Inside the 69th-floor apartment at Jean Nouvel’s Midtown landmark, the Monegasque duo crafts a layered interior abundant with French savoir-faire, bespoke furnishings, and a curated art program designed for a global collector.
The vertiginous supertall zigzagging above the Museum of Modern Art at 53 West 53rd Street reads more like a Gotham landmark than the heritage settings that have become standard fare for Humbert & Poyet, the Monegasque studio whose sophisticated interiors channel French decorative arts to convey an easygoing glamour. Emil Humbert and Christophe Poyet were designing a hotel in Singapore for Pontiac Land Group, the skyscraper’s owner, when the idea of a model residence surfaced matter-of-factly during a meeting. “They felt our residential work could really elevate the story of the building,” Humbert recalls, noting his immediate affinity for the supertall once he learned that architect Jean Nouvel and designer Thierry Despont both left their French savoir-faire stamp throughout the property. Impressed, the duo signed on. [...]
“We like to assemble interiors as if they were collected over time,” Humbert explains of how the duo gathered contemporary works, custom pieces, and vintage finds in a vivid tableau. “Even without a specific client, we imagined someone who travels and acquires pieces over the years.” Several objects, including a rare Murano vase from the 1930s and a marble bust of Apollo, came from the studio’s private collection. Artwork was selected under the guidance of Creative Art Partners, which curated an array of contemporary pieces that allow prospective buyers to envision how their own collections might live inside the apartment. In one corridor, a painting by Mark Connolly introduces a vivid forest populated by one of his signature mythical creatures. “I wish I could take it home with me,” Humbert jokes. “But I love all the pieces.”
Originally published in Galerie.
