Tailored in Tribeca
The Thoughtful Transformation of a Historic Manhattan Loft
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 pays homage to the location and preserves the integrity of the original architecture.
The couple applied their skills in building creative endeavors—he in the restaurant and nightclub world and she in fashion—to designing and developing the property, including their own home, perched on the top two floors.
Longtime New Yorkers, the couple turned to neighborhood friends, including Henrybuilt’s New York team, to help realize their vision.
Longtime New Yorkers, the couple turned to neighborhood friends, including Henrybuilt’s New York team, 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. It was the design equivalent 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 high-functioning machine that it is and more like a sophisticated 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 into the space, 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 into the space, 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. 11 doors are woven in.
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 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 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 easily accessed electrical outlets.
Cutting boards are tucked inside a snug holder, blending into the overall structure while staying easy to access. Their material beauty and craftsmanship enable them to act as a refined serving tray or a utilitarian board for chopping vegetables.
Cutting boards are tucked inside a snug holder, blending into the overall structure while staying easy to access. Their material beauty and craftsmanship enable them to act as a refined serving tray or a utilitarian board for chopping vegetables.
THE BAR BLOCK
Prep. Serve. Do Homework. Hide the Mess.
An expert tailor selects only the finest fabrics—material that is beautiful and wears well.
For this project, the clients chose a classic, natural walnut veneer that Henrybuilt sources from regional mills to get the color and grain type just right. 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 enables 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 the color and grain type just right. 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 enables 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 contributed heavily to making the visually quiet kitchen anything but 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.
