For architect Luca Andrisani, there’s an incredible truth in the phrase “be bold or go home.” For him, and the clients lucky enough to live and work in his projects, bold is an inspiring focal point: Bold colors. Bold lines. Bold solutions to everyday design challenges.
His innovative approach, which includes a cohesive blending of space, furniture and function, has garnered him professional accolades, including International Design Award honorable mentions for both commercial and residential projects.
When designing, Andrisani creates spaces. He must first analyze circulation and cabinetry, envision generic furniture concepts, define furniture size and develop a color palette. Only then does he begin to shop for the right pieces.
“We start at the beginning, and we’re all really conscious of the scale and plan,” he says. “A decorator is not so knowledgeable of the space that someone has created before them. Everything is planned very carefully. You just have to feel the space.I don’t like to force a furniture scheme. The scale is what really makes the space.”
Having worked internationally, Andrisani was familiar with metropolitan design demands when he moved to New York a decade ago. However, it was in the Big Apple, where space is always precious, that the architect learned the importance of also designing for specific needs.
“Everything has a place,” he explains. “Architecture is functional, and you experience it every day. You don’t curse it. Even if you don’t have the tendency of being super organized, if you have (designated) space, it helps.”
Design is an integral focus for Andrisani, whom studied architecture and worked in both Switzerland and Rome before moving to New York to work with architect Peter Marino. He established his own firm in 2007.
“I don’t know if New York makes for unique designs, but it is the city of opportunities,” he says. “It’s a stimulating city that gives you the opportunity to do good design, and you have people who can afford good architecture.”
In his residential work, he meets extensively with clients, sometimes even following them through their daily routines. This allows him to create nuanced spaces even for the mundane, such as a runner’s muddy sneakers.
Reducing clutter and streamlining storage often result in an overall streamlined design that complements colorful graphic elements and other art and furniture options.
HIGH POINT 33 Caton Windsor Terrace Brooklyn | An eight-story concrete shell of a building sat vacant for eight years in the neighborhood of Windsor Terrace in Brooklyn. After so many years spent as a symbol of the recession, Luca Andrisani Architect was hired to reimagine the façade and interiors of the new 126-rental-unit building. Windsor Terrace is a neighborhood of tree-lined streets with many single family homes alongside massive masonry apartment buildings. It was clear that to respect its neighbors, the redesign would need to dematerialize the massiveness of the building while breaking from the monotony of glassy developments. To achieve this, 33 Caton’s facade is clad in hundreds of earthtoned metal panels of different sizes, shapes and colors that create a visually intricate and complex exterior. Dark iron spot masonry in grays and browns frames metal portions around the top, sides and ground floor of the building. Inside, metal wraps into the lobby vestibule and transitions to a double-height walnut-paneled entry. Glass at the rear lobby wall reveals a courtyard garden. Framing this view are the two sides of the inner lobby clad in gold-toned metal mesh.
Anticipating that the occupants of this building would be searching for the quiet and green serenity of Windsor Terrace, interiors are finished in comfortable, warm materials with modern fixtures and appliances. The apartments are laid out with a range of different floor plans with many windows to maximize the Prospect Park views.
Photography Courtesy of Peter Murdock
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