Photograph by Lisandro Suero (AFP/Getty Images)

By now, most of you should know about the devastating earthquake that ripped through the impoverished nation of Haiti yesterday. Reaching a magnitude of 7, followed by 30 major aftershocks, it was the strongest earthquake to hit the region in nearly 200 years. Since the epicenter was roughly 10 miles from the country’s capital of Port-au-Prince, countless buildings have collapsed including schools, hotels and local UN headquarters.

For those of you who care about “building back better”, please consider donating to Architecture for Humanity. They understand that design matters and are focused on the reconstruction phase in post disaster situations. Not only do they provide manual labor and support in the building of new earthquake resistant structures, but they also allocate 88% of donations directly to construction and design costs.

To donate now, visit: architectureforhumanity.org

We’ve been buzzing about this for some time, and now it’s official.  To all Italian design lovers like ourselves out there, be prepared to fall in amore…Milan’s Triennale Design Museum, the institution par excellence of Italian design, is opening a space in Manhattan. And not just any space, but in the venue that formerly housed The Museum of Arts & Design, as reported in an article in yesterday’s Crain’s New York website. This location, 40 W 53^rd Street to be particular, boasts over 18,000 square-feet and is located across the street from MoMA.

Plans for the opening are as clever as the location.  The new museum is slated to open in May, just in time for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

The Triennale Design Museum has been a Milan institution for 90 years, and recently, in 2006, opened a Japan outpost. Its much talked about and vanguard exhibitions have included a Frank Gehry exhibit entitled “Since 1997,” “The Obsessions of Italian Design,” an inaugural exhibition at the Milan museum’s new building in 2008, and the current exhibition “Il segno dei designer” (the sign of the designers), a group show of Italian design curated by Gianni Veneziano.

This year’s Winter Market is a two-day event, consisting of two design-forward keynote addresses, “Evolution of Design” and “Process of the Process”.  The well-curated lineup of speakers, panelists and moderators participating in Winter Market includes Sophie Donelson and Julia Noran of editoratlarge.com, Brad Ford of Designtherapy.com, Pamela Jaccarino of Luxe Interiors and Design, and interior designers Eric Cohler and Philip Gorrivan.

Design House 2010 also opens today at the DCOTA. Benefiting 3 South Florida cultural institutions, the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Norton Museum of Art, and Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, the Design House is a 9,000 square-foot model house created within the building of the DCOTA, featuring the visions of 14 top designers in 15 coveted rooms. Interested in taking a look? Design House will remain open until June 11, 2010, giving us Northerners plenty of time to contemplate a South Florida getaway.

What: Winter Market and Design House

Where: Design Center of the Americas, 1855 Griffin Road, Dania Beach, FL

When: January 13-14; January 13 – June 11, 2010

$10 admission for Design House. for more information, click here.

Tonight, head over to the St. Charles of New York showroom for a superbly superficial event…that is, the Sensational Surfacing seminar. Presented by St. Charles of New York, New England Stone, and Brooks Custom, the seminar will discuss exotic marble, concrete, and semiprecious stone. Guests can also avail themselves to sensational wines and hors d’oeurves.

WHAT: Sensational Surfacing

WHEN: Tuesday, January 12, 2010, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm (seminar begins at 6:00 pm)

WHERE: A&D Building, St. Charles of New York Showroom

150 E. 58^th St., 8^th Floor

New York, NY

Please RSVP to reserve a space: kl@stcharlesofnewyork.com or 212.838.2812

Our good friend Susan Harkavy gave us a shout to tell us about this upcoming exhibition produced by WMF and sponsored by Knoll, Inc. opening at the Center for Architecture in mid-February 2010. The exhibition will travel from Gainesville, Florida to New York City, stopping at design schools and other venues everywhere in between. Consisting of large-scale photographs by the renowned photographer Andrew Moore and panels with five case studies including the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau, Germany; the A. Conger Goodyear House in Old Westbury, New York; Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida; the Grosse Pointe Public Library in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan; and the Kent Memorial Library in Suffield, Connecticut, the exhibit illustrates the impact that designers have on preserving landmarks.

For more information about the locations of the exhibit and a brief video of the gallery, click here.

Interior Design is kicking off the near year by sponsoring a retrospective of mid-century design. Cindy Allen will moderate a discussion about American modern furniture from both historical and relevant contexts.  She’s put together a great group of panelists including: Donald Albrecht, Museum of the City of New York Curator of Architecture and Design; Phyllis Ross, author of Gilbert Rohde: Modern Design for Modern Living; Gunnar Birkerts, internationally known architect; and Andy Lin and Larry Weinberg, founders of Lin/Weinberg Gallery: 20^th Century Modern Furnishings. The discussion will be followed by a reception and a presentation of the exhibitions Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future and The Future at Home: American Furniture, 1940-1955, co-curated by Albrecht and Ross.

When: Wednesday, January 13, 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Where: Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103^rd St.

Reservations required. RSVP to larryweinberg@mac.com.

The fifth anniversary edition of Design Miami/ proved to be once again a great success with an overall increase in visitors and sales. Visitors rose by 4.5% from last year with a record of 23,000 attendees. Sales were continuously strong throughout the event, with a high point including the MOSS Gallery’s sale of three of Maarten Baas‘ Grandfather clocks priced at $100,000 a piece. Named Designer of the Year, Maarten Baas’ presented series of older works in his exhibition along with some more newly created pieces in conjunction with vignettes of his inspirations and live actors performing his ‘Real Time Clock’. With the 2009 edition of Design Miami/ just behind us, the extensive range of performances, exhibitions, and installations illustrate that this was its most creative and extensive program yet. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Design Miami/ 2010!

Real Time Grandfather Clock from Maartan Baas