High Life on the High Line

Like nearly everything in New York real estate, a blank slate is hard to find. Even so-called "lofts" are often divided into proper rooms and bedecked with expensive finishes, appliances, and fixtures, causing buyers to think twice about gutting the space to start fresh. But one art-collecting couple was lucky enough to find a truly unfinished loft in a 1920's industrial building—with a bare concrete floor and exposed beams, columns, and pipes. Best of all, the location is just a few doors from the High Line, the elevated railway that Diller Scofidio + Renfro is turning into a park.

The apartment's owners, a cardiologist and an artist, ultimately hired Gabellini Sheppard Associates because, as lunchtime regulars at Midtown's Nicole Farhi café, now shuttered, they'd already become fans of the firm's minimalist style. All that they asked Michael Gabellini and his partners, Kimberly Sheppard and Daniel Garbowit, was to showcase an art collection and to design three bedrooms but otherwise keep the 4,000-square-foot floor-through as open as possible, since the only natural light comes from windows at the two ends of the long space. If internal walls were to block those windows, the center of the plan would be as dark as a vault.

Most of the loft is a sprawling living-dining area with an open kitchen. At one end of the public realm, a wide run of sumptuous walnut steps rises to meet a wall of translucent glass sliding panels concealing the master suite. Elevating it on a platform gives the living-dining area below the feel of an Italian courtyard. "A stage for entertaining," Gabellini says. Functionally, the platform conceals plumbing, electrical chases, ductwork, and data lines, allowing the ceiling to remain uncluttered. Also three steps up are the apartment's only proper corridor and, off it, a pair of guest rooms and bathrooms as well as a service core.

Gabellini calls the loft "opulent in its chromatic complexity"—which is largely due to the way the designers put an artisanal spin on industrial materials. The original concrete floor was hand-troweled to mimic the veining and rosy tint of Brazilian granite. With a hand-burnished satin finish, the stainless-steel panels cladding the elevator entry take on the look of antique pewter. "Even stainless steel can feel warm," Gabellini says. Furnishings establish a similar counterpoint between the industrial and the natural. Consider the black leather-covered lounge seating by Antonio Citterio and Jeffrey Bernett versus the George Nakashima chairs, walnut with rush seats, and the custom natural-edged tables in South American bubinga wood.

There's a luxurious customized aspect to nearly every element of construction, too. Windows and the master suite's sliding doors are optically pure low-iron glass. (Gabellini discovered it while designing Jil Sander's boutiques worldwide.) Beneath the walnut platform are alternating layers of plywood and insulation to absorb excess vibration—like the sprung floor of a dance studio—and noise from the air ducts underfoot. All three bathrooms boast massive sink vanities carved from blocks of tawny Italian marble. In the master bathroom, which the designers modeled after the bathing chambers of ancient Rome and Pompeii, an even larger marble block yielded a monumental angular tub. "Nothing is really off-the-shelf," Sheppard admits.

Then there's the art, predominantly blue-chip pieces by bankable artists: Matthew Barney, Anselm Kiefer, Cindy Sherman, and Thomas Struth, to name a few. The neon-sign lettering of Jack Pierson's Stardust, now installed near the walnut steps, once graced Enron's headquarters in Houston. Throughout, the designers' task was to create a neutral, gallery-quality backdrop for pieces that run the gamut from small paintings and works on paper to large-scale photography and sculpture. The clients were "passionate about the art's placement down to the last detail," Garbowit says. Accordingly, the same sort of incandescent mono-point downlights used at New York's Museum of Modern Art illuminate the apartment's display surfaces, while the sun's art-fading UV rays are blocked by window coverings. To support the heaviest wall-mounted works, the designers hid two layers of plywood behind the plaster skim coat.

Artistic content doesn't end with what's on the walls. Real-life still-life compositions of French contemporary ceramics, Austrian crystal, and natural curiosities, such as coral and sponges, liven up shelves and tabletops. Tord Boontje's crystal-encrusted Blossom chandelier above the dining table is a conversation starter and a showstopper. "We're thought of as minimalists, but visually this apartment is pushing the limits of opulence," Gabellini says. He compares the effect to a jacket by Giorgio Armani—severe, perhaps, in its lines yet still very comfortable.

