Taking the Right Steps In A Lobby Transformation

It was a dark, dim lobby with no package storage, a small mail room, faux fireplaces with two sad chairs on each side, and no curb appeal. A redesign was in order, and Marilyn Sygrove, president of Sygrove Associates Design Group, explains the process used to transform it from a totally non-functional dark space into one that set a positive tone for this east side co-op in New York City. Habitat’s Paula Chin conducts the interview.

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Transcript

Paula Chin: [00:00:00] Welcome to Problem Solved, a conversation about challenges facing New York co-op and condo board directors. I'm Paula Chin of Habitat Magazine and with me today is Marilyn Sygrove, president of Sygrove Associates Design Group. 

The lobby is that first impression that sets the tone for a building. And also in terms of boosting sales, it can be an asset or a hindrance. In older buildings, deferred maintenance over the decades can turn a space into something pretty dim and musty. 

You worked on an Upper East Side building and helped restore it to its art Deco glory. Can you tell us about it, Marilyn? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Oh dear. Absolutely I can. The before and after photographs are so remarkable and so stunning in terms of that transformation.

So this building had a number of problems that we needed to solve, starting from its curb appeal from the [00:01:00] front doors. They had put in these very standard, almost storefront type aluminum doors that were there originally that were set inside of this beautiful limestone facade that had Art Deco details.

So that was the first impression that anyone got entering the building. So we designed Art Deco inspired doors that were done in a black iron material on very easy to open and close hinges. And it really was very much in keeping with the period of the building. 

Paula Chin: Give me a description of the lobby as a whole. What did it look like and what were the problems? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Totally non-functional. It was dark, it was dim. The dark little floor tiles were uneven. The floor had bellied over the years. There was no package storage. There was no mail room, per [00:02:00] se.

They had faux fireplaces that they had put some chairs on either side, and that was basically what they called their lobby. 

Paula Chin: And lighting, the mood , was it just dingy and sad? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Almost scary. It was dingy and nothing sparkled or was reflective. And I think the overall feeling was it really looked poorly maintained, if maintained at all.

It looked dirty. 

Paula Chin: Yuck. As you said, you were talking about the doors. If you can tell us what was the plan that you presented? What did the board want you to do, what scale or scope and what was the plan that you presented them? 

Marilyn Sygrove: First we approach every project based on function.

Why spend significant money on aesthetics when you still have the same problems? So the first thing we do is we have an input meeting with the board to discuss what are the things that need to be fixed that we can fix in this renovation? This was very obvious, as [00:03:00] I mentioned, no package room, no mail room.

So it was really obvious what the first elements were that they needed to have solved. And then we talked about the aesthetic, and of course, younger people are moving in, so it's an Art Deco building. So they wanted something that reflected the period of the building and was respectful of the period of the building.

But they wanted something clearly that was chic and Upper East Side and a little edgy. We came up with several design ideas that we tossed around with them. And we landed on first the floor plan, which made the most sense, of where to position each of the package room and the mail room.

And then we talked about seating, how much seating, where the seating should be. And of course, they had a nice fat column smack dab in the middle of the lobby. So rather than ignoring this architectural element that we had to deal with, we actually built a banquette, a circular banquette that went around it, and we covered the remaining part [00:04:00] of the column in a fluted mirrored material.

It's just beautiful. So it had that kind of ...when I think of deco, I think of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing on a on a cruise ship or something exotic like that. So I think a lot about getting that glamor feeling. And so that little bit of fluted mirror was just that little icing on the cake.

Paula Chin: What else were perhaps some of the elegant touches, lighting? Wall paper or painting?

Marilyn Sygrove: The floor was dramatic. The floor became not quite concentric boxes, but a black and white porcelain tile. No maintenance, virtually no maintenance. Didn't need any polishing in a few years or quarterly or whatever.

It basically takes a damp mop and you're done. So we designed a pattern that was black and white, and the fact that the floor was very durable. The white wasn't an issue, nor was the black an issue. 

