Danube Views and Ancient Architecture Meet in Budapest Flat

Ramy Fischler Studio prides itself on the diversity of its work. Recent projects include a smart fridge, an Hermès perfume store in New York, a line of self-produced furniture, and Twitter’s office in Paris, where the French firm is based and in the process of implementing a new master plan to harmonize the café and restaurant terraces on the Champs-Elysées. From time to time, the studio accepts the odd residential commission. But as principal Ramy Fischler emphasizes, “If we take one on, it has to allow us a certain amount of creativity to develop something unique.”

Recently, an entrepreneur with interests in Hungary approached Fischler with what was certainly a singular assignment. He had bought five apartments in a new luxury development with sweeping views of Budapest—one for his own use, the others for guests—that he wanted decorated in more or less identical style. Fischler took the bait. “We spent a year on his unit, defining exactly what he wanted,” the designer says of the 3,750-square-foot, three-bedroom floor-through, which has an additional 1,100 square feet of outdoor space. “It wouldn’t have made sense to do something different in the others. The décor fits him like a glove and duplicating it means he can give people the same experience as staying with him, only they have their own space.”

The Apartment Design Reflects Vastu Shastra Principles

The client had another very distinct demand: The design should adhere strictly to the principles of Vastu Shastra, the traditional Indian system of architecture. “It’s used to determine the layout of everything from religious to domestic spaces,” Fischler says, noting that the ethos is “simple and frugal.” One of its precepts is that the center of a home should be an empty space free from obstructions like columns or staircases (a requirement satisfied by the apartment’s mid-floor entry hall). And each area in the house is related to one of the four elements—fire, water, earth, and air—to which distinct design rules and color palettes are attached.

Fischler admits that applying such edicts was not always easy, even given the apartment’s generous proportions. “The ideal locations according to Vastu Shastra for faucets, drainage, the kitchen, and so on were often in total contradiction to what was in place in the rest of the building,” he reports. Among the changes he had to make to his original plans was the position of the beds. “Normally I like to have them facing a window so there’s an equal amount of light on both sides,” he explains. “But that was impossible here because they needed to be turned toward the north.” Since the living area is in an “earth zone,” which requires furniture to be low and grounded, none of the seating could have legs or feet. Hence the custom sofas comprising large cushions perched on travertine-slab bases. And in an adjacent sitting nook with a somewhat Japanese aesthetic, two chairs have bronze arms and upholstered backs but no seats, the idea being that, supported by the frame, you sit directly on the floor.

Natural Materials Create a Tranquil Environment

Fischler’s overall aim was to create not only a tranquil environment decibel-wise but also a visually soothing one. “There’s a sort of sobriety and calm to the whole space,” he says. No doubt the principles of Vastu Shastra contribute to that, but he believes the rigor of the architectural detailing also plays its part. “For me, the framework has to be perfect. When each line is precise, it brings a sense of composure,” he asserts. “That’s always the goal I set myself.”

Inside the Budapest Flat Designed by Ramy Fischler Studio 

ramy fischler studio: frédéric alzeari; florence vlemelinx; xiao ye zhang; estelle tran

light is more: lighting consultant

safa: custom furniture workshop

au gré du verre: custom cocktail tables (living area)

maami home: side table

normann copenhagen: ottomans

rubelli: sofa fabric (LIVING AREA), PANEL FABRIC (SECOND GUEST BEDROOM)

epoca: custom sofas (living area), custom chairs (nook)

lasvit; manooi: custom ceiling fixture (living-dining area)

Gubi: lounge chairs (living area), armchairs (entry, guest bedroom)

Roll & Hill: chandelier (study)

ferm living: glasses, bowl (study), teapot (kitchen)

ligne roset: chairs (study, dining area)

Gaggenau: appli­ances (kitchen)

élitis: panel fabric (main bedroom)

d’argentat: custom nightstands

knoll: desk chair

oluce: table lamp

brossier saderne: custom sconces

Dedar: bed fabric (bedrooms)

holland & sherry: panel fabric (FIRST guest bedroom)

edel carpets: carpet (guest bedrooms)

ramy fischler collection: nightstands

manooi: custom sconces (GUEST bedrooms), custom candelabra (bathroom)

makro: tub (bathroom)

alape: sinks

Dornbracht: tub fittings, sink fittings

j.d. staron: custom rugs

tabu: wood veneer

through zsdrál art pop-up galéria: ceramics

Tick Tock: Inside a New York Boutique for a Swiss Watchmaker

Stepping into AP House in New York is like entering the intricately detailed mechanism of an Audemars Piguet timepiece: Each part placed just so creates something truly out of the ordinary. Here, in the city’s Meatpacking District, a former industrial area turned high-style shopping district, the expectation is yet another luxury boutique. How­ever, what Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture has instead formulated for the Swiss watch company is a showroom that redefines the traditional bounds—and experience—of retail.

“We started with a question: What if Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet had an apartment, and you could go visit?” architect Enrico Bonetti recalls of the concept for the 5,100-square-foot boutique, one of 13 AP Houses around the world. That home, as Bonetti and cofounder Dominic Kozerski have envisioned it, would be open-plan, relaxed, and dedicated to indoor-outdoor entertaining. It also would be an ideal envi­ronment to admire and showcase their craft: men’s and women’s watches, which sell for between four and six figures.

