What’s Happening: Gensler and Vanbarton Group prevailed over the “kludge” hampering office-to-resi conversions to unveil Pearl House, a 588-unit Seaport District building stocked with state-of-the-art amenities and valuable lessons for developers embarking on similar projects.

The Download: In New York City, converting unused office towers into housing is akin to solving a 25-floor Rubik’s cube. A tangle of interconnected problems stymies most conversions: indecipherable zoning regulations, onerous environmental reviews, heated public meetings, updated building standards, and outspoken NIMBYs concerned about threats to property value only present the first set of problems. After, the biggest hurdle lies in figuring out exactly how to refit buildings with cavernous floor plates into light-filled apartments—and do so economically. Given each step’s prolonged time frame, it’s a small miracle when any such project crosses the finish line, especially for the monolithic buildings in the Financial District.

Pearl House, which recently opened to tentative renters, is one such example. Located at 160 Water Street in the Seaport District, the project marks the city’s largest example of an office tower conversion. Gensler and investment firm Vanbarton Group partnered to scope out the ‘70s-era building, which now houses 588 market-rate units ranging from studios and two-bedrooms to penthouses with private terraces. Natural light abounds thanks to generous nine-foot, six-inch ceiling heights and large double-paned windows that bathe the interiors with sunshine. The building’s deep floor plate required Gensler to design three “blind shafts” running through the structure’s core; the space they excavated was then added to the top of the building in the form of penthouses and SkyHOUSE, the rooftop-level amenity space kitted out with a full-size bar, fire pits, gas grills, and a screening suite.

The three-year conversion progressed thanks to the As-of-Right Conversion of Older Buildings, a city mandate outlining which office towers are eligible for residential usage. Not every building qualifies—in the Financial District, towers built before 1977 are spared some zoning rules that otherwise complicate these conversions. Pearl House, though, arrives as a success story for a city in need of more housing (and a laptop class seeking “third places” to work remotely). One study suggests vacant offices could be turned into 400,000 new apartments across the country. In Manhattan, with office vacancy at 18 percent, buildings like Pearl House prove the potential to ease the zoning restrictions keeping outdated structures devoid of life.

In Their Own Words: “If these last few years have taught us anything,” Ingrid Gould Ellen, a professor of urban policy and planning at NYU, tells the New York Times, “it’s the need for flexibility, the need to be open to surprise in the way we’re going to use space.”

Surface Says: Consider this our pitch for Aby Rosen’s Chrysler Building—it already has a history of secret apartments.

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It’s difficult, if not impossible, to name an aspect of design—be it in the disciplines of product, interiors, architecture, and even exhibitions—left untouched by Piero Lissoni. Together with his firm, Lissoni & Partners, the 67-year old Seregnesi architect and designer’s contributions to the field are vast.

Rizzoli’s latest, Piero Lissoni, Environments, charts 100 of Lissoni and his firm’s defining and cross-disciplinary projects from the editor’s perspective of Stefano Casciani, and is designed by none other than Lissoni & Partners. Illustrations by Guido Scarabottolo showcase Lissoni’s Case 5.0 kitchen system for Boffi and Space Age-like Eda-Mame armchair for B&B Italia, while a range of photographers have captured his architectural commissions such as the Ritz Carlton Miami Beach.

How do you translate the sensorial pleasures of sipping champagne into a place of respite? Yabu Pushelberg has an answer with the Moët & Chandon Bar, an alluring new haunt nestled inside KaDeWe’s flagship in Berlin. Every detail was carefully considered to evoke the champagne house’s rich heritage, starting with the marble-topped bar envisioned as a “flowing island,” the studio tells Surface, where “everything stays in motion and there are no dead ends. If you think of champagne, you think of enhancing the mood because you’re thinking about meeting friends, talking, going to an event, and celebrating.”

Splashes of deep red and creamy tones across furnishings and ceiling accents amplify that ambiance, as do removable blocking screens shielding the bar from the department store’s bright lighting. The effect, the studio says, is akin to being encapsulated in a “warm cocoon”—because that’s how champagne in good company is supposed to make you feel.

New & Notable is a cultural catchall that highlights interesting new products and projects from our brilliantly creative members of The List. With new releases, events, and goings-on, the below moments indicate the power they have to move the needle in realms like design, architecture, fashion, art, and more.

During Miami Art Week, the Angeleno artist and the global club for collectors hosted a packed week of celebrations for Israel’s​ “Snow Beach Frozen Treats” installation and pop-up frozen yogurt shop. Highlights included four dinners with acclaimed chefs Dominique Crenn and José Andres, after which festivities continued at Israel’s pop-up installation. A sunset social featuring live music by Mark Ronson and DJ Jazzy Jeff brought a high-octane finale to the week.

When was it? Dec. 5–8

Where was it? Miami Beach

Who was there? Bettina Korek, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Nicola Lees, Rujeko Hockley, Hank Willis Thomas, Meredith Darrow, Martina Navratilova, Lindsey Vonn, Mia Moretti, and more.

When: Until March 10

Where: NTT Intercommunication Center, Tokyo

What: The late Japanese composer’s artistic spirit is living on at Tokyo’s NTT Intercommunication Center, a place where he collaborated on events with the likes of Laurie Anderson and Takatani Shiro. A new exhibition delves into their decades-long partnership, with highlights like Sakamoto’s early internet-powered performances and his role in shaping the center’s anniversaries. Through talks, symposiums, and concerts, the show celebrates Sakamoto’s legacy while pushing it forward with AI-powered works inspired by his data. It’s a fitting tribute to a visionary artist who used technology to endlessly reinvent himself.

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Original BTC was founded in 1990 by Peter Bowles. Breaking convention, Bowles was the first designer to use bone china in lighting, paving the way for his pioneering investment in British manufacturing. Original BTC has since grown but remains committed to using the best quality raw materials to their utmost capability, and paying great attention to concept and form.

Surface Says: The lighting across Original BTC’s collections celebrate British craftsmanship. From nautical Ship’s Well Glass lights to the factory-inspired Titan Pendant fixtures, the brand’s products carry on a tradition of well-machined style.

Random comedy shows are unfolding in this unassuming Upper West Side deli.

Eric Owen Moss Architects unpacks the design behind the infamous (W)rapper.

This AI algorithm can diagnose autism by screening pictures of children’s eyes.

A father and daughter find a 152-year-old shipwreck while fishing in Green Bay.