RH Guesthouse opens in New York, the founder of Patagonia donates his $3 billion company, and Bon Appetit names the 50 best restaurants in the U.S. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Patagonia founder donates company to fight climate change
Yvon Chouinard; photo by Campbell Brewer
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who has long been a champion of climate change activism and an outspoken critic of wealth hoarding, has announced he is donating the entirety of his company which he founded in 1973 in Ventura, California. Patagonia, which is valued at approximately $3 billion, will be transferred to a trust and a nonprofit to manage its revenue, and any profits will be donated to help fight climate change, NPR reports.
Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants in America
View this post on Instagram
Bon Appetit has released its annual list of the 50 best new restaurants in America, organized by region rather than ranked outright. While New York unsurprisingly tops the list with the most entries (eight), the roundup covers nearly every area of the country from Kansas City, Missouri to Charlotte, North Carolina and Portland, Oregon. As Bon Appetit’s restaurant editor, Elazar Sontag says, “If you’re spending money to eat out, nothing is more worthwhile than a trip to one of these 50 restaurants.”
RH opens luxurious lodging concept in New York
Over the past year, design brand RH has been increasing its gravitas as a lifestyle player, first with the launch of RH One, a private charter jet, and the 127-foot RH Three yacht, renovated by Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen. Now it’s introducing RH Guesthouse New York, a 10-guestroom hotel in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. Flush with amenities, guests will be able to lounge at the rooftop infinity pool or dine at the luxurious 32-seat Champagne and Caviar Bar, which will be stocked with “some of the world’s finest champagnes” according to RH chairman and CEO Gary Friedman. Read more about the property here.
Kuwait unveils plans for self-contained smart city
Rendering courtesy of URB
Kuwait just unveiled a proposal for XZero City, an entirely self-sufficient smart city designed to promote the health and well-being of its residents while nurturing biodiversity. Designed by URB, the nearly 4,000-acre development will house 100,000 residents and be car-free, allowing people to walk, bike, or take golf carts. According to ArchDaily, the economy will be circular, with farms, community gardens, biodomes, and aquaponics, allowing residents to actively engage with their food sources. “The landscape is the social glue to the entire city, which will enable a vibrant neighborhood while connecting residents to all amenities within minutes,” says Baharash Bagherian, CEO of URB.
MoMA auctioning Picasso and Matisse paintings to buy NFTs
Photo courtesy of vacant – stock.adobe.com
A recent article from Hypebeast details how the Museum of Modern Art is looking to enter the NFT space. To do so, it is auctioning off a collection of iconic artworks long lent to the museum by the William S. Paley Foundation—including Pablo Picasso’s “Boy Leading a Horse,” and “Guitar on a Table” and Matisse’s “Woman with a Veil,”—through Sotheby’s, with sales expected to generate somewhere between $70 and $100 million. MoMA is the latest in a slew of brands and companies looking to expand their footprint in the digital world through NFTs, with some, like citizenM and Aloft, going even further with entries into the metaverse. See here for more.
