New York Design Week 2008 is here, and let’s not beat around the bush: possibly more fun than ICFF is BKLYN Designs. Yes, some might need to point out that they’ve misspelled the name of their city, but looking beyond this you are guaranteed a good time at this event. What is the event, you ask?

BKLYN DESIGNS™ is New York’s hottest exhibition of designers and manufacturers of contemporary furnishings, lighting, and accessories made and/or designed in Brooklyn, all handpicked by a jury of editors from leading design and shelter magazines. Founded in 2003, this not-to-be-missed tradeshow has doubled its attendance in just five years, and has grown to include a diverse array of satellite exhibits and demonstrations, panel discussions, and keynote speakers.

But why should you go? One word: fun. Brooklyn is full of fresh talent. It’s a bit like Manhattan used to be twenty years ago in that it is bursting with young designers clambering for creative ecstasy. Manhattan is still fun of course, but it’s calculated fun. I love Manhattan, to be sure, but we all know experimenters in design can’t afford to practice their craft in a city where 300 square feet might cost you a few G’s each month.

"THE HL23 tower, planned for a site on 23rd Street in Chelsea, is the kind of commission Neil Denari has being waiting for his entire working life. Mr. Denari, a Los Angeles architect who once ran the Southern California Institute of Architecture, has labored on the profession’s periphery for decades. But because of a recent demand for name-brand residential architecture in New York, he is finally getting a chance to test his ideas in the real world. "

Skyline - Residential Buildings - New York - Architecture - New York Times