EAST 78TH STREET

These clients approached us with two contiguous brownstones, looking for a gut renovation and a façade reconstruction to combine the two. However, the closer we analyzed the structures, it became clearer that it would be best to replace the two with a new townhouse built from the ground up. The district was not landmarked. Both brownstones were built by a developer in the late 19th century and renovated many times. They lost most of their original architectural integrity. To create a fresh canvas, we razed both buildings, dug 30 feet below grade to establish the foundation and basement level, and built a seven story structure, about 40 feet wide and 100 feet deep.

Formally inspired by the Beaux-Arts work of Delano & Aldrich, the townhouse showcases exquisite materials and craftsmanship. The central staircase was sculpted from Carrara marble blocks hand-picked from the mountains by the Italian riviera. Some blocks came from quarries used by Michelangelo and DaVinci, since Roman antiquity. The rosewood library was fabricated by specialty Swiss artisans with unparalleled attention to detail. Our team flew out to review the work before shipping it back to New York for installation.

This home is entirely couture. Everything from the subterranean 60-foot lap pool to the rooftop basketball court was specially designed and fabricated for our clients. The bricks on the façade were made in the client's hometown and the bond specifically designed for this application. As a nod to their cultural heritage, we constructed the stone elements of the façade from Jerusalem Gold, a limestone quarried in Palestine and cut in Israel, before being returned to Palestine and finished by both Palestinian and Israeli craftsmen working side by side.

The resulting architecture, interior and exterior, speaks to successes in design, engineering, craftsmanship, and international relations. It was a privilege to work on a project where we had the freedom to design a completely couture environment and to infuse every corner with meaning.

Completed in 2022