Latest news with #AnnabelleSelldorf
Forbes
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
5 London Exhibitions To See This Summer At National Gallery, The Wallace Collection, British Museum, Sketch & Camden Arts Projects
Evening View of the Eight Scenic Spots of Kanazawa in Musashi Province,1857 By Utagawa Hiroshige (1797—1858) Colour-woodblock print triptych Collection of Alan Medaugh © Alan Medaugh From the timeless prints of Japanese master Hiroshige to bold new works by Turner Prize winners Grayson Perry and Martin Creed, and a whimsical floral tribute to literary icon Jane Austen—London's summer exhibitions offer something for every art lover. London's art scene is flourishing this summer with a diverse array of exhibitions that blend tradition, innovation, and immersive experiences. Here are five must-see exhibitions to add to your cultural calendar. These exhibitions offer a rich tapestry of artistic experiences, from classical masterpieces to conceptual art via flowers, neons, installations, ceramics and even balloons. Whether you're a long-time art enthusiast or a newcomer, London's summer art scene provides a wealth of opportunities to explore and enjoy. Reopening of the Sainsbury Wing at The National Gallery (reopened on May 10th, 2025). Gallery 32 After Refurbishment © The National Gallery, London After a two-year transformation, the National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing has reopened, unveiling a thoughtfully revitalized space that enhances both the physical and aesthetic experience of one of London's most treasured cultural institutions. Led by acclaimed architect Annabelle Selldorf, the renovation has focused on improving accessibility, optimizing natural light, and refining the layout to better showcase the gallery's world-class collection of early Renaissance art. The result is a serene, luminous environment that invites deeper contemplation and connection with the works on display. The reopening of the National Gallery's newly revamped main entrance marks a significant milestone in the Gallery's 200th anniversary celebrations. Designed by New York-based Selldorf Architects in collaboration with heritage architects Purcell, the renovations aim to create a more inviting and improved experience for the National Gallery's millions of visitors. The National Gallery was founded in 1824 by Parliament to house the nation's collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the late 13th to the early 20th century. The collection is one of the best in the world and includes works by Bellini, Cezanne, Degas, Leonardo, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Titian, Turner, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Velázquez. Since the thoughtful rehang and architectural refresh there is a feeling of more space and light in the galleries, and highlights of the collection such as Caravaggio's The Supper at Emaus, Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Seurat's Bathers at Asnières and seem to be given more chance to shine. Central to the reopening is a sensitive yet striking rehang of the collection, offering a fresh perspective on some of the gallery's most iconic masterpieces. Visitors are once again able to encounter the luminous calm of Piero della Francesca's Baptism of Christ and the dynamic intensity of Paolo Uccello's The Battle of San Romano in a setting that honors their historical significance while enhancing their visual impact. The reimagined Sainsbury Wing not only celebrates the enduring power of these early Renaissance works but also reaffirms the National Gallery's commitment to accessibility, innovation, and timeless beauty. Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road at the British Museum (until September 7th, 2025). The Plum Garden at Kameido from 100 Famous Views of Edo, 1857 By Utagawa Hiroshige (1797—1858) Colour-woodblock print Collection of Alan Medaugh © Alan Medaugh. Photography by Matsuba Ryōko The British Museum presents its first-ever exhibition dedicated to Utagawa Hiroshige, one of Japan's most revered artists, in Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road—the first major London show on his work in 25 years. Bringing together over 120 works, the exhibition celebrates Hiroshige's poetic and pioneering visions of nature, travel, and daily life in Edo-period Japan. It features an extraordinary selection of prints, paintings, sketches, and books, including 35 rare pieces gifted by renowned American collector Alan Medaugh, alongside 82 additional works on loan from his collection. Many of the featured prints are being displayed publicly for the first time, with some considered the only known examples in existence. Spanning a 40-year career that unfolded during the transformative final decades of the Edo period, Hiroshige's work offered solace and beauty to a society on the brink of change. His celebrated landscape series, such as The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, capture a lyrical relationship between people and place, expressed through subtle