22nd Street Loft+-

George Ranalli Designs

Steel Chair by George Ranalli Designs

 

Project : 22nd Street Loft, Manhattan, New York

Firm : George Ranalli Architect

Associates: Silman Engineers ; George Cserna Photography ;

 

 

George Ranalli Architect’s 22nd Street Loft project adapted for reuse the interior of a building originally intended for light industrial manufacturing. The clients requested  a well-appointed home that somehow managed to retain a sense of the old building.  The project kept the original galvanized steel framed windows and oak flooring throughout. A new form inserted inside the old shell, simultaneously references the familiar and novel. The space now has a new structure, enclosing the bedroom, overlooking the living area. The figural presence of the new form both defines but does not seal off this new private realm. Letting go of  the traditional division of rooms, new, habitable form assembles spaces for a balance of private and social uses. Inside, an antechamber of sorts leads to either a powder room or library/office. Up a private stair, the bedroom suite is flanked on one side by a wardrobe/dressing room space, and deep-set closets, on the other. Another sculptural form, shaped a spacious kitchen, and other amenities. Subtle adjustments of surface modeling attuned to sources of natural sunlight, transform density, sculpting alcoves, niches, and balcony views through to adjacent spaces.

 

Interior architecture integrated into the existing site uses unconventional although sensual lanky metal adornments, such as sheet steel for shelving and lighting fixtures.  The design for a brass canopy suspended from the bedroom ceiling in a dull matte finish gives the space an exceptionally warm glow. The metal canopy rests on a bracket inserted into the wall, and, at the opposite end, is hung with tension cables. Design domesticates unconventional materials, creating combinations of unusual and familiar forms of luxury. The project introduce a pair of Steel Chairs, convertible to Settee, each 34 1/2 inches, width 48 inches, depth 30 inches, featuring matte black leather upholstery. The prototype has since been varied slightly for uses in many different settings. Steel Chair Setee is also part of the architecture, design, and graphics collection of the Denver Art Museum,  located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado.