OMA crafts a pretty-in-pink exhibit to celebrate Miss Dior, invite-only restaurants are heating up, and Boutique Design unveils the 2025 Gold Key Awards finalists. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Architect Nicholas Grimshaw dies at 85
Grimshaw completed Amsterdam’s Enneüs Heerma Bridge in 2001; photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
British design practice Grimshaw announced the death of its founder, Nicholas Grimshaw, earlier this week. He was 85. One of the UK’s most celebrated design figures, Grimshaw, who received the RIBA Gold Medal in 2019, was an early tech pioneer in the architecture and design industry. He spent the first 15 years of his career in collaboration with fellow British master architect Terry Farrell. Among Farrell Grimshaw’s standout projects were the flexible Park Road Apartments and the Herman Miller Factory, which Grimshaw’s own studio renovated in 2019, Dezeen reports. Grimshaw’s practice was launched in 1980 and quickly distinguished itself with a high-tech style embodied by 1988 projects like Financial Times Printworks and the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Camden. The International Terminal at Waterloo Station received the Stirling Prize in 1994 as well as the Mies van der Rohe Award, and additional accolades followed soon after with the Eden Project, an ecological park in Cornwall that is perhaps Grimshaw’s best known project. Following his departure from the practice as chairman, Grimshaw formed the Grimshaw Foundation in 2022. The foundation has gone on to support more than 500 underrepresented young people develop practical skills to realize a creative career in the future.
OMA designs a pink-filled Dior exhibit in Shanghai
Part of the Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss exhibit, spearheaded by OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu; photo by Boris Shiu
Encompassing nearly eight decades of creative evolution and influence, an exhibition dedicated to the Miss Dior perfume has opened at the Fosun Foundation in Shanghai. Designed by OMA, Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss integrates elements of local culture alongside works from contemporary Chinese artists to imbue a new scenographic experience illustrating stories behind the scents. Spanning nearly 6,800 square feet and two floors, six themed galleries showcase 200 objects from archival documents to contemporary products, including couture and ready-to-wear garments. Rooms shift between orthogonal and organic geometries, soft and hard materials, while featuring touches of Miss Dior’s signature shades of pink. Chinese cultural motifs like a floor-to-ceiling wall of paper flowers punctuating the arrival experience also abound along with a topographic landscape of curatorial clusters reminiscent of traditional ink-wash paintings.
The rise of reservation-by-referral dining models
Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
As social media continues to alter the dining experience at restaurants nationwide, new models for eating out are further complicating what was once simple and fun. However, some spots are adopting a fresh approach to manage crowd control. West Village bar People’s is among a slew of F&B spots in New York handpicking every single person walking through its doors. The tactic is seen as an opportunity to, not only, finely tailor service, but also build hype, according to The New York Times. More clandestine fining destinations like the eight-seat omakase Hori in Midtown also embrace exclusivity with its invite-only model. Beyond the five boroughs, the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, Virginia has also gained attention for the launch of “private restaurant” Elyse earlier this year. An invitation is also required to dine at Sabor de mi Rancho in San Diego, though the restaurant has provided an outline to help guests earn their spot through social media groveling.
At these wellness retreats, Ozempic is on the menu
The Ranch span 200 acres in Malibu, California; photo courtesy of the Ranch
Despite the overwhelming popularity of everyone’s favorite diabetic medication, weight-loss retreats continue to thrive. In fact, some of them are even putting Ozempic on the menu. Bloomberg reports that wellness destinations—like Movara in Ivins, Utah and Hilton Head Health in South Carolina—that saw a boom in business in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced a dropoff in traffic once Type 2 diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy soared into mainstream consumption. Known as GLP-1s, the drugs are now integrated into both health retreat’s offerings with programming focused on the pros and cons of the diabetes meds for physical and mental health. The Ranch in Malibu also reports an uptick in clients using GLP-1s, while North Carolina’s Skyterra Wellness Retreat has partnered with local doctors to help guests transition on or off the drugs.
Boutique Design reveals 2025 Gold Key Finalists
The Rockwell Group-designed W Hollywood, a 2025 Gold Key Awards finalist in the Lobby Luxury category; photo courtesy of W Hotels
Finalists have been announced for Boutique Design’s 45th annual Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design. The industry’s oldest and most prestigious awards program for hospitality interiors, this year’s ceremony will take place on November 10th at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York, where winners in 25 categories will be honored. More than 430 international submissions were reviewed by the 2025 judging panel, which includes Vedia Aslanyan, Ennismore; Nadia Biski, Equinox; Kristen Freeland Hines, IHG Hotels & Resorts; Michael Havener, Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.; Sara Kim, LDV Hospitality; Rob Blood, Elder & Ash | Lark Hotels; Amy Michaelson Kelly, Hatteras Sky; Staci Patton, Hilton; and Sarah Walsh, Marriott. Take a look at this year’s finalists and purchase tickets for the upcoming Gold Key Awards gala.
