Top architects creating luxe homes with a single design vision

Its been 10 years since the arrival of Richard Meiers twin glass towers on the West Villages Perry Street whose iconic architecture and celebrity residents helped the project achieve record pricing. Yet while the bold-named buyers were certainly newsworthy, the towers also came with an undeniable downside: The apartments concrete, open-plan interiors required ample time, money and effort to make livable despite their original seven-figure price tags.

But that was then.

Today, instead of delivering multimillion-dollar units raw, the more recent wave of architecturally significant luxury developments Annabelle Selldorfs 10 Bond St., Steven Harris 7 Harrison, 56 Leonard by Herzog & de Meuron, and Singaporean architect/developer Soo K. Chans Soori High Line, among them are coming to market ready for occupancy.

What truly makes these properties, along with other notable newcomers in Manhattan and Miami, stand out from the upmarket crowd are their unusual design bona fides. Unlike the Meier towers (where the starchitect simply handled the exterior) or at the forthcoming billionaire buildings 432 Park Ave. and One57 which rely on a name-brand architect for the outside and top-tier interior designer for within these new developments feature a single stellar designer tackling the inside and out. And this means both the exteriors and interiors are thoughtfully and equally conceived by a sole talent and vision.

The aesthetic value of this inside/out approach is clear but so too is its ability to increase a projects bottom line. The use of a well-regarded architect from the exterior of the building to the interior of the apartment has the potential to add a premium to the projects value, says Jonathan Miller, president of leading real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel. By providing such continuity, it tends to raise the bar and places the project at or near the top of the food chain.

For architects, the appeal of this type of design and development approach is obvious: Finally they have a chance to create a great building from tip to toe sometimes even from the ground up. Theres always a disconnect when there are several designers on one project, says Nancy Ruddy, principal of CetraRuddy, a firm long known for offering architectural and interior design services. When you do both [elements], you can manipulate the exterior to maximize the interior.

Living space inside Walker Tower.Photo: Thomas Loof

In Ruddys case, her firm was tasked with both the exterior renovations and interior innovations of Chelseas famed 1929 Art Deco Walker Tower. We did view studies throughout every angle of the building, so we could place rooms with respect to sunrise and sunset, explains Ruddy of her approach to Walker Tower. That enabled us to create magical apartments. Magical and profitable. Walker Towers nearly 6,000-square-foot penthouse commanded one of the highest prices for a downtown residential unit with the completion of an all-cash deal of $50.9 million this past January.

CetraRuddy has also given the inside/out treatment to smaller-scale projects, such as the former garage at 12 E. 13th St., now home to eight luxury condos. The 5,700-square-foot triplex penthouse with two terraces is crowned by a glass structure and runs $30.5 million. We formed the glass top around the floor plan, which is a kind of architecture that wouldnt exist if there had been two designers, says Ruddy. And in doing so, they were able to meld the exteriors to fit with the design inside.

Beyond securing record prices, this approach to new luxury developments is becoming a crucial marketing tool. Properties with interiors and exteriors by the same architect are seen differently by buyers, especially when the architect is globally recognized, says Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of The Corcoran Group. It helps with marketability, and more importantly, it can create an exceptional product. When one designer has touched every aspect of a building, from the doorknobs to the faade to its silhouette on the skyline, a home feels as if its been designed from the inside out. And like Miller, Liebman also sees this philosophy boosting the bottom line up to 25 percent when executed at its highest form.

Go here to read the rest:
Top architects creating luxe homes with a single design vision