{"id":190817,"date":"2021-11-28T09:04:31","date_gmt":"2021-11-28T14:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=190817"},"modified":"2022-11-22T09:52:30","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T14:52:30","slug":"hariri-hariri-architecture-transforms-the-new-york-penthouse-headquarters-of-siba-corp-siba-residences-into-a-multifaceted-gem","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/hariri-hariri-architecture-transforms-the-new-york-penthouse-headquarters-of-siba-corp-siba-residences-into-a-multifaceted-gem\/","title":{"rendered":"Hariri & Hariri Architecture Transforms the New York Penthouse Headquarters of SIBA Corp\/SIBA Residences into a Multifaceted Gem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\"The
The LEDs and slats continue in the open work area, which is surrounded by etched-glass panels fronting private offices.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

November 28, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Joseph Giovannini<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Eric Laignel<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Hariri & Hariri Architecture Transforms the New York Penthouse Headquarters of SIBA Corp\/SIBA Residences into a Multifaceted Gem<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Hariri & Hariri Architecture<\/a>\u2014the firm of Iranian sisters and Interior Design<\/em> Hall of Fame members Gisue and Mojgan Hariri\u2014began the renovation of the headquarters of SIBA Corp\/SIBA Residences, a prominent gem dealer and real estate business in Manhattan\u2019s Diamond District, in early 2020, just as COVID-19 was about to grip New York. The architects designed the 3,000-square-foot full floor during the transitional period when the SIBA office staff, like countless others across the country, started Zooming from home. Like anthro\u00adpologists unexpectedly equipped with a telephoto lens into the lives of their subjects, the Hariris observed home environments that had become on-screen business backdrops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID taught the architects what now seems obvious: People were in no rush to return to the office because they like the warmth, character, crafted touches, and creature comforts of their homes. Specialists in both residential and workplace, the sisters resolved to adapt domesticity to the penthouse site, balancing the amenities of home with office life in a building deep in Midtown\u2019s thicket of high-rises. \u201cZoom confirmed what George Nelson advocated long ago,\u201d Gisue Hariri notes: \u201c\u2018The office should be a daytime living room.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SIBA\u2019s
SIBA\u2019s art collection, including a painting by graffiti artist Hektad, adds color to the project\u2019s materials palette, which, in reception, consists of rift-cut oak and solid surfacing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The renovation initiated a new era and ethos for the four-generation family business. The third-generation patriarch, Sam Abram, had recently died, and his son Edward, now CEO, was relaunching the company. Three of SIBA\u2019s separate divisions\u2014diamond trading, real estate sales, and building management\u2014shared the floor. Without looking like Fort Knox, the gem side of the business had to be secured away from the real estate and management spaces, which were themselves separate from each other. With multiple zones and numerous dedicated functions\u2014reception and waiting areas, open workstations and offices, a conference room and a jewelry viewing lounge, kitchen and dining\u2014the program presented the organizational challenge of piecing together an intricate puzzle. The existing office looked like a leftover period set from “The Honeymooners.” Cubicles and rooms were grafted onto each other higgledy-piggledy under harsh fluorescents set in a water-damaged dropped ceiling. A large safe was strapped down like an electric chair. The whole place required a gut renovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Robby
Robby & Francesca Cantarutti\u2019s Forest chairs and Lievore Altherr Molina\u2019s Branch table outfit the terrace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The unsalvageable maze, however, hid two assets. The space had good infrastructure\u2014a wraparound terrace ringed the entire floor, which offered unobstructed, heart-of-the-city views. Then, in and around the principal office, the architects discovered numerous modernist prints and silkscreens that the company had quietly collected, hung up, and left in place for decades, as forgotten as old wallpaper. To their surprise, the Hariris were dealing with a portfolio that included works by Josef Albers, Ellsworth Kelly, Kenneth Noland, and Louise Nevelson. New pieces, including ones by Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and Alexander Calder, were added to the mix, and the trove became a vehicle that helped the two sisters infuse the project with color and character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n