XXXI (‘Thirty-One’) is ❶ a mixed-use community space for designers (and others) to exhibit, teach, and discuss self-initiated work; ❷ a shared studio space; ❸ a residency for designers; and ❹ an online (and sometimes physical) store. It purposefully lives outside (or against) the constraints of the city it exists in and traditional commercial practice to ask what design can do when its goal is not money.

Housing European Romanesque and Gothic collections, the building itself sits high on a hill offering far reaching views over the Hudson River and Upper Manhattan. A place to bookmark for after the Spring equinox when you can ramble amongst the fragrant herb gardens of Fort Tryon Park and drink in the air of the season.

The design and photography floor at Barnes & Noble bookstore in Union Square.

Easing in the park, the city facing you and traffic honking its way over the Brooklyn Bridge. Best enjoyed on a late-summer afternoon/night.

This is a great park, from free concerts to summer to the Brooklyn flea markets over the weekend or take the ferry across the river. Rain or shine I never get sick of that view.