Design of the Interiors and furnishings of Public Spaces including Bars, Restaurants, and Guest Rooms in collaboration with Ian Schrager and Kengo Kuma, who was responsible for the architecture of the building.

The store materials and textures, the proportions and the layering have all being selected to highlight and complement the beautiful craftmanship of the Tod’s products

Grand 14 feet tall window let the sunlight enter the store and bounce off the Italian white travertine floor, while the interior walls are covered in naturally tanned “Vacchetta” leather, (Tod’s signature material). Floating in front of the walls are panels of panels of Pietra Grigia di Vicenza, the same stone used by Palladio for his architecture, which create a textured neutral background for the Tod’s products displayed in front.

Along the windows on 60th street, a long double-sided bookcase in mirror polished stainless steel and leather showcases and juxtaposes ready to wear, shoes and handbags, with narrow screens in carved travertine tiles and leather creating backgrounds in the vitrines: a showcase of meticulous craftsmanship extends the brand's commitment to quality and aesthetic sophistication.

A vast penthouse in the west village, facing the Hudson River.

A private elevator connects it directly to the roof, paved in silver travertine.

This is the second boat in the new oasis 34m series, and it won the award for "best innovation, yachts from 30 to 50 metres" at the World Yacht Trophies 2022, the prestigious awards organized by Yachts France and dedicated to the best motor yachts.

Tod’s Flagship Store - Shanghai Kerry Center

A new flagship store in Shanghai’s Kerry Center is our latest design in our longtime collaboration with the brand.

The façade is composed of extruded metal pieces in various shades recalling the iconic Tod’s leather products. All fixtures and furniture are custom designed.

Partially hidden from the street, located on the second floor of a 19th century building in New York’s Meat Packing District, the AP House is one step up from a sophisticated retail space.

In the setting of a unique apartment, AP House brings together Audemars Piguet’s heritage of craftsmanship, artistry, and technological advancements: part library, part museum, part social meeting area it displays the most comprehensive collection of Audemars Piguet watches that you will be able to find on this part of the ocean and has a staff with unparalleled knowledge to explain every detail of it.

To facilitate this we designed bespoke vitrines, for this AP House only, that can reveal or hide each timepiece at the press of a button. We did this in collaboration with Goppion Technology in Milan, manufacturer of the best display cases for museums, and with L’Observatoire International, true masters of lighting design.

The space also features our custom designed furniture, BKA designed glass pendant lights, hand blown in the Czech Republic by Lasvit, and in the garden our outdoor teak furniture produced by Sutherland Furniture.

© Photos by Eric Laignel

In our latest collaboration with Ian Schrager, we designed the furniture for the public areas of this new entry in the Edition Hotel family.

Architecture by Morris Adjmi Architects.

© Photos by Nikolas Koenig

This restaurant, designed for Andrew Quinn and Cedric Nicaise, formerly of Eleven Madison Park, is located in New York’s Greenwich Village, in the area that was once the northern part of New Amsterdam.

hence the name, The Noortwyck, which is Dutch for “North District”. Working with a classic/timeless color palette: desaturated greens, bone colors, and earthy tones we developed a contemporary yet authentic reimagining of the traditional “gastropub” style, with finishes striking a balance of approachability and style vital to ensure longevity and popularity.

A new gallery space in New York for Pace’s Founder and Chairman Arne Glimcher. Located at the corner of Broadway and Walker Street in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood, the enterprise is named for the address of Pace’s first-ever gallery space, which opened in Boston in 1960.

The building dates back to 1901 and the space used to be a bank, later housing different retails stores. The interior ceiling details were restored to the original state and painted in a dark grey color while the new intervention stands out in its crisp white shape, extending all the way to the ample basement.

As an evolution of the Benetti Oasis DNA the 34M flaunts a sportier and more agile stance that is reflected in the interior arrangement.

As in the larger sister there is a seamless flow between the exterior and the inside, made more evident by the wide glazed surfaces.

