High above Park Avenue South, this 6,000 sq ft penthouse apartment on the top floor of a new residential block was designed by Søren Rose Studio for a Swiss-American couple who use it as their base when they visit New York. Asked to ‘make us a magnum opus’ and given an extremely elastic budget, the designers describe the resulting project as ‘a journey into bespoke craftsmanship.’
The drama begins at the heavyweight front door built by Tyler Hays at BDDW, which has a forbidding exterior of blackened brass but is lined inside with tactile Cognac-leather panels – it’s opened with custom keys that the owners can wear (if they wish) as pieces of jewellery.
Immediately inside, the hallway is dominated by a book-matched Verdi Alpi marble wall that rises through two storeys to the rooftop swimming pool. If this element looks familiar, that’s because it’s the same marble that Mies van der Rohe used for his legendary Barcelona Pavilion, which Søren Rose Studio sourced from the original quarry in the Alps.
The hallway leads to the expansive living-dining area on one side, with the study and master bedroom on the other. The whole apartment is flooded with light from ranks of windows, and the pale colour palette gives it a cool Scandinavian feel – though perhaps that’s not surprising given studio founder Søren Rose’s Danish origins.
All the crisply detailed carpentry was handmade in Copenhagen (millwork by Københavns Møbelsnedkeri), where the studio has its second office, and features clever details such as the shoehorn hidden in the hallway bench and the ladder integrated into the study bookshelves. Perhaps the cutest touch, however, is the tiny ‘weed’ sculpture by Tony Matelli growing from the wall below the stairs – a visual joke between the studio and the owners about the five painstaking years it took to complete the project.
The dining room features a bespoke Seagram table designed by the studio, with Hans J. Wegner chairs and chandelier by Lindsey Adelman. The living area floors are solid oak floors from Danish Dinesen and the kitchen island is designed by Antonio Citterio for Archlinea
The hallway and curved staircase leading up to the rooftop pool
The 45 slabs of bookmatched Verde Alpi marble wall stretch all the way to the rooftop
Flexform sofa, Arne Jacobsen egg chair and PK22 lounge chairs designed by Poul Kjærholm from Fritz Hansen in rustic leather
The rooftop features Bisazza tiles, Roman Travertine roof pavers and Statuario marble. Outdoor furniture piece are from the discontinued Aspen collection designed by Søren Rose Studio for Restoration Hardware in 2012
The bedroom featuring bespoke millwork and the flagline chair is the PP225 By Hans J. Wegner from SuiteNYC
The bathroom features Statuario marble sourced in Italy, millwork handcrafted in Copenhagen and appliances by Vola and Boffi
Mezzanine office features Swivel Chair by Hans J. Wegner produced by PP Møbler, and the desk lamp is the “Model 548” design by Gino Sarfatti by Astep from Matter in NYC
INFORMATION
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the British capital this week
-
Doshi Retreat at the Vitra Campus is both a ‘first’ and a ‘last’ for the great Balkrishna DoshiDoshi Retreat opens at the Vitra campus, honouring the Indian modernist’s enduring legacy and joining the Swiss design company’s existing, fascinating collection of pavilions, displays and gardens
-
Issey Miyake’s shape-shifting A/W 2025 collection transforms the paper bag into something you can wear‘Can anything be considered a garment, as long as it’s on the body?’ says creative director Satoshi Kondo of the art-infused collection, which sees the everyday reimagined
-
Michael Graves’ house in Princeton is the postmodernist gem you didn’t know you could visitThe Michael Graves house – the American postmodernist architect’s own New Jersey home – is possible to visit, but little known; we take a tour and explore its legacy
-
Explore Tom Kundig’s unusual houses, from studios on wheels to cabins slotted into bouldersThe American architect’s entire residential portfolio is the subject of a comprehensive new book, ‘Tom Kundig: Complete Houses’
-
Ballman Khaplova creates a light-filled artist’s studio in upstate New YorkThis modest artist’s studio provides a creative with an atelier and office in the grounds of an old farmhouse, embedding her practice in the surrounding landscape
-
The most important works of modernist landscape architecture in the USModernist landscapes quite literally grew alongside the modern architecture movement. Field specialist and advocate Charles A. Birnbaum takes us on a tour of some of the finest examples
-
Jeanne Gang’s single malt whisky decanter offers a balance ‘between utility and beauty’The architect’s whisky decanter, 'Artistry in Oak', brings a sculptural dimension to Gordon & MacPhail's single malt
-
An idyllic slice of midcentury design, the 1954 Norton House has gone on the marketNorton House in Pasadena, carefully crafted around its sloping site by Buff, Straub & Hensman, embodies the Californian ideal of the suburban modern house embedded within a private landscape
-
Herzog & de Meuron and Piet Oudolf unveil Calder Gardens in PhiladelphiaThe new cultural landmark presents Alexander Calder’s work in dialogue with nature and architecture, alongside the release of Jacques Herzog’s 'Sketches & Notes'. Ellie Stathaki interviews Herzog about the project.
-
Meet Studio Zewde, the Harlem practice that's creating landscapes 'rooted in cultural narratives, ecology and memory'Ahead of a string of prestigious project openings, we check in with firm founder Sara Zewde
