Across the street from BKSK’s widely commended 25 Bond, a new modern landmark is taking shape. What was a long-dormant 14-story superstructure originally intended to be a hotel is being remade into a more contextually sensitive and art-inspired residential loft building. In a neighborhood with a deep artistic legacy, the building reveals art and architecture in tandem. Fly Mosca, a 13-foot-long sculpture created by Federico Uribe, and made of salvaged jet skis and boats will be mounted on a wall near the roof, while the lobby features an installation of cascading gold crowns by Roy Nachum.
This building-as-art concept continues inside, where BKSK led the interior design of the building’s six exclusive residences. Dwellings are composed of serene, gallery-like spaces, designed specifically to protect and display over-sized pieces of art. An airy sculptural staircase is suspended within the double-height main room. Kitchens are disguised as a volume within a volume, and secondary spaces, such as vestibules and powder rooms, are carved from the building’s core and rendered as inky-black volumes, heightening the contrast between inside and out.
