WHAT WAS THE PROCESS FOR CREATING A SPACE LIKE THIS?
Just like making a painting, you start with one stroke and let that stroke determine the next one. The first stroke may be a rug, a skylight, artwork. In this case, the first thing was to carve out a center conference area in this enormous space without walling out any of the fantastic light. That’s why the conference area is translucent and has no ceiling. We wanted to first and foremost take full advantage of the incredible sunlight that floods the office.
IS THERE HISTORY OR A STORY TO THE PHYSICAL BUILDING? PLEASE DIVULGE.
The building was operating as a vaudeville house known as The Yorkville, when Marcus Loew (of Loew’s Theaters) took it over in 1910. It was typical of its time, with two separate balconies and tiers of box seats flanking both sides of the stage. It was one of Loew’s earliest New York City area theatres, along with the Lincoln Square, The Majestic, West End, and The Royal. Loew’s Yorkville proved so successful that three years later, the circuit built the much larger and more opulent Orpheum on the same block. Three decades later, Loew’s divested The Yorkville as part of its compliance with the Federal anti-trust action against the company. It then was eventually converted to office space.
WHAT MAKES THIS PROJECT SPECIAL FOR YOU?
Since it is my family’s Foundation, it was my way of being a part of the whole project, of giving to the people who are making the giving possible. My talent is not for interpreting need but for creating environments for others to do their best work in.
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