This duplex
apartment, in the iconic 1931 Century building on Central Park West, celebrates
the Art Deco opulence characterizing one of the most recognizable multi-family
twin-towers of New York. As with other
MPA projects that have used the power of their location as a key asset, realizing
value out of the unique character of their sites, this relatively small unit
sets up a controlled sequence of spaces displaying a significant collection of
porcelains and paintings, which MPA collaborated to curate and install in a
series of site-specific displays.
From the
entry vestibule, shielded by a fully custom multi-leaf screen facing an
arrangement of three Rosenthal porcelains, an Eileen Gray “Satellite” mirror,
and a 1940’s small table by Eliel Saarinen, the occupants can descend into the
living room, whose bay window opens up onto the Central Park and the Midtown
skyline.
Alternatively,
a bending stair leads to the original bedroom, which has been transformed into
three independent sleeping alcoves designed to accommodate the owner and two
guests in total privacy. Converted from
a walk-in closet and hallway, these additional compact sleeping chambers borrow
characteristics from the rail car and the ship’s cabin, two typically
convertible spaces, celebrating the owners’ lifestyle of long-distance
travels. The master bedroom, set just
above the tree line, absorbs a full view of the skyline across the Park, whose
formal qualities are mirrored and abstracted in the custom millwork that
divides the space. The unit therefore
acquires the quality of a unique live-in private gallery, tailored to
Manhattan’s hyper-dense metropolitan living.
A few years
after renovation, the apartment, art, and furnishings were sold intact by
Sothebys’ Premiere Real Estate, in a testament to the unique vision uniting the
space so thoroughly with the identity of its historic building, and custom-fit
collection.
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