Times Square is awash in hearts this month. Tracey Emin‘s “I Promise To Love You” neonworks are now playing nightly on screens throughout the NYC hub in what is the largest coordinated effort in history by Times Square sign operators. And today the Times Square Alliance debuts Situ Studio‘s “Heartwalk,” the winner of its annual Valentine Heart Design competition, conducted this year in collaboration with Design Trust for Public Space.

The designers at Brooklyn-based Situ Studio looked to the collective experience of Hurricane Sandy as inspiration for their installation, made from hundreds of boards salvaged from storm-ravaged boardwalks in areas such as the Rockaways and Atlantic City. The heart-shaped enclosure, located opposite the TKTS booth, is illuminated from within. Visitors can prowl the perimeter and peek through the slats or step inside, through a flattened area at the base. “We were interested in creating a room within the city–a public space that was simultaneously interior and exterior,” says Situ Studio partner Bradley Samuels. “‘Heartwalk’ is a reflection on the things that bind us together, ephemeral and permanent.”

Is crowdfunding the answer to giving stalled architecture projects a much-needed…kickstart? A report issued this week by the American Institute of Architects takes a closer look, highlighting crowdfunded projects such as Colombia’s 66-story BD Bacatá building and the “I Make Rotterdam” bridge-building project.

According to massolution, which compiled the white paper for the AIA, crowdfunding generated around $1.5 billion in 2011, of which almost half was raised via donation-based crowdfunding (distinct from Kickstarter-style reward-based crowdfunding, in which donors receive something tangible in return). In addition to its potential as a financing tool for beleaguered developers and architects, crowdfunding can provide architects with a way to work with local communities to discuss, develop, and implement design ideas–or simply to generate support for “passion projects” that may be tough to fund through conventional avenues, notes the report. The Italian government is all over this idea–to raise cash to fund the Italian pavilion at the this year’s Venice Biennale.

New York’s Grand Central Terminal turns 100 this month, kicking off a year of tributes to the beloved “cathedral of transit” that escaped demolition in the 1970s by way of a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Sam Roberts offers a historical and cultural perspective in Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America, newly published by–of course!–Hachette’s Grand Central imprint. Centennial souvenirs can be found at the post office, where the USPS is now offering its Grand Central Terminal Express Mail stamp, featuring Illinois artist Dan Cosgrove‘s illustrated update (note the man with the roller suitcase) to Hal Morey‘s famous sunlight-streaming-through-the-clerestory-windows photo of the 1930s. The top of the stamp art includes the edges of the terminal’s famous sky ceiling, painted with a mural of constellations and figures of the Zodiac (fun fact: the constellations were accidentally painted backwards on the ceiling, so don’t rely on them for celestial navigation). And mark your calendar for March 25-31, when Nick Cave brings dancing horses to Grand Central. The artist will trot out an equine twist on his Soundsuits in a project co-presented by Creative Time and MTA Arts for Transit.

With fresh creative talent in place at its flagship brand, Gap Inc. has hit the ground running in 2013, announcing its $130 million acquisition of the 32-store Intermix chain and plans for a Banana Republic summer collection designed by Milly‘s Michelle Smith. Now Gap is upping the cuteness quotient with a new line of unbelievably adorable baby clothes–for girls and boys up to 24 months old–inspired by Beatrix Potter‘s The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The author, who pioneered the product tie-in by following up her 1902 book with a (patented!) Peter Rabbit doll and board game, and whose estate is a licensing powerhouse, would surely be pleased to see her illustrations adorning whimsical babyGap one-pieces, patterned dresses, and printed denim. The must-have item is Peter’s famous blue jacket, reimagined as a chunky knit navy cardigan and yours for $34.95. Mr. McGregor was unavailable for comment.

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival gets underway next Thursday in Utah, and festivalgoers have Todd Oldham to thank for taking this year’s merchandise in a fresh new direction. The designer not only developed a line of ‘Todd Oldham for the Sundance Film Festival’ gear, including bags and wallets made from recycled festival banners, but also acted as curator for Sundance Film Festival Editions. For the new initiative, he invited Sundance alums such as Morgan Spurlock, Amy Sedaris, and Parker Posey to design a product–a button, a t-shirt, a tote. “It wasn’t hard to get them on board,” said Oldham in an interview with the Sundance Institute. “I did curate, but the art was really in asking the right person for the right task. And they are so talented–Mike White is a great graphic designer as well as filmmaker, Stacey Peralta is an artist, so I knew I had good, wildly creative people.” John Waters whipped up a subversive t-shirt (pictured).

In addition to whimsical apparel and recycled accessories, Oldham also brought his editorial expertise to the festival with a new book, Sundance Film Festival A to Z. He invited 26 illustrious illustrators–including Caitlin Heimerl, Chris Silas Neal, Michele Romero, and Yuko Shimizu–to have their way with one letter, with each letter representing festival films and artists (yup, “R” is for Redford). “We got very sophisticated, learned efforts. Some don’t tell the story at first glance. It’s super fun to try and decipher what the artist saw,” noted Oldham. “Illustrators have vivid imaginations and are usually forced into linear systems with tasked briefs. But we just let people do whatever they wanted and they were delighted to be unedited!” And if you detect a hint of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse in the cover art, that’s because it’s the work of Wayne White.

