GOLDEN TOUCH

Real estate venture Ray's Seagram Building HQ in New York is a homage to corporate modernism

- DIANA BUDDS

Good taste, as they say, never goes out of style, and the aphorism is no more apparent than in the New York headquarters of Ray, a residential development company helmed by the art collector and Garage Museum founder Dasha Zhukova. The office is located on the 25th floor of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building at 375 Park Avenue, and Ray creative director Suzanne Demisch, of design gallery Demisch Danant, has made it a homage to corporate modernism with bookmatched rosewood walls, Florence Knoll sofas and pale gold carpeting. With a panorama of Manhattan visible through its floor-to-ceiling windows, and artwork by Taryn Simon and Jonas Wood, the office is as inspiring as it is commanding.

Meanwhile, Ray is remaking skylines across the US with residential high-rises that reflect the same sensibility as its HQ: materially rich and outfitted with vintage furniture and contemporary art – the sort of places where design obsessives feel right at home. But more than building skyscrapers, Ray is also nurturing artistically-minded communities within them, establishing creative hubs not only for their residents, but for the city as a whole. ‘We believe that an intimate shared experience of art, design and architecture has the power to positively impact people’s lives,’ says Demisch.