Here we are back at it again. If you were slightly disappointed in last week’s shortened newsletter, especially after radio silence for two weeks, I hear you. This week’s is back on track with the goodies you know and love, so make sure to take a look through to the end.
I’ve received lots of NFT-related links recently, which I initially thought was strange to include considering how I feel about them. But after clicking through, I realized they were worthy of sharing. So thanks, Marc and Allyssa, for those. Also, many thanks to Su, Lani, Khali, and Ayda for sending in links as well.
Before getting into the architecture and interior design links, I’ll kick it off with some local NYC-related stuff. The art-related second half consists of the NFT links, so consider yourself forewarned. Let’s get started.
Employees of New York-based architecture firm plan to unionize to prevent exploitation of time and talent
Affordable housing lottery opens at Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Factory building
Three bubbly space-age townhouses take shape in south Williamsburg
Exterior work continues on American Natural History Museum’s expansion on Manhattan’s Upper West Side
A historic house in Harlem with a checkered past is on the market for $8.5M
A designer transforms his New York City home into a whimsical wonderland
A stylishly converted 1800s homestead in upstate NY is asking $1.9M
This Long Island City duplex is its own hidden gem of beautiful objects
Albert Fry’s iconic modernist dream house in Palm Springs is on the market
Interior designer’s home in Los Angeles is a lesson in the affinities between Italian modernism and the California midcentury-modern movement
Designed almost 50 years ago, the “synthetic” lamp for living spaces makes its comeback
A Sicilian castle featured in The Godfather Part III has hit the market
The sleepy Georgian home of a London antique dealer
The eclectic, colorful London house of a novelist and lifelong collector
IDEO founder and Stanford University professor’s remodeled faculty home
One man’s masterpiece is another’s Airbnb
Idyllic country cottages to rent in the UK
A comfortable, low energy house in London
A simple residence in London
A cozy and inviting Swedish apartment
Architect turns narrow abandoned lot into family home in Nova Scotia
A coastal timber home along the shores of New Zealand
Two shipping containers form a cozy live/work cabin in Poland
Berlin's Brutalist Silence office has barely anything inside
Five teams have been shortlisted for $200M refurbishment of London’s Barbican Centre
The tragic emergence of windowless bedrooms in the U.S.
How architects design for less lonely living
Where is architecture going after the pandemic fades?
Public space may be essential to urban life, but its benefits are far from universally enjoyed
The invention of public space shows the city as a product of negotiation
A design competition to imagine a new kind of public space is now accepting submissions
A beloved neighborhood playground is reimagined for generations to come in San Francisco
London’s $8M Marble Arch Mound to close after just six disappointing months
Try these London architecture walks and runs for some physical and intellectual edification
London’s finest brutalist architecture
Berlin-based 3D artist imagines brutalist architecture with a dystopian touch
Postmodern architecture celebrated in illustrations
The Saarinen House and the legacy of Loja Saarinen’s textiles
Newly opened museums that are enriching the arts and culture scene
Photographer captures the timeless charm of abandoned architecture across Lebanon
Should we stop fetishizing old homes?
Exquisite architectural photos glimpse at life in late ’90s Cuba
What is NFT architecture, and how is it different from regular 3D models?
Sotheby’s is selling the first real-world home through the metaverse using NFT technology
Reflecting on the year of digital real estate and design
Wall Street is using tech firms like Zillow to eat up starter homes
Cryptocurrency investors want to build their own private island countries
People building blockchain city in Wyoming fall victim to $95K hack
Meanwhile, a farmer in Turkey has fitted his cows with virtual reality goggles to make them think they are outside in summer pastures
NYC to get its first NFT restaurant
Two tech executives are opening an NFT museum in Seattle to give decentralized art a centralized home
Wikipedia editors have voted not to classify NFTs as art
Why one crypto critic’s thought experiment may actually point the way forward for digital art
How seriously should we take this Bored-Ape conspiracy theory?
The ticking bomb of crypto fascism
NFT art sales are booming, just without some artists' permission
A 32-year-old earned $1M from 67 JPG NFTs he created from his bedroom while in lockdown
NFT developers make off with over $1M in “Big Daddy Ape Club” scam
NFT project touting distribution of all profits “to charities protecting animals on the brink of extinction” later announced the charity would be their bank account instead
Web3 is going just great (!!!)
What happens when the frenzy ends, and the world doesn’t value your valuables? (The parallels between what’s going on with NFTs now versus Beanie Baby mania in the ’90s)
The Associated Press is starting its own NFT marketplace for photojournalism
China steps up efforts to ban deepfakes
Four Italian collectors on Instagram have been unmasked as catfish accounts
NYC’s Rubin Museum of Art will return two centuries-old artifacts to Nepal after an activist group raises the alarm on Twitter
Netscape founder gives up $35M in art said to be stolen
The Sackler name has been removed from Serpentine Galleries building in London
Disillusioned with the traditional system, modern gallerists are rethinking ways to show and sell artworks
A bombshell lawsuit between two collectors exposes how far some will go to get access to the art they want
Warhol Foundation doles out $4.1M in grants to 49 art institutions
What should we do about paintings with racist titles?
An iconic $60M René Magritte painting from muse’s collection could set new auction record
A hidden painting is found beneath layers of paint in $40M Botticelli work
Is this art historian’s $90 copy of an Anthony van Dyck painting really an original?
A Marsden Hartley painting experts have been searching for for decades just turned up in a bank vault
A damaged Georgia O’Keeffe painting is back on display after conservators spend 1,250 hours and $145K restoring it
Vandals have irreparably damaged ancient rock art at Big Bend National Park in Texas
Visualizing the evolution of the alphabet (seen above)
Californian artist Ed Templeton takes a cynical view of modern American suburbia in upcoming exhibition
The relevance of design for David Bowie, and of David Bowie for design
That time in 1985, when Andy Warhol cruised The Love Boat
Okay. Time to cruise on out of this newsletter. I appreciate you for letting me slide into your inbox each week, and I hope you found something worth reading. Why not share this post with a friend you think might enjoy it? They won’t be mad, I promise. In the meantime, if you come across something that you think would be a good fit for the newsletter, leave it in the comments below or send an email my way at murphy@therealmurphy.com.
Thomas
This week is the best. These are fantastic links. I love you and your link suppliers, you're all doing wonderful work.