Roman and Williams’s New Downtown Office Gives Way to Bright Ideas

That was precisely the goal for the AD100 duo when they decided to leave their Manhattan studio of 20 years, having outgrown its industrial labyrinthian quarters. In that time, their architecture and design practice had expanded to encompass retail, restaurant, and fine-art concepts with the launch of Roman and Williams Guild, La Mercerie, and Guild Gallery. A larger office would not only allow the firm to bring those teams together under one roof for creative mind melds, it would serve as a showcase for the expansive ethos that has come to define its internationally acclaimed projects, among them chef Jean-Georges’s Tin Building, The Met’s British Galleries, and homes for Gwyneth Paltrow. “We wanted to bring the same generosity to our staff as we do our clients,” says Standefer, emphasizing that colleagues should bask in craftsmanship and character on par with any of the firm’s interiors.

The staff conference room departs from the white-oak scheme with Dado benches and a prototype for a forthcoming trestle table.

Photo: Clement Pascal.

An Oscar pendant by Roman and Williams Guild hangs above Alesch’s drafting table.

Photo: Clement Pascal

Alesch’s workshop.

Clement Pascal Art: Jean-Marc Louis. Stephen Alesch.

Set in a 1920s building, their new Tribeca loft instantly appealed on account of its historic bones and flexible layout. “Stephen and I are moved by architectural stories,” she says of the trapezoidal space, now divided into a mix of public and semiprivate spheres. Elevator doors open directly onto an entry hall, which leads to a large conference room for presentations and the open-plan working area, its broad desks designed to foster collaboration. Standefer and Alesch get their own offices: hers a calm corner for brainstorming big ideas, his a gritty workshop for rolling up his sleeves. There’s also the staff meeting room and kitchen, each enviably residential in feel. All throughout, white oak sets the tone. Says Standefer: “We wanted to create an environment with a certain serenity.”

The staff kitchen and dining area features Oscar pendants, Angelica for Two tables, a Catalpa sofa, and Stockholm dining chairs—all by Roman and Williams Guild.

Photo: Clement Pascal

The kitchen’s sink fittings are by Roman and Williams for Waterworks.

Photo: Clement Pascal

As in any Roman and Williams project, rooms reward close inspection. The notched drawers of those flat files glide open to reveal a trove of material samples and sources of inspiration, what Alesch calls “a taxonomy of bits.” They include a Japanese broom, chestnuts from the couple’s Montauk beach house, and his original Guild insignia, hand-painted in black ink. On any given day, Standefer pulls a mix of objects to create three-dimensional collages for design schemes, while Alesch draws in his atelier. (“It’s a real pas de deux,” she notes of their creative partnership.) Elsewhere are other Easter eggs from past hits, like a hunk of granite that was part of a pitch for Standard Hotels or an early ceramic piece by Guild Gallery artist Casey Zablocki. Overhead and atop tables, meanwhile, Guild lighting serves as the literal embodiment of bright ideas.