The challenge of this project that consisted of renovating and combining two dilapidated apartments into one expansive home for a married couple with grown children is not readily apparent. This is because the ultimate outcome was an expansive art and book filled two-bedroom apartment facing Central Park. All views turned outward toward nature during the day and inward toward art during the evening.
Along with creating a home for serious collectors, we were also asked to address a series of unique programmatic and personal needs of our clients. Stricken with multiple sclerosis that went in and out of remission, one of our clients was periodically physically restricted. Her variable needs required that the spaces be open when she was moving through the apartment on her scooter and closed when she required privacy. to accommodate the situation, we created a loft-like home where all the public rooms and the master bedroom flowed graciously into one another. When needed, large wooden or shattered glass pocket doors could close off any of these rooms.
We looked at this project as an opportunity to generate an aesthetic response to the unique issues that were posed. The shape and scale of the large curved white oak cabinet that spanned the length of the apartment were a clear reaction to the nature of the movement of the bodies within, whether they moved on foot or wheels.
