MARK CRUMPACKER, a branding expert who created the original Chipotle
Mexican Grill logo in the 1990s, became the company’s chief marketing
officer three years ago. His partner, Tim Wildin, is the corporate
director of concept development, a job Mr. Crumpacker helped him land.
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“I wanted to join the team really badly,” Mr. Wildin said.
So it’s not surprising that the couple’s loft was designed by Thaddeus
Briner of the New York firm Architecture Outfit, the architect
responsible for the design of a number of new minimalist Chipotle
restaurants, as well as ShopHouse, the company’s experiment with
fast-casual Asian food.
The couple bought the 2,100-square-foot apartment, on a commercial block
of West 13th Street, two years ago from the actor Benjamin Bratt for
$2.5 million.
Mr. Crumpacker, 48, a graduate of Art Center College of Design, sketched
the idea for the renovation. “I’m the concept guy,” he said.
Mr. Wildin, 31, is the implementer. In this case, that meant dealing
with the contractor and the architect. The latter aspect of his task
wasn’t difficult because he already had plenty of experience working
with Mr. Briner on ShopHouse.
“I speak Thaddeus fluently,” Mr. Wildin said. For those unfamiliar with
Mr. Briner and his philosophy of design, a single line from the
Architecture Outfit Web site says it all: “Simple is usually better.”
The renovation, which cost $800,000, took 15 months and was completed in March .
One bedroom was removed to open up the living and dining area (there are
now two bedrooms). Soundproofing was installed in the wall adjoining
the building’s communal hallway and in the ceiling, where a series of
rectangular gypsum board “clouds” conceal recessed lighting and indirect
fluorescent tubes along the edges of the apartment.
A row of cast-iron columns that was featured prominently in Mr. Bratt’s
home has disappeared into new bathrooms and closets, but the design
preserved the whitewashed brick.
“To me, it’s very Mercer Hotel lobby-looking,” Mr. Wildin said.
Mr. Crumpacker insists that their intention was not to create a “luxury
Chipotle,” but colleagues have noticed connections, most notably the
large walnut-clad volume that sits off-center in the space, stopping
just short of the ceiling. It bears an uncanny resemblance to the
free-standing plywood forms Mr. Briner designed to contain restrooms and
drinks stations at the restaurants.
This volume, however, holds a laundry room, a guest bath, a home office alcove, a pantry and plenty of storage.
The design devotes so much space to storage, in fact, that some closets
are still nearly empty. “We’re organized down to the built-in doggy
crate,” Mr. Wildin said.
On a recent Sunday, he stood at the kitchen island, which functions as something of a command center for the apartment.
“I live at the counter,” Mr. Wildin said, “chopping and answering
e-mail.” A small hole in the statuary marble surface allows him to plug
in an iPad, he said, from which he can adjust the room’s lighting and the window shades.
Pivoting, tongs in hand, he pressed hanger steaks marinated in
chili-and-fish sauce into the Gaggenau Vario teppanyaki grill behind
him.
“Mark, can you get a silver presentation plate, like your Nambe?” he asked.
Then he filled it and placed it in front of guests seated around the
enormous Saarinen pedestal table in the dining room.
“It’s a ShopHouse cut,” he said.
by : nytimes.com
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