Nov 30 2006
Sara Arnold, OCV R.A. and partner, is the architect behind the master plan, which transformed a manufacturing building in Tribeca's Landmark District, into three luxury lofts, and a duplex penthouse. In collaboration with SDG for interiors, the architects created spaces that are open and opulent with 12 ft. high floating ceilings, exposed brick and new amenities throughout.
The owners wanted to create spaces that were workable for families as well as single people: "We wanted features of apartment living, without giving up the unique qualities of this one-hundred-year-old loft. New construction doesn't deliver the same look and feel, even when it's marketed as lofts. Here you get the ceiling heights, exposed mechanical, huge, deep spaces. "
The original brick is exposed and restored to preserve the historic city loft feel while highly polished details, such as translucent mosaic tiles and glass doors were added to make the space bright and airy. "The challenge, architecturally, is to bring as much light as possible into the interior of the loft," says Sara Arnold. The polish of the space is accented with high-end amenities, such as stone radiant-heated floors, recessed halogen lighting throughout and opulent bathrooms with spa features. This modern purism is further realized in the open plan and the environmentally friendly Poggenpohl kitchens. Guest and master baths are well appointed with Duravit porcelain fixtures, and Dornbracht fixtures. Recessed marble baseboard and windowsills act as a perfect compliment to the slick durable interiors.
Johan Stylander, well known for his interior design work at prestigious Wall Street law firms, designed the chic interiors. "It was rewarding to collaborate with a gifted interior designer and to use such lush materials in an understated way. I think of Johan is a master of restraint," Sara Arnold said of Stylander. The challenge was to preserve 'historic' aspects, but to overcome the typical challenges of lofts which can tend to read as long and narrow in the extreme. The ceiling is the main player in unifying and brightening the whole. "We put more design time into the ceiling than into the space," Arnold said. Everything imaginable mechanically had to be hidden behind the white surface, which appears harmonious, light, and airy. It is a modern day, and much more modest Boromini tribute. To that end, OCV Architect's Carla Fuquena-Pena and SDG's Brian Hackathorn spent no small number of hours in the field, working with the individual trades, air conditioning, electrical, and sprinkler, to make the elements read as the unified design you see here.
Said Arnold of the magazine editorial; "We are pleased that Stephanie Pfriender chose to use the loft as the backdrop for her recent edgy fashion shoot featured in FLAUNT magazine, No. 77. These photos cause me to look at the space in a new way. As architects we tend to visualize space in the abstract, flat, and without people. It's interesting to see it from a different point of view."