What’s Happening: In a multi-month lab at the Center for Architecture, three locals with underrepresented perspectives explore what makes a house—and a city—a home. Our contributor Jesse Dorris weighs in.

The Download: In a year in which hundreds of thousands have been forcibly displaced and their land seized as others’ homelands, untold more have few options beyond risking their lives to relocate far from their country of origin as refugees and migrants, and millions live without housing or housing security, the moment has come to think hard about the concept of home itself. For that reason, the Center for Architecture’s exhibition “CFA Lab: Seeking Refuge and Making Home in NYC” feels right on time. The multi-disciplinary lab is itself a kind of home, offering residencies to underrepresented architecture and design professionals. “Seeking Refuge” makes room for three, selected by curator Vyjayanthi V. Rao with Matthew Bremer, to explore New York City through the eyes of those who call it home.

New York City’s status as a so-called “sanctuary city” remains intact at the moment, but what does that mean in immigrants’ lived experience? Karla Andrea Pérez, a CCCP Candidate at Columbia GSAPP and co-director of Manhatitlan, visited their homes to make Undocumented, an installation of video, interviews, and photo albums offering proof that whatever governments choose to call them, documenting their own dignity is a tool immigrants can use to feel seen and safe. Too often, those not considered part of the dominant culture are categorized as invisible or passive actors in the built environment. “Making Home,” an exhibition by Culture as Creative principal Kholisile Dhliwayo, rejects the notion that Black communities lack agency. Instead, in a septet of videos, Black ingenuity shows itself to be integral to the city’s built environment.

Queer people often have to—often get to—build our own families, so our homes need only resemble ones for traditional families to the extent we desire. In their installation “Queeries: Designing Reality Equitably and Madly (Q:DREAM),” the architect and activist A.L. Hu documents the past and present existence of queer home-making, including efforts from organizations like the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. They also traveled around the city asking queer people to describe their idea of home. Visitors can add their responses to postcards at the exhibition, all of which will be folded into a future-thinking, living archive. The powerful are hard at work telling those outside the dominant culture where, and how, they should feel at home. “Seeking Refuge” shows the power of answering that question ourselves.

In Their Own Words: “I’ve learned there are infinite layers to the definition of ‘home,’” Hu says, “and that impact can be measured through deepening connections.”

Surface Says: Bacharach was right—without love in it, a house is not a home.

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For her latest launch, Los Angeles artist and designer Lauren S. Thompson is heading east, to the New York City outpost of Spring. The bold shapes and lines at work in Tetrastella, pictured above, represent her quest to capture energy patterns and frequencies in geometric forms. Equally at home indoors or out, each sculpture in the 10-piece collection captures the rugged energy of the California coast. The collection will enjoy a limited launch at Spring’s New York gallery before heading to Frieze L.A. in February.

First, they redefined the red sauce joint. Now, Major Food Group is hungry for the private membership club market. After the first ZZ’s Club launched in the Miami Design District in 2021, a second has now arrived in New York’s Hudson Yards. Ken Fulk designed the two-floor space with his signature maximalist pizzazz while founding member Vito Schnabel curated the equally flashy art collection throughout the club, hanging work by Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente, Rita Ackermann, and more.

As expected, there’s an iteration of Carbone upstairs under the chandeliers, ensconced in damask velvet and burnished brass. Known as Carbone Privato, it serves dishes exclusive to the club like a Lobster Risotto all’Arrabiata alongside Nathan McCarley-O’Neill’s ice cold martinis, said to be the coldest in the city. Downstairs, there’s the tropical-themed ZZ’s Bar and Japanese ZZ’s Restaurant, with seafood flown in daily from Tokyo for specialities like tuna carpaccio with foie gras and scallops, all watched over by Boyd Reath’s aquatic mural. Fulk himself conceived the hand-painted bar upstairs at the Clam Bar, the heart of the club stalked with cocktails and crudos as a tribute to MFG’s original ZZ’s Clam Bar downtown.

