Brass cabinetry by Amuneal is an indication of the types of interiors projects that the company is accustomed to taking on.
Photo: Stuart GoldenbergIn the latest issue of AD, a new LaGuardia Airport installation by Sarah Sze gets its moment in the sun. That’s true somewhat literally, as the New York City artistic marvel, Shorter Than the Day, is a globe-shaped work made up of 1,200 photographs of the sky. Located in the airport’s airy new Terminal B, it is, like all of Sze’s multifaceted sculptures, as much a study in detail as it is a testament to the feats made possible by expert-level fabrication.
As it happens, the Philadelphia-based studio with whom Sze partnered to bring this work to life spends a great deal of its time creating works for interior designers and architects. But it wasn’t always that way. Amuneal was first founded by the parents of its current CEO, Adam Kamens, as a manufacturer of magnetic shields. When Kamens took over, he saw an opportunity to expand the company more broadly into design. That meant making furniture as well as a rich variety of other customized structures such as stairs, ceilings, and just about everything else in between. Flash-forward to today, and the studio counts the likes of Roman and Williams’s Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch as past collaborators.
A lacquer bar and drink rack by the studio.
Photo: Stuart GoldenbergAs Kamens explains to AD PRO, his firm is usually brought on very early in a project’s process. A designer might know how they want something to look, but not necessarily its details, or what it will take to turn that vision into a reality. Yet Kamens doesn’t feel that his collaborators lack an appreciation for his work. In fact, the dynamic could be read as just the opposite: “If anything, I’d like them to not be so apologetic [in terms of what they’re asking for],” he says. “We’re trying to refine what we’re capable of producing, because that’s what’s always helped us grow.”
That ethos has also been part of Kamens’s recent business strategy. “We’ve done what’s hard for us in the past couple of years, which is to sometimes say no [to potential clients] in order to reserve capacity for projects that are really challenging.” After a pause he adds, “I think it’s helped define us as a brand.” Still, Amuneal is busier than ever, with 100 to 200 commissions going on at any given time.
On the horizon now is a beautiful kitchen island for a home in the South of France, as well as a private interior staircase. Of that latter commission, Kamens adds, “No one will ever see it, but we had to build new equipment and invent new ways of working. It’s one of the hardest and most rewarding projects we’ve done.”
That, of course, is the nature of working with many private clients. Nonetheless, there’s still plenty of Amuneal’s work that can be readily seen throughout the world—from the Ford Foundation’s restored steel atrium to feature stairs within the Empire State Building. And of course, now there is artist Sarah Sze’s dazzling sculpture.
"used" - Google News
July 10, 2020 at 06:02AM
https://ift.tt/2ZdzLfc
The Fabricator Behind LaGuardia’s Dazzling New Sculpture Is Used to Working With Designers - Architectural Digest
"used" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2ypoNIZ
https://ift.tt/3aVpWFD
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "The Fabricator Behind LaGuardia’s Dazzling New Sculpture Is Used to Working With Designers - Architectural Digest"
Post a Comment