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

This Park City Property Boasts Stunning Views and Elevated Amenities

Gated communities are not usually known for their architecture. Houses are often dated and ostentatious, with little connection to their surroundings. The Iluminus Group wanted to prove the stereotype wrong at a private enclave in Park City, Utah. The development firm hired CLB Architects to design a timeless residence that was simpler and more elegant than its neighbors—though just as enormous—and would appeal to potential outdoors-oriented buyers. “Their goal was to establish a new standard for thoughtful design in this part of Utah,” CLB partner and architect Eric Logan explains. At the same time, the house would have over-the-top amenities like a climbing wall, sports court, bowling alley, and spa. CLB showed that these directives need not be contradictory.

The 4.9-acre site is on a steep slope in the Wasatch Mountains, thick with spruce, fir, and aspen trees. At 8,500 feet above sea level, the property has commanding views of the Park City Mountain resort and across a valley. CLB approached the landscape with respect. Based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Bozeman, Montana, the studio has decades of experience designing high-end mountain residences and strives to honor the natural beauty of each location. “We take the notion of connecting with place very seriously,” Logan says. “We’ve been lucky to work on some incredible properties in the West, and we try not to screw them up. Sometimes I think, You should do nothing here and make it a park. But something will be developed there, so we do the best work we can.” At the Park City site, CLB aimed to make the house as compact as possible given the extensive program and keep it from sprawling too far into the forest.

CLB built the home, dubbed Monitor’s Rest, into the hillside and designed an L-shape plan. Approaching from above, visitors enter a courtyard and see a structure that looks smaller than its 18,000 square feet. “The courtyard creates a quiet space where you can take in the sky and get oriented, and it also brings light into the home,” Logan says. The building’s exterior establishes the material palette used throughout: Croatian limestone, shou sugi ban cedar cladding, steel-framed windows, and a copper roof. Its simple form is designed to withstand the harsh winters; anything too expressive will leak or get scraped off in the snow.

The experience of the enclosed, serene courtyard deliberately contrasts with the openness of the interior. A limestone foyer, the nexus of the two-story house, leads in three directions. You can turn right to go to the primary bedroom suite and the office or left to the living and dining areas. Straight ahead is a dramatic atrium with windows facing the forest and stairs leading down to the guest bedrooms and bowling alley.

At the back of the ground floor is a small tower. Since the house is built into the hillside, Ostrander wanted a pop-up perch where residents could take in 360-degree views. Measuring 19 by 19 feet, it has a wraparound balcony and references the forest-fire watchtowers found in national parks. “It’s a little retreat that’s whimsical and unexpected,” Ostrander says. Warm and intimate, it practically begs for a kids’ sleepover, though a floating fireplace, rosewood table, and Moroccan Mrirt rug make it plenty sophisticated for adults. Like the rest of the property, the tower is both fun and refined, and brings a whole new perspective to the neighborhood.

clb architects: andy ankeny, brent sikora, jake ostlind, cassidy stickney, jaye infanger, erica hawley

design workshop: landscape architect

magelby construction: contractor

sherwood design engineers: civil engineer

kl&a, inc.: structural engineer

energy 1: mechanical/electrical engineer

orsman design: lighting designer

jouffre: custom sofa (living room)

Eny Lee Parker: lamps

semeurs d’étoiles through invisible collection: custom chandelier (entry)

konekt: ottomans (hearth room)

pierre augustin rose through invisible collection: custom coffee table

place textiles: custom sectional fabric

daniel becker studio: custom chandelier

through tom robinson: vintage dining chairs

miksi through invisible collection: custom rug

christopher kreiling through blackman cruz: lamp (office)

ski lift designs: custom ski lift chair (stair)

bourgeois boheme: custom chandelier (den)

dornstab through kalmar: floor lamp

stark: rug

brunswick bowling: bowling alley

restoration hardware: side table

fromental: wallcovering

juniper lighting: lights (guest bath)

Duravit: sink

clé: tile

marrone: custom range hood (kitchen)

wood stone: pizza oven

Dornbracht: sink fittings

old plank collection: art sheep (hallway)

response hg: flooring (sports court)

the court company: wall panels

luxury mrirt rug through benisouk: rug (tower room)

grand splendid studio: rug

through two enlighten: vintage mirror

crump & kwash: custom desk (guest bedroom)

made goods: desk chair

sutherland furniture: lounge chair

masterpiece millwork & door: custom millwork

craftsman upholstery: custom sofa fabrication (hearth room, bowling alley, tower room)

newell studio: custom coffee table (living room); custom dining table (hearth room); custom wall panels (office); custom shuffleboard table (bowling alley)

through 1stdibs: vintage chair (office); armchairs (den); bench (hallway); table, lamp (tower room)

blueprint lighting: custom pendants (primary bedroom, primary bathroom)

marset: reading lights (bedrooms)

watermark: sink fittings (bathrooms)