7 minute read
COMMAND EDUCATION
Francesco Secchiaroli
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Zanotta House
An Elevated Experiment in Experiential Design
Located on the quaint Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village, the 5,400 square-foot Zanotta House is an experiential concept. According to Italian industrial design firm Zanotta’s America Sales Director Francesco Secchiaroli, they are creating an experience. “The idea came from realizing that the industry has been presenting itself in the same way for the past few decades or so with no innovation. If you go into a car dealership, they’re going to hand you a key and ask if you want to go for a test drive. What we are doing now is offering a simulation of homes, just like taking the steering wheel of a Ferrari.”
New York studio Tihany Design, which is known for pushing boundaries in both residential and hospitality spaces, created the inaugural design for the home. Taking inspiration from the new ways in which we live our lives due to the pandemic, Tihany Design created a hybrid concept to reflect these new working and living needs and relationships.
This former carriage house, which was built in 1912, is now a part of pop folklore as Taylor Swift lived in the house and even wrote about it in her song entitled Cornelia Street. The Zanotta team, which took over the house just this year, spent almost one year renovating the home which also has a steel frame from a previous renovation which is visible from the outside. It is what’s on the inside, however, that really counts, especially when that inside includes rare artwork and fine furnishings. Those from the architecture and design worlds from around the world are often invited to come and explore this haute home for dinners, events and overnight stays.
With rarely shown Zanotta pieces, plus one of the largest collections of Mr.Brainwash artwork, unique design products by Zanotta’s partners, and one of the only 22 swimming pools in private residences in Manhattan, Zanotta brings a fun flair to each room which has its own character. Since they are an Italian company, they made sure that the dining area would be the focus of the house where everyone can gather. The entryway is also conceptual with a welcoming checker pattern as a reference to their iconic Quaderna desk,while the two main living spaces feel completely different –one makes use of bold color along with a while the space downstairs is softer and smoother.
If you happen to notice the desk in the office, you have exceptionally exquisite taste, as this desk is a masterwork designed by Carlo Mollino. Mollino is perhaps the biggest name in the world of furniture collectors, with most Mollino pieces currently in New York collections. During the pandemic, the Brooklyn Museum of Art sold one of their two Mollino pieces for $6.7 million, making it the most expensive piece ever sold. There is also a living room table by the designer as well as other famous and historically significant furnishings throughout this truly unique house where yes, you can sit on the sofa while you eat. P zanotta.it
Command Education
Helping Students Make the College Admissions Cut
BY JULIE SAGOSKIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY UDO SPREITZENBARTH
HEN WE THINK OF ELITE AMERICAN COLLEGES LIKE HARVARD, Yale or Stanford, academic excellence immediately comes to mind. It’s no secret that admission to top schools requires grades and test scores that are well above average. But in the current era of competitive college admissions, those are only enough to get an applicant’s foot in the door. While a 4.0 and perfect SAT scores could have landed you a spot at Harvard in the 1990s, the admission landscape has evolved significantly since then, and with it, myths and misconceptions about the process have skyrocketed.
Christopher Rim, Founder and CEO of Command Education
So how exactly can a student stand out from the crowd? The answer, according to Christopher Rim, Founder and CEO of boutique college consulting firm Command Education, may not be as straightforward as one hopes. “It’s not just about grades or test scores anymore. Students need to show that they have explored their passions and made a lasting, positive impact on their communities.”
Melody of New York was one such student. She performed well at Trinity School, receiving mostly straight A’s and scoring a 1560 on her SATs. Her main interest, however, was literature. She was passionate about writing and spent time after school tutoring elementary school students in English. Eventually, Melody became aware of the plight of newlyarrived refugees to the U.S., as well as the lack of educational resources available to them. She decided to combine her lifelong love of literature with her desire to aid these refugees but wasn’t sure where to start.
Melody got to work researching how to get connected with refugees in need, and after dozens of cold emails, partnered with a global aid organization that provided her with the contacts necessary to get her project off the ground. She developed her own curriculum and started a book club for refugees aged 13-18, in which she not only helped them strengthen their English language skills, but also introduced them to her favorite childhood novels and stories, from Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree to Homer’s The Odyssey. Eventually, her project’s original NY chapter spread to several chapters across the globe, and Melody became a promising name in refugee advocacy.
What Melody demonstrated to colleges was the critical X factor that so many schools are looking for: impact. She not only excelled at an elite private high school that offered her a plethora of state-of-the-art academic resources, but she also went the extra mile to make real change in her community and create a butterfly effect of activism with her peers. By dedicating so much time and energy to her passion, Melody not only made an impact but also ended up with a college application that made her stand out from the crowd and ultimately gain admission to her dream school, Brown University.
Founded in 2015, Command Education, a
boutique college consulting firm, works with students like Melody to help them craft compelling applications centered on their authentic passions. Ultimately, top schools have their pick of the litter. With most schools having received a record-breaking number of applications last year, they could fill their incoming freshman class several times over with 4.0 GPAs and 1600 SAT scores, says Christopher Rim, Founder and CEO of Command Education. This means that elite colleges these days are looking for students with unique backgrounds or niche interests who are making an impact in their community.
But how exactly can a student authentically build the memorable, compelling profile that schools are looking for? Fortunately for parents, Command Education provides an emotionally intelligent approach to college consulting, centered on not simply improving an applicant’s chances of success in the process, but also helping them build crucial life skills as they explore and develop their passions. Navigating the complexities of the elite college admission process can be stressful to do alone, which is why many parents pay $1,500/ hour to work with Command Education.
“We work like an incubator for teens, providing support and expertise to help students develop their own passion projects, build a meaningful nonprofit, or run their own company. Students learn leadership skills within their community, and this naturally helps them stand out to top schools,” says Rim. “It’s important that this initiative develop the student’s own personal ambition and something they are truly passionate about — that’s why it takes years for something like this to be developed.”
The core focus of any high school student who has ambitious goals for college should be to explore and develop their passions and end high school having made an impact in one of those passions. Command Education’s mentors help students through this process and work with the student to identify and develop those interests. For example, one student’s main passion was poetry. After a few
