Wall Street Gem
Traders in Manhattan's financial district no longer have to travel to midtown to do their holiday shopping. Tiffany & Co. has just opened an 11,000-sq.-ft. (1,022 sq m) Yabu Pushelberg-designed outpost in the historic Trust Company of America bank building. The space, which has a hipper feel than the brand's uptown flagship, features a 60-ft.-long (18 m) crystal-and-mesh sculpture designed by Ingo Maurer, as well as the jeweler's famous collections. Among the first luxury boutiques to open in the neighborhood (Hermès and Thomas Pink are nearby), Tiffany hopes to attract not only Wall Street workers but also the growing residential community.
Wearstler for Bergdorf Goodman
Decorating fanatics don't need to sign up for a complete renovation in order to get a piece of design whiz Kelly Wearstler. The Los Angeles-based Wearstler, known for her high-glamour interiors like the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica, the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills and the BG restaurant in New York City's Bergdorf Goodman, is introducing a line of limited-edition decorative home accessories to be sold exclusively in a special Wearstler boutique at Bergdorf Goodman. Known for her penchant for Hollywood Regency style, Wearstler has a knack for mixing and matching pieces, colors and fabrics to surprising results. Now it's possible for consumers to emulate her style with attainable items like marble books, brass hands ($1,495) and selected vintage pieces.
Wind Power
While going green is not only a full-fledged trend but also an ecological necessity, planning the most energy-efficient skyscraper ever built in the midst of China's economic boom was no easy feat. Guangzhou's first ultra-green building, the 71-story Pearl River Tower, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, hopes to depend largely on wind and solar energy for its power supply when it opens in 2009. The building's sculpted body directs winds to wind turbines, which, in turn, generate energy for the building. Energy consumption is further reduced by the building's specially fashioned skin made of solar cells.
Wrongwoods
Fusing utilitarian lines with playful faux-wood-laminate decoration, the Wrongwoods collection of plywood furniture is a witty, updated take on mid-century modernism. The limited-edition collection for Established & Sons is a collaboration between Sebastian Wrong, who designed the pieces, and British artist Richard Woods, who created the graphic cartoon-inspired exterior art. Woods' sculptures and installations often play with the relationship between art and architecture, but this small line of furniture fully bridges the gap between art and functionality. The collection's chest of drawers ($5,550), wall unit and night table are available in yellow-and-red or white-and-green color combinations.