Lighting. They had some existing beams that were [00:05:00] decorative beams in the ceiling. We actually used those beams as a source of light.

We added to those beams, added moldings in the period style. And we did indirect lighting or if you will, cove lighting. So that really brightened up the entire lobby. We also had an opportunity to put in some sconces and then in addition the artwork was actually almost so soft, subtle, almost landscapey, but more with color than was actually totally representational.

It was very modern looking art, so it was really quite a dramatic juxtaposition of deco inspired and something modern. 

Paula Chin: Tell me a little bit more about the storage package storage and mail room solutions. 

Marilyn Sygrove: What was interesting about this building, it's a non doorman building.

 Package storage and mail delivery were very important for security reasons, obviously. So the mail room [00:06:00] what we did is, again, the walls were basically a white, washable vinyl material. But we also know that when the post office comes in with their their cart, that the entryway of a mail room can get pretty damaged.

So we trimmed out all of actually the framed openings with black absolute granite. And that basically with a detail that was inverted. So it was basically impervious to that kind of damage. Mailboxes were nice, slick shiny black. So they were very dramatic. And then in terms of the package closet that too had a black door trimmed out. And then it had a locking mechanism that was worked out with management that was solely accessible, not only to the residents that live there, but also to the delivery companies that come in, whether it's the post office, FedEx, UPS.

So those two elements actually were at either end of the lobby, so they, there was no conflict [00:07:00] and it gave the lobby some balance and made it very symmetrical in its appearance. 

Paula Chin: I think you mentioned before that this lobby had fireplaces? 

Marilyn Sygrove: It did. And it still does have fireplaces, but they were very dark and dreary and they had the fake logs.

They may have even had one of those where you plug them in and the fake logs light up. So it was really very kind of kitschy in not a very positive way. Because this lobby was very long and it was really the center of two six story buildings, we decided that in order to give the lobby some feeling of height, that we would take that fireplace mantle, if you will, and do it all the way up to the ceiling. And we went out with the client to a marble yard, and we used actual authentic marble that was book matched and it is stunning. And we did both of them the same way.

And then we designed, the fireplace screen. You don't really need to have the logs in there, but if you [00:08:00] have the screen it certainly indicates that this is a fireplace. So the fireplace screens were also in that squared patterns mimicking the pattern on the floor. 

Paula Chin: This sounds like it was a pretty major job. Was it a high price tag for the co-op? 

Marilyn Sygrove: It's interesting you asked that and my standard response is, when you have miles of space to do, it costs you more money. And if this was a little, boutique style jewel box of a lobby, that clearly would've been a lot less expensive, but because this was probably four jewel boxes of a lobby it was an expensive project. Yes. 

Paula Chin: And typically right with lobby redesigns, there are a lot of opinions and a lot of conflicting opinions. Was that the case here or did that part go pretty smoothly? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Interestingly enough, we do something that's unique I think in our field and I always [00:09:00] think about what it is to be on the board or a design committee and presenting these designs to the entire residential body and those potential for some heated conversations.

We think about that a lot and I actually do a town hall, if you will inviting all of the residents to come and meet. I'm not presenting anything, but just basically give us input and it's that kind of respectful dialogue that we have one evening with the residents in the building that goes a very long way. And the second part of that is we also follow up with a survey, a design survey. And we invite them to not only participate in the survey and checking off answers, but if they have something they want to say that they should vent and get it out, and they have an opportunity on the survey to do that.

So these two things are intended to engage in a passive way with all the residents in the building. We find that [00:10:00] it's extremely successful and that it makes for a much happier project. It went very smoothly and everyone loves it. 

Paula Chin: That's great. Marilyn, any final takeaway you might have for boards who are contemplating a major lobby redo?

Marilyn Sygrove: Yes. Function first. Influence and respect of the period or the style of the building will always go a very long way. And make sure that your dollars are spent on durable materials and a style that's going to last the test of time. 

Paula Chin: Marilyn, this has been really great example. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Marilyn Sygrove: My pleasure.