Places and Spaces: This Luxury Manhattan Complex Houses 11 Uniquely-Designed Apartments

New York's Lower East Side is a community that's constantly evolving as a young crowd adds their modern touch to the area. From specialist coffee spots to vibrant live music venues, there's an air of eclecticism in this popular neighbourhood. In what has been described as a 'vertical village' and 'a city within a city', One Manhattan Square is a jaw-dropping residential building that literally towers above the city like a futuristic skyscraper. It's located on the edge of the New York Harbour and is completely clad in glass to further accentuate the luxury lifestyle that's on offer for those lucky enough to snap up one of the apartments inside. Specifically, we're talking about the eleven unique apartments that multidisciplinary creative Anna Karlin conceived for the New York City complex. Each with their own name and detailed personality, it's near impossible to choose a favourite.

Anna's response to the brief of conceptualising and executing eleven distinct apartment designs is nothing short of genius. Instead of merely swapping a cushion or armchair here and there, she has managed to create an entirely different fantasy lifestyle for each. They are all backed by a particular story of the characters that Anna imagined might take up residence in the complex. The designer has been extremely successful in transforming simple white condos into deeply-detailed destinations that make you want to uncover every surface and texture. Anna's approach is entirely different to a