From the London's Design Biennale and Design Festival to Detroit's own Month of Design, this fall is full of delights for aesthetes around the globe
By Laura Itzkowitz, Architectural Digest
As people begin to return from summer vacation, the cultural calendar heats up around the world with a host of design and art festivals both near and far. Stateside, Detroit celebrates all things design with its citywide Month of Design. Chicago will draw art enthusiasts from both coasts and beyond for its most exciting edition of Expo Chicago yet. London will host multiple design festivals as well as a special exhibit dedicated to Renzo Piano. Vienna will concurrently host the Vienna Contemporary art fair and Vienna Design Week, which together will draw art and design fans from Eastern and Western Europe and beyond. Finally, Art Basel Cities launches its inaugural edition in Buenos Aires, cementing the city’s place as one of the world’s most dynamic cities for art.
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London
September is an important month for the English capital, with the London Design Biennale at Somerset House (September 4–23), the London Design Festival organized by the V&A (September 15–23), and a retrospective on Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano at the Royal Academy of Arts (opening September 15). If you’re planning to head across the pond for the festivities, consider staying at one of the city’s most luxurious suites and book a table at Core by Clare Smyth, whose eponymous chef was recently named the World’s Best Female Chef at the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards.
Vienna
Strategically situated at the crossroads of Eastern and Western Europe, Vienna will draw art and design aficionados for the Vienna Contemporary art fair (September 27–30) and Vienna Design Week (September 29–October 7). Book a room at the historic Hotel Sacher Wien, the glamorous member of Leading Hotels of the World where the famed Sacher torte was born. Take advantage of the hotel’s ideal location right across from the Vienna State Opera to see a performance and indulge in some traditional Austrian cuisine at the hotel’s glamorous Restaurant Rote Bar.
Chicago
[post_ads]Expo Chicago returns September 27–30 for its largest and most ambitious edition yet at Navy Pier. This year’s fair will gather artists and thinkers like Hans Ulrich Obrist of London’s Serpentine Galleries, who’s organizing his first U.S. interview marathon featuring five hours of interviews with prominent Chicago innovators. The luxurious Peninsula Chicago is the fair’s official hotel partner, and will host a pop-up exhibit of works in the public spaces. If you stay there, be sure to check out the hotel’s new rooftop Z Bar, which serves internationally inspired cocktails and light bites. The Viceroy Chicago is another favorite of design-lovers, who flock to the rooftop bar Devereaux for poolside cocktails with views stretching to Lake Michigan. While in town, be sure to do one of the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s beloved architecture boat tours aboard the First Lady Cruises and visit its new center inside a midcentury building by Mies van der Rohe. Be sure to reserve a table at award-winning chef Stephanie Izard’s flagship restaurant Girl & the Goat. The breezy California-inspired Pacific Standard Time and upscale New American restaurant Bellemore are also hot tables right now.
Detroit
All September long, the Motor City will celebrate its Month of Design with a robust schedule of events occurring all across the city. This is the time to discover the emerging studios making Detroit—which was named UNESCO’s first American City of Design—such an exciting place to be. Check into the beautiful new Siren Hotel, which New York–based firm ASH NYC opened in the historic Wurlitzer Building downtown. Be sure to carve out some time to visit the Detroit Institute of Arts to see Diego Rivera’s monumental murals and check out the contemporary street art murals in the Belt, a revitalized alleyway downtown, near the Library Street Collective.
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Buenos Aires
As one of South America’s most exciting cities for art, it’s no surprise that Buenos Aires was chosen as the inaugural home of Art Basel’s new Cities initiative. September 6–12, Buenos Aires will host a citywide series of events and exhibitions curated by Artistic Director Cecilia Alemani (of New York’s High Line and the Italian Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale). If you go, check into the Faena Hotel, a member of Leading Hotels of the World designed by Philippe Starck that’s a hot spot for celebrities and artists. Don’t miss one of the hotel’s legendary Rojo Tango shows. If you have some free time, head to San Telmo to shop for antiques and one-of-a-kind vintage items.
