Giovannini Apartment
New York, New York
Giovannini Associates

Irregularity and an element of surprise characterizes this unusual and amazing place

© Michael Moran

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In Vers une Architecture, Le Corbusier published an aerial photograph of a Manhattan intersection where taxis, pedestrians, and cars shouldered their way past each other, jostling for position. The French architect used this image of urban chaos to promote his arguments for clarity in city planning and architecture. But when the architect fitted a new study into the floor plan of this one-bedroom apartment, chaos was not only the result but the issue to celebrate. By forcing the room into a layout that resisted it, a skirmish for space erupted: the walls angled and leaned as they both aggressed on each other and defended themselves. The competition for space between the rooms created a road-map of conflict, as in Corbusier’s photograph. Marble was set into the floors to mark the original floor plan.

Setting up a new matrix, the architect inserted cupboards and closets, constructed with wood paneling and metal laminates. Built in forced perspective and axonometric illusion, every piece is designed within its own optical field, as though each were hypnotized by a wandering vanishing point that moved, opportunistically, inside and outside the apartment. An exercise in visual deception, the apartment appears to expand space by extending beyond its boundaries. Because the vanishing points are multiple, the lines of perspective create a conflicted space, an irrational universe in constant shift: the geometry does not add up to a coherent whole.

Formal name of Project:
Giovannini Apartment

Location:
New York City

Gross square footage:
600 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$100,000

Owner:
Joseph Giovannini and Christine Pittel

Architect:
Giovannini Associates
140 East 40th street, suite 4G
New York, NY 10016
tel: 212-297-0980
fax:212-297-1850
www.giovanniniarchitecture.com