State University of New York at Fredonia Rockefeller Arts Center

Known for their holistic arroyo to design, Matt Berman and Andrew Kotchen, the founding principals of the New York firm Workshop/APD, transformed a immature family's Greenwich Hamlet apartment into a modernist and light-filled home. Hither, Berman and Kotchen reveal the inspiration and goals behind this loftier-tech project.

ELLE Decor: With its floating staircase and the glass mezzanine that hovers harmoniously over the living area, this flat feels more state-of-the-art than most.

Matt Berman : We're constantly inspired by the digital aspects of our lives today, simply as well by how we can utilize the latest applied science to craft and manipulate materials and forms in our designs. In this projection, nosotros took reward of this in a number of ways, including in our design of the structural elements of the stairway, the vertical library, and the mezzanine. We used structural software to minimize the size of the steel components, which was integral to the success of the installation.

Are at that place other high-tech components here that aren't necessarily visible?

MB: In the master bathroom, we used switch-calorie-free glass for the shower walls—these can create privacy without distracting from the infinite'south elegant, modernistic artful.

Andrew Kotchen: The goal is always to make the engineering invisible, which was the case in this domicile. The lighting and shade systems are from Lutron Homeworks, and everything, including the lighting, shades, speakers, and heating and cooling systems, tin can be controlled through an app-based Savant organisation. We want home automation—shades, glass, lights, music, TV, sound, and more—to be blind, seamless, and intuitive. And of course, these systems are always changing, so they need to be integrated in a style that has minimal impact on the design of the space.

In the apartment, the lighting, shades, speakers, and heating and cooling systems tin can all be controlled through an app-based system from Savant. The living room is centered around a custom sofa from DDC and a decommissioned missile that nearly reaches the 15-foot ceiling. A chaise from KGBL and an ottoman from Jean de Merry form a smaller seating surface area.

William Abranowicz

In such a modernist space, how did you warm up the interiors?

MB: The compages of the dwelling has a clean, modern feel, which is balanced by the curated and collected decor. Each piece of furniture has a shape, textile, texture, and color that complements and softens the architectural elements. In seeking out materials that have a crafted feel—whether they are made or manipulated by manus or by engineering—designs get warmer and more personal and compelling.

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What were some of the more challenging elements that you incorporated into this apartment?

AK: The integration and operation of several big door panels around the kitchen was a real challenge. Nosotros wanted the power to conceal the kitchen infinite, simply we didn't desire the door panels to exist noticeable. The effect is a set up of sliding and hinged planes that are about 15 feet tall and fully integrated into the walls and millwork.

A fix of sliding hinged 15-foot-tall planes are fully integrated into the walls and then that the kitchen can be concealed. The kitchen floors are poured concrete slab, and the counter stools are from Counter Evolution.

William Abranowicz

Back to that gorgeous mezzanine and staircase— what was the inspiration backside them?

AK: The geometry of the mezzanine was intended to create a fluid visual connection between the spaces. The intersecting curves were inspired by the idea of a floating bird'south nest. For the stair design, the goal was to minimize material and form. By creating a series of steel fins across the library and extending the vertical dividers of the bookshelves to form the stair treads and construction of the mezzanine in a higher place, we were able to integrate the construction for the stairs in a uniquely dynamic, streamlined way. Creating a fluid circulation through a New York Urban center apartment can pose unique challenges. In this domicile, we kept to a simple palette of materials that helped to define the transitional areas between rooms. This holistic approach to design has been an attribute of our piece of work that ties all of our projects together.

To integrate the staircase into the space seamlessly, Workshop/APD created a series of steel fins beyond the vertical library and extended the dividers of the bookshelves to form the stair treads and structure of the mezzanine above.

William Abranowicz

What were some of your key goals while designing this space?

MB: The fashion the homeowners and their friends, family, and guests would use and feel the apartment was of course top of mind in the design process. By creating public and private spaces separated by transitional areas, it is both family-friendly and notwithstanding set up for any use, including frequent entertaining.

AK: Our goal was to provide the owners with opportunities to display and curate their stunning drove of books and objets. We also wanted to create a home that flowed seamlessly from one room into another, while embedding the design with a sense of arts and crafts.

Is there anything in particular you learned while designing this apartment that y'all'll put to skilful employ in futurity homes?

AK: Each project serves as a stepping stone for the next one, which is 1 of the things that makes this profession and then rewarding. This flat immune us to report and exam out the structural composition of form in a unique way, which is work we have already carried forward into many of our recent projects.

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Source: https://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/house-interiors/a29113164/state-of-the-art-new-york-apartment/

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