A Lobby renovation by BNO design // 160 Wooster Street New York

published in: Interiors By Marcia Argyriades, Aug 11th 2009

photo © Antoine Bootz

The impressive new building on 160 Wooster Street in New York was completed in 2005 and occupies the full block front on Houston Street between Greene and Wooster Streets at the north end of SoHo.  The building has a six-story base and an eight-story central tower that is topped by an exposed rooftop water tank. The tower is slightly off center to the west.  

Despite its imposing bulk, the building contains only 15 condominium units, most of which are corner apartments. All the apartments have access to a common roof garden and the two penthouses have their own large terraces.   With its white metal cladding and red-brick center piers, the building pays nice homage to the cast-iron heritage of Greene Street and the cobblestones of Wooster Street.

photo © Antoine Bootz

BNOdesign was recently assigned the redesign and transformation of the lobby of this commercial project.  The 14-foot-high ceiling lobby has a separate service entrance with elevator access and two key-locked passenger elevators. The lobby is transformed with the usage of clean lines and simple patterns giving a feeling of a clean and modern contemporary design. 

The usage of black tiles and black painted walls in the lobby portrays class elegance and wealth.  Especially when black is combined with white it generates a very strong statement in the area.  However, it is a color that can fit into almost every design to add contrast, type and make the accessories and the furniture in the lobby stand out.   The usage of white in the lobby along with the application of the clear lines creates a pure, clean and fresh environment.  

elevators // photo © Antoine Bootz

photo © Antoine Bootz

photo © Antoine Bootz


When entering the building’s lobby through the main entrance a mirror which covers an entire wall to the right reflects the light off of the adjacent window making the space larger and brighter.  The furniture which is designed by BNOdesign and is distributed by NIBA Home is especially created for the needs of the area.  The well-designed and finely crafted furniture and accessories reflect the talent and the philosophy of the BNOdesign team.  The unique furniture creates an interior which is actually a living work of art.  The integration of the various materials and the styles in this clean line lobby creates a flirtatious mood especially with the handmade lighting by ABYU couture lighting // And Bob's Your Uncle Lighting, Inc.  BNOdesign has become the parent company of And Bob's Your Uncle Lighting, Inc., where Steven Wine and Michael Landon // designers, have a well-deserved superior reputation for their custom couture lighting pieces that have been in numerous BNOdesign projects.  The reception desks hanging light, is truly an exquisite example of the elegant ABYU custom couture lighting.

photo © Antoine Bootz

photo © Antoine Bootz

The monolithic white reception desk // photo © Antoine Bootz

glass-maille chandelier  by ABYU couture lighting // photo © Antoine Bootz

BNOdesign of Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz was established in 1992.  The office has produced projects for world renowned clients in the entertainment industry, the hotel industry and many others.  The results of each project are unique and tailored to the personality of the individuals who reside in the living space.  Their work is known for its clean lines and the simple patterns which make them design modern contemporary interiors.   Without focusing only on design BNOdesign remains faithful to the prevailing sensibility of classical architecture including the usage of strong axis, attention to proportion, hierarchy and the balance of form in the placement of furnishings within a space.

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more projects by BNOdesign @ Yatzer

Brown/Saide Hamptons residence by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz

photo © Bärbel Miebach

sources:

BNOdesign , ABYU lighting

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Noriega-Ortiz Benjamin

About Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz

Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz is recognized as one of the most stylish and influential of today's interior designers. The aesthetic range of his work travels from traditional to modern. His sensuous, glamorous, and ethereal work marries architecture, interior design, and decoration, so seamlessly, it produces dramatic interiors that are reductive and seductive.

He has completed his master's degree in Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico in 1982 and a master's degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University. He started his career at the world-renowned interior and product design studio of John F. Saladino, Inc., where he spent six of nine years as head interior designer.

Establishing his own firm in 1992, BNO Design, Benjamin has produced projects for such clients as rock star, Lenny Kravitz, best-selling Mexican author, Laura Esquivel, celebrity portrait photographer, Mark Seliger, media mogul, Michael Fuchs, and entertainment and media genius, Sean "Diddy" Combs. In recent years, he has started to focus on hotels. Morgans Hotel Group commissioned Benjamin with the remodeling of Mondrian Scottsdale, which opened in February 2007. With such success, he was asked to remodel the Mondrian Los Angeles, scheduled to be finished in Fall 2008, and Mondrian SoHo, scheduled to open in 2009. Throughout the years, he has highly developed his product design skills and has been collaborating with many companies as a featured designer. His first book, Emotional Rooms, The Sensual Interiors of Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, was published by Simon and Schuster's Atria Books division in 2007.

[official website]
  • friend
    Carlos Mazzucchelli, 2009-08-14 23:19:08

    Excelente Revista.....!!!!!!!!!

  • friend
    jose, 2009-08-18 21:34:19

    i'm pretty sure those chandeliers in the hallway are the non-random light made/sold by Moooi: http://www.moooi.com/producten/26-non-random.html also, love the design of this site but wish the "leave a comment" and "read this post" UI was a little bit more intuitive. for the former, does a DHTML pop-up really make the page cleaner or jsut dissuade feedback? for the latter, why not make the entire image clickable? thanks, jose

  • friend
    richard, 2010-07-15 13:33:34

    I particularly love the lighting and the flooring. The whole project looks stunning.

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