Eero Saarinen Archives | Moss and Fog

60s

The Set Design from Fantastic Four’s Mid Century World

August 18, 2025 60s

The Fantastic Four: First Steps brought to screen a unique design for its alternate New York City, visualizing a vintage-future aesthetic that felt refreshing for the franchise.

Most of the superhero movies made today feel derivative, which makes this visual departure especially welcome.

Kasra Farahani, the award‑winning production designer behind Loki, spearheaded the creation of Earth‑828’s unique look. It’s a retro-futuristic version of 1960s Manhattan.

A retro-futuristic blue car resembling 1960s design, driving down a vintage New York City street, showcasing sleek curves and a whimsical aesthetic. — The retro-futuristic look of the Fantasticar.

Think sleek Eero Saarinen‑style architecture infused with Tomorrowland whimsy. It features vivid colors, futuristic talking robots, and soaring flying cars, but all in the style of the 1960s.

Interior of a modern, curved lounge area with circular seating, featuring a central column and large windows, showcasing natural light.

Farahani set out to make the Fantastic Four’s penthouse feel warm and lived‑in, even though it sits at the top of a sleek skyscraper.

A retro-futuristic penthouse lounge featuring a curved blue sofa, modern coffee tables, and large windows overlooking a city skyline. The room is accented with wood paneling and a central abstract sculpture.

Designers combined cozy mid‑century materials, including wood paneling, flagstone, indoor plants, and a sunken conversation pit.

A crowded indoor space with people dressed in blue outfits, some wearing caps, and others in formal attire, gathered around a central figure. The architecture features large, curved white structures and natural light coming through expansive windows.

A humanoid character in a blue and white outfit and a robotic companion are preparing food in a modern kitchen with red cabinets and bright overhead lighting.

The kitchen balances futuristic gadgetry (a domed barbecue, motorized cake platter) with familiar, homey design cues inspired by the ’64 World’s Fair “Kitchen of Tomorrow.”

An interior view of a modern laboratory space featuring a curved red workstation, surrounded by unique architectural elements and various instruments in a bright environment.

A futuristic flying car soaring over a bustling cityscape with skyscrapers and unusual architectural features under a clear sky.

Overall, the film’s name is reflected in the set design, something that feels rooted in mid-century optimism and sci-fi wonder.

Aerial view of a busy city street, filled with people and vehicles, featuring bright neon signs and billboards.

The overhead shots show an alternate-Manhattan with retro-futuristic cars, helicopters, and more.

A skyline view of a city featuring a tall, modern tower with a unique design beside the water, showcasing a futuristic structure and multiple buildings in the foreground.

Aerial view of a modern city with skyscrapers, featuring a waterfront area with unique architectural structures and green spaces.

Futuristic city skyline featuring modern skyscrapers with unique architectural designs and sleek flying vehicles in the sky.

Images © Copyright 20th Century Studios / Marvel Studios / Disney.

3D

Cars Designed Through the Style of Famous Architects

February 3, 2023 3D

Some of the most famous architects in the world left a lasting impression on our built society. Their contributions to our cities will be remembered for generations.

What if they designed cars, as well as buildings? Would they look like the architect’s famous creations? Would the car embody their trademark style?

We’ve enlisted AI to help us explore the ‘what if?‘. We used the program MidJourney to help visualize what an architect-derived car might look like. It was a fun visual journey, creating images that fit the time period and overall style of the famous architect in question.

Check out the collection below, and let us know if the cars embody the signature style and feel of the architects’ work.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)

Zaha Hadid (1950-2016)

Eero Saarinen (1910-1961)

Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926)

Santiago Calatrava (B. 1951)

Kengo Kuma (B. 1954)

Frank Gehry (B. 1929)

Renzo Piano (B. 1937)

Norman Foster (B. 1935)

Interested in automobiles? Check out our collection of posts, and our sister site, Electric Future for even more.

Architecture

TWA Hotel, A Mid-Century Marvel Inside JFK Opening Soon

February 13, 2019 Architecture

The classic Eero Saarinen TWA terminal at JFK has sat dormant for years, it’s soaring architecture looking more dreary and drooping than its grandeur deserves.

Luckily, other people thought the same thing, and a four year effort to restore and transform the terminal into the TWA Hotel took place. Nearly open for business, the restored architecture looks beautiful, and the 500+ room mid century hotel inside has all the makings of a new classic.

Classy design touches are everywhere within the hotel, from period, mid-century furniture, to throwback uniforms for the staff, to the branded amenities, that look straight out of 1962. We’re thrilled to see this iconic piece of American architecture get reborn in such a clever, fun, and lasting way.

In addition, world renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s brand new Paris Cafe is opening within the dramatic soaring architecture of the terminal. The world class chef is sure to bring new meaning to the idea of ‘airport food’.

Some of the many amenities:

512 ultra-quiet guestrooms with exhilarating views of JFK’s runways and the iconic TWA Flight Center
50,000 square feet of meeting and event space that can host up to 1,600 people
6 restaurants and 8 bars
10,000-square-foot rooftop observation deck with pool
State of the art 10,000-square-foot fitness facility with yoga, spinning and other amenities
Museum devoted to the Jet Age, TWA and the midcentury modern design movement
Classic Solari split-flap message board with authentic original mechanical operation manufactured in Udine, Italy
A drink lounge within a classic decommissioned Starliner airplane

Reservations starting February 14, for a May opening. Rooms will start at $249/night.

Via Curbed:

Architecture

TWA Airport Hotel

October 2, 2017 Architecture

The famous, Eero Saarinen-designed JFK airport terminal has played as backdrops in many movies, and was the face of New York air travel for decades. After closing in 2001, however, the terminal has sat empty, replaced by a much newer, and much more traditional looking terminal. Finally, the classic terminal is being restored and converted into a boutique hotel, with 550 guest rooms. Uncrate has more details on the plans for the TWA Hotel:

The guest rooms will be housed in a new construction in the rear, while the original terminal — which consists of interiors designed by mid-century legends Charles Eames, Raymond Loewy, and Warren Platner — is getting restored back to its former glory. The plans also include eight restaurants, conference and event space, a 10,000 square foot public observation deck, and a museum that will highlight the Jet Age, Trans World Airlines, and Midcentury Modern design.