Jay-Z sure has the life. He rolls with Beyonce, runs a chain of clubs, co-owns a basketball team, and retires from music—then returns from retirement—every six months. But despite the bling, our man Hova, as he is also known, is a man of the people, his 99 problems notwithstanding. So he’s commissioned architect David Ashen of D-ash Design to create an upscale mobile lounge designed to let his fans taste the nectar of success—oh, and also showcase the new premium line for Rocawear, his clothing collection. Called RocPopShop, the temporary store looks like a film-set trailer. But inside it spares no luxury, featuring mohair sofas, suede walls, custom zebra-wood cabinetry, a 46-inch flat screen TV, and a custom gaming zone. It debuts April 14 at the intersection of Pacific and Fifth Avenues, in Jay-Z’s native Brooklyn; it stays until May 3, when it heads off across the country. 
D-ash Design’s Mobile RocPopShop for Rocawear
Olive Chair by Claesson Koivisto Rune
Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto, and Ola Rune are superstars in Stockholm. Not only are the three in-demand architects and interior designers, but they also teach at Konstfack (the Eindhoven of Sweden) and create products for Offecct, Wastberg, and Sultana in their spare time. Their latest innovation, Olive, straddles the line between bespoke and mass-produced furniture. Featuring five different backrests and seats randomly paired together during production, the chair, produced for Swedese, was inspired by a bowl of the delectable drupes that the three designers were sharing. They noticed each fruit had a distinct shape but was related to the others, which got them thinking about ways to convey difference and similarity. Available in metal or wood, and with or without armrests.
Wonderwall’s Fred Perry Store in Moscow
Interiors firm Wonderwall trafficks in receding architecture and monochromatic walls. These minimalist tendencies have been the ideal foil for retail projects like Uniqlo’s New York flagship and A Bathing Ape’s global cache of outlets, as they bring quiet order to the riot of colors and patterns on offer. But Wonderwall broke out of its mold with its first project in Moscow, a store for British sporting wear company Fred Perry. The layout features a main area and sunken room, which is located a few steps down from a long hallway. Wonderwall principal Masamichi Katayama imaged that in an earlier life, the sunken room had been a secret salon where the young Soviet elite gathered. So he decorated it in a traditional Russian style, with brick walls, tufted leather sofas, and tapestries featuring regional designs from around the country. He contrasted these elements with white plaster expanses and modern materials like stainless steel, which appear throughout the rest of the space. But lest he forget his client, he also had the ceiling beams designed to form a Union Jack, as a nod to Fred Perry’s origins.
SANNA’s 2009 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
Ah, summer in England: Strawberries are on the menu, Wimbledon on the telly, and the annual Serpentine Gallery Pavilion makes its debut. Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of Japanese firm SANAA are building this year’s structure, which will stand on the London gallery’s lawn from July until October. Unveiling the design yesterday, the duo revealed it will resemble a “reflective cloud or a floating pool of water” placed atop of a series of columns. The roof will be of undulating metal sunshade that wraps around the trees in the park, while the building will incorporate other shiny, translucent materials. Much like Anish Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate” in Chicago’s Millennium Park, the structure’s appearance will change according to weather and the light, and will reflect back the environment rather than detract from it. As SANNA said, “It works as a field of activity with no walls, allowing views to extend uninterrupted across the park and encouraging access from all sides. It is a sheltered extension of the park where people can read, relax, and enjoy lovely summer days.” Areas within the pavilion will also house a cafe and auditorium for public programs.
What Is a Bathroom’s Function?
It used to be we knew exactly what a bathroom’s purpose was. Plus we knew what it should look like: white ceramic sanitary ware, tile on the floor and walls, a shower or a claw-footed tub if we were lucky. But now bathrooms are a battleground, although not for the usual reasons. The conflict rages over what a bathroom should be. Is it a place of relaxation, where you can quiet the noise of your day, or a room for sensory stimulation, a media space with music and news feeds? Manufacturers have been responding to both impulses. As evident at the recent ISH fair in Frankfurt, companies continue to explore chromotherapy and create monochromatic suites than whisper Zen. Yet others prefer adding tech elements like ipod hook-ups to shower stalls and introducing blocks of color and natural materials to the pieces, so that they more closely resembles furniture. Following are new products exemplifying these trends. (Khroma by Erwin Himmel for Roca pictured above.)
Supernova by Sieger Design for Dornbracht
Water Lounge by Hoesch
Tulip by Azzurra Ceramica