DENVER—Crescent Hotels & Resorts announces the addition of Populus Denver, the award-winning carbon positive hotel, to its growing portfolio under the Latitudes Collection, Crescent’s platform for independent and lifestyle properties. Designed by world-renowned AD100 architecture firm, Studio Gang, Populus Denver is a 265-key lifestyle hotel that has quickly become an iconic landmark alongside nearby architectural masterpieces by I.M. Pei, Gio Ponti, and Daniel Libeskind. Completed in late 2024, the sustainably forward property has since been named Esquire’s 2025 Hotel of the Year, honored by TIME, Travel + Leisure, and AFAR as one of the world’s best new hotels, awarded a MICHELIN Key, and named winner of...

SEATTLE—Hightower unveils Stanza Tables, the newest addition to the award-winning Stanza Collection. Originally introduced at NeoCon 2023 as a family of modular planters, Stanza has grown into a comprehensive interior system. With the addition of tables featuring optional integrated planters, the collection now offers designers a fully realized toolkit for shaping how people move through, gather in, and experience a space. The idea for the integrated planter came about in the way the best design ideas often do: by accident. “Stanza Tables felt like a natural addition to the line given the construction and materials,” said Shawn Sowers, Vice President...

NEW YORK—Designtex, the leading designer and manufacturer of applied materials for the built environment, introduces Collage and Puffer, both examining the interplay between color, pattern, texture, and tactility in textile design. Their monochromatic colorways highlight the relationship between the surface and materiality of the fabric, featuring subtle designs that engage both pattern lovers and those who prefer a quieter approach. Puffer engages our sense of touch; despite its dimensional textile form, it delivers on high performance. Collage is inspired by a hand-assembled study of shape and proportion translated into a dimensional woven textile. Layered geometry and a tone-on-tone pattern create...

HICKORY, N.C.—HBF Textiles, in collaboration with Liam Lee, unveils Paint By Numbers, Lee’s debut textile collection comprising four unexpected and vibrant patterns that demonstrate Lee’s distinctive understanding of color and encourage experimentation through their juxtaposition. Crafted with a poetic sensitivity to color and texture, the collection draws inspiration from Lee’s recent paintings that incorporate forms derived from paint-by-numbers kits and hover between abstraction and figuration. “I tend to work in a somewhat non-linear way, and color is central to my practice,” says Lee. “The colorways in ‘Paint by Numbers’ are intended to be mixed and matched, acting as puzzle pieces for...

I have reported on quite a few “Trash to Treasure” stories over the years—the most recent being Poly-Wood, LLC because of its use of high-density polyethylene in its furniture. High-density polyethylene is an extremely durable type of plastic you’ll find all around your home: milk jugs, detergent containers, shampoo bottles, lotion bottles, cleaner spray bottles, etc. The most recent trash to treasure example that caught my eye is South Africa’s Stephen Pikus Design. Stephen is the founder, owner and creative director of his company that transforms truck and auto industry-related products such as truck waste oil filters and truck cooling...

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—Invi Air, a leading manufacturer of HVAC diffusers and frameless vent covers, introduces the Slot Tile Round Diffuser, a new circular addition to its Slot Tile product line designed to deliver high airflow performance while maintaining a clean, integrated ceiling appearance. Designed for acoustical and tile grid ceilings, the Slot Tile Round Diffuser fits standard 24-inch x 24-inch T-bar and drop ceiling grids, blending directly into the ceiling tile for a nearly invisible finish. Available as a kit with the plenum box, the diffuser is suitable for both supply and return applications and delivers a flush condition that aligns with the...

Scandic Hotels, with above ground locations in cities including Berlin, Helsinke and Copenhagen, are partnering with Axfast to build an underground 135-room Scandic Go hotel beneath Stockholm’s Drottninggatan that will open in 2027, converting retail and warehouse space into a mixed-use property with offices and shops. Work on the project will commence this year. Guests will not stay for the view, but they can expect a good sleep. The four-floor hotel is windowless and emphasizes quiet, cost-conscious accommodation with digital or below-ground check-in and targets BREEAM In-Use Excellent and Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification. Shared spaces and staff rooms will have access...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—The Austin Convention Center Department (ACCD) is celebrating a milestone in the redevelopment and expansion project, known as UnconventionalATX, having officially entered the first phase of construction. The new $1.6 billion Austin Convention Center will significantly increase the rentable square footage of the existing facility, growing from 365,000 square feet to 620,000 square feet of rentable space. The redeveloped Convention Center will be one of the most sustainable public projects in Austin’s history. The projected $1.6 billion investment is fully funded by Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) revenues, Convention Center revenues, and the state’s Project Financing Zone—not property taxes. The project has...

Chicago Faucets Innovation, Durability, Performance Chicago Faucets is celebrating 125 years of delivering reliable commercial plumbing products. The company is known for innovation, durability, and water-saving performance. Headquartered in Illinois, the company designs and manufactures solutions specifically for demanding commercial environments, including hospitality, food service, safety, and public facilities. Its portfolio emphasizes sustainability, offering advanced technologies like low-flow faucets, 1.0 GPM PreRinse faucet and low-flow auto-draining showers for hygiene and reduced water consumption. With a strong focus on reliability, code compliance, and customer support, Chicago Faucets delivers products that help facilities lower operating costs while meeting green building standards and enhancing...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Premium hospitality is undergoing a profound shift. Across North America and Europe, guests are signaling that what matters most is no longer spectacle or novelty, but clarity, calm, credibility, and spaces that genuinely support the way people travel and live. Based on recent research from 2,000 travelers across the U.S. and Europe, these changes reveal where hospitality design, hotel development, and the broader hospitality lifecycle are heading. Across all segments, expectations are evolving. Travelers are redefining what premium means, and these behaviors are reshaping how brands design new hotels, refresh existing ones, and maintain hotel brand consistency across markets....