Latest news with #EeroSaarinen
Vogue
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
#40 NY Profile - Rick Kinsel - President of the Vilcek Foundation
1) How old are you? I am 58 years old—the same age as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, by Eero Saarinen; the same age as the original Whitney Museum of American Art building on Madison Avenue in New York City by Marcel Breuer; and the same age as the first season of the 'Star Trek' television series by Gene Roddenberry and the iconic holiday classic Chuck Jones' animated adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. 2) What did you want to be when you were a child? The first time I was asked this question was for a homework assignment in grade school. I took it very seriously and thought long and hard. I wanted to be a lighthouse keeper. I was so proud of my answer, and when I stood up in class and explained, my classmates all laughed and thought it was a joke. A lighthouse is the beacon at the edge of the world that leads ships to safe harbor. It is a guiding light discerning safety from danger! As a bonus, the keeper gets to live in and take care of an incredible historic building in a scenic location. My third-grade guidance counselor heard this and wanted me in therapy.
Atlantic
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Four Superheroes Who Deserve a Day Off
This was supposed to be the summer superhero movies became fun again. At first, that appeared to be true: Superman, released earlier this month, relaunched DC's previously dour cinematic universe as a brighter and bouncier affair; the film zips from one encounter to the next with sincere aplomb. Now, two weeks later, comes Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps —which, coincidentally or not, seems similarly positioned as an injection of Technicolor fizz into a progressively more leaden franchise. Dispensing with continuity from previous installments, the film is set on a retro-futuristic version of Earth where everything looks as if it were designed by Eero Saarinen. As an effort to breathe new life into a particularly moribund title—there have been four prior takes on these characters, all of them bad — First Steps is essentially successful. What it somehow can't manage to do is have much of a good time in the process. First Steps, directed by Matt Shakman, has several things working in its favor. It's quite handsome to look at, and features an elegant ensemble of actors who are capable of the big, dramatic moments thrown at them. Its action sequences also achieve a true sense of scale, something chintzier Marvel entries often struggle with. But First Steps zooms past the Fantastic Four's origins and, more detrimentally, their odd family dynamic. Instead, it dives headfirst into a portentous, celestial story in which Earth's apocalypse is almost immediately at hand. There's no time for the characters to engage in era-appropriate diversions (such as, perhaps, kicking back with martinis) or match wits with colorfully costumed adversaries. This adventure is all end-of-the-world menace, all the time. The lack of breathing room is striking. After all, these characters come from one of comic books' richest texts: The Fantastic Four are the original Marvel superhero team, created by the legendary writer-illustrator team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The comic kicked off the company's 1960s revival and redefined the medium for an entire generation. Mr. Fantastic, a.k.a. Reed Richards (here played by Pedro Pascal), is the irritable, busy father figure; he's also a genius scientist who can stretch like rubber. (He mostly uses his power in this adaptation to fill many wide chalkboards with math equations.) His wife, Susan Storm, also known as the Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), is able to vanish and throw force fields around everything; her brother, Johnny (Joseph Quinn), is the Human Torch, who can burst into flame and take to the skies. The trio's best pal is Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), a human turned orange, rocky beast known as the Thing. First Steps begins a few years after the foursome's brush with a cosmic radiation storm, which transformed them into superhumans. The crew now keeps New York City safe from costumed villains and subterranean monsters, while enjoying their status as chummy celebrities; they're cheered by teeming audiences holding pennants everywhere they go. Shakman whisks us past all of this information, perhaps assuming that viewers have picked up the gist from past cinematic efforts and wouldn't want to sit through all that backstory again. (Maybe the director was also hell-bent on keeping