MIDTOWN EAST – NYC
High-Rise Duplex Apartment
The challenge posed by this 4000 square foot duplex near the United Nations, in one of a pair of towers built by architect Wallace Harrison in 1966, is that its exterior glass walls epitomize modernity, while its apartment interiors are organized into more traditional rooms. The building, once inhabited by the great decorator Billy Baldwin, treads an odd ground between the radiant utopia represented by the U.N. complex and the old-world gentility of nearby Beekman Place.
When client Caroline Hirsch, proprietress of Caroline’s Comedy Club, acquired the duplex apartment on a very high floor, with its incomparable natural light and views, we had to invent a language of architectural detail which would respect the modernity of the building’s skin while creating a greater sense of texture and material richness within the rooms, which, as Hirsch remarked, were “like a blank canvas,” devoid of ornamentation. Our strategy was inspired by looking at a certain early Cubist Picasso painting which evinced architectural clarity yet had a warm, rich palette.
We shifted interior walls and partitions to better correspond to the building’s mullion grid, reinstating and clarifying the classical layout of the public rooms and kitchen on the lower floor, bedrooms above. Then we introduced eight-foot mahogany doors with thick frames and custom nickel hardware; and in the library, oak paneling against which Modernist works of art are hung. The palette, muted, is calibrated from white to ivory to beige to taupe to brown to shades of blue. The 20th century furniture forms a quietly elegant counterpoint to Hirsch’s ambitious art collection, which takes pride of place.
The living room is a tour de force of understatement, a sumptuous composition of palest greys, silvery blue tones and creams, accented by early-to-mid-century French and Scandinavian ceramics. The armchairs are from Holly Hunt, and the sofa is upholstered in a rich velvet by Gretchen Bellinger.
At the foot of the dramatically curving staircase, carpeted in velvety cut pile, a massive torso by Rodin signals the superlative array of modern art collected by Hirsch.
In the entry, a mirror above the ebonized console presents an alluring reflection of the winding staircase. On the console, an eclectic selection of small fine and decorative art works includes an Antique Greek head and a 20th century glass lamp.
In the living room, a bronze torso by Enzo Piazzotta tops an American mahogany center table. A gilded x-framed stool adds a grand geometric note.
A 1955 painting by Joan Mitchell in a gilded frame hangs above the mantelpiece.
Art Deco ceramics, and glass in tones of deep chocolate and burnt orange, decorate an ebonized console.
In the dining room, 1930s Jules Leleu chairs circle a custom oval table. The French forties bronze chandelier complements a Max Ernst figure, also in bronze; the painting is Ross Bleckner’s Flow and Return (2001).
A sparkling view of the United Nations–one of many spectacular views in this duplex–enlivens a quiet workspace with desk and chairs.
Works by Franz Kline, Giacometti and Lipschitz hang against a wall paneled in golden oak. The sofa is upholstered in Clarence House velvet.
A highly polished library table is accompanied by a round-seated Biedermeier chair and a biomorphic 1950s table lamp.
The master bedroom is a subtle, luxurious expanse of neutrals: palest biscuit and cream tones. The sweeping curtains are in fabric by Rogers & Goffigon; the bed linens by Frette, Hirsch’s linens of choice.
Jaunty red and white striped linens adorn a guest bedroom, along with quiet American antiques and 20th century ceramics.