While the wood floor in the main and upper deck dialogues with the exterior teak the vertical surfaces are clad in warm light oak panels, given rhythm by vertical solid wood fins.

By moving the dining area on the upper deck sky lounge, the main deck saloon is set up as an extremely comfortable living room with various seating area.

The master suite feels very spacious as master bathroom and master bedroom are uninterruptedly integrated in the same large suite, with the bed floating in the center.

The renovation of an iconic 1950’s era bowling alley into a mixed-use entertainment space including 6 new bowling lanes, a performance stage with a high-end lighting and sound system, 2 bars and a diner.

This iconic Venue is part of the Asbury Hotel development by iStar. The original building, a much-loved landmark of Asbury Park, was upgraded but not really restored with an aim to keep the original character as intact as possible. Any new additions such as bars, bathrooms and the diner were treated as insertions into the untouched existing brick walls of the space.

The roof trusses that had been covered with a dropped ceiling were exposed and they support a fully dynamic light system. The sound system by L’Acoutics is specified at a world class level which will allow any touring act to play an intimate show for approximately 750 people.

The new bowling lanes are “pro” lanes with a specially made pin setting system that utilizes traditional style mechanical pin setting not generally used in contemporary bowling alleys.

The speaker and road case stack wall and bowling ball flag elements were specially commissioned from both local artists and as far afield as Nashville.

© Photos by Nikolas Koenig

New Headquarters for Pace Gallery, located in the Chelsea art district, New York City.

The new eight-story building measures approximately 75,000 square feet, 10,000 of which are outdoor exhibition spaces.

Bonetti/Kozerski’s design features expansive column-free galleries, as well as a unique lighting concept on the second and ground floors—developed in collaboration with lighting designer Arnold Chan—which automatically adjusts the ambient light to complement the hue and vibrancy of the works on view. The ground floor space will also feature a public library showcasing Pace’s extensive collection of more than 10,000-catalogued volumes and 20’ ceilings for rotating exhibitions.

The building fits into the historical Chelsea context but aims to bridge the gap from a traditional art gallery to a more open and accessible model of art display and engagement. The metal-clad structure with a black volcanic stone façade is articulated into a variety of exhibition spaces also including an outdoor gallery that is visually connected to the High Line and surmounted by a suspended double story penthouse gallery.

© Photos by Thomas Loof

A pied-à-terre for an art collector European couple in a tall building in Midtown Manhattan.

The original two-bedroom layout dating from the seventies was completely demolished and reconfigured in a very flexible space that through hidden doors and movable panels can transform a sequence of intimate spaces into a fluid open space.

© Photos by BKA

Bar Blondeau is a French-style bar from chef partners Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber located on the sixth floor of Wythe Hotel, in the heart of Williamsburg.

This renovation is the result of a long collaboration with hotelier André Balazs.

For 15 years we constantly modified this apartment, adapting in real time the space to his evolving lifestyle and experimenting with design solutions and materials that were later applied to his commercial properties.

An open loft, the space has been defined largely by materials; Claro Walnut, wool felt, antique leather, ivory lacquered millwork, glossy black plaster, and linen curtains all work together to define distinct areas within the apartment. The living room and library are designed as a large entertaining space with raised intimate seating areas linked by a continuous platform.

The apartment includes a gym and steam room of Carrara marble which are joined with a two-way mirror—this unites the space while allowing natural light to enter the steam room. Furniture is a combination of custom pieces and antiques sourced at auctions.

© Photos by Luca Pioltelli

Interior Architectural of the Amenities on the 3rd and 4th floors of the new Two Trees development called One South First at the Domino Sugar Factory site in Williamsburg.

The mixed-use project has both residential and commercial tenants; these amenity spaces are used by both and are situated in the podium at the base of the two towers that are linked at their upper stories.

We added cut outs between the floors with a floating connecting stairs in the center and we introduced six big skylights that flood the space with light coming from the big cutout between the residential and the commercial towers.

The perimeter walls of the central hub are clad in a custom Italian ceramic tile that we designed. The tiles were glazed in five shades select shades of green; columns and the ceiling are clad in Afrormosia wood.