the run time under two hours—an impulse I do approve of.) But Shakman's endeavor to pick up the pace means the movie loses its grasp of what makes the source material so special: the genuine, sometimes fraught chemistry of this found family. Johnny and Ben are usually depicted as bickering surrogate brothers, the hotheaded youngster and the curmudgeonly elder; Susan is a pragmatic force, with Reed often lost in his own world. In First Steps, however, the characters felt flattened out to me, while all four performances are muted and somewhat excessively grounded. An early scene sees Ben cooking tomato sauce with the group's helper robot, H.E.R.B.I.E., crushing garlic gloves with his gigantic fists 'to add a little bit of zip.' It's a cute moment, but an oddly underplayed one; in scene after scene like this, I kept wondering—where's the extra zip? Instead of playful banter, First Steps serves up deep, emotional conversations about the meaning of parenthood and the heroes' deepest fears. The plot kicks off with the reveal that after years of trying, Susan is pregnant, a joyful realization that, for Reed, quickly turns into worry that their child will also be superpowered. Soon after that, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner)—a shiny interstellar being riding a big surfboard—appears, zooming from the clouds and proclaiming Earth's doom. She heralds Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a skyscraper-size villain from space who cruises around the universe eating planets whole; his arrival immediately plunges the Fantastic Four into a crisis that they spend the rest of the film trying to untangle. The Galactus saga is the most famous in Fantastic Four lore, but it's also a conflict the comic built up to in the 1960s, churning through sillier villains before introducing a more impassive, terrifying force. He's a tough first challenge for this new on-screen team to take on, one that drives Reed into instant misery as he struggles to fathom how to confront an enemy who cannot be bargained with. Pascal is smart casting for the role—he has the right air of sophistication and maturity—but the script engulfs his character in such a dark crisis of confidence that the actor's charisma can't shine through. The same goes for Kirby as the joyless Susan, who impressively handles all the steeliness required of her. Quinn, who charmed me in recent blockbusters such as A Quiet Place: Day One and Gladiator II, feels too tightly wound as Johnny. Moss-Bachrach does quite lovely work as Ben, but the movie is perhaps overly focused on the hardened fella's softer side; it largely ignores the character's more tormented feelings about his physical transformation. First Steps is also shockingly comfortable to go long stretches without big action; the centerpiece is a space mission with shades of Interstellar that is genuinely thrilling, but some members of the team (particularly Mr. Fantastic) get few chances to really show off their superpowers. As surprisingly downbeat as it is, I appreciated the fundamental message of the film, which is set in a more hopeful world. When a crisis arises, Reed and company are actually capable of rallying the world to help save itself. Multiple times in First Steps, Shakman emphasizes the power of a global community, the kind he's clearly longing for in our world. Those are the zippiest ingredients he tosses into the sauce; I just wish he'd allowed the heroes to loosen up.
Vogue
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
#40 NY Profile - Rick Kinsel - Executive Director of the Vilcek Foundation
1) How old are you? I am 58 years old—the same age as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, by Eero Saarinen; the same age as the original Whitney Museum of American Art building on Madison Avenue in New York City by Marcel Breuer; and the same age as the first season of the 'Star Trek' television series by Gene Roddenberry and the iconic holiday classic Chuck Jones' animated adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. 2) What did you want to be when you were a child? The first time I was asked this question was for a homework assignment in grade school. I took it very seriously and thought long and hard. I wanted to be a lighthouse keeper. I was so proud of my answer, and when I stood up in class and explained, my classmates all laughed and thought it was a joke. A lighthouse is the beacon at the edge of the world that leads ships to safe harbor. It is a guiding light discerning safety from danger! As a bonus, the keeper gets to live in and take care of an incredible historic building in a scenic location. My third-grade guidance counselor heard this and wanted me in therapy.
