Contract Magazine - January/February 2019 - 85

Custom cabinets, tabletops, and mirrors-also elegantly edged in bronze and wood-
curve their way around; rippling wall fabric echoes the textures outside; and liquid
quartz floors provide a textured but neutral backdrop.
All components, from cabinetry to entire treatment rooms, flow from one
to the next, unified by aesthetic, surface, and detail. It's an all-inclusive design strategy
that Haw intended to echo the holistic nature of the practice, which has expanded
from skin care to overall health and wellness.
"We didn't treat it as a decoration job," Haw says. "It's not about surface and trends.
It's about understanding the functionality and making that functionality beautiful
through resolution.".
The result is a space that respects the past and the future, and offers respite
for patients in the sea of Manhattan chaos.
"You're in the middle of the Flatiron District, but it feels like everything is slowing
down," says JP Van Laer, NYDG CEO. "It's like you're sitting in a different dimension." c

When architect Brandon Haw first explored the historic second floor space
(once part of Lord & Taylor) in Manhattan's Flatiron District that was to become
New York Dermatology Group's new wellness facility, he was awestruck. He knew
right away that he didn't want to disturb the light, energetic, authentically New York
feeling. But he also knew that the new space needed to include state-of-the-art labs,
treatment spaces, and offices, as well as relaxing and comforting waiting spaces.
The answer: inserting a sinuous freestanding pod that would house all
treatment rooms while creating an edge of understated modernity. The original
walls and windows would remain untouched.
The new facility's peripheral waiting spaces are serene, but contemporary,
filled with minimalist custom furniture (designed by Haw's firm), floored with textured
dark oak, and topped by walnut planks floating from a dark metal frame. Visitors
encounter clear views to the street below, that somehow provide energy rather
than jitters.
Haw wanted the central pod to feel exceptionally light, ethereal, and modern,
reinforcing NYDG's innovative approach, but not overwhelming the existing space
or clients. He originally proposed wrapping the pod in a fabric curtain, but when
that proved infeasible for reasons related to sound, light, hygiene, etc., he decided
to freeze it; creating a rippling white fiberglass cladding system.
Haw worked with Paolo Cassina Custom Interiors, who sub-contracted
Italy-based Sailing SRL-a firm that normally works on fiberglass boat hulls-
to create the system, which is composed of planks of five or more ripples attached
via clips. It is washed in an ethereal glow via small spotlights and its edges are detailed
in bronze and dark wood finishes. "It's all about movement and texture," Haw says.
Haw's team collaborated from the beginning with Cassina, who created a series
of mockups to ensure that each piece fit perfectly in New York.
The treatment rooms and labs inside this core are just as light and dynamic
as the structure itself. Stretch fabric ceiling scrims backed by LEDs, as well as subtle
cove lighting, create glowing spaces that somehow feel both futuristic and classic.

Project Credits

Selected Sources

Architect Brandon Haw Architecture
Brandon Haw Architecture project
team Brandon Haw, president and CEO;
William Arbizu, associate partner; Zack
Cooley, associate partner; Heidi Chi,
associate; Zohreh Ahmad,
senior architect
Contractor Michilli Inc.
Lighting designer Fisher Marrantz Stone
Engineers Rosini Engineering PC
Structural engineer The Eipel
Engineering Group
Custom design build elements
Paolo Cassina Custom Interiors Inc.;
Sailing SRL Italy
Code consultants Holmes Keogh
Associates LLC (HKA)

Wallcoverings Wolf Gordon
Paint Scuffmaster
Laminate Fenix Wood Flooring
Wood flooring Kaswell Flooring
Quartz flooring Sidec
Recessed lighting LF Illumination;
Tech Lighting
Track lighting Edison Price Lighting
Task lighting GE; Philips Burton
Hardware and doors designed
by Brandon Haw Architecture;
manufactured by Sailing, Italy; installed
by Paolo Cassina Custom Interiors
Exterior door designed by Brandon Haw
Architecture; fabricated by Alex Karlo
of Brooklyn Built
Decorative glass panels/partitions
Bendheim
Workstation/task seating Herman Miller
Lounge/reception seating designed
by Brandon Haw Design; supplied
in collaboration with Paolo Cassina
Custom Interiors
Patient seating Gharieni
Other seating B&B Italia; Gubi
Upholstery custom leather
Reception desk, side tables, closet
systems, drawers/casegoods, and
architectural/custom woodworking
designed by Brandon Haw Architecture;
manufactured by Sailing, Italy; installed
by Paolo Cassina Custom Interiors
Files Poppin
Shelving Viabizzuno
Signage (fabricator) Atlas Print
Solutions Inc.
Plumbing fixtures/fittings Fontana
Showers; Stern Engineering Ltd.; Alape

contract

Contract Magazine - January/February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract Magazine - January/February 2019