colour, elegant composition, and a deep sensitivity to the rhythms of nature and travel. Whether depicting bustling city scenes, quiet temples, or flowering birds, Hiroshige's prints spoke to a broad audience—creating accessible art that crossed class boundaries and elevated everyday life. This landmark exhibition also explores Hiroshige's enduring global influence, tracing his impact on 19th- and 20th-century Western artists such as Van Gogh and Whistler, and highlighting his continued relevance to contemporary figures like Julian Opie. From his innovative perspectives and refined use of colour to the poetic calligraphy that graces his bird-and-flower prints, Hiroshige's legacy is one of timeless elegance and artistic generosity. A highlight of the exhibition is a delicate print once owned by Vincent Van Gogh titled The Plum Garden at Kameido. In 1887 van Gogh made a copy of it, inspired by its unexpectedly red sky and innovative composition. Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur at The Wallace Collection (until October 26th, 2025). Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur at the Wallace Collection.© Trustees of the Wallace Collection. Grayson Perry's hit lockdown TV Show–Grayson's Art Club–and his Knighthood in 2023, appear to have cemented his status as a National Treasure. When he won the Turner Prize in 2003 for his satirical and thoroughly modern take on pottery and presented his alter ego 'Claire' to the world, he was something of a controversial figure. Fast forward to 2025 and Sir Grayson Perry is a firm fixture of contemporary culture and a globally acclaimed artist. He celebrated his 65th birthday with a major solo exhibition at The Wallace Collection in London. Delusions of Grandeur, a richly imagined exhibition by Grayson Perry at The Wallace Collection, brings together over forty newly forged works, set in dialogue with the timeless treasures of the museum's historic halls. With his signature blend of mischief and insight, Perry probes the elusive ideals of authenticity, the allure of perfection, and the ever-shifting identity of the artist. In a whimsical yet poignant exploration, Perry draws inspiration from the realm of Outsider Art, sparked by the discovery that visionary artist Madge Gill (1882–1961) once exhibited within these very walls, in 1942. Her spirit finds companionship here in the haunting works of Aloïse Corbaz, another luminary of the untrained imagination. From this fascination with raw, intuitive creativity—and its entwinement with mental vulnerability—emerges Shirley Smith, Perry's invented alter ego. Shirley is cast as a destitute East End woman, shaped by hardship and time spent in psychiatric care, where art became both refuge and revelation. Through Shirley's eyes, Perry reframes the collection, weaving a tale that is both tender and trenchant. Vases whisper with satire, tapestries teem with hidden truths, furniture and sculpture alike bear the mark of Perry's irreverent grace. In Delusions of Grandeur, the museum becomes not just a sanctuary of beauty, but a stage for storytelling—wry, fearless, and deeply human. A Floral Chapter – Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen at Sketch London (throughout Summer 2025). Sketch In Bloom © Mark Cocksedge In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, Sketch—London's iconic dining and arts destination—has unveiled Sketch in Bloom, a breathtaking floral-themed exhibition that reimagines its whimsical interiors through the lens of Austen's literary world. Collaborating with a visionary garden designer and muralist, the venue has been transformed into a Regency-inspired dreamscape, where floral installations entwine with period décor and art drawn from the pages of Austen's beloved novels. From the moment visitors pass beneath a magnificent arch of blossoms at the entrance, they are transported into an enchanted realm echoing the elegance, wit, and romance of Austen's characters. Timed to bloom just ahead of the Chelsea Flower Show, this immersive experience offers a fresh, fragrant homage to Austen's enduring legacy—blending literature, design, and botanical beauty in true Sketch style. The installation was curated by Creative Director and Art Curator Milly Wright and is a creative collaboration between Lucy Vail Floristry, Ricky Paul, and Rob Van Helden, each infusing the space with their distinct artistic flair. Lucy Vail's contribution, Pastoral Inspiration, offered a floral reinterpretation of Alfred Sisley's The Small Meadows in Spring, while Rob Van Helden transformed the Lecture Room with a sweeping wisteria tree and a delicate miniature writing desk. A whimsical touch to the exhibition can be found in The Pods–Sketch London's iconic pod-shaped space age toilets– where Ricky Paul has created a moss topiary statue of Jane Austen. Meanwhile, muralist Meg Boscowen brought Austen's world to life with a hand-painted British countryside scene, featuring the iconic Mr. Darcy rendered in soft Regency hues. Martin Creed: Everything Is Going To Be Alright at Camden Arts Projects (Until 29th June, 2025). Martin Creed, Work No. 3891 Half the air in a given space (2025), photo credit Deniz Guzel Camden Arts Projects opened with an uplifting exhibition–Everything is Going to Be Alright–by Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed. This marks a significant milestone for the newly established Camden Arts Projects, a non-profit contemporary arts initiative housed in a former church. Creed's installation begins with the eponymous neon sign adorning the building's façade, setting a tone of optimism and playfulness. Inside, the space is transformed into a conceptual art version of a child's ball pit, filled with hundreds of white balloons, inviting visitors to engage with the work physically and emotionally. Curated by film maker and Curator Hala Matar, Everything Is Going to Be Alright features a 12-metre neon artwork on the building's façade which lends the exhibition its title, while the balloon installation inside recreates Creed's conceptual installation Work No. 3891 Half The Air In a Given Space, which was first shown in London in 2014. Known for his minimalist and conceptual approach, Creed's work often explores the boundaries between art and everyday life. In this exhibition, he continues his exploration of space and perception, encouraging visitors to experience art in an immersive and interactive manner. Everything is Going to Be Alright offers a fresh perspective on contemporary art, blending humor and profundity to create an engaging environment that resonates with audiences of all ages. Admission to the exhibition is free, reflecting Camden Arts Projects' commitment to accessibility and community engagement.
Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The National Gallery's revamp is a triumph
At last! After two years of disruption, with shuttered galleries and dispiriting queues, the National Gallery is reopening in its entirety – with a swanky new lobby – exactly 201 years after it was inaugurated in a nearby townhouse on Pall Mall. For many, including me, its paintings are cherished friends. So, it's a relief to find more than a thousand of them looking this chipper – along with one or two new faces (including a slavering dragon like a berserk black cartoon lion, in a 16th-century altarpiece recently acquired for £16.4 million) – in a rare new redisplay of the collection, artlessly titled The Wonder of Art. The idea to undertake a systematic rehang followed the decision to enhance the cramped entrance of the Sainsbury Wing, a postmodern addition to the gallery unveiled in 1991; since this risked imperilling the Early Renaissance pictures upstairs, they had to be decanted – providing an opportunity to rethink how everything should be presented. Now, after passing through a curiously expansive, sofa-bedecked foyer (with a gigantic screen), reimagined by the German-born architect Annabelle Selldorf, who's tucked the cloakroom away downstairs (on a landing above the basement's untouched exhibition spaces), visitors head up, past Giorgio Locatelli's new restaurant on the mezzanine, to be confronted – splat! – by Mud Sun, a 16ft-wide mural by the British artist Richard Long. I love Long's work, in other contexts, but what is this wilfully atavistic beige splodge – a flaring, seemingly squiggling disc of tidal silt from the River Avon, smeared onto a blackened wall above the lifts – doing at the threshold of the National Gallery? His pseudo-rock painting looks like a partially unravelled Woolmark logo; I dread to think how uninviting it will appear when the sky outside is grey. Why not show off something dramatic and colourful from the collection? Thankfully, the rehung galleries dispel any grumbling. Responding to the architecture of the Sainsbury Wing, evoking a basilica, the curators recast the central spine of double-height spaces as a 'nave', adorned only with large religious pictures; secular favourites, such as The Battle of San Romano (c. 1438-40) by Paulo Uccello (newly conserved and reframed), or Sandro Botticelli's Venus and Mars (c. 1485), are now in single-height rooms on either side, as if in a palazzo. A massive 14th-century gilded altarpiece, made for a monastery in Florence, occupies the wing's southern wall, solo. Another altarpiece, painted a century later by the brothers Antonio and Piero del Pollaiuolo, and depicting the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, faces it to the north, almost 155 feet away – exemplifying the transition from 'gold-ground' painting to something with a greater sense of plasticity and depth. Between them, the gallery's biggest painted Crucifix is suspended in mid-air, alluding to the way it was once displayed, on high, in an Italian church. This contextual nod is a motif of the redisplay, which, wherever possible, emphasises painting's three-dimensionality – a welcome provocation in a digital age, when images are consumed as flat, backlit phantasms on smartphones. Next door, in William Wilkins's neoclassical 19th-century building, while a broad chronological sweep is maintained, art's