AMERICAN THREAD BUILDING | Crina Arghirescu Architecture

An artist born in Mexico and living in New York, Claudia Doring Baez knew just what to do when she decided to host a party to celebrate her participation at Frieze New York, and to totally reimagine her family home during the six weeks before the event. She knew that her friend, architect and designer Crina Arghirecu Rogard, would be the perfect person to live up to that crazy challenge.

The pair have a history of hunting through antique markets and design fairs, and share a mutual passion for eccentric design pieces. They also share international backgrounds which have shaped their aesthetics and personal tastes - Arghirescu Rogard was born in Romania, educated in Italy at the Architecture Faculty of the Politecnico di Milano, and worked in Paris before settling with her family in New York. Within six weeks, Arghirescu Rogard, whose encyclopedic knowledge of classic and contemporary design is legendary, totally reinvented the space by introducing a whimsical mix of art, textiles and custom contemporary design pieces, infusing a poetic and fresh dialogue between the architecture, the furniture pieces and the objects.

The primary challenge was to establish a dialogue between the old and the new, the strong historical architectural shell of the apartment and a decidedly contemporary new interior. Baez’ grand living room had been the historical ballroom of “The Wool Club”, the gentlemen’s club where the leaders of the fabric industry would gather on the top floor of the iconic “American

Thread Building” in Tribeca, built in 1890 in the Renaissance Revival style. Most original details have been preserved in the apartment, including a stained glass skylight; Renaissance Revival columns and molding; a mosaic floor in the entrance hall; intricate black walnut wall paneling and ceiling moldings, and a large open fireplace in the living room.

Exhibited throughout her home, Baez’ extensive collection of art and objects was another important factor in re-imagining the environment. Artworks by Rose Wylie, Roy Oxlade, Pablo Picasso, Robert Motherwell and Colt Hausman sit alongside a mixture of antique pieces, and everyday objects. Baez’ own work as well as paintings, photographs and sculptures by her mother Lucero Gonzales, her brother Adolfo Doring and her daughter Alexandra Zelman, cover the walls of the kitchen and hallways.

Arghirescu Rogard therefore decided to draw inspiration from some of the art, allowing it to inform her design choices. With its free and bold representation of everyday life and objects, Rose Wylie’s large-scale diptyque hanging behind the dining table was central to the conception of the project. Its color palette and the simplicity and boldness of its style inspired the overall aesthetic of the re-invention. A poetic assemblage of strong pieces that could stand on their own was what was needed to echo the spirit of the art.

Key elements Arghirescu Rogard introduced into the spaces include the “Conversation” chairs by artist Liz Collins, a piece consisting of two chairs made of the same fabric that ties them together like a shawl, an allegorical representation of dialogue, a concept that is at the heart of the project. The custom dining room table, made by the artist Liz Hopkins, is a delicate blue-gray tint carefully selected to echoe and establish a dialogue with the Wiley triptyque. Overall, the soft harmony of blue/greys and yellows provides a soft almost sun bathed backdrop for the boldness of Rose Wylie’s art and the sophistication and whimsicality of the Collins chair Separating the dining room from the living room, a curved sofa was selected, its scale and the playfulness emanating from its anthropomorphic shape. Also, its asymmetrical profile added fluidity to the separation between the two spaces. The sofa was paired with two very different armchairs, a bi-color Franco Albini Fiorenza lounge chair and a white Lympho Contemporary chair by Taras Zheltyshev. The resin custom stackable coffee table by Liz Hopkins, made of cubes that can easily be configured in different ways, have a non industrial look and bring back into the living room the yellow of the large triptyque In the master bedroom, Arghirescu Rogard designed an unusually shaped custom headboard upholstered in a lush, dark green velvet to create a center of gravity for the room whose walls are covered foot to ceiling by her and her mother’s paintings. On one side of the bedroom, a resin and bronze writing desk by Hélène de Saint Lager provides a romantic private writing corner, and a yellow raku and bronze coffee table of Arghirescu Rogard’s own design sits at the foot of the bed.

In only six weeks, Arghirescu Rogard managed to transform the Baez apartment into a poetic contemporary retreat that is audacious and yet warm and familial, in keeping with the owner’s own sense of life, creativity and whimsy.

Photography: Chris Mottalini

Website: https://mottalini.com/