Creative Time presents Playing the Building, a sound installation in which the infrastructure, the physical plant of the building, is converted into a giant musical instrument. Devices are attached to the building structure — to the metal beams and pillars, the heating pipes, the water pipes — and are used to make these things produce sound. The activations are of three types: wind, vibration, striking. The devices do not produce sound themselves, but they cause the building elements to vibrate, resonate and oscillate so that the building itself becomes a very large musical instrument.

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The insanely inspiring Takashi Murakami continues to keep us in absolute awe and apparently we aren’t the only ones. Murakami’s retrospective at the LA MOCA has been so successful its moving to New York at the Brooklyn Museum, April 5th through July 13th. If you’re in New York and want to catch a glimpse of what’s coming check out our feature on the LA MOCA show. No word yet on whether or not Kanye West will make an appearance at the New York opening but get your venetian blind sunglasses ready.

-Via Dustbowl

Architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the Japanese firm Sanaa are responsible for the New Museum of Contemporary Art which opens tomorrow in New York. The institution has moved from SoHo to the Bowery, turning its back on an upscale environment and embracing its gritty roots. The 60,000-square-foot museum was built on a $50 million budget.

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You can expect this to be huge. Japanese retailer MUJI, which has stores in many other parts of the world, makes its US debut this November. The store will be located in New York at 455 Broadway. A flagship in Midtown Manhattan is slated to open next year. MUJI products are minimal (in form and color), unbranded, and extremely inexpensive. Literally translated, Mujirushi Ryohin, MUJI’s original name, means “no brand quality goods”. To get an idea of their products you can visit the UK online store. The images shown are of MUJI stores in Tokyo. A limited number of MUJI products have been available domestically through the MoMA Store but the new store will offer over 2,000 items. Many of them come from the minds of design greats such as Naoto Fukasawa, Jasper Morrison and Enzo Mari.

MUJI represents a return to modernism’s roots in mass produced low cost goods. The website offers these seemingly ironic thoughts, “Because there is complexity in purity. Elegance in plainness. Intricacy in streamlining. Richness in reduction. Depth in minimalism. Surprise in uniformity. Innovation in re-use. Cool in the avoidance of cool. And there is true sophistication in simplicity.”

Italian designer Luca Orlandi revealed some beautiful dresses at his show. The collection was sexy and femine with a modest retro feel. An understated palette of neutral colors was combined with high waistlines for a relaxed feel with a touch of elegance.