Camera Dashboard: 30 in 30: #25

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

30 in 30: #25

Many architectural guidebooks to New York City have the unfortunate trait of featuring numerous projects that are not accessible to the public. These include of course private residences but also commercial spaces. Seeing Richardson Sadeki's design for skinklinic (now Sleek MedSpa) in one of these books, I figured that it fell into the latter. Nevertheless I thought I'd give it a shot.

Located at 800 Fifth Avenue, overlooking the southern tip of Central Park, I walked around the residential tower to see if I could take in the project from the sidewalk. What I encountered directly east of the building was a private park but an open gate. I could tell from the view above that I was in the right place. The mirrored wall with plenty of light fixtures appeared to lead to something special.

Slowly walking towards the gap between the mirrored and stone walls, I could see the ghostly imprint of the skinklinic name, something that seemed sensible, given the change of ownership, but odd given the lack of a new sign for the new name.

Rounding the corner I found the above view. I figured the reflecting pool would be drained for the winter but my first impression was that the spa is closed. The sign, though, indicated to use the Fifth Avenue entrance. Okay, but does that mean that this rear portion is no longer used? As can be seen from the architect's photo below (what drew me to find the spa), this would be a shame. Not only is the design like an oasis in the city, it's also an appropriate transition from the noise and bustle of the streets to the calm and quiet of the spa. It's these sorts of spaces that make a difference, not just simply a door off the sidewalk.

skinklinic