ON CLOUD NINE

ELLE DECOR unveils our Joe Nahemdesigned penthouse, high above Manhattan

- HELENA MADDEN

There's been an influx of cloud-piercing New York City towers over the past 10 years, each staking its claim to Manhattan's increasingly crowded skyline. One standout is the 1,050-foothigh 53 West 53, a Museum of Modern Art neighbor developed by Pontiac Land Group and Hines and executed by the Paris-based Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel. Its distinct diagrid facade an exposed structural system that frames the view from every unit in the building is further elevated by a recent addition: the ELLE DECOR Penthouse.

ELLE DECOR A-List designer Joe Nahem, of Fox-Nahem Associates, based in New York, brought the space to life. Few design firms are more familiar with the magazine. "I've been a part of the ELLE DECOR family for probably three decades," says Nahem, who, alongside his late business partner, Tom Fox, landed his first ELLE DECOR cover in his 20s.