Vitra brightens German campus with Tane Garden House
Rolf Fehlbaum, chairman emeritus of Vitra, affectionately remembers when the Vitra Campus, in Weil am Rhein, Germany, was distinguished by its sweeping fields. Eager to recapture that pastoral spirit, he tapped Japanese architect Tsuyoshi Tane to invigorate the site with the meditative Tane Garden House. Tane, whose research included visits to nearby Ballenberg, Swiss Open-Air Museum, crafted a compact structure evocative of village life with sustainable materials like locally sourced wood and granite. Although it is primarily used to store tools for the adjacent Oudolf Garten, the latest campus property features a coffee nook, kitchen garden, fountain, and observation platform to take in views of the grounds, including the Kazuo Shinohara–designed Umbrella House.
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A big week for media shake-ups
In 2009, Michelle Adams and late photographer Patrick Cline launched the pioneering digital-only shelter magazine Lonny. Three years later, it was sold to Livingly Media, and Adams made moves to Domino shortly after. Most recently part of the Recurrent Ventures family, Lonny has now been acquired by none other than Adams, who plans to take the publication into a different, more holistic direction by bolstering design content with sustainable living coverage.
Meanwhile Design Milk, the online platform founded by Jaime Derringer in 2006 and purchased by Ahalife in 2019, is now part of the Sandow family, joining fellow industry titles including Interior Design, Luxe Interiors + Design, and Metropolis, among other portfolio brands. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Sandow founder Adam Sandow told Business of Home that the company will retain the Design Milk staff, including editor in chief Caroline Williamson.
Fortune Brands diversifies with purchase of Emtek and Schaub
Fortune Brands Innovations has strengthened its portfolio of home, security, and commercial building product companies—including designer favorites like House of Rohl and Moen, among others—with its acquisition of Emtek and Schaub from Assa Abloy. Both these premium door and cabinet hardware brands, as well as Yale & August’s US and Canadian residential smart-locks business, were swooped up for $800 million, according to a company statement.
Inaugural international edition of Alcova slated for December
Flaunting both a rich architectural history and dynamic contemporary art and design scene, Miami is the ideal setting for Alcova’s first event beyond Milan. The independent design platform, conceived by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima in 2018, will make a splash during Miami Design Week’s annual slate of buzzy festivities from December 5 through 9. Participating designers and locations have yet to be named, but considering the Italian iteration has unfolded in the likes of a military hospital complex and former cashmere factory, the program is bound to be bold.
AD PRO Hears…
…that collectible design fair Design Miami/ has announced plans for a Paris edition. Set for October 17–22 to coincide with Paris+ par Art Basel, the inaugural showcase will be held in Saint-Germain-des-Prés’s L’hôtel de Maisons, the 18th-century manse that Karl Lagerfeld once called home.