Blurring the line between indoors and out are built-in planters in the same terrazzo as the stair platform the terrazzo mix incorporates a green marble aggregate that references the green of the tiles.

© Photos by Luca Pioltelli

The Hotel that started the revitalization of Asbury Park, developed by I Star Company.

A project done in collaboration with Stonehill Taylor and Anda Andrei.

© Photos by Nikolas Koenig

New Aveda store, located in the International Finance Center Mall in Shanghai.

BKA has partnered with Aveda for the design of its global stores. As visioners, – along with the Aveda team's creative direction– we dived into a thorough research/design process to create a new architectural language for the brand that could exhibit the artistry and green chemistry within their story.

Just like Aveda, we understand the process to be as important as the final product. Through the crafting of this vision, we engaged with new technologies like 3D printing, Bio-concrete casting, and the integration of recyclable materials. Custom fixtures such as pedestals, shelves, community table, launch pad, scalp diagnostic pod, and heritage library hold a unique design signature intrinsic to the brand.

In our first collaboration with Benetti, one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious luxury yacht builder, we designed the interiors for OASIS 135: a 41-meter displacement yacht with a fiberglass hull and superstructure, and a layout extending across four decks.

Teaming up with British yacht designers RWD, who designed the structure, we created spaces that aim to convey a sense of calm and are finished with materials that exude quality and will retain their character over time.

A 54 loft-room boutique hotel centered around an expansive pool deck; sand dune garden; spa and lounge, supporting a 100 unit beachside residential condominium tower above. Designed in collaboration with Anda Andrei Design and Handel Architects for Salt Hotels.

Remodeling of a forty-year-old house in Point Dume, Malibu into a comfortable minimalist retreat for iconic record producer Rick Rubin and his family.

© Photos by Martien Mulder

Design of the Interiors and furnishings of all Public Spaces including Bars, restaurants, Night club, Spa and Guest Rooms in collaboration with Ian Schrager and John Pawson, who was responsible for the architecture of the building.

Outdoor furniture collection designed for Sutherland Furniture.

Constructed of solid teak with outdoor fabrics by Perennials.

Available through sutherlandfurniture.com

Conversion of a barn, formerly used as an artist studio, into a living room/screening room for a young family.

The barn is connected to the main house, used as a weekend retreat, through a breezeway.

24 ft. wide doors have been opened on both long sides of the barn and the interior walls have been clad with walnut planks finished with linseed oil. The catwalk that access the second floor of the bookcase is in wax finished steel and leads to a hidden gym room under the roof.

The large fireplace is created with solid slabs of walnut travertine. The furniture is a mix of custom designed pieces and interesting found objects discovered by the clients.

© Photos by Luca Pioltelli

Outdoor dining set designed for Sutherland Furniture.

Constructed of solid teak with a Carrara marble top and outdoor fabrics by Perennials.

Available through sutherlandfurniture.com

Design of the interiors of the public spaces in collaboration with Ian Schrager and his team for the new PUBLIC hotel in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Building and guest rooms by Hertzog & De Meuron

Custom designed finishes and furniture for the lobby, restaurant and bars. We were the design lead for the lobby retail store TRADE and for the PUBLIC ARTS basement nightclub and flexible performance space that features retractable seating for a 100 person screening.

© Photos by Nikolas Koenig

Renovation of two large apartments at the top of a 1929 building, the first Art Deco building on Central Park West.

This project is situated at the floor level in which the building sets back from the street front creating wraparound terraces. The client’s program included entertaining areas, private areas, and service spaces. These areas are not constricted in single rooms but are interlocked into a large expanse of spaces. The service areas in particular flank the living spaces without ever delimiting them.

By continuing them as horizontal cantilevered planes inside the apartment the exterior terraces are enrolled as a main character in the composition.

The palette of materials – travertine, dark stained teak, and Venetian stucco – is natural and neutral but warm and tactile.

