When it comes to the architecture and interior design of a space, people likely think of its four walls, lined with art and windows that give the space its character and structure. People don’t often spend time looking up—until now, that is. A new trend in residential interior design has seen the utilization of the ceiling as a vital factor in the overall feel of a home. Tying in both art and function, architects and designers work together in the construction of a space by creating something complete and uniquely dynamic. One such location is the West Village’s newly developed 90 Morton Street—a former printing warehouse turned state-of-the-art luxury condominium.
The turn-of-the-century building is iconic for its deep roots in the West Village. It’s easy to envision the space’s rich history, but architect Asaf Gottesman and interior designer Marc Turkel of Leroy Street Studio maintain the perfect balance of industrialism and modernity. With expansive concrete ceiling beam spaces up to 12 feet tall, originally designed for heavy loads, the building’s muscular structure enables the designers to preserve the space’s authentic past, while using it as influence for a more contemporary look.
While the structure of the building falls into the hands of the architect, typically Leroy Street Studio is brought in after development to begin work on renovations and design. With 90 Morton, however, Turkel worked on the condominium project directly with the developer to turn the space into something special. “Our design celebrates the grit and integrity of the building’s industrial heritage, exposing its significant heft. We developed a palette of sympathetic contrasts: raw and refined, rough and polished, warm and adamantine elements, old and new, industrial and modern,” says Turkel. These contrasts work to create a balance of old and new, allowing homeowners to relish in the building’s charming history without relinquishing the desire for a more contemporary atmosphere. This has had an affect on all areas of the space, like in the kitchens, which Turkel created using “blackened steel and walnut to create a substantial yet refined space.”
With this look, derived from “real, natural elements and a deep understanding and abiding appreciation of authentic materials and expressive structure,” as Turkel puts it, 90 Morton Street achieves the perfect level of understated luxury. This is certainly attained in the structural character of the concrete ceilings, but also in the buildings vast windows, designed to bring in the optimal amount of natural daylight.
“We chose to express the building’s massive construction at window openings, creating uniquely sculpted, curved window openings that create a wonderful play of light and express the building’s heft,” Turkel says.
90 Morton isn’t the only space that’s hoping on the trend of ceiling space utilization. Buildings all throughout the country are making ceilings an integral part of their design: Manhattan’s 15 Jay Street uses high ceilings with stunning details like wooden fixtures in the penthouse kitchen, Hell’s Kitchen’s 525 West 52nd Street filled its second floor terrace ceiling with a wall of plants, and most ambitiously, Miami’s Brickell City Centre features a steel and glass elevated trellis that hovers over the retail center, protecting from inclement weather, capturing the sea breeze to regular air flow, and collecting rainwater for reuse. The possibilities are endless with optimizing ceilings, changing the way we create a dynamic space just like the designers at 90 Morton have done.
The West Village lifestyle has always been iconic and in-demand for its unparalleled charm and history. Now, with 35 residences in varying sizes of two to five bedrooms throughout the 12 floors, 90 Morton will offer city-dwellers the opportunity to make a home of this rich urban space in its uniquely modern industrial design. There’s plenty to look out to through the windows, onto the bustling, cobble-stone streets and historic buildings of the West Village, but 90 Morton homeowners will likely spend much time of their time looking up.
For more information, please visit 90mortonst.com.
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