Project Description
The Richman Duplex is an alteration of a 1,800 square foot apartment on the 36th and 37th floors of a post-war tower on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. LWHA created an urban retreat for a retired couple, devotees of classical music and ballet, on their frequent visits to New York.
Ancient Japanese design aesthetics, embraced by the couple during the years they lived and worked in Japan, inform the precise simplicity of the renovated spaces. The ideals of wabi (transient/stark beauty), sabi (beauty of natural patina, aging), and yugen (profound grace, subtlety) emerge in the striking yet subdued finishes, the graceful lines of the stair and integrated furniture, and the serene, diffused planes of light and color. LHWA collaborated with the wife of the couple, an interior designer, on the project and its neutral palette of rich, subtle hues.
The duplex divides programmatically between public and private functions. The lower level’s large, open utilitarian space enhances dining and entertainment with floor-width views. A Japanese Noh-mask, carved from a solid block of wood by the client’s daughter using traditional techniques, welcomes visitors. When privacy in the den is required, translucent Shoji screens can enclose the area. Private bedroom quarters on the upper level feature a sequence of graceful, rhythmic, functional forms of locally lumbered striated walnut accenting the central core wall.
The lighting scheme enhances the spatial qualities and addresses the challenge of restrictive, low 8-foot ceiling heights. At the transition between heights, backlit dropped-ceiling planes emit a warm glow.
The building’s minimal construction tolerances required precision in execution—the completion of the project’s Enso, or “circle”, from concept to completion. Like the Enso, the duplex’s strength, elegance, and voids create a unified space that is both tranquil and energizing.
Lilian H. Weinreich’s distinct aesthetic—through clarity in design and uniqueness in resolution—is evident in this alteration.