Sculptor Stephen Weiss, the late husband of Donna Karan, had a house built on the adjoining property to the couple’s existing compound in East Hampton.

The couple hired us to design and furnish the interior and landscape in the same aesthetic and lifestyle as the other residences and stores they have designed for Donna Karan. The house, used mainly for meditation and yoga, features large sliding windows that open to the decks, gardens, and the sea.

The landscape was designed with relaxation in mind and indulges the calming views of the bay; selected pieces of furniture are placed around the property as if standing inside a large outdoor living room.

The old house has been connected to the new house with an elevated wood walkway that connects the two pool decks through a group of trees.

© Photos by Paul Warchol

A contemporary reinterpretation with an eye on the past for this classic Long Island villa.

The house consists of simple, minimalist spaces where emptiness is preserved as a value because it allows in natural light, emphasized by the opening of new windows. The 'luxury' is not showy, it is subtle, it is quality. This home translates into a calibrated choice of furniture, and international design by the Eames, Mogens Koch, Sergio Rodrigues, Gino Sarfatti, and Hans Wegner. 

© Photos by Max Zambelli

Showroom and offices for New York couturier Ralph Rucci reverse the conventional fashion house floor plan. 

Mr. Rucci's work relies on a meticulous craftsmanship that is quite unique in today's world.  He employs a trusted group of skilled artisans that craft and stitch together the sophisticated creations that he is famous for. 

A glass walled and natural light filled atelier houses them right in the center of the 13,00 square feet space occupied by the headquarters.  Everything is white, including the epoxy floors and the custom tables for drafting, cutting, and sewing.  

A floor to ceiling 60-foot long bookcase displays a collection of books, artifacts, and sculptures that form an evolving inspiration for the collections.  

The bookcase leads to a mirror walled showrooms and to a glassy black volume that houses Mr. Rucci's private office and his assistants.  

A family compound on the private island of Parrot Cay.

A total of six buildings designed in collaboration with Singaporean architect, Cheong Yew Kuan. Two guest houses, one pavilion, one yoga hut and a spa house are constructed in wood and coral stone and are carefully located in a densely vegetated strip of land between a lagoon and the sea.

At the core of the property, a main house was designed as a monolithic stone clad pedestal with an original Balinese 2000sf teak pavilion on the top. Natural linen and local coral stone contrast with hand hewn teak wood furniture.

© Photos by Luca Pioltelli

In 2017 New York Magazine commissioned us, along with leading architects including Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, Foster + Partners, and Raphael Vinoly to speculate on visionary projects for the future of New York City. Here is the text from our ironic proposal:

Robert Moses Revival: The El Bike Lanes

This time though it's about bicycles..

To save pedestrians from the fierce bicycle swarms that run through the city we propose a bicycle highway that will turn the popular "Summer Street" program into a permanent feast for the cyclist.

An elevated track, installed high over the Park Avenue green strip, will connect 72nd street on Central Park all the way down to Governor's Island. City Bikes rental stations will be available along the track at major intersections and will gift the cyclist the joy of continuous riding without stops in the heart of Manhattan.

Renovation of a secluded Pennsylvania country house dating from the mid 1970s.

Perched atop of a hill, clad inside and outside in California red wood, the house has a perfectly south oriented glass facade, pointed to the Appalachian Mountains.

The interior mixes its original custom made furniture with newly designed pieces and antiques.

The dark stain of the exterior helps the house blend into the wooded surroundings.

Bonetti / Kozerski in collaboration with Perkins Eastman Architects created an innovative design for Avenues school.

Avenues, a 15-grade school that serves students from age three through 12th grade, is housed in a 1928 Cass Gilbert designed building adjacent the High Line in Chelsea.

Derived from a number of innovations in other areas, the design combines the best from the fields of technology, ergonomics and environmental design with the experience of top educators and school administrators from around the world.

