Piero Lissoni, one of the world’s most celebrated designers, renowned for his furniture and interiors, has been commissioned to design his first New York luxury tower at 45 Park Place in Tribeca. The 50-residence features an exclusive collection of one to four bedroom contemporary homes with ultra-modern design and finishes. The amenities, also designed by Piero, include a spacious double-height lobby and serenity garden; a luxurious 50-foot indoor pool and spa; a residents’ club; fitness center; yoga and barre studio; and a children’s playroom.
45 Park Place is being developed by leading New York-based real estate investor and developer, Soha properties, under the creative direction of Sharif El-Gamal. Architect Jean Nouvel will design the building’s ‘serenity garden,’ along with the muslim cultural center that will eventually rise next to the skyscraper. While Lissoni is responsible for the interiors, Michael Abboud of SOMA architects has designed the building’s sleek, stepped exterior.
Designboom visited the sales gallery of 45 Park Place, complete with a simulation of panoramic Tribeca views,for an exclusive interview with piero lisson.i within the breathtaking setting of a model grand apartment, we learned more about his creative approach and design process.
Designboom (DB): 45 Park Place will be your first project in New York. Have any of your past works inspired your creative approach to the project?
Piero lissoni(PL): Yes, 45 Park Place is the first project in town. For the project, I am acting as both a designer and an art director. I started to work together with the team at Soha properties a few years ago, and the collaboration was intended as an exchange between creative people: between architecture and interiors, and vice-versa. I didn’t design the project only because I contributed to the decoration. We worked together in the whole design process.
Pl (continued): In a humanistic way, we adjusted the proportions of the tower. When you think about a building, it doesn’t matter if it’s a tall building or a small house. Sometimes you forget this simple detail: the human scale. We started to use this approach. To be humanistic, to be connected with every detail in a very human way.
For example, most apartments in New York towers usually have the same height. We decided to choose another point of view. The lower-level apartments are designed with higher ceilings, because when you live inside a tower, you want higher spaces since you are a little bit compressed inside this artificial jungle. When the tree becomes free outside of the jungle, we reduced the height for the upper level apartments.
PL (continued): Of course, I put inside a 100% European consciousness. New York is for me, the most important ‘European’ town in the world. Many people think New York is America, but it’s not true. New York is New York first. Culturally speaking, it’s the most integrated and disintegrated town in the world. It is full of different cultures, and for me, it’s European.
DB: What kind of brief were you given? What did you want to achieve and how much personal freedom did you have with the project?
PL: To be creative, because creativity is a strange level of freedom. When I started to work with Sharif and the team I was just one face inside the team. Creativity requires a logical discussion that grows everyday. And of course, they chose me as a public face because I’m so beautiful (laughs). The creativity was inside the team and we chose the capacity to work together. We started to discuss together with the same approach. When we start to design, we start to design together. It was a discussion. I believe they chose me because I’m so decorative.
DB: What are some of your signature designs within the building? There’s a signature spiral staircase within the duplex penthouse, for example.
PL: That is just one detail. I think the most important thing is that we follow centimeter by centimeter, the belief that everything is in the details. Everything is detailed. Everything was thought of before. I don’t design an apartment, you know. I design the physically part of life. You have to follow all details. You have to follow all different feelings. When you are inside one apartment, you have to feel ‘ok, that one is my home, it is not a Piero Lissoni home’.
Company : 45 Park Place
Contact No : (212) 472-4545
Contact Email:info@45parkplaceny.com
Address : 45 Park Place, New York, NY, 10007