Freeze Frame

A closer look at the hottest solutions from September

Staff -- Interior Design, 9/1/2004 12:00:00 AM

Waiting game

Traffic flow was a major consideration for Anderson Architects in designing the reception area at the new Bumble and Bumble location in the meatpacking district. "You have a lot of people coming to one place and wanting to know where to go, so we examined airport lounges for inspiration," says principal Ross Anderson, citing Eero Saarinen's TWA terminal in particular.

For seating, Anderson built a 42-foot-long Douglas fir "raft," which also operates as a beacon—pointing from the front door to the anodized-aluminum check-in desk directly across the 6,000-square-foot space. Since the raft's aluminum backrests simply slot in and out, without screws, it can transform into a fashion runway or a theatrical stage after salon hours. "Beyond the Beauty Factory," page 198. —L.Y.

Time to reflect

Almost nowhere in this Hell's Kitchen pied-à-terre by Morris Sato Studio does the eye hit a hard angle or bounce off a sharp edge. Rather, one's vision glides along the contours of egg-shape objects and skates by rounded corners.

The ceiling of the long and narrow living-dining area establishes this elegant theme with two cutouts, one framing original structural crossbeams revealed during a process that principal Yoshiko Sato refers to as "urban archaeology." Picked out by halogen-strip cove lighting, the crossbeams are reflected in the glass top of a prototype Moonlight cocktail table—which adds its own keynote to the luminous harmony. LEDs embedded in the aluminum rods of the table's base cast a deep midnight blue back up at the ceiling. "Heavenly Bodies," page 128. —C.S.