Take a Bite of Our Apple
Now, presuming that you are not just an occasional reader of Interior Design, leafing through pages in a waiting room, you may have been wondering about my selection of a pool for the cover of back-to-back issues. (Interior Design Homes, out a few weeks ago, featured an indoor pool at a 1950’s house, and this rooftop one is at a hotel.) Those who know me personally may not be surprised at all, however, because I’m a bit pool-obsessed, a thingy going on with me since living by the water at the ripe old age of 2. You can, however, safely take me out of this picture, so to speak, and focus directly on the image. I don’t mean the pool itself, although it happens to be at one of the grooviest hotels on the planet, the 1 Hotel in Brooklyn Bridge Park by INC, and we’ll invite you right in, shortly. The story is all in the background, as is often the case. I refer to the glorious skyline, that man-made landscape of sharp peaks and deep gorges. Yes, it is September, and this is the annual New York issue.
This is my 17th issue, if you’ve been counting, with New York as the protagonist. As stories go, though, this is truly one that never gets old. Hall of Fame member Matteo Thun said it best when visiting, citing the “genius loci.” What it ultimately embodies is the polar opposite of golden digital ghettos. The city is a super-analog experience of vertiginous contrasts in volumes, colors, sounds, and flavors, the perfect cauldron for cooking up any design endeavor. For proof, just examine our portfolio of NYCxDesign Awards winners, and note the astounding diversity, ranging from SOM’s mammoth public-safety center to Gensler’s downtown-cool Cadillac House. We gave that roundup the rambunctious title “Design Capital of the Universe.” But it’s a thesis we’d like to submit in all seriousness.
Follow Cindy Allen on Instagram @thecindygram.
