Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell wanted his Flatiron penthouse to look like his most prized possession: a 300-year-old Gibson Stradivarius violin. An unusual task, no doubt, for Charles Rose Architects, the team Bell hired to remake his home, but Rose, whose sisters are also violinists, delivered a fitting interpretation. A steel and glass stair recalls the "richness and graceful details" of the instrument, while a wooden slatted pergola on the rooftop deck casts shadows that look like a violin's strings.
The 4,000-square-foot home is located in a former manufacturing plant, and was opened to the public during the inaugural Dwell on Design event. The apartment occupies two floors, plus the roof, and it features a large skylight, interior and exterior fireplaces, and a double shower on the roof. Everything but the bedrooms, which are on the lowest floor of the home, was open to the public, and Bell's recordings played during the tour.
—Evan Bindelglass is a local freelance journalist, photographer, cinephile, and foodie. You can e-mail him, follow him on Twitter @evabin, or check out his personal blog.
· Charles Rose Architects [official]
· All Dwell on Design coverage [Curbed]
Loading comments...