Welcome to Curbed's new weekly round-up of architecture and design on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and (god forbid) even LinkedIn. Collected from retweets, intra-office chats, and, well, anything that sent us into a 140-character tizzy, this is what Curbed editors actually read last week. Please be in touch if you have a recommendation for next week.
1.
OK, we know, we know—we can hear your groans from here: "Eileen Gray, again?" But we have and will continue to beat the drum for Eileen Gray, her masterwork villa, E.1027, and everything this complex, fabulous, under-recognized woman of design has created. Because it's just too good not to. One of our favorite 'grammers, photographer Alice Gao seems to be on some kind of enviable whirlwind trip in France (naturally) and posted this fabulous, fabulous shot of E.1027 on a recent visit. C'est très, très bien.
"Do you know Central Park has no statues of women?" http://t.co/bUXtaeaGRp I vote for Wharton, w quote about Mrs. Manson Mingott's house
— Alexandra Lange (@LangeAlexandra) July 14, 2015
2.
This dismayed us, but we can't say we were surprised, per se: Apparently, of the 22 historical statues in New York City's forever-tourist-swarmed Central Park, not a one is based on a real-life woman. What gives? The New York Times has some ideas.
Good morning, Big John. Have an X-cel lent day. pic.twitter.com/u4N4aWSvnl
— Blair Kamin (@BlairKamin) July 14, 2015
3.
Sometimes it's just nice to take a step back and admire the built environment, as Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin shows so well with this tweet, a photo of the John Hancock Center (not to be confused with Boston's John Hancock Tower).
Ginko trees 1 Hadid 0. http://t.co/UVOsxahgiO
— Catherine Slessor (@cath_slessor) July 17, 2015
4.
ICYMI: Zaha Hadid's $2 billion (that's right, b, billion) plan for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was scrapped. It wasn't universally beloved, to put it nicely, so it was no surprise that the news wasn't followed by any outpouring of sadness. Former Architectural Review editor-in-chief Catherine Slessor tweeted this cheeky gem, and we love it. Also: if you haven't yet, please cast your vote in our poll for who should be in charge of the new stadium plan.
5.
Have you been keeping up with our rockin' series about the jaw-dropping, eye-popping renovation of a historic Brooklyn brownstone? No? Right this way. Brent A. Buck, the architect leading said renovation (which is for, perhaps, the toughest client—himself and his family) went on what appears to be an impromptu road trip last weekend and ended up at this gorgeous old barn. Worth the drive we'd say. And if you love old barns and complex, richly written stories about home-building, you may want to check out this Curbed series by design writer Karrie Jacobs.
6.
We here at Curbed—certainly this editor—love all things typography, so the Design Museum in London's weekly celebration of fonts and typefaces across the design universe is a favorite of ours. Last week, the tennis tournament Wimbledon wrapped up, and this pun-ny box o' matches is a nice nod to both the grass courts of that competition and a retro, sporty take on type.
The US embassy in Havana in 1960 via @USAenCuba. #Cuba and #USA to re-open embassies Monday pic.twitter.com/pmJh0WHR5p"
— Ezra Fieser (@ezrafieser) July 16, 2015
7.
Today, the embassies of the U.S. and Cuba re-opened in both countries, which ICMYI, is major. This tweet of a historic shot of the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, in 1960, is a real gem.
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