materiality is also stressed, with a smattering of thematic displays of pictures executed with fragile pastels and 'plein air' oil sketches. Splendid rooms celebrate individual artists – Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Claude Monet (but not, surprisingly, Diego Velázquez) – including an instant-classic gallery with 10 (count 'em!) paintings by Titian. (Why hasn't this been done before?) According to the National Gallery's director, Gabriele Finaldi – who tells me, 'I'm just desperate to open the doors!' – this 'focus on strong personalities might be a sign of the times'. Art history for the age of the strongman, perhaps? Other innovations include 'transhistorical' displays inspired by JMW Turner's stipulation that two paintings by him bequeathed to the National Gallery should always be shown beside a pair of landscapes by Claude, his 17th-century predecessor. Thus, 'Le Chapeau de Paille', by Rubens, appears next to Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun's Self Portrait in a Straw Hat (1782), which it inspired. The latter commands a prominent spot in the Wilkins building – although The Mond Crucifixion (c. 1502-03), by Raphael, and George Stubbs's Whistlejacket (c. 1762) still boss the longest sightline, connecting the Sainsbury Wing's westernmost flank with a wall 595 feet away, at the gallery's eastern limit. 'Sometimes, you get it right the first time, don't you?' says curator Christine Riding, who has led the redisplay. Picking out Vigée Le Brun's self-portrait alerts visitors to the only, as Riding puts it, 'engineered' aspect of The Wonder of Art: the foregrounding of art by, depicting, or commissioned by women. Only one in around every 100 pictures in the National Gallery's collection of approximately 2,400 works of art – some postcard-sized, others vast – is by a woman. Four full-length female portraits appear together in room 11, including Henry VIII's potential bride, Christina of Denmark, pale-faced and decked out in black, as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger (whose other paintings, frustratingly, are scattered across the museum's 66 rooms); elsewhere, a gallery dominated by Anthony van Dyck's colossal equestrian portrait of Charles I turns out really to be about the taste of his queen, Henrietta Maria. Yet, with calm, concise labels (which refrain from moralising, even when, if relevant, referring to 'enslaved labour'), the redisplay doesn't disparage long-dead artists, such as William Hogarth (take note, Tate!); rather, well thought through, and rarely forced, it's attuned throughout to the pleasures of aesthetics. I left exhilarated, having traversed the entire tradition of Western European painting, from the end of the 13th century to the start of the 20th. And, to think, we get to take this voyage for free.
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Tranquillising good taste': can the National Gallery's airy new entrance exorcise its demons?
F ew parts of any city have seen so many style wars waged over their future as the north-west corner of Trafalgar Square. Nelson may be safely ensconced on his column, but another Battle of Trafalgar has been rumbling for decades beneath his feet, seeing architectural grenades hurled to and fro at the western end of the National Gallery. A 1950s competition first produced a bold brutalist plan to extend the gallery, formed of crisscrossing cantilevered planes jutting out into the square, but it was deemed too daring. The 1980s saw a glassy, hi-tech proposal, crowned with futuristic pylons, but it was famously dismissed by the then Prince Charles as a 'monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend'. Finally, emerging victorious in the 1990s were the US pioneers of postmodernism Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. Their high mannerist mashup combined corinthian pilasters and big tinted windows with witty abandon. 'Palladio and modernism fight it out on the main facade,' declared the architects, as they immortalised the battle of taste in stone and glass. The Sainsbury Wing was Grade-I listed in 2018, one of the youngest ever buildings to receive such protection. We have tried to dignify the original vision – and give it a vitamin shot Annabelle Selldorf, architect But that wasn't the end of it. The latest volley in the style wars lands this week, launched by the Cologne-born, New York-based architect Annabelle Selldorf, in the form of a tranquillising bullet of international museum world good taste. Marking the key component of the National Gallery's £85m programme of capital works for its 200th anniversary, Selldorf's project sees the Sainsbury Wing transformed into the museum's main entrance, providing an accessible welcome for all – after decades of some climbing the stepped portico, while others were sent around the side. It is 'lighter, more welcoming, and more visible', says gallery director Gabriele Finaldi, and more approachable for 'anyone who thinks that the National Gallery is not for them'. It is indeed a brighter, more open place to arrive, with fewer cluttering columns, a lot more daylight, and new double-height spaces sliced through the first floor, bringing an airy sense of volume. The grand processional staircase, and the acclaimed galleries beyond, remain untouched, while the underground auditorium has been spruced up, with newly upholstered seating and a more generous foyer. But has the revamp done irreparable harm to a beloved postmodern icon? 