Previous spread: In the living area of a New York loft by Gabellini Sheppard Associates, a bluestone shelf runs beneath Cindy Sherman's photograph Untitled #222, Terry Winters's oil on canvas Morula II, and Thomas Ruff's photograph V. Lieberman. Chairs by Jeffrey Bernett and Antonio Citterio face away from each other on the custom wool rug, handwoven in Nepal.

Opposite: A custom cocktail table in bubinga wood anchors the center of the living area.

Top: Sliding doors of low-iron glass open to the master bedroom, where Donald Baechler's Skulls #106 hangs. Bottom, from left: Mike Kelley's Morose Ghoul photographs are displayed in the hallway to the guest quarters. A single block of Italian marble yielded the custom sink vanity in a guest bathroom.

In the dining area, an extra-large version of Tord Boontje's crystal-encrusted Blossom chandelier is suspended above a custom bubinga table and George Nakashima's chairs. The oil on linen is Italian 16th-century.

Top, from left: A /-inch reveal punctuates almost every intersection of floor, walls, and beams. High-gloss polyester and stainless steel dominate the kitchen, accented by a granite counter. Bottom: An aboriginal wooden sculpture is propped up in the all-marble master bathroom.

Opposite: In a guest room, Paolo Piva's bed lies beneath Teatro dell'Opera, a photograph by Doug Hall.

PROJECT TEAM VINCENT LAINO; JONGKU YEE; VIVIAN LEE; YUNJEONG KOO; EDMUND YU: GABELLINI SHEPPARD ASSOCIATES. WILLIAM ARMSTRONG LIGHTING DESIGN: LIGHTING CONSULTANT. RODNEY D. GIBBLE CONSULTING ENGINEERS: STRUCTURAL ENGINEER. ROBERT DERECTOR ASSOCIATES: MEP. JEPOL CONSTRUCTION; CORCORAN MARBLE & MONUMENT CO.: STONEWORK. NORDIC INTERIOR: WOODWORK. MASS MERCHANDISING: METALWORK. AZZARONE CONTRACTING CORPORATION; J. RAPAPORT WOOD FLOORING: FLOORING CONTRACTORS. R.D. RICE: GENERAL CONTRACTOR. PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT HALSTED WELLES ASSOCIATES: CUSTOM FIREPLACE (LIVING AREA). M&M DESIGN INTERNATIONAL: CUSTOM RUGS (LIVING AREA, MASTER BEDROOM). B&B ITALIA: SEATING, SIDE TABLES, ROUND COCKTAIL TABLE (LIVING AREA), BEDS (BEDROOMS). THROUGH DE VERA: OTTOMANS (LIVING AREA). MIYA SHOJI: CUSTOM SQUARE COCKTAIL TABLE (LIVING AREA), CUSTOM TABLE (DINING AREA). LITELAB CORP.: CEILING FIXTURES (LIVING, DINING AREAS, MASTER BEDROOM). EDISON PRICE LIGHTING: WALL WASHERS. BOFFI: SINK FITTINGS, SHOWER FITTINGS (GUEST BATHROOM), SINK FITTINGS, HOOD, CUSTOM CABINETRY (KITCHEN), TUB FITTINGS (MASTER BATHROOM). NULUX: RECESSED CEILING FIXTURES (BATHROOMS, GUEST ROOM). SWAROVSKI: CUSTOM CHANDELIER (DINING AREA). GEORGE NAKASHIMA WOODWORKER: CHAIRS. MANHATTAN SHADE & GLASS: CUSTOM WINDOW SHADES. KARTELL: LAMP (KITCHEN). A. BERNACCA & C.: CUSTOM TUB (MASTER BATHROOM). SPECIALTY LIGHTING INDUSTRIES: RECESSED CEILING FIXTURES (HALL). THROUGHOUT CARVART: CUSTOM GLASS PANELS.