Friday, December 27, 2013

Starchitects, interior designers collaborate on luxury condos

From left: Interior of 71 Laight Street, 520 West 28th Street and the interior of 135 East 79th Street



The practice ofand a well-known interior designer to craft luxury condominium projects -- a new approach only 10 years ago -- is now an essential component of successful marketing in New York City.




"If you look at the most high-profile, high-priced projects, you will see that everyone has a named architect or a named interior designer, and often both," Susan de Fran a, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, told the New York Times.



Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron is credited with a chunk of the success of Alexico Group and Hines' 56 Leonard in Tribeca. Zaha Hadid's attachment to Related Companies' is drawing eyeballs and checkbooks. And Robert A.M. Stern's Superior Ink in the West Village and drew bigger price tags than their neighbors, thanks in part to his cachet.



Such big names can cost developers 30 to 40 percent more and tack an additional 10 to 20 percent in construction costs, but the return comes in the sale prices.



"It is difficult to quantify with an exact measure, but I would say there is a 30 to 50 percent premium if a project is completed by a starchitect," de Fran a said.



And while the pre-crash days featured starchitects working on building exteriors, the newer approach involves a collaboration between the architect and the designer on interior and exterior design.



For example, marketing materials at the Sterling Mason at 71 Laight Street noted both the husband-and-wife interior design team Gachot and architect Morris Adjmi. William Sofield, who designed fashion boutiques for Guffi, Yves Saint Laurent and Harry Winston, tackled both the .-- Julie Strickland
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