MEET THE ARCHITECT

AN ARCHITECT WITH A COSMOPOLITAN SENSIBILITY FOR HISTORIC HAMPTONS DESIGN

Why did you choose architecture? I wanted a career that combined art, design and business. I'm a left brain/right brain type of person. Architecture is an art and a business. What brought you out to the East End? I've probably been coming here for 30 years. I started as a kid renting share houses and I always loved it. The Hamptons are like a giant playground where you can fish, surf and bike ride. What are your guiding principles of design? Design is problem solving. A lot of my work has to do with restoring, and I am a firm believer in adaptive reuse. Every house deserves a second chance. Old houses have constant problems, but there is certainly something beautiful about their history. Also I am always looking for a big idea, poetic concept or story within my design. What is your own home like? My wife and I own a 600-square-feet cottage that was originally a fisherman's beach hut in the 1930s. When we bought it, it was like a fisherman's cottage dressed in drag. We stripped it down to the bones. Most people would have torn the house down but I like the challenge of a small space. You have to use every square inch. We're surrounded by lush gardens and live in and out of the space, which is another thing I love about the Hamptons, the ability to live outdoors. Since this is our water issue, how do you take into account water in your designs? Out here you can't ignore that water is omnipresent. You always have to think about it. I chose colors and materials that are sensitive to water and I exploit all view-potential as much as possible. What has been one of your more rewarding projects? I'd have to say the Elie Tahari concept store in East Hampton that I designed in collaboration with Piero Lissoni. It used to be the old post office and is on a very prominent corner. Its the 58th and 5th of the Hamptons. Every Friday night as I drive by I really believe that the town got something special in that design. What inspired it? The store has a lot of metaphors about the sky and light. What is exciting to you in the world of architecture today? With the green movement I find that modernism has come full circle. Modern architecture should be a solution for a lot of things down the road. You're never going to find a green McMansion, but modernism allows you to solve some of the problems that come along with them architecturally. What do you aspire to in the future? I've been very lucky to work in the Hamptons and the city. I use materials that might be applied in a Manhattan sky scraper and in a little East Hampton cottage. I'd like to continue with this until someday there's a 50/50 balance of both.