'The modern visitors wants big, open, welcoming spaces' … the Sainsbury Wing foyer. Photograph: Edmund Sumner/© The National Gallery, London When the Sainsbury Wing first opened in 1991, it was not loved. It was variously slammed as 'a vulgar American piece of postmodern mannerist pastiche' and 'picturesque mediocre slime'. It was too traditional for modernists and too playful for traditionalists. Its dark, low-ceilinged entrance was damned as 'a nasty cellar-like space' cluttered with a maze of (non-structural) columns. 'It just didn't work,' says the gallery's deputy director, Paul Gray, adding that visitor numbers have swelled from three million back then to approaching six million now. The wing was never intended to handle such volumes. 'The modern visitor expects so much more now. They want big, open, welcoming spaces, and it never felt like that.' But time garners affection. And there is nothing like the threat of change to arouse fondness. When Selldorf's modernising plans were first unveiled in 2022, the same critics who had pooh-poohed Venturi Scott Brown's design leapt to its defence. Eight former RIBA presidents came out against the 'insensitive' changes that would turn this 'finely conceived space into an airport lounge'. The Twentieth Century Society expressed 'grave concerns' that the project would 'cause substantial harm'. Others called it 'an act of vandalism'. Denise Scott Brown, now 93, was livid. '[Selldorf is] making our building look like a circus clown,' she fumed. 'This is a circus clown wearing a tutu.' The architects went back to the drawing board. The bland Gap store aesthetic was toned down. Proposed timber columns were exchanged for stone, in keeping with the original, while some colourful Egyptian-headed columns, formerly to be swept away, have been retained and relocated. 'We managed to keep more of the existing fabric,' says Alasdair Travers, partner at conservation architects Purcell, who worked with Selldorf on the project, 'and there was a greater concentration on the sort of heaviness of the original design.' Scott Brown remained unconvinced. She accused the architects of treating the building 'as if it were a Lego set'. Messing around with a Grade-I listed building in such a way, she warned, 'will affect all future cathedrals'. Standing in Trafalgar Square, the Sainsbury Wing is now more visible than ever. A new sign on the cornice announces its presence, the letterforms pleasingly folding around the building's unruly facets in a playful, pomo manner. A fenced-off courtyard has been opened up, providing extra space for queueing crowds to gather. The swathes of dark tinted glass have been replaced with conservation-safe clear glass, making the interior more inviting. Shining afresh … the main staircase. Photograph: Edmund Sumner/© The National Gallery, London 'We have tried to dignify the original vision,' says Selldorf, 'and give it a vitamin shot.' She is standing on the new stone forecourt, in front of the bunching staccato columns, when she looks up and frowns. 'I never understood this building,' she admits. 'I remember coming and thinking: 'Well, whatever.' There are all these architectural elements, and the sort of cumbersome entrance was, if nothing else, unpleasant.' She describes the old tinted glass curtain wall, along the building's eastern flank, as 'too weird for words – calling it Miesian is really an insult to Mies'. She argues that Venturi Scott Brown's justification for their low, dark entrance – which they compared to entering a church crypt before ascending to the light – was merely post-rationalisation. 'Tell me one church where you enter through the crypt,' she says. 'It doesn't exist!' Stepping inside, where stygian gloom once prevailed, there now glows a huge digital screen, covering the entire back wall of the newly wide-open lobby, cycling through details from the National Gallery's collection. As I arrive, Caravaggio's Jesus gestures towards a new espresso bar on the left. Or maybe he is pointing to the tiny information desk, which stands to one side, marooned in a vast expanse of pale stone paving – a change from the darker granite, to lighten things up. Meanwhile, a disciple, points to the lifts, which are now visible thanks to the removal of some of the hefty stone columns. A swooping cut in the ceiling provides glimpses of the new bookshop and Locatelli restaurant upstairs (where the airport lounge vibe remains), while another cut to the left creates a double-height space above the cafe. There is 60% more space than before, and it all feels quite empty, but the gallery says that's the point: it needs this volume to handle the crowds. Swooping cuts … Sainsbury Wing. Photograph: Edmund Sumner/© The National Gallery, London 'Before, you came in and you didn't know where you were going,' says Selldorf, and the line of stone columns, described by Venturi Scott Brown as 'stand-ins for people on an empty day', simply got in the way. Her controversial decision to remove them was partly vindicated during construction, when a mysterious letter from the late Lord Sainsbury was apparently discovered in one of the hollow pillars. 