Hines Collective Creates an Artful Museum Tower Apartment
Developed in 1982 as part of a makeover of the Museum of Modern Art complex, César Pelli’s 52-story condo on West 53rd Street is a masterpiece unto itself. An Old Master should be carefully restored, but this 2,000-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom apartment, owned by longtime friends of Hines Collective, needed more extensive work. The building has been unoccupied since its original construction.
Founder Devin Hines describes what they envisioned as “a 1960s, mod-inspired, gallery-space-meets-space-station.” And they understood. The group “stripped [it] to studs and slabs” initially. An inspired rethink then started. Hines describes them as “minimalists with a lot of stuff,” which includes a sizable collection of noteworthy modern and historical artwork.
Hines Collective Creates an Artful Museum Tower Apartment
“In order to balance form and function, we had to be creative with the floor plan.” Soon after, the second bedroom was transformed into a dream walk-in closet and dressing area; additional closets with flush doors hidden in the hallway lead to the main bedroom.
In only one pour, Toka Builders installed a smooth gloss white epoxy resin floor throughout the apartment. At last, the installation, meticulous as a gallery display: A bespoke section of about 28 winding feet is located in the living space. According to Hines, “it carves different seating opportunities for intimacy, conversation, and views.” “It follows the same path at its back, carving out a home office space.”
A curving desk and floating corner console are ready to go, as is the De Sede Skeleton desk chair and the AYALA desk light. The bespoke cabinets and Miele white glass appliances in the otherwise whitewashed kitchen are brought to life with Akdo tiles and a bench upholstered in Dedar’s Flimflam. And if you can take your eyes off the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking opulent Fifth Avenue, there are incredible pieces from the collection everywhere you look. In the dining area, for instance, an unnamed Jin Soo Kim sculpture hovers over chairs hand-carved from more than 25 hardwoods.
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