Freeze Frame

When designing sets for the Broadway hit musical Hairspray, the Rockwell Group dazzled with the simplest of materials. "Our vocabulary of layers provided great tools for the lighting designer," says associate in charge Barry Richards. Strings of iridescent acrylic beads were chosen for their ability to absorb and reflect, creating both an inner glow and outward movement. Seven miles of red rubber tubing, normally used to convey industrial liquids, contribute to the loopy visual vibration of the blue-and-red velour "flip" curtain. Even the Formstone wall of the Baltimore Eventorium civic center got a dose of glitter to reference the mica that's sometimes applied to this folksy architectural treatment. "Bright Lights, Big Hair," page 186.—D.S.

Rachael Gray of the architecture firm Work has noticed a funny tendency among visitors to her loft apartment in the Garment District: "Guests don't want to stay in the bedrooms. They ask to sleep in the hallway!" Sleeping in Gray's hallway entails folding a cleverly stashed Murphy bed out of the Corian-clad wall dividing the space into public and private zones. One of the doors that generally hides the bed becomes a combined privacy screen and headboard; a simple hook-and-eye mechanism attaches the bed platform to the base of the door for rigidity. Shelves and lighting are built into the 16-inch-deep Corian wall, but the setup's real attraction may well be the Rear Window-esque view into nearby sweatshops and factories. "Made to Measure," page 164.—A.G.