© Photos by Luca Pioltelli

Located just inside The Brooklyn Museum, The Norm is a purveyor of casual dining. the space is inspired by the museum's maze of secret and mysterious storage spaces. Dining at The Norm affords guests the opportunity to experience the Brooklyn Museum in a entirely new way, giving the sense of being admitted into the cultural institution’s inner sanctum. Art storage crates in the museum’s exclusive colors line the walls of the restaurant which features furniture by the extraordinary Nordic designer, Muuto. Guests are surrounded by a rotating collection of art. From prints that are extensions of visiting exhibitions to unique pieces from the museum’s archives, each element of the space seamlessly complements your experience.

We renovated and expanded a beautiful barn in Columbia County for Virginia Smith and her husband Patrick Robinson.

Renovation of a barn as a summer residence for a family with four children.

The old timber structure was uncovered and smaller rooms have been joined into a vast living room with a floor in bush-hammered Pietra d’Istria stone imported from Italy.

The stone continues seamlessly outside in a new outdoor deck that steps down to a pool clad in black river pebbles. The deck and the barn building are continuously enclosed by a 8-foot base wall built of local fieldstones.

A New Store for Luxury Leather Brand Tod's

Tod's, a brand that since its inception has been very active in the support of the arts is, with the unveiling of the new store in the Miami Design District, strongly reinforcing those ties: a one of a kind boutique that can double, thanks to a system of movable walls, into a unique exhibition space.

The new store features polished concrete floors and a 70 feet long wall clad in Tod's signature natural tanned "Vacchetta" and a series of long silver travertine tables are positioned in increasing heights, ending with a desk that features the special leather hides and finishes that can be selected for ordering a custom Tod's shoe. Next to it and standing as a focal point at the end of the store, a selection of the customizable items is displayed in a 15 feet tall bookshelf built in cerused teak, equipped with a leather detailed library ladder.

Unique to this Miami design district location, the 40 feet tall façade is clad on the upper story with 980 ceramic white tiles designed by Bonetti/Kozerski and custom fabricated in Italy.

© Photos by Luca Pioltelli

A New Store for Luxury Leather Brand Tod's.

The new store features Marmo Grigio Billiemi floors and a niched wall clad in Tod's signature natural tanned "Vacchetta" and a series of long silver travertine tables, ending with a desk that features the special leather hides and finishes that can be selected for ordering a custom Tod's shoe. Standing as a focal point at the end of the store, a selection of the customizable items is displayed in a 15 feet tall bookshelf built in Shou Sugi Ban wood, equipped with a leather detailed library ladder.

© Photos by Richard Cadan

A new Caffè for the Sant Ambroeus brand, located on the ground floor of the Bonetti/Kozerski designed Hanley Building

The new coffee bar features elements inspired by the original Sant Ambroeus restaurant on Madison Avenue, including silver travertine floors and walnut paneled walls. This is paired with walls cladded in fluted custom tiles of Marmo Rosso di Verona, crafted in Italy and installed by Italian artisans.

© Photos by Nicole Franzen

A five-bedroom penthouse at the Ritz-Carton Residences on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor designed for the late Tom Clancy.

Featuring interior decoration by Kelly Behun the renovation combines four existing apartments with great views of the harbor and downtown Baltimore.

Duplex residence in a building from 1930 overlooking Central Park.

The apartment was redesigned by Robert Stern in the early seventies then was altered by Michael Graves in 1978 and finally received a gut renovation for a young family in 1986. This renovation is to fit the apartments to the new needs of the same family after the children moved out. It features a new expanded open living space and dining area that is centered around a new double-sided fireplace with an extended hearth in hand-cut walnut travertine. 

The upper floor has a wide master bedroom with a wood platform along the entire length of the window wall, leading out to a narrow terrace with spectacular views of the park. The house is furnished with custom furniture designed by Architekturkonzeption and Asian antiques juxtaposed against various contemporary pieces.

Concept for a “Barberia” for the legendary Proraso shaving brand, here shown at Salon Beauté fair in Paris.

The renovation of one iconic Upper East Side 1950’s white brick building for leading real estate brand Crescent Heights.