For his first project in Australia, Tadao Ando designed a structure for the tenth anniversary of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation’s MPavilion in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens, which has become one of the country’s largest festivals. The legendary architect and Pritzker Prize laureate floated a canopy made of a 47-foot-long aluminum-clad disc atop a column of his signature concrete, which also forms the pavilion’s offset walls while referencing traditional Japanese walled gardens.

Inside, the area is split evenly between a paved area and reflecting pool, which will mirror not only the surroundings but the pavilion’s full slate of activations over the next five months, including a performance of the Wominjeka Song Cycle’s tenth song, workshops by architectural photographer John Gollings, chairs by Davidov Architects, and Yoko Ozawa ceramics.

Our weekly scoop on industry players moving onwards and upwards.

LVMH triggered an executive shuffle when it was announced that Antoine Arnault, the eldest son of chairman and CEO Bernard, is relinquishing his role as CEO of Berluti. Chaumet chief executive Jean-Marc Mansvelt will succeed Arnault at the French menswear brand while Charles Leung, chief executive of Fred, will succeed Mansvelt at Chaumet. Elsewhere at LVMH, Louis Vuitton announced it would renew the contract of Nicolas Ghesquière (pictured) as artistic director of women’s collections for another five years.

The Female Design Council, a professional network and advocacy organization for women in design, architecture, and applied arts, has named Angharad Coates as its inaugural director. In her new role, she’ll work alongside founder Lora Appleton to expand membership, create new partnerships, and grow the organization nationally. Coates previously served as director of communications at the New York Academy of Art and was most recently a managing partner at Camron, a design-focused public relations agency.

Earlier this month, New York’s art, philanthropy, business, and activist circles gathered at Powerhouse Arts to celebrate the return of Artwalk NY, an art auction and fundraising gala that raised more than $500,000 for Coalition for the Homeless. Held for the first time since 2019, the event opened with a VIP reception before artist, longtime Coalition supporter, and Surface cover star Jenny Holzer was presented with the 2023 Artwalk Honoree Award. The celebration continued as DJ Lina Bradford provided the evening’s soundtrack while guests perused silent auction lots featuring works by the likes of Alex Katz and Keith Haring.

When was it? Nov. 16

Where was it? Powerhouse Arts, Brooklyn

Who was there? Mike De Paola, Aileen Agopian, Lora Appleton, Zoe Buckman, Helen Toomer, David Giffen, Barry Berke, Sophie Elgort, Robert Melee, Lorna Simpson, and more.

When: Until Jan. 7

Where: Château La Coste, Provence

What: On the bucolic grounds of the Provence vineyard, Nguyen’s 59-foot tall salvaged oak tree stands tall as a symbol of transcendence. The Ho Chi Minh City–based artist often finds inspiration in Law of Conservation of Energy and where it intersects with Buddhist philosophy, and continues that exploration through “Flower of Life.” Welded steel plates are affixed to the tree, along with stainless steel leaves inlaid with quartz and hand-crafted in Vietnam. Within the Château’s Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium, an accompanying exhibition of paintings, reliefs, and stainless steel yarn embroidery will continue her exploration of energy conversion and sunlight’s visual effects.

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Thomas Hayes Studio offers striking modern furniture that is unique in its fidelity to the best elements of mid-century design. Pieces are conceived in the distinctive vision of Thomas Hayes and are the expert, elegant synthesis of the Californian Craftsman revolution and Brazilian design from that period.

Surface Says: By synthesizing influences from the California Craftsman revolution and modern Brazilian design, Thomas Hayes has cultivated a design signature all his own.

German Pop Art icon Thomas Bayrle reflects on his lifelong car fascination.

These abandoned places have been almost completely reclaimed by nature.

“Fantasycore” interiors imbued with a sense of mystique go viral on TikTok.

Scientists claim bacteria store memories and pass them on for generations.