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William Whiteley, a Victorian-era retail entrepreneur, long dreamed of creating a London emporium that could rival the Crystal Palace in its splendor. A place where you could purchase anything from a pin up to an elephant. He was attacked and killed by an unknown man in 1907, who claimed to be his son. His sons were then able to fulfill his dream.

Belcher & Joass were the leading neobaroque architects of the time. They created a large department store on Queen’s Road, now Queensway, in west London that quickly became one of the most popular shopping areas in the city. Whiteley’s, or the store as it was called, was a “magnificent theatre design, featuring a very articulated columned façade, featuring granite along its base and Portland rock above, with cupolas, domes on top,” Patrick Campbell, an architect at Foster + Partners. The landmark was in decline following its conversion into a shopping center in the 1980s.

Project completion is scheduled for 2023. The project will preserve much of the building’s façade and reuse original architectural elements like the central glass-and steel dome and curved ironwork staircase. The remainder of the building is being demolished to make way for a mixed-use development with 139 residential units, a Six Senses spa and hotel, a gym, swimming pool, movie theater, and 20 new shops, restaurants, and cafes. All will be located in an open courtyard.

The main goal of the project is to revitalize Bayswater. By giving the building a “more porous skin,” with additional access points and street-facing shops, Mr. Campbell said, “We feel that it will really start to animate the neighborhood.” thewhiteleylondon.com

Alan Eliot Goldberg is an architect from New Canaan, Conn. He and his wife Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg started collecting Mexican folk art during the 1960s. In 2017, donated 1,000 items to the Mexican Museum. This Smithsonian affiliate is also available. Its new home is currently under construction in San Francisco. The couple have been focusing on Oaxacan folk arts since then. Mr. Goldberg stated that he admires Oaxacan folk artwork for its quality and embrace of Zapotec/Mixtec heritage.

He organized a competition for artists last year and published a book featuring 27 of their entries. The Mexican Museum published “Oaxacan folk art: response to Covid-19”. It was edited and designed in part by Mr. Goldberg. Marta Turok wrote the foreword and Judith Haden took the original photos. The 26 pieces in clay and carved wood by the artists express shock, sorrow, and whimsy.

Mr. Goldberg stated that net proceeds from the book will be donated to artists and that he is currently seeking funding to fund a virtual exhibition. The printed copies are available at mexicanfolkartbook.com. The English edition costs $29.95 and the Spanish edition $24.95

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Silvia FURMANOVICH is 64. She is a Brazilian jeweler, and scion to goldsmiths. The result of a continued collaboration with artisans from Brazil’s Amazon forest, her new collection includes vessels, furniture, and sculptured objects made out of wood. These pieces are described as “jewelry to the house” and include inlaid veneers that are applied using the technique of marquetry. Some are also embellished with tiny brass creatures that are reminiscent of Japanese netsuke.

These items will be on display in the Tiffany-designed Library Room of the Park Avenue Armory at the Salon Art + Design fair. They are set to open in New York on November 11th. This group includes carved versions of jungle cats, sloths and tortoises, created by Andre da Marinheira (an artist from the Alagoas state in northeastern Brazil with whom Ms. Furmanovich was partnered). Prices range from $2,000 to $35,000. Through Nov. 15, at 643 Park Avenue thesalonny.com

Many state magazines feature restaurant reviews and profiles. Dense is not one of them. But not Dense.

The 18 articles include a conversation between the Ramapough Lunaape Turtle Clan chief about the negative effects growth has on Indigenous populations; an interview of a man who hunts deer along the turnpike’s right-of way; and a look into the role of the turnpike in pop culture from Simon and Garfunkel’s “America” song to Ms. Morozov’s “Densemagazine.org”. densemagazine.org

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