Andre Kikoski Reorients NYC Apartment to Showcase Panoramic Views
When architect Andre Kikoski’s client bought this 32nd-floor apartment it was oriented inwards, its too-good-to-be-true panoramic skyline views, which included the Empire State building, obscured by poorly placed millwork and air conditioning units. Since other apartments in the condominium conversion suffered from the same design deficiencies, sales in the building had stalled and the project had gone into receivership. Kikoski was brought in to save his client’s investment by capitalizing on the views within a modest budget. Using a few simple but powerful architectural moves, he reorganized the awkward plan to showcase the cityscape and, along with it, favorite pieces from the client’s art collection.
A quirky-cool glass-box corner shower has vistas all the way down the island to One World Trade Center. (Privacy isn’t an issue as the surrounding towers are in historic neighborhoods with strict height caps.) The living area offers dramatic views of one of the clock faces on the 1909 Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower. Sculptural forms handcrafted in Burmese teak, statuary bronze, and Brazilian marble, together with cove lighting and wide-plank European oak flooring, form a refined vocabulary.
But the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Having toured the apartment and taken note of its successful redesign, an investor rescued the beleaguered project and transformed half the unoccupied units based on Kikoski’s modifications. Now apartments are being snapped up; Kikoski and his client have helped turn an empty building into a vibrant residential hub.
Design Principal: Andre Kikoski. Project Team: Adam Darter; Brian Lewis. General Contractor: Certified of NY. Lighting Consultant: Tillotson Design Associates. Contributors: Amuneal Manufacturing Corp.; Woodcraft Design.
