Siegelson Office

The Siegelson Office was the first collaboration of two friends and high-school classmates, David Nosanchuk and Lee Siegelson. Siegelson, a third generation gem and jewelry dealer, spent his earlier years outside New York and attended Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan with Nosanchuk. When moving his operations from the hustle of 47th street, Siegelson approached the designer with a program of a functional office that also had the feeling of a home.

Celebrating and respecting their experience at the Saarinen campus, Nosanchuk was commissioned to design all elements of the project, including the custom architectural interior to one of kind rugs, lights, and desks. The remaining decorative elements are comprised of original Bertoia sculptures, Louis Sullivan Tapestries, Lalique fixtures, and the Saarinen House lounge and side chairs. Additional art and artifacts, such as Siegelson’s father’s collection of Dali prints and ivory chess pieces, fill out the space.

The office design is characterized by a range of color, texture, and depth. The majority of the millwork and doors are made of quartered figured red birch. This book-matched veneer has a luminosity referred to as chatoyancy, from the French word meaning “glimmer of the cat’s eye.” The limestone floor and recessed base, creates a cabinet-like floating wall marked by a nickel-plated doorframe. The shelving and vertical light columns are composed of solid bronze with silver nitrate patina and mouth blown glass lights. Mohair wall panels and jewelry case interiors contrast the Canadian honed black granite counters. All of these elements work in harmony, creating “a total work of art,” embodying Cranbrook’s vision defined seventy-five years earlier.