Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 5th, 2011.

Have you noticed how the bulk of newly built New York residential buildings possess as much charm as Ann Coulter or Al Gore? Does modern design have to mean sterile design? Understandably, re-creating aged patina can be a bit Disney-esque, but surely within the vast array of good modern design, there MUST be some way of making people’s homes (yes, when they come home and walkthrough that lobby, that is the beggining of their ‘home experience’ just the way a driveway and front yard would be in the burbs) more of a pleasant experience.  With the 1% (yes, that’s the luxury market in New York real estate) under much greater scrutiny and derision than ever before, coming home should feel like a big hug, a way of saying “yes, you have more than the other 99%, but it’s not your fault…it’ll be ok….you earned it too!”

I am horrified on a daily basis when architects and designers think that a lobby or hallway overwhelmed with fluorescent lighting that renders a ghostly, sick complexion on humans is acceptable design. Throw in some material choices that are either reminiscent of a bomb shelter or worse, a psuedo-boutique-fashion-of-the-moment hotel and one truly has to wonder whether these designers know anything about the human psyche.

It is easily possible at any price point to achieve a more charming experience with a newly designed building by integrating materials, lighting, artwork and possibly something unique and special to the environment. Attempting to re-create a pre-war experience a-la-15 Central Park West (that while beautifully executed looks like any high end Ritz Carlton) is not what I am calling for. I do believe good modern design can be both inventive and human.

Come on starchitects and world class designers: human beings are not machines….yet.