The building, spanning an entire block from 66^th to 67^th Street and facing Third Avenue, has been brought back to its initial and groundbreaking elegance, thanks to a new lobby and garden, new blackened steel casement windows and a new base façade clad in handmade black brick with an iridescent glaze.

The building houses a new Sant Ambroeus Caffè, also designed by Bonetti/Kozerski architecture.

A competition by invitation called for a single family house in a non descriptive brick building part of a former manufacturing area in the west village.

The exterior skin of the building was left untouched, while the interior was removed, creating an entry loggia, a car port and a garden.The last one, raised 5 feet from the street level, had one side excavated as a pool, with portholes giving light to the artist studio directly below.

The residence has a glass clad double height ground floor while the upper floors, which are higher than the existing building, are shielded from the neighbors by an exterior structural structure in pre rusted steel.The back façade opens to the view of a secular oak tree growing in the adjoining brownstones’ back gardens.

Renovation of an industrial space from the 1920’s into a large office for this forward-thinking ad agency.

The firm’s focus on graphic design informed the layout of the sprawling space whose clean lines are animated with arresting art and bold accent colors. Upon entering the main space, the visitor is confronted with a large black volume clad in Bakelite; a free-standing, sculptural object that contains a large conference room, offices, and a pin-up room for client presentations.

The dimensions of the space were fully exploited in the design—the library bookcases span the full height of the 14-foot ceilings, while low custom furnishings suit the office’s long proportions.

© Photos by Matteo Piazza

A single family house in a wooded area outside New York.

A very simple “L“ shaped structure that steps down in the direction of the terrain’s slope but with a lower degree of steepness so that the pool at the end of the house is built above ground.

The exterior and part of ht exterior of the house is clad with charred cedar planks.

A 54-room boutique hotel & residences designed in collaboration with Anda Andrei and Handel Architects.

Bonetti Kozerski’s scope focused on amenities, public spaces, and guestrooms.

It is the latest building in the revitalization of Asbury Park carried on by IStar, after the Asbury Hotel and the Asbury Lanes.

@ Photos by Nikolas Koenig

This pied-a-terre, part of the apartment suites of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at the Time Warner Center in New York was custom fitted for a European couple.

The main feature of the apartment is the view overlooking the Hudson River and New York harbor. A very interesting aspect about the apartment is the floor to ceiling view that it offers of the Hudson River and the New York harbor, a feature that is particularly appealing since it is oriented west and gives its best at the time of the day in which the owners usually entertain their guests. To enhance such view most of the apartment is finished in dark colors, including a black ceiling and succupira wood paneling.

A new 3500 SF gallery space in the new H Queens Gallery building in Central District, Hong Kong. The building is at the center of the rapidly expanding art market in Asia and opens officially during Art Basel Hong Kong 2018.

Conceived of as a flexible and convertible space the gallery can be configured differently to either include or exclude natural light. A concrete floor links the exhibition spaces of smooth white plaster walls and ceilings.

The Warren Tricomi salon is a luxury high end hair salon spread over three levels in the recently renovated Plaza Hotel.

The middle level is the reception area, finished on all surfaces with custom fluted travertine stone walls and floor with a monolithic stone desk in the centre.
Black granite floor slabs define the cut and color areas on the upper level with an open ceiling above and theatrical lighting.

These sleek and textured surfaces contrast irreverently with a “tongue in cheek” re-creation of some of the Plaza’s iconic elements.

© Photos by Luca Pioltelli

A two bedroom pied-a-terre in a new construction building in Soho.

Materials and colors were chosen to highlight the exceptional views and simultaneously create a warmer background for an environment dominated by the energizing presence of the New York sky.

Design of an office for a hospitality company in a late 19th century brick building originally designed as a printing factory.

The space still retains a lot of the original features: arched terracotta ceilings, cast iron columns and the big multi pane wood windows. The new forms and the new materials that we inserted have a quiet tongue in check dialogue with them.

