Holden Apartment # 2
New York, New York

Our metro-savvy maestro is at it again. This time around it's a conversion from a warehouse space into a 2 bedroom/ 2 bath floor-through apartment loft located in Tribeca, New York City's currently sizzling residential mecca.

This new loft is located in an eight story, brick-fronted factory/storage structure and is typical of the buildings dating from the mid 1800s which now form the urban fabric of Tribeca. Despite the passionate guarding of the exteriors of these buildings by the Preservation Police, there is an onslaught of residential and commercial conversion development occurring. Just down the street behind eclectic medieval facades are the sleek interiors of Gehry's Issey Miyake flagship store, Meier's Chinese fusion restaurant and Liaigre's dark Mercer Kitchen restaurant.

Fresh from his Chelsea total-demo make-over and armed with a bounty of resources, our art-collecting meticulous musician signed off on a renovation design scheme and started construction within several months of acquiring the raw space. But because the conversion of the entire building commenced at the same time and dragged on much longer than expected for approvals and inspections, this loft project took over a year to complete.

The loft's layout resembles a modified railroad plan with the entry occurring in the center of a string of rooms. The design was generally conceived as a spatially open volume within a defined structural grid with planes of partially translucent and transparent glass suggesting specific spaces. The same functional needs as the first Holden Apartment were accommodated with the addition of a media room and a small office off the Living/Studio/Recital area. Again, extensive wiring brings the latest in communications, sound, video and computerized lighting to every space in the apartment.

The Kitchen is defined by a 10 feet island and an 18 feet work counter, both topped with honed granite and supported by high-gloss lacquered cabinets. A continuously lighted frosted mirror glass splash runs the length of the work counter. Appliances include a double gas oven, a double drawer dish washer, a commercial cooktop and a Subzero refrigerator, of course.

Each of the bedrooms is associated with a full bath; the master bath contains a laundry center and a super-sized shower stall with a rain forest. Each bath has a Starck designed in-wall-tank toilet along with floors and walls lined with Italian granite tiles.

As this writing goes to press, our prodigious pianist embarks upon a new loft project a few blocks up the street in the West Village. Stay tuned for further developments.