Say what you will about St. Barts–we think Iceland is the place to ring in the new year. According to local lore, tonight is the night that cows talk, seals take on human form, the dead rise from their graves, and elves move houses. Residents celebrate with family dinners, bonfires, and fireworks, lots of them. The pyrotechnics spectacular is made possible by the country’s lack of restrictions on fireworks, and the entire population of Reykjavik–approximately 200,000 people–gets into the act. This year, those of us in less permissive nations can watch the massive fireworks display online: click here to watch the live broadcast at 7:00 p.m. Eastern / 4:00 p.m. Pacific.

Continue the explosive Icelandic fun with a New Year’s Eve screening of Bjӧrk‘s new music video, “Mutual Core” (below), commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. “[MOCA director] Jeffrey Deitch contacted me a while ago, and he suggested that we collaborate on this, and it sounded like a good idea,” said the Reykjavik native in a recent interview with Paper magazine. “Because I’m an old punk, I’ve never done commercials or sponsoring or anything like this–I’ve been really strict with it–but with this, [Jeffrey] seemed to be helping us to make a music video. That sort of makes sense to me. It doesn’t feel like sponsoring.”
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From Andy Warhol and Lady Gaga to…the wonderful world of Disney? This year, Barneys New York went from downtown to main street for its holiday campaign, a high fashion take on Disney magic. Launched last month at Barneys’ Madison Avenue flagship with the help of Sarah Jessica Parker (who sported L’Wren Scott-designed lace mouse ears for the occasion), “Electric Holiday” comes complete with an animated short that features Mickey, Minnie, and the gang in designer duds along with fashion world figures such as Alber Elbaz, Daphne Guinness, and Steven Meisel transformed into cartoons by John Quinn, Disney’s character art director. And then there’s the merch. Among the selection of limited-edition holiday items–a goofy Goofy hooded towel, technicolor popcorn–is this silver vinyl mouse. Splashed with the signature stripes of Paul Smith, it’s a toy that kids of all ages will take a shine to.

This is part of a series of elegantly wrapped December posts about desirable goods that we suggest you purchase with the vague intent of giving to others and then keep for yourself.
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Fashion designer Christian Lacroix made a name for himself with his fearless, multicultural mixing of bold prints, riotous colors, and luxe textiles. His eye for striking combinations is evident in the pages of a distinctively bound black book that he filled with collages (see below video) for Moleskine’s Detour Project, a group show of notable notebooks curated by Raffaella Guidobono.

Having traveled the globe–from New York and London to Shanghai and Tokyo (next stop: Sao Paulo)–the project’s latest detour is into meta-bookdom. Stocking stuffer alert: The Detour Book offers a glimpse into notebooks that have been decorated, hacked, and sketched by designers Yves Béhar and Paula Scher, artist Tom Sachs, writer Dave Eggers, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and many other creative types. Texts by the likes of ubercurator Hans-Ulrich Obrist and Paris Review editor Lorin Stein help to contextualize the reproduced Moleskine pages that are divided into five sections: visionaries, semantics, virtuosos, romantics, and ironists. Vive la différence!
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‘Tis the season for pop-up emporiums and “best of” lists. Wired combines the two with a concept store stocked with the magazine’s picks for the most innovative products and technologies of the year. To get its annual NYC retail showcase to look as good as the covetable merchandise–think GPS Navigation Shoes, a stool made of recycled bicycle inner tubes, and a Makerbot desktop 3D printer–Wired tapped Mother New York to mastermind the shopping experience. The creative agency delivered a sleek space filled with custom furniture and fixtures as well as wall-sized interactive elements. The store design is unified by graphics inspired by the magazine’s “What’s Inside” features and the work of product-dissecting photographer Todd McClellan, Mother creative director Piers North tells us. Pay a virtual visit to the store, which is open Tuesday through Sunday ’til December 24, by scrolling through the below photos. This being a Wired production, the stuff–who doesn’t need a pair of caped Superman socks?–is also available to purchase online.

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“Lost Time” by Glithero for Perrier-Jouet at Design Miami 2012. (Photo: Petr Krejci)

Chairs, glorious chairs, are everywhere at Design Miami, but no one sits for long. Collectors, dealers, journalists, and the odd celebrity (who knew Will Ferrell was a design buff?) stream through the fair at different speeds and with varying agendas: see Maarten de Ceulaer’s latest “mutations,” close the sale on the Nakashima bench, locate a friend and a chocolate dulce de leche pie ($7 at the catering stand), nab a seat for Stefano Tonchi’s on-stage chat with Diane von Furstenberg, load up on free magazines. A welcome pause from this year’s frenzy was offered by Glithero, the design duo of Tim Simpson and Sarah van Gameren.

The London-based studio was commissioned by Perrier-Jouët to create an installation that honored the champagne house’s Art Nouveau heritage (that famous flowered bottle was the result of a 1902 collaboration with artist Emile Gallé). “We sought to work with a designer that has the Art Nouveau dimension in his or her DNA,” Axelle de Buffevent, brand style director for Martell Mumm-Perrier-Jouët, told us in Miami. “With Glithero, you immediately see that their work is very inspired by nature, by the processes of nature.”

Long fascinated by processes ranging from artisanal craftsmanship to industrial production methods, Simpson and van Gameren responded to Perrier-Jouët’s commission by creating “Lost Time” (pictured), a darkened chamber strung with skeins of shot beads that dripped from the ceiling like glamorous ghosts of stalactites—or champagne flutes. The swooping volumes, inspired in part by Gaudí’s Sagrada Família, were reflected in a shallow pool of water, an infusion of moisture that heightened the cave-like atmosphere (and winked at the humidity that awaited on the other side of the air-conditioned tent).
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