© Photos by Luca Pioltelli

The main spaces all have several windows as the apartment is on the corner, but common to these sorts of reused industrial spaces the windows were not designed with residential use in mind. Therefore, the perimeter is unified with a layer of translucent linen curtains with soft down-lighting against a dark painted background that simplify and accentuate the windows with key views.

A comfortable screening area with dark fabric walls is carved out of the main living space and offers wall space for the display of the owner’s collection of guitars. A custom made media center hides all but the essential equipment for screening movies and playing video games too.

Passing a new custom chefs’ kitchen in bleached oak are the more private spaces of the loft. These include a master suite with a similar soft treatment of glowing linen curtains and a custom designed built in desk. Off this master bedroom is a large bathroom clad in walnut travertine that incorporates a steam shower and a soaking tub. The all stone powder room off the living room is also detailed in a very clean way but utilizes a white limestone with a special grooved texture with a custom made solid and smooth marble limestone sink.

Renovation of an existing 42 story rental apartment building into New York’s first Luxury Spa condominium.

The project is unique in that a full service spa of 6000 SF is available to all residents as well as a very spacious gym with a basketball court, a climbing wall, and an Olympic sized swimming pool are all adjacent to a 10,000 SF private garden.

The apartments were all designed to reflect living in an urban spa utilizing natural materials selections, considered lighting and appealing public spaces.

This new development draws attention from the street with a wide and deeply cantilevered bronze awning that casts a warm glow on the city sidewalk.

The design concept was distilled from an analysis of the Tod’s product and brand: its affirmation of Leather, Luxury and Quality.

 An analysis of existing Tod’s stores in terms of customer function and merchandising informed the simple plan of this space. Taking advantage of the exceptional corner location the front part of the store stands tall but not imposing engaging with the street with full height unobstructed windows.

The backdrop of this space is a large leather clad box, which contains areas for display of shoes and handbags in a calmer more intimate shopping environment.

Smooth Travertine floors contrast with the rough texture of tall plastered columns from which cantilevered display vitrines in chrome steel and glass display small leather items.

These offices, overlooking Madison Square Park, are the Headquarters for Avenues World School, whose first campus opened along the Highline in Chelsea.

We worked closely with Avenues’ CEO Chris Whittle to define the character and functionality of the space. The brief asked for an office that would represent the underlying philosophy of the school.

The space is left largely open with windows on four sides of the rectangular layout. It is organized by a long wall that runs east to west which has glazed openings in it for the conference rooms and observation rooms. The westerly end of the wall ends at the open "bullpen" office area while to the east it acts as the perimeter of the presentation, conference and observation rooms of varying sizes.

The palette of materials is similar to the one we are using for the Avenues school which will set the school apart from others in this category of educational institutions.

Continuous sheer white curtains at the perimeter reduce glare but maximize the views. To the side of the two blocks of conference rooms and observation rooms is a 10 foot wide video wall that plays informational videos about the Avenues school.

Reading a book, watching a movie or listening to music is increasingly enjoyed today through the use of a handheld tablet. 

We noticed that there is nothing specifically designed for this; the users are forced to adapt themselves to existing furniture typologies designed for non-contemporary uses.

The LL2 Lounger addresses those needs in a way that is subtly incorporated into the design; from the integrated footrest, to raise the knees on which the tablet is often propped; to the curve of the lounger against the user’s arms, as the elbows must be supported when holding the tablet. Though the stitching and detail design is inspired by automotive upholstery (the Lamborghini Miura’s seats were one of the references), the piece sits comfortably in any interior environment. Rechargeable Bluetooth speakers are concealed in the adjustable headrest and are paired with the tablet, thus music and movies can be enjoyed in effortless high fidelity.

Launching in a limited edition, the piece is the first commercially available through Architekturkonzeption, though the firm regularly designs custom pieces for its clients. The LL2 Lounger was exhibited in New York during the 2011 ICFF in conjunction with New York Magazine and Audi.

In the Milk Studios Building in the Meat Packing district in New York continuous windows overlook the High Line park and the Hudson River.

