A new luxury residential building is rising on the corner of Manhattan’s Mulberry and Kenmare streets—a crossroads of popular downtown neighborhoods SoHo and Nolita. The project, called 75 Kenmare, is a collaboration between New York–based architect Andre Kikoski and Kravitz Design, the studio of rocker turned designer Lenny Kravitz.
Although Kikoski is known for high-end interiors projects, including The Wright restaurant at New York’s Guggenheim Museum, Kravitz took the reigns on interior design while Kikoski tackled the building envelope. To develop an exterior that would belong to the neighborhood, Kikoski took inspiration from surrounding buildings’ masonry facades. But instead of using brick, the architect opted for vertical cast-in-place concrete panels with deep, curving grooves. “It has a fresh look that has the same DNA as all the other buildings,” he says, “but is its own thing.”
In some ways, Kravitz’s interiors are in conversation with the facade. The lobby, for instance, features a geometric pattern for the natural stone floor and an exposed concrete ceiling. Additionally, the blackened steel and lustrous bronze used for Kikoski’s chamfered window frames are echoed in some of the Kravitz-designed bathroom fixtures.
The overall result, says Kikoski, “has an elegant but rock star feel.”