Location: New York, NY, USA
Architects: SheltonMindel Architects, New York
Photography: Michael Moran
Source: SheltonMindel website
Wide, bright, high-ceiling, and spacious: once upon a time it would have been described as “well proportioned”. Today we say duplex penthouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and it is obvious that we are talking of a large-scale two-storey apartment in one of the most exclusive areas of the world. If we add that it is a project by SheltonMindel, known for its luxurious and stylish residences, we have a duplex with an extremely detailed design in its simplicity, where the staircase is the real core of a liveable space.
The apartment, spacious and generous, is designed to highlight the verticality of the space, keeping an ideal continuity between the two floors. The ambience focuses on a sculptural staircase standing out in lightness and visually linking the different functions, thanks to a skillful use of materials.
A central core on two floors completely covered with melamine panels in a warm wooden finish, houses kitchen, bathroom and related technical areas. This ideal “heart” of the house conveys a material continuum with the upper floor staircase balustrade, and hides a living area reserved for the family, while designing the profile of the lower floor ceiling.
The spaces feature a sober elegance, highlighted by the presence of cladding in melamine panels, which accommodate units storage for and ideally connect the different rooms and functions.
Each window enjoys a unique view of Manhattan, like a series of paintings, each different from the other, which are revealed one after the other from one room to the other, adding beauty to the richness of the structure.
