August 3, 2018
New York Cottages & Gardens, one New York’s leading interior design magazines, ran an unusual feature recently. It focused on the incredible design talent to be found in just two buildings — our own Townsend and St. James. Entitled “Designers at Work,” the piece highlighted the remarkable number of noted interior designers that conduct their businesses in 1123 and 1133 Broadway.
The Townsend and St. James were originally built for much the same purpose they serve today: to provide smaller office spaces for artist, architects, and craftsman. In fact, during the Gilded Age, the architects of The Flatiron Building/The Fuller Building (Daniel Burnham), The Townsend (Bruce Price), and St. James (Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz) had their offices in 1133 Broadway.
The article touches on why there is a concentration of designers here today, noting the buildings themselves as a big draw. The handsome exterior, beautiful details of floors, hallways, ceilings, and mouldings still provide a sense of beauty and sensitivity to detail that appeal to designers but which are often lacking in modern buildings.
Perhaps among other factors are that there are so many like-minded people here that it keeps attracting others. And with resources such as the Rizzoli’s fine reference bookstore downstairsand a neighborhood chock full of resource centers like Porcelanosa, Natuzzi and newcomer Liaigre, among dozens of others, it is no wonder that in a recent Architectural Digest article said of NoMad “the international design world officially has a new favorite neighborhood . . . NoMad.”
Atop playful sketches of The Townsend and St. James, the article includes photographs of 21 designers and a peak into their stylish office spaces.
Designers featured by NYC&G:
J. Jones/Marie-Christine Design
These 21 featured designers represent just a sample of the more than 30 interior design firms in 1123 and 1133 and the hundreds of other creatives in our buildings. We are proud to have such an exceptionally talented community who choose to house their businesses in NoMad and our signature properties.