'I believe that the false columns are a mistake of the architect,' he wrote, 'and that we would live to regret our accepting this detail of his design. Let it be known that one of the donors of this building is absolutely delighted that your generation has decided to dispense with the unnecessary columns.' The missive speaks volumes about the difference between the architects. Selldorf is a pragmatist. She sees architecture as a service, and she listens to her clients, which is why she has become a favourite of museum directors around the world. Venturi Scott Brown were fractious visionaries. They had blazing rows with the gallery throughout. Unwilling to compromise, Venturi even refused to attend the opening. 'It was sometimes like dealing with very intelligent children,' recalled an adviser to the project. Whether it was the right choice to hire a flexible pragmatist to mend the work of stubborn idealists remains moot. The National Gallery has soothed its practical headaches and exorcised its demons, but it has tamed some of the building's spiky complexities and contradictions in the process. Another architect, more sympathetic to the postmodern mindset, might have made a more natural fit. But the visitor experience is smoother than before, and the work allows the Sainsbury Wing's strengths to shine afresh. For that we should be grateful. The Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery reopens to the public on 10 May.
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Inside An AD100 Designed Hotel Housed In A Former Police Station
Jeffrey Totaro The former City of Boston Police Department Headquarters has taken on a new life as an elegant hotel — but not without a heavy dose of historic charm. Redesigned by AD100 design firm Selldorf Architects, working in tandem with local executive architects, Group One Architects, and lighting designers from L'Observatoire International, the building was constructed in 1926 and was once the city's police HQ. In its latest design update, the space has been reimagined as Hotel AKA Back Bay and offers guests a modern design that's steeped in rich Bostonian history. 'As we reveal our newly redesigned hotel, we're delighted to present discerning guests with a fresh perspective on luxury hospitality in Boston,' said Larry Korman, CEO of AKA. 'Annabelle Selldorf's team captured our vision perfectly to seamlessly meld the hotel's rich heritage with contemporary elements.' Designed to wow guests as soon as they enter the 225-room hotel, standout features in the grand lobby include a hand-blown, Murano glass chandelier by SimoEng and custom S-shape check-in desk surfaced in Corian. The hotel's main gathering space, was thoughtfully designed to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere ideal for work, socializing or relaxation. The lobby. Guestrooms are light and airy with custom designed furniture curated to evoke a sense of tranquility and calm as guests step inside after a bustling day in the city. A guest bedroom. The striking bathrooms are finished with Italian ceramic tile laid in bold iridescent green hues. Kohler Kallista bath fixtures are placed throughout the bathroom for a luxurious experience. A suite bathroom. Additional hotel amenities include boasts 4,800 square feet of versatile event and meeting space; a 24-hour Technogym fitness center; a spa; and a cozy French-inspired bistro and bar complete with a spacious terrace. The Berkley Bistro and Bar 'When we set out to reimagine Hotel AKA Back Bay, our goal was to create a blend of comfort and sophistication that would resonate with visitors from around the world and a welcoming retreat for the local community,' explained Annabelle Selldorf, Principal of Selldorf Architects. 'We wanted to honor the city's rich architectural history blending it with modern design while reflecting a cultural shift in the hospitality sector toward a more residential experience for guests. The result is not a traditional hotel but a space that offers a true sense of belonging.'
Wall Street Journal
09-04-2025
- General
- Wall Street Journal
The Frick's Renovation Is a Subtle Revelation
New York Some aspects of architecture are noticed only if done badly. If a building's system of circulation—its paths of movement—is handled poorly, it becomes painfully obvious in the form of physical obstacles, such as confusing forks and dead ends. But when well handled, it is invisible. And so it must vex Annabelle Selldorf that the best part of her remodeling of the Frick Collection, and the most imaginative, will go unrecognized.
