APARTMENT

How we come to our work in apartment design, the architecture, furniture, and art curation often stems from projects we have previously completed, where we’ve created a sense of intrigue, even if they haven’t yet experienced SPAN’s work. In all there is a modern sensibility, our own sensibility, however our work is not stylistically bound, and so we embrace a collaborative dialogue to interpret our clients’ visions. They want to own the space they live in, with their personal style on display and their needs answered, architecturally. Pictured below, Park Avenue Penthouse, The Apthorp.

By way of example, with the Upper East Side Duplex project, pictured below, located in a modern building from the 80s, the previous owner had moved in and covered up half the windows because there was not enough wall space or traditional room settings for what they had wanted and needed. So, first and foremost, we assessed the internalized rules, finding and peeling the layers away to understand what was special about the space and what could be achieved within it. We found and embraced the wall to wall glass.

In addition to that, it was a duplex and the stair was hidden, almost like going into a closet, climbing the stair and popping out on another floor. This had to be reassessed. That bold statement of the staircase is something that we exploit to its fullest, to bring about a more defined and refined connectivity between the floors through this sculptural connection. The stairs are a vital link in the chain of apartment design.

What we enter into is a wonderful back and forth, teasing out different realities.

There are always several overall ideas so we can demonstrate what the client wants, a version that they perhaps hadn’t considered and then another completely out of the box version that has never even been mentioned, but still fits the bill in a different, dynamic way. If we keep one thing from that out of the box idea it doesn’t matter, but presenting the options means we’ve succeeded as a design team in walking clients through their multiple realities. 

So what does apartment living mean as a design concept? Is it ease of living? Connection to the city? An irreplaceable view or a space to entertain? The desire is often for an apartment, duplex or triplex, that can flex to their needs. Apartments are generally more compact than a free-standing home or townhouse, but this becomes irrelevant when the design meets their agenda.

Striving for a sense of comfort and feeling of being home is central to SPAN’s ethos. 

Bringing the declaration of ‘challenge accepted’ to the fore, our work in the apartment space, be it a single level, duplex or a triplex, is about our connection and interaction with the client. We’re telling stories for a special kind of living, revealing its purpose and its style through this personalized narrative. How do you live and more importantly, how do you want to live in this space?