SKOLNICK was retained to completely renovate this apartment, located in
the historic El Dorado building overlooking Central Park and the Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. Beyond the initial experience of beautiful Art
Deco details in the building’s lobby, the apartment itself required extensive
work. SKOLNICK designed the layout to be much more open and less
compartimentalized with the goal of letting in more natural light and
maximizing the park views and prominent waterfront setting.
The opportunity to incorporate the client’s family heirloom Nakashima
floating wall unit, along with large screen-like sliding panels, were also
fundamental inspirations. These elements aligned well with our design
concept to insert natural wood finishes and strong-colored elements into
the plan that would contrast with the existing shell and define some of the
spatial separations in lieu of conventional walls.
Our team was also able to garner final approval of the design from both the
Co-op Board and Building Engineer, including a much-needed electrical
service upgrade and a precedent-setting central air-conditioning system.
