49 W 86th Street Apartment

Rowan Ibbeken has designed the renovation of a 1960s modernist apartment (also designed by Rowan Ibbeken) in the Upper West Side neighbourhood of New York.

The interior was redesigned to reflect the eclectic tastes of the client, with several bespoke and vintage furniture pieces, including a peach suede Utrecht armchair by Cassina and a vintage Chimera floor lamp by Artemide.

Glass partitions have been added to bring light into the bathroom and reception areas, along with a kitchen pass-through. Splashes of colour are present throughout, from the oxidised copper shower panels in the bathroom to the Spanish marble countertops in the kitchen.

Large awning windows run throughout the apartment, providing ample light and ventilation, along with expansive views of the Upper West Side and beyond. The original apartment featured window benches throughout, which have been restored and partially upholstered to allow them to be used either for shelving or as seating areas. The unique wraparound side table and desk in the bedroom have also been retained.

The apartment features a variety of artworks chosen together with the client; a reproduction of Henri Rousseau's The Sleeping Gypsy features prominently, along with original works by local New York painter Roger David and Rowan Ibbeken. 

The interior furnishings are complemented by several house plants, which bring both a vibrancy and sense of calm into the interior spaces.

Drawing inspiration from a number of sources, including the film Her by Spike Jonze, the short film documenting the finished renovation is a cinematic experience unlike any other in the architectural visualisation world. Cinematography, visual effects, sound effects and photorealistic 3D modelling come together to perfectly replicate the atmosphere of the apartment over the course of a single day, from the ambient sounds of the noisy New York streets below to the erratic motion of raindrops on the bedroom window.

Modelled and rendered in Blender. Visual effects created using Houdini. Color grading and compositing in Da Vinci Resolve. Interior design, architecture, photography and visualisation by Rowan Ibbeken. Full attributions in closing credits.