The showroom space is a very large open area, the quintessential New York loft, with polished concrete floors, artisan plastered walls and two big volumes covered in natural “vacchetta” leather facing each other. The central zone ends with a walnut travertine raised platform that puts the visitor at the level of the windows. One side of the platform is flanked by a white calacatta marble bar and a sophisticated display kitchen in walnut travertine.

The Tod’s administrative offices, behind the showroom is marked by low walls of high gloss lacquer cabinets with black American walnut desks. Along the perimeter a glass wall and floor to ceilings walnut doors enclose the executive offices.

© Photos by Paul Warchol

Design of Acria events at the Stephen Weiss studio in Manhattan.

A two floors penthouse in a very interesting stone clad townhouse in Tribeca.

The apartment is full of light, with skylights and two terraces at the top level.

Wood floors, wood panels, fabric wrapped walls and ceramic surfaces are the main elements of this project.

The Ford Models Inc is a modeling agency founded in 1946 by Eileen and Jerry Ford. The company has grown into an immensely successful business model, run for the last 10 years by Eileen’s daughter Katie. We were asked to design new headquarters that embodied a new corporate image and to improve their functionality and efficiency. The choice of the new location, a 15,000 square foot full floor in a historical building in the Flat Iron district, gave us the opportunity to start with a blank slate and to tailor the spaces to the needs of their organization.

We studied their daily operation closely and found a work scheme that is typical of modeling agencies. Groups of six to eight bookers sit in front of their computers on a round table, while each one must have visual contact with the others and with the related model cards (usually 5”x 8” pictures) while talking on the phone with clients and with models. The groups correspond to model divisions and the number of bookers can vary in relation to the type of division and to the market. Some groups need to have proximity, some don’t in order to preclude the exclusivity of certain divisions.

Thus our starting point became the design of a booker table that would become the “tatami” module for the design of the office. We studied how much space was necessary for each booker, what the most comfortable position was, and organized them on two sides of long rectangular tables. We clad the tables with black Bakelite, a material that is associated with luxury and utility (and a color that hides part of the work objects on the table) without being particularly expensive.

Then we created a system to display the cards: floating see-through walnut screens suspended with aircraft wires from the ceiling that holds the cards and separates the tables. Next to the tables and the cardholders, we created various “pods”: small rooms with no doors and open ceilings that can contain all of the ancillary functions that usually create a mess on the working area, such as fax machines, copiers and printers, and space for quick informal meetings. We painted these pods with a dark color on the outside and a light bright color inside to make them more inviting.

Then we created a central core: an entry, reception and big hang-out room that can be used for waiting or for their weekly “open call” sessions when every aspiring model can show up for an audition. We decided to highlight this core since it is a destination for all the various areas of the office and together with the client we choose a bright red upholstery fabric that was glued directly to the walls. At one side of this core, we placed the top model division, on the other side the commercial divisions. We studied the possible walking path of every employee and we created diagrams that overlapped them in order to see if there were to be any areas of congestions. When we found them, we widened those passages and we created alternative routes.

From every work station, there are always a choice of multiple paths to reach your points of destination (for ex. the administrative offices, the entrance, the bathroom or the pantry) but one of the paths is wider and more pleasant because of the proximity to natural light, while the others are more narrow and will possibly encourage less traffic. The purpose is to direct the flux of the office pedestrian movement through a particular axis, while also providing employees some choice about how to reach their destination. We found that this makes the working experience more enjoyable. All of this together created an “image” for Ford: an image that was not conceived out of possible abstract reference images but was generated directly by their functional and operational needs.

Design and creation of a one night event for the DKNY brand during fashion week in Milan.

Illuminated railway tracks led the guests to the entrance of the gigantic glass and concrete structure still in use for repair and storage of the tram cars running in the center of Milan.

The evening included a fashion show, a concert of the band The Rapture, a visual presentation on a seamless 35 meters screen and performances by David Visan and Kris Bones.

Design of an event for the 125th anniversary of the Levi’s brand, held in the Coney Island Luna Park.