It is perhaps one of the most enduring of New York City apartment dreams: the opportunity to turn raw, unformed, loft-like space into a dream residence. Such a chance recalls the days when SOHO was a cluster of old mills and factories, converted-very illegally-into living space, complete with pilfered and/or renegade water and power.

 

Though his project of turning similar industrial space in the Majestic Apartments on 115 Central Park West into a shining duplex was completely on the up-and-up, architect and interior designer Scott Ageloff and his partner Anne Korman still had such fundamental concerns as finding water and power to consider when they set about creating this 6,000-square-foot gem.

 

Ageloff is senior vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at the New York School of Interior Design, and divides his time between work at the School and running his own interior architecture and design firm of Ageloff & Associates. Korman is also a licensed interior designer, a faculty member at the School and principal of Korman, Inc. We spent some time discussing the Majestic project with Scott, who gave us some insights into its form, function, and fancy.

 

Industry: What did this space consist of before you began work?

Scott Ageloff: The owner had space in the Majestic for a number of years before we arrived. When the building was originally built, the top three floors of both towers were mechanical space...storage and elevator equipment etc. Our clients purchased the majority of the first level of that space from the co-op,  and developed it as a residential space. Some years later, when she got in touch with us, she had arranged to purchase some additional space on the second level of the mechanical floors. She had been living there for 10 or 15 years, and what she had was interesting, but required some updating.

 

Industry: To what end...?

SA: What we did was basically duplex it. We added the second level, which is somewhat smaller than the first, and also set about renovating certain areas within the apartment. We redid the lighting downstairs, completely  redesigned the kitchen, redesigned the master bath, and then inserted the staircase to join the upper and lower floors. We also did a host of repair work and modifications while expanding the living space, which ultimately included some roof space converted to a pretty expansive terrace. As former mechanical space, there were a lot of hurdles to jump over. There were no services...no domestic water or heating or electrical, so we had to bring up all these basic services up to a standard level. We also installed a dumbwaiter to help facilitate what she wanted to do with the apartment. From a technical point of view, it wasn't your typical renovation.

 

Industry: A dumbwaiter? That's certainly a blast-from-the-past add on...

SA: [Laughs] It is, but in this instance it had a very practical function. The lower floor [3,500 sq. ft.] has a dining space, a living space, a small guest bedroom and a kitchen. The upper level [2,500 sq. ft.] had a number of uses. Our client represents an international roster of artists, and often hosts visiting artists in her residence, so this second level served as a sort of guest quarters for visiting artists, sometimes as a summer bedroom for the residents, and occasionally a party and exhibition space. The upper level has a small pantry, and the dumbwaiter connects it to the new kitchen we put in downstairs.

 

Industry: How would you describe the design?

SA: I would describe it as sort of a Bauhaus, modern aesthetic. Very minimal, and not at all intended to make something smaller look bigger-as it's quite a big space already-but a very strict modernist approach to the interior, with a view towards a client who would often be displaying significant works of art, as the apartment functions as a gallery space as well.

 

Industry: Are the built-ins such as the platform bed a way to preserve your vision...akin, say, to the way Frank Lloyd Wright used to incorporate furniture into his architecture?

SA: While on the one hand the architecture is very pristine, and there are some furnishings that are fitted in, including the bed...and the sectional sofa is located in a very specific way to complement the shape of the space including the display shelf that is recessed on the wall above it. On the other hand, it reveals a kind of joy in contrasts: for instance, the very exuberant decorative mirror in the bathroom. Of course, things included as contrast need to be selected with a real eye and shouldn't be chosen randomly, but-carefully selected-a contrast between the rigor of the architectural backdrop and something gloriously unexpected can be quite wonderful.

 

The New York School of Interior Design

 

Founded in 1916 by Sherrill Whiton and chartered in 1924 by the New York State Board of Regents, the New York School of Interior Design (170 East 70th St.) has been preparing aspiring interior designers for nearly one hundred years.

 

NYSID is one among only a handful of fully-accredited colleges in the United States dedicated solely to the interior design profession, and the only such institution in the New York City metropolitan area.

 

The college's undergraduate degree programs combine professional courses, design history, and the liberal arts, and offers two undergraduate degree programs: the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design (BFA) and the Associate in Applied Science in Interior Design (AAS). A one year, nondegree certificate program in Basic Interior Design is also offered. Its BFA and MFA programs are ranked among the top 15 programs in the United States (DesignIntelligence, 2008), and it is one of only two colleges with this recognition in the city.

 

NYSID's post-professional master of fine arts (MFA) in interior design is a full-time 60-credit program for those who have undergraduate degrees in architecture, interior design, or closely related fields. The program focuses on advanced studio and academic research in history, theory and methods as they relate to an interdisciplinary approach to interiors and design.

 

The school employs 94 faculty members and lecturers. Among the many influential figures who have lectured at the college over the years are Michael Graves, Hugh Hardy, James Stewart Polshek, Katie Ridder, Victoria Hagan, Thomas Jayne, Vicente Wolf, and Samuel Botera.