Curating The Bryant

27. June 2019

Photo courtesy of Standard Arts

David Chipperfield Architects' The Bryant is nearing completion across the street from Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan. A corner apartment on the 24th floor of the condo tower is the temporary setting for art and furnishings laid out by Standard Arts. The curated interior is not your typical model unit.

Like many Chipperfield buildings, The Bryant has an unrelenting grid that is enlivened by subtle yet rich architectural details. One detail evident from below is the modern Juliet balconies spread across the south facade. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

The lobby walls are covered with Nero Portoro, a black marble from Italy. The marble frames an opening that residents pass through on their way to the elevators and their apartments upstairs. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

With dark corridors in the lobby and on the apartment floors, entering the curated unit on the 24th floor is to move from a space of darkness to one of light. There I encounter artworks by G.T. Pellizzi and Anne Deleporte, while the herringbone wood floor leads to the corner living space. (Photo courtesy of Standard Arts)

The open-plan living space may echo other luxury apartments in NYC, but the colorful furnishings by Objects of Common Interest play off the minimal, gallery-like interiors by Chipperfield that are one of a kind. (Photo courtesy of Standard Arts)

The master bedroom is on the other side of the opening along the outside wall, where the stone grid from the exterior continues inside as terrazzo columns and flooring. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

The handle for the full-height, sliding pocket door between the living room and bedroom resembles a miniature I-beam with a "J" profile. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

Free of a traditional bedroom furnishings, the master bedroom is yet another setting for art, in this case by G.T. Pellizzi, Anne Deleporte, Ana Lucia Cano, and Gustavo Prado. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

Though smaller than some of his installations, the mirrored piece by Gustavo Prado reflects the art and architecture in intriguing ways. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

The curved bench by Objects of Common Interests "turns the corner" at this far end of the apartment and enables people to either sit and talk to each other or look out the window. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

The terrazzo and glass exterior wall, here seen looking back toward the living space, is unlike any other apartment building in NYC. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

The comfortable cushion, also designed by Objects of Common Interest, looks at home in this corner overlooking Bryant Park. (Photo courtesy of Standard Arts)

More furnishings by Objects of Common Interest lead to the second bedroom at the other end of the apartment. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

Here, in the second bedroom, is a painting by G.T. Pellizzi, more "furniture" by Objects of Common Interest, and a "Reflection" piece by Sei Smith. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)

Smith's piece casts an almost nuclear green glow across the plaster and terrazzo in this corner of the apartment. No lighting is involved; it's simply a painted green surface facing the wall, casting reflected light across the wall surfaces. Like the gallery-like model unit, things are not what they seem. (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)