AP House Melds Retail and Hospitality Design 

Occupying the second floor of a landmarked 19th-century brick building, AP House feels like the spacious living quarters of a lounge-loving friend. Dinner parties can be imagined with guests gathered around the nearly 17-foot-long solid-sapele dining table, a custom piece by Bonetti/Kozerski that was installed by New York City firemen, sitting on an equally impressive bench or supple armchairs by Umberto Asnago. Gossip could be swapped over coffee at the quartz-topped bar or while sunk back deep into the semicircular sofas set around the 1970’s Charlotte Perriand cocktail table, while someone fingers the keys of the Steinway & Sons baby grand piano in the corner. On a sunny summer day, alfresco entertaining would be an easy sell on the 2,800-square-foot terrace that is furnished with outdoor pieces by Bonetti/Kozerski’s collection for Sutherland.

In all these locations at AP House, such acti­vi­ties are possible. To give the client the flexibility to offer multidisciplinary hospitality experiences, the firm equipped the space with a state-of-the-art chef’s kitchen and all the necessary back-of-house functions for special events. In all these locations, too, watches are sold.

The Design Reflects the Inner Workings of Watches 

Watches are, after all, the stars of this shop, and visitors are surrounded by them, whether at first obvious or not. Bonetti and Kozerski tapped their expertise in gallery design (a few blocks north is the Pace Gallery headquarters, the architects’ most recent effort), and partnered with an Italian exhibition-case specialist to create museum-quality displays for Audemars and Piguet’s raison d’etre. From the oak-paneled entry-cum-gallery, curated with rotating artwork, one steps into an oval, golden jewel box where historic Audemars Piguet timepieces (the brand was founded in 1875) loaned from its dedicated museum in Le Brassus, Switzerland, are on view in a series of sleek half-dome vitrines. They all stand to attention around a central installation of an exploded watch caliber.

Elsewhere, above the communal table is a run of dual-glass pendant fixtures, both decorative and functional, and a statement chandelier sets the conversation sofas aglow well into the night. Hidden LEDs glimmer softly around the perimeter, where brick walls hung with Audemars Piguet–curated art are an homage to the street-front facade.

“When we first visited the site, we were struck by the historical brick facade and the overall horizontality that flowed out to the terrace,” Kozerski says of the former industrial space that once played host to a market. “So, our initial approach was to take those elements and amplify them.” Some exposed steel H-beams have been lacquered black, and the front wall’s original arched windows add a handsome, quirky sense of proportion. Like any good New York loft, hints of former grit are visible among the glamour. Here that glamour just happens to be a work of art one wears on their wrist.

Walkthrough AP House by Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture

bonetti/kozerski architecture: lorenzo bellacci; mat tarczynski; nathalie coppens; stephanie po; nanxi su; carolina hasbun

L’Observatoire International: lighting designer

derive engineers: mep

archstone builders: general contractor

craz woodworking: custom table, custom bench (dining area), console (lounge)

lasvit: custom pendant fixtures (dining area)

giorgetti: chairs (dining area)

sacco carpet: custom rug

ik studios: custom bench (gallery)

ozone light: chandelier (lounge)

i 4 mariani: sofas

Dedar: sofa fabric (lounge), chair fabric (sitting area)

cassina: cocktail table (lounge), blue armchairs (sitting area)

sutherland furniture: outdoor furniture (terrace)

perennials: seating upholstery

gandia blasco: pergolas

thomas hayes studio: stools (bar)

liaigre: beige chairs, floor lamp (sitting area)

henge: cocktail table

goppion: custom displays

secco sistemi: storefront, windows

marc phillips: custom rugs

promotech: vitrine fixtures

pureedge; viabizzuno: lighting

Commune Design Makes an Unforgettable New Restaurant from a Chef’s Memories in Atlanta

Chef and Le Bon Nosh founder Forough Vakili grew up in Iran, studied in France, and is now raising a family in Atlanta. When she sat down with Interior Design Best of Year winners and Los Angeles-based hospitality powerhouse Commune Design to dream up a design for a new restaurant, she told the team all those locales should be present.

The result is Le Bon Nosh, a 6,500-square-foot space across two floors, a patio, and sidewalk seating area in Atlanta’s bustling Buckhead neighborhood. “Our main source of inspiration was the vivid memories of our client,” says principal Roman Alonso. From her memories of her family farm, Commune Design sourced a palette of pomegranate that crops up on seating upholstery, and saffron for grand curtains that define dining areas. The pale blues of Brittany return in a custom painting by Tyler Hayes. And European plaster traditions are deployed deftly as custom concrete baseboards recessed in the plaster walls. “The forms of the concrete evoke classical fluting on columns and the color blends beautifully with the Portola plaster above,” Alonso says. “As a material, the concrete is decidedly modern and belongs to the existing concrete floor and shell of the space, but references the refinement of older construction techniques.” A blend of old and new, then, to embody Vakili’s memories in a space designed to create new ones for Buckhead.