Did someone say road trip? In search of America’s next design destinations, AD has journeyed coast- to-coast, checking out the latest hotels, museums, and cultural hot spots. Some of our top places to go will surprise you. Others are perennial favor-ites reenergized by buzzy openings. But whether

in the Rust Belt or on the Pacifi c Coast Highway, these cities all share pride of place. We don’t know about you, but America sure seems great to us. JE

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BIXBY CREEK BRIDGE ON THE BIG SUR COAST OF CALIFORNIA.

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bu� aloReinvigorated by architecture, this postindustrial New York mecca looks to its past to forge a bold future

The Erie Canal made Buffalo one of America’s most vital cities. Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and Henry Hobson Richardson designed important build-ings; Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux added a string of parks. Now, long after the canal’s demise, the city is playing to its strengths. Richardson’s impres-sive 1880 psychiatric hospital has been reborn as Hotel Henry, courtesy of Deborah Berke Partners. (Another portion of the vast complex will soon open as an archi-tecture center.) And it’s the perfect time to visit Wright’s Darwin Martin and George Barton Houses, neighbor-ing Prairie-style residences that have both completed restorations in the past year. Tours begin in the Toshiko Mori–designed visitor center, a gossamer counterpoint to Wright’s heavy masonry. “Architects are naturally drawn to Buffalo for its heritage—but something greater is happening to the city,” says OMA New York’s Shohei Shigematsu, who is overseeing an ongoing expansion to another local treasure, the encyclopedic Albright-Knox Art Gallery . As he’s discovered, the city is exploding with new restaurants and cafés, from Remedy House and Las Puertas in the burgeoning Five Points neigh-

borhood to Craving in suddenly hip North Buffalo. Elsewhere, indus-trial silos have been transformed into a performance venue , a former church as an exhibition space. And galleries like Anna Kaplan Contemporary are fueling the art scene. Reflects Shigematsu: “The care to history and the influx of young talents have spurred a renaissance.” —FRED A. BERNSTEIN

THE ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART GALLERY.

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“Architects are naturally drawn to Bu� alo for its heritage—but something greater is happening to the city.”—SHOHEI SHIGEMATSU OF OMA NEW YORK

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FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S DARWIN MARTIN HOUSE.

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Every December visitors flock to Miami Beach for its annual whirlwind of fairs and festivities. And every year those people leave asking the same question: Why don’t we visit more often? Though this coastal commu-nity can be chaos during Art Basel, it’s a refreshing splash of culture any other weekend, with world-class exhibitions, cutting-edge design, and ultra-luxurious accommodations. Last year, the Bass opened the doors to its updated building—reconfigured by architects David Gauld and Arata Isozaki—while the Institute of Contemporary Art cut the ribbon on its new home, the first U.S. project by Spanish firm Aranguren + Gallegos Arquitectos. Just across the street, finishing touches are being made to the Design District’s Museum Garage, an assemblage of daring façades by a dream team that includes WORKac and J. Mayer H. (What better place to park before shopping at the new Prada and Rick Owens boutiques?) And Annabelle Selldorf is creating a 100,000-square-foot museum for the Rubell Family Collection. Of course, you don’t just come here for enrichment, you come here to unwind. For some pampered bliss, look no further than the year-old Four Seasons at the Surf Club —with rooms by Joseph Dirand and an outpost of famed Positano restaurant Le Sirenuse—or the Faena, an enduring favorite thanks to its glam decor, sublime spa, and mouth-watering asado feasts. Just down the street, hitmaker Alan Faena is slated to unveil his new retail concept, Faena Bazaar, this coming fall. And even more local excitement is yet to come, with Tommy Hilfiger under-taking a dramatic transformation of the Raleigh with the help of Martyn Lawrence Bullard. As the Million Dollar Decorator puts it, “Miami is a city of surprise, style, sexiness, and constant reinvention. The energy is intoxicating.” —SAM COCHRAN

miamiThe design world’s favorite winter-pilgrimage site cements its status as a year-round cultural Eden

INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, MIAMI.

UGO RONDINONE’S INSTALLATION AT

THE BASS MUSEUM EARLIER THIS YEAR .

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START YOUR ENGINESYou’ve mapped your drive—now choose your vehicle. The new high-speed MERCEDES-BENZ SL450 mixes a provocative exterior with high-fashion interior ($88,200; mbusa.com). MASERATI’S 2018 GTC turns heads thanks to its classic Italian styling ($150,340; maserati.com). And this June, the sheer power that is FERRARI’S new PORTOFINO (right) arrives Stateside ($210,783 ; ferrari.com). —NICK MAFI

THE POOL AT THE FAENA HOTEL.

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Last year, when landslides forced the closure of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge to the north and parts of Highway 1 to the south, this fabled stretch of California coast became all but inaccessible, forcing intrepid travelers to arrive on foot or even by air. (The Post Ranch Inn helicoptered in guests, among them Marc Jacobs .) But the bridge reopened this past fall, and the beatnik Shangri-La is back in business. Ventana Big Sur, now an Alila Resort, emerged from a sensitive renovation to its 1970s cedar-clad lodgings, with refreshed guest rooms, gourmet cuisine prepared from an organic garden, and 15 glamping tents tucked among the property’s towering red-woods. Extended dining terraces maximize ocean views, while the new meadow pool offers a modest alternative to the clothing-optional one and Japanese-style baths. And just a short drive down the winding coast, hippie-haven Esalen Institute has transformed its own accommodations and pro-gramming to attract tech entrepreneurs in search of inner peace . But it’s still Big Sur’s rugged scenery that steals the show, drawing discerning tastemakers like Richard Petit of the AD100 firm The Archers. “The spirit of the place is rooted in the free, shared experience of spectacular natural beauty,” remarks the designer, who has been making annual pilgrim-ages for the past two decades. “It would be a shame if Big Sur was reduced to a series of luxe resorts, spa treatments, and curated wine cellars.” That said, treat yourself to a massage. —LAURA ITZKOWITZ

big surPart boho utopia, part aesthete’s delight, the fabled stretch of California coast has bounced back from natural disaster and is better than ever

PUBLIC INTERESTA string of museum openings and expansions promises to have art and architecture lovers crisscrossing the country. In Richmond, Steven Holl just unveiled his new building for the INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART at Virginia Commonwealth University (above).

Come summer, meanwhile, the ICA BOSTON will expand across the harbor. This October , Thomas Phifer will debut his game-changing pavilions at Potomac, Maryland’s, GLENSTONE museum. And that month, the Menil Collection is pre-paring to open its long-awaited DRAWING INSTITUTE in Houston.

THE RECENTLY RENOVATED VENTANA

BIG SUR RESORT.

AN INFINITY POOL AT POST RANCH INN.

ONE OF THE NEW GLAMPING TENTS AT

VENTANA BIG SUR.

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clevelandWith the debut of the Front International triennial for contemporary art, this Rust Belt city shines anew

For certain TV fanatics, the mere mention of Cleveland calls to mind that 30 Rock episode where Liz Lemon visits Ohio and envisions a better life. “We’d all like to flee to the Cleve,” her boss tells her back in New York. And when better than this summer, when the city will inaugurate Front International, a new triennial for contemporary art? On view July 14 to September 30, the extravaganza will activate sites all across town , displaying work by 70-plus artists while spotlighting the city’s architectural history. The Cleveland Public Library’s main branch will welcome a Yinka Shonibare installation of 6,000 books, each bound in wax cloth bearing the name of an American immigrant . Down Superior Avenue, the Italian Renaissance–style Federal Reserve Bank will showcase a 24-channel video piece by Philip Vanderhyden. And Transformer Station, an electrical facility turned exhibition space, will host film screenings. (Other venues include the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art, a Beaux Arts beauty with additions by Marcel Breuer and Rafael Viñoly .) From there, explore Hingetown, an emerging enclave with dynamic dining—Jukebox tav-ern, Saucy Brew Works —and public murals. Or hit up other gems, like West Side Market, an indoor/outdoor food hall, and Marble Room, a surf-and-turf restaurant inside a former bank. “There’s palpable energy in the city,” says Graham Veysey, who jump-started Hingetown by reviving old buildings with his wife, architectural designer Marika Shioiri-Clark . “All kinds of creative people are playing in the sandbox.” —S.C.

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CLEVELAND.

YINKA SHONIBARE’S THE BRITISH LIBRARY (2014).

CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY READING ROOM.

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“We’ve used a very innovative titanium composite—and had lots of fun laser-engraving Louis Vuitton monograms.” —MARC NEWSON

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Austin is no stranger to strangers: Visitors overrun the town during festivals like South by Southwest. But for tourists, the city has become much more than a musical inter-lude, as chic boutique hotels and big-name art arrive at a rapid pace. This past February, the University of Texas debuted Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin, a minimalist temple of sorts with stained-glass windows in rainbow colors and geometric configurations. Pause there to reflect before checking out more of the school’s vast collection, including a new José Parlá mural. “So much is changing in Austin, but the city still has a strong local design sense,” says Liz Lambert, whose hospitality empire, Bunkhouse, recently gave the 1938 Austin Motel a groovy update . “We’re keeping Austin weird.” Next year, she’ll unveil a new property adjacent to the forthcoming Soho House across the bridge from the soon-to-open LINE ATX hotel, whose archi-tect, Michael Hsu, recently debuted the buzzy Fareground food hall. Kelly Wearstler is bringing her PROPER hospitality group nearby, while Bjarke Ingels is designing Austin’s first professional sports stadium. In the meantime, enjoy existing attractions, from design shops like The Renner Project and Supply to cul-tural institutions such as the Charles Moore House and the new Central Library, created by Lone Star State heroes Lake|Flato in collaboration with Shepley Bulfinch. —ELIZABETH FAZZARE

CHECK-IN TIMEAmerica’s best new hotels

aren’t just making history—they’re honoring it by

adapting stately structures into crowd-pleasing

accommodations. The 1926 Wurlitzer Building in

Detroit has been reborn as the SIREN HOTEL courtesy of ASH NYC, which updated the Renaissance Revival tower with custom tile work and

furnishings . Jacques Garcia, meanwhile, has applied his Midas touch to the NOMAD

LOS ANGELES, set inside a 1920s Italianate bank.

And at New York’s FREEHAND, Roman and Williams have updated a 1920s Flatiron

building as budget-friendly rooms, plus see-and-be-

seen bars and restaurants. Other favorites include

Washington, D.C.’s, LINE DC, housed in a neoclassical church, and LAS ALCOBAS

NAPA VALLEY, where Yabu Pushelberg expanded a 1907

farmhouse with modern rooms that overlook a vineyard.

ELLSWORTH KELLY’S CHAPEL-

LIKE AUSTIN AT THE BLANTON

MUSEUM OF ART.

LIZ LAMBERT’S REVITALIZED

AUSTIN MOTEL.

A ROOM AT THE LINE DC HOTEL IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

THE STUDIO BAR AT NEW YORK’S

FREEHAND HOTEL.

austinWorld-class art and a string of hotel openings give this Texas town a whole new rhythm

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