Herzog & de Meuron has broken ground on the former Whitney building’s Sotheby’s transformation.
Herzog & de Meuron has begun renovating Marcel Breuer’s former Whitney Museum building to serve as Sotheby’s New York headquarters, set to open in November. The project preserves key Brutalist features, including bluestone floors, bush-hammered concrete walls, and domed lights, while adapting the interiors for auction operations with reconfigured sight lines, a new freight elevator, and updated mechanical systems. Public spaces will expand across four floors, with art displays, a Roman and Williams-designed restaurant, and enhanced lighting that highlights the building’s distinctive inverted ziggurat form. The move positions Sotheby’s closer to Madison Avenue’s cultural circuit while reinvigorating one of the city’s most recognizable architectural landmarks.
A.I. startup Perplexity has made an unsolicited bid of $34.5 billion to buy Chrome.
Perplexity, a San Francisco-based A.I. startup, has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, offering nearly twice its own estimated $18 billion valuation. The move comes as a federal judge considers whether to order Google to sell Chrome as part of an antitrust remedy for illegally monopolizing the search market. Perplexity says it has secured full financial backing and would keep Google as Chrome’s default search engine while maintaining the open-source Chromium project. Analysts view a forced sale as unlikely, but the bid signals to the court that a potential buyer is ready if such a remedy is imposed.
Miami International Airport will soon host a new private terminal in its historic Pan Am building.
Miami International Airport will soon reopen its historic 1963 Pan Am building as a luxury private terminal operated by PS, formerly Private Suite. The restored space will combine Jet Set glamour with modern amenities, offering private TSA and customs lanes, personal suites, an outdoor courtyard, spa services, and dedicated transportation to aircraft. The terminal will feature two tiers of access: The Salon, a semi-private lounge with gourmet meals and shared services, and the fully private Personal Suite with tailored staff, chef-prepared meals, and exclusive leisure spaces. The project, honoring the building’s midcentury modern architecture and Pan Am heritage, is expected to be complete by spring 2026.
An Apple-1 is among the 200 collectibles featured in an upcoming auction of early Apple items.
RR Auction will soon host “Steve Jobs and the Apple Revolution,” a sale featuring roughly 200 lots from the formative years of Apple and Silicon Valley. The highlight is a fully restored, operational 1977 Apple-1 computer, signed by co-founder Steve Wozniak and early employee Daniel Kottke, originally sold in Rochester, NY, and later exported to Germany. The auction also includes rare items such as an Apple Lisa with dual ‘Twiggy’ drives, a factory-sealed first-generation iPhone, a prototype iPod Classic, and Altair 8800 computers, showcasing the evolution of personal computing. Collectors can explore both pivotal hardware releases and related ephemera, from original software to signed cheques from Apple’s early team.
Lawyers are weighing in on legalities surrounding Labubu collecting and artist collabs.
Lawyers are examining the legal landscape surrounding the collecting of Labubu figures and collaborations with artists. They caution that while collectors may treat Labubu as an appreciating asset, its value is subject to viral trends, and proper appraisal and documentation are recommended for estate planning. In artist-brand collaborations, contracts typically determine whether copyright is assigned to the brand or whether the artist retains rights while granting necessary licenses. Copyright registration protects Labubu’s design, and unauthorized derivative works—including altered versions or online photos of customized dolls—can infringe the creator’s exclusive rights.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Alhambra necklaces are suddenly all over Major League Baseball.
For 29 years, these wood-hulled Italian speed boats have been a dying breed.
No one really seems to know how blue chip airport art commissions come together.
Ever thought about penning an ode to…bodega ramps?
