Tailored in Tribeca: A Tribeca Loft Renovation with Murat Bugdaycay
Designer: Murat Bugdaycay
Contractor: Peter Stratigakis
Contractor: Peter Stratigakis
A pair of historic iron-faced buildings captured the attention of two creative visionaries who saw potential for
what the structures could become – a singular address that paid homage to the location and preserved the integrity of
the original architecture.
The couple applied their skills in building creative endeavors (he in the restaurant/nightclub world and she in fashion)
to designing and developing the property, including their own home perched on the top two floors.
Long-time New Yorkers, the two turned to neighborhood friends, including Henrybuilt’s Soho studio, to help realize their vision.
Long-time New Yorkers, the two turned to neighborhood friends, including Henrybuilt’s Soho studio, to help realize their vision.
Befitting the location on the edge of the historic textile and garment districts of Tribeca, exquisite tailoring
was required to ensure the interiors were both precisely calibrated and elegantly dressed. The design version of the
transformative power of putting on a perfect suit.
The design direction was established first.
Because the kitchen occupied a significant portion of the main living space, it needed to function like a utility coat but look like an evening jacket.
"The goal was to make you forget that it was a kitchen," says Julianna Morais, Henrybuilt’s VP of design who worked closely with the designer client. "It was important that it didn’t feel as though you were stepping out of the elevator into a working kitchen."
Because the kitchen occupied a significant portion of the main living space, it needed to function like a utility coat but look like an evening jacket.
"The goal was to make you forget that it was a kitchen," says Julianna Morais, Henrybuilt’s VP of design who worked closely with the designer client. "It was important that it didn’t feel as though you were stepping out of the elevator into a working kitchen."
Like good tailoring, this required not just math (measuring, adding, and subtracting) but also an artful hand. The
kitchen elements were designed to recede into the architecture, feeling less like the sophisticated functioning machine that
it is, and more like an elegant library.
The wall storage elements are quiet and clean. The step-back of the cooktop hood accommodates both powerful ventilation
and a space for a kitchen ‘night light’. Its intentional layering from front to back helps the kitchen tuck into the architecture.
What was originally planned as a large grill for air ventilation was pinned and tucked to create a slim dark line that runs along the top of the kitchen wall. An integral connecting thread.
What was originally planned as a large grill for air ventilation was pinned and tucked to create a slim dark line that runs along the top of the kitchen wall. An integral connecting thread.
Designing, cutting, and shaping to the body of the space and the needs of the clients was the next step. Call it 'the fitting'.
The functional zones needed to fit meticulously and elegantly into the space that is dominated by a two-story open volume. At the center sits a voluminous core that houses the elevator and storage. Sculpture? Machine room? Art gallery? Heart?
All of the above.
The functional zones needed to fit meticulously and elegantly into the space that is dominated by a two-story open volume. At the center sits a voluminous core that houses the elevator and storage. Sculpture? Machine room? Art gallery? Heart?
All of the above.
Henrybuilt’s pivot doors nest naturally and quietly within surrounding panels. Eleven doors are woven in. An artful system.
Alterations were made to offset the double-height volume by creating visual height on the island.
Henrybuilt’s Bar Block was added to the island to help raise the eye upwards and help balance the proportion of the space.
Alterations were made to offset the double-height volume by creating visual height on the island.
Henrybuilt’s Bar Block was added to the island to help raise the eye upwards and help balance the proportion of the space.
A system unto itself, the Bar Block amped up the value of the kitchen island and the room.
It acts as a visual screen to the realities of meal preparation. It provides knee space to guests without cutting into the island storage and singular form. The heirloom-quality materials enhance everything around it.
It acts as a visual screen to the realities of meal preparation. It provides knee space to guests without cutting into the island storage and singular form. The heirloom-quality materials enhance everything around it.
A toolbox disguised as a geometrical form, the Bar Block offers found storage. Spices, knives, other kitchen
necessities hide in the drawers that are flanked by elegantly accessed electrical outlets.
Cutting boards are tucked inside a snug holder, blending into the overall structure, while being easy to access. Their material beauty and craftsmanship enable them to act as an elegant serving tray or a utilitarian board for chopping vegetables.
Cutting boards are tucked inside a snug holder, blending into the overall structure, while being easy to access. Their material beauty and craftsmanship enable them to act as an elegant serving tray or a utilitarian board for chopping vegetables.
THE BAR BLOCK
A system unto itself, Henrybuilt's Bar Block amps up the value not just of the Kitchen Island but also of the room overall by
marrying seamless design with essential components and heirloom-quality materials that enhance everything around it.
An expert tailor selects only the finest fabrics. Material that is beautiful and that wears well.
For this project, the clients chose a classic natural walnut veneer that Henrybuilt sources from regional mills to get just the right color and grain type. Like the thread that is the warp of a fine fabric, the vertical 'plank' style layup is done by hand, requiring a skilled and aesthetically tuned eye. The consistency and quality enabled it to be carried across pieces, cloaking the entire volume in the same fabric.
For this project, the clients chose a classic natural walnut veneer that Henrybuilt sources from regional mills to get just the right color and grain type. Like the thread that is the warp of a fine fabric, the vertical 'plank' style layup is done by hand, requiring a skilled and aesthetically tuned eye. The consistency and quality enabled it to be carried across pieces, cloaking the entire volume in the same fabric.
Every stitch mattered. Every detail counted.
Henrybuilt’s interior organization system is what made the visually quiet kitchen be anything but quiet and passive. Furniture
on the outside. Master chef and organizational expert on the inside.
Organization and integration came hand in hand.
Organization and integration came hand in hand.
The value of a perfect fit.