Fast Company
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
8 great design books to read this summer
When I grew up in the '80s and '90s, summer was all about quasi-anarchic, unsupervised free-range child roaming. It was decidedly not about homework, so you may not recall those reading lists teachers used to assign us all that fondly. But I do! (I even once assigned myself a book report for the fun of it—don't ask.) As a book hound who grew up to be a journalist who covers books and authors, I get pitched a lot of them, and more often than not there's a precarious tower of tomes on my desk. So as summer kicks off, it's time to once again get lost in a reading list. Whether you're beach bound or holed up at home, these eight books offer myriad lenses through which to view the past, present, and future of design and the arts—no book report required. Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the US compiled by Andrew Satake Blauvelt (out July 3) Cranbrook alum Charles Eames once said, 'Eventually everything connects: people, ideas, objects.' This book explores those intersections at the school that was essentially ground zero for the mid-century modern movement. Curated by Andrew Blauvelt (director of the Cranbrook Art Museum, which is hosting an exhibition of the same title through September 21), this 464-page tome explores work by the likes of Eero Saarinen and Florence Knoll, as well as women and designers of color who are often overlooked in the history books. Like Dominic Bradbury's Mid-Century Modern Designers, Blauvelt's examination offers a spotlight and reappraisal of these unsung heroes alongside the usual names, and it does so with a great editorial design system notable for its use of color, which extends to the cover, spine, and even those painted edges. Exhibitionist: 1 Journal, 1 Depression, 100 Paintings by Peter Mendelsund Peter Mendelsund is the definition of a polymath: classical pianist turned book cover design extraordinaire, turned author, turned Atlantic creative director . . . But the one thing he never did was paint—until he experienced a severe depression that nearly claimed his life. Exhibitionist is a memoir that might not be the lightest summer read, but it is a testament to the sheer restorative nature of art, and the work that just might have saved one of the best working artists today. 100 Logos: A to Z by Louise Fili (out August 26) This tiny treat features lettering icon Louise Fili's favorite marks from throughout her career, from Ecco Press and Tiffany & Co. to more obscure regional clients—where the work truly surprises and delights, perhaps the result of being untethered from boardrooms and committees. You could flip through the book in about 5 or 10 minutes—but you could also look at this collection of ornate logos for hours, given the artistry and attention to scrupulous detail that went into each one. Ruth Asawa: Retrospective edited by Janet Bishop and Cara Manes If you're only familiar with Ruth Asawa's iconic wire sculptures, you're in for a treat—because for a half-century-plus, the trailblazer was busy making paintings, casts, prints, and more, and it can all be found in this book. In 2020, Chronicle published the insightful biography Everything She Touched, and this volume is a robust, essential companion that goes further down the rabbit hole of Asawa's brilliance. (Moreover, between the recently published Ruth Asawa and the Artist-Mother at Midcentury and the forthcoming Ruth Asawa: The Tamarind Prints, it's a big year for fresh insights into the modernist whose work we might have thought we knew well.) Process by Matthew Seiji Burns, featuring design by Mark Wynne The plot of this novel is straightforward enough (and likely uncomfortably familiar to many who work in Silicon Valley): 'Lucas Adderson is a young man driven by an almost animalistic need to find outsized success creating the next unicorn tech juggernaut. His days are riddled with surreal meetings and strange characters, anxiety, and self-torture. Finally, after years of trying, his goal is within his grasp, but its consummation occurs at a great cost to his humanity, and perhaps everyone else's too.' What is wholly unfamiliar is the design by Wynne and publisher Tune & Fairweather, best known for its gorgeous books exploring the worlds of FromSoftware video games like Elden Ring and Bloodborne. Among Wynne's inspirations were visually interwoven reads like House of Leaves and The Medium is the Massage, and here he immerses readers in the story through experimental typography. The type shape-shifts; it expands and contracts; it fragments; as the main character's mental state breaks down, it does, too. It can be demanding at times—but with that challenge comes immersion, and a curious new reading experience. curated by Philippe Ségalot and Morgane Guillet We're accustomed to seeing self-portraits as curious one-off moments in an artist's show or museum—but to see a collection of some 60 in one place is as obvious as it is remarkable. From Pablo Picasso to Paul Gauguin and Cindy Sherman, this 'intimate journey across art history' ultimately fascinates in not just seeing how an artist distills themselves through their own filter, but in questioning and probing what self-portraiture means at large. While I wouldn't shove this book into a beach bag—it is, after all, a luxe Assouline volume—it very much invites a place for pondering on your coffee table. The Education of a Design Writer by Steven Heller and Molly Heintz (out June 24) I'm not recommending this book because I have an essay inside it—I'm doing so because of all the other people who do, too: Ken Carbone, Chappell Ellison, Jarrett Fuller, Rick Griffith, Karrie Jacobs, Mark Kingsley, Warren Lehrer, Ellen Lupton, Silas Munro, Virginia Postrel, Anne Quito, Angela Riechers, Adrian Shaughnessy, Veronique Vienne, Rob Walker . . . and the list goes on. With 200-plus books under his belt, Steven Heller (who I've edited for a number of years) is perhaps the best-known design writer outside of Philip B. Meggs. So when he pulls together a book on the craft, as he did here with Molly Heintz, the rest of us are wise to listen (or, you know, read—and then write). Ukrainian Modernism by Dmytro Soloviov Full disclosure: I know very little about Ukrainian modernist architecture. But I'm apparently not alone. Per Fuel Publishing, these 'ingenious' buildings have not gotten their due for a variety of factors—'including the stigma of belonging to the Soviet era, corruption, neglect, as well as the ongoing threat of destruction from both unscrupulous developers and war.' So, Soloviov sought to give them their due, with their resilience perhaps a mirror to Ukraine's people at large. Another full disclosure: I have not yet gotten my hands on a copy of this book—but I can't wait to rectify my knowledge when I do. Homework: assigned. The extended deadline for Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech Awards is this Friday, June 27, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
News18
10-06-2025
- Business
- News18
London's Luxury Hotel Penthouse Costs Rs 28 Lakh Per Night; Was Once The US Embassy
Last Updated: A former US Embassy in London's Grosvenor Square is now a lavish all-suite Rosewood hotel opening this September. When celebrated Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen was chosen to design a new US Embassy in London, few could have imagined that decades later, his creation would transform into one of the city's most opulent hotels. Originally built to house all arms of the Embassy under one roof in a manner befitting the classic architecture of Grosvenor Square, the Chancery is about to begin a dazzling new chapter as a Rosewood hotel. A Diplomatic Landmark Reimagined Constructed to accommodate 750 staff across 600 rooms and nine floors—three of them underground—the Saarinen-designed embassy stood as a symbol of modernist power from 1960 until 2017. After the Embassy shifted to Nine Elms in 2018, the question lingered: What next for one of London's most fortified buildings? The answer: a sumptuous reinvention. Come September, The Chancery Rosewood will welcome its first guests, offering a world of refined indulgence where diplomatic decorum once reigned. The stark brutalism of the original structure has been softened with glittering chandeliers, marble finishes, and bespoke interiors worthy of royalty or at least billionaires. A Qatari Vision with Global Flair The ambitious transformation was spearheaded by Qatari Diar, a real estate powerhouse backed by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. Undertaking the complex task of reimagining such a fortified site, they enlisted Rosewood Hotels renowned for their elegant, culture-rich hospitality to helm the property. In a carefully calibrated balance of heritage and modern luxury, Rosewood has preserved several American architectural elements. The building's striking aluminium eagle, created by Polish-American sculptor Theodore Roszak, still crowns the rooftop with its 35-foot wingspan. Statues of Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan, icons of the square's past identity as 'Little America," have been respectfully reinstalled. A Global Design Collaboration The restoration of the building's façade and structure was led by acclaimed British architect Sir David Chipperfield, while the lush interiors both in suites and public spaces bear the unmistakable signature of French interior maestro Joseph Dirand. Inside, The Chancery Rosewood will feature eight world-class dining and drinking venues. Among them: the London debut of Manhattan's beloved Carbone and an upscale Asian concept. A highlight of the property is a lavish underground wellness retreat complete with a 25-metre pool—just one of the many luxuries tucked beneath the surface. A Palace of Suites This isn't just any five-star hotel—it's an all-suite destination. Guests can choose from Junior Suites, Suites, Signature Suites, and ultra-luxurious Houses. The crown jewels of the hotel are the Charles House and Elizabeth House penthouses, grand tributes to British royalty. For those who wish to indulge, a night in one of these expansive penthouses starts at £17,000 (roughly ₹20 lakh), with top-tier rates reaching £24,000 (around ₹28 lakh), subject to seasonal shifts. Even the most modest option—the Junior Suite—begins at a lofty £1,520 per night (₹1.76 lakh), making The Chancery Rosewood a playground for the global elite. Where History Meets Haute Hospitality With its storied past, architectural pedigree, and bold reinvention, The Chancery Rosewood is poised to become one of London's most exclusive addresses. From diplomatic history to decadent luxury, this grand transformation is as much a symbol of modern ambition as it is a tribute to timeless design.
