approach $1 billion by the end of 2030. Advancements in manufacturing have led to a remarkable level of realism in fake plants, making them difficult to distinguish from their living counterparts. They offer a low-maintenance alternative to those seeking greenery in their homes—especially in dimly lit areas where real plants struggle to thrive—or commercial spaces where regular upkeep isn’t always possible.

THE LIST

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Member Spotlight: Ross Gardam

Ross Gardam is a team of designers, engineers, and makers who work collaboratively from ideation to realization. The Ross Gardam studio focuses on producing contemporary furniture, lighting, and objects working across a variety of innovative mediums. Merging traditional craft with modern techniques is paramount to Gardam’s methodology and informs each design. All Ross Gardam products are designed and produced in Melbourne, Australia.

Surface Says: Ross Gardam’s eponymous design studio goes beyond the oft-touted virtues of materiality and craft, bringing a focus on inspiring joy and defying convention with creations that span lighting, furniture, and beyond.

AND FINALLY

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Today’s Attractive Distractions

A boom in drone photography is shedding light on the habits of sharks.

Singapore replaces Japan as the country with the most powerful passport.

In China, new fossils reveal a dramatic battle with a badger-size mammal.

Everything is bigger in Texas—except a pint-sized Buc-ee’s on the highway.

               


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