While starchitect Richard Meier is famous for his work in both New York City and Los Angeles, his Sunday afternoons are fairly humdrum, according to the New York Times, which profiled Meier’s “Sunday Routine.” On his list of favorite pastimes is reading in Central Park (he favors biographies of noted artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Pablo Picasso) and listening to classical music from composers like Beethoven, Brahms and Bartok. As for Sunday football, Meier said he’s a fan of both the Jets and the Giants. “If I could, I would like to have more than one Sunday a week,” Meier said. [NYT]

Architect Dai Haifei and his egg home

While many 20-somethings return to the nest after college, a 24-year-old Beijing architect went a different route: he moved into the egg — an egg-like studio apartment, that is, according to Housing Watch. Dai Haifei, who bemoaned the high cost of living in the Chinese metropolis, designed his six-foot-high abode himself, complete with a green roof that sprouts grass. The egg home, which cost $969 to build and $538 to transport to the city sidewalk, has no kitchen and no bathroom, but does include a small bed and modest furnishings. [more]

The glamorous world of “starchitecture” seems like a myth in this video, in which a seasoned design pro urges a wide-eyed student to stay away from the architecture field. Careful, some of the language is Rated R.

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“LEED” — as in the certification that deems a building environmentally friendly — seems to a big buzzword among developers these days. In this video from Media Bistro, Richard Cook of Cook and Fox architects weighs in on the trend, as well as on other architectural hot topics today.

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“LEED” — as in the certification that deems a building environmentally friendly — seems to a big buzzword among developers these days. In this video from Media Bistro, Richard Cook of Cook and Fox architects weighs in on the trend, as well as on other architectural hot topics today.

[more]

The Real Deal attended the ninth annual Architectural Digest Home Design Show this past weekend at Pier 94 at 55th Street at the West Side Highway. There were nearly 300 exhibits of products for the home — from furniture to lighting to kitchens and baths. The event, at which The Real Deal was a sponsor, ran from March 18 to 21. See above for a slide show from the event. TRD [more]

Starchitect Frank Williams, known for his geometric-style Manhattan skyscrapers and international influence, has died at age 73. Williams made a notable impact on the New York City skyline, helping create over 20 buildings in the city, many of which are visible from Central Park, according to the New York Times. His portfolio includes the 57-story Trump Palace at 200 East 69th Street on the corner of Third Avenue, the tallest building on the Upper East Side, the Four Seasons at 57 East 57th Street and the 55-story W hotel in Times Square. Even so, Williams told The Real Deal in 2007 that he enjoyed spending time under the radar. “He’s a very talented architect who doesn’t like bragging about his work even though he should,” Donald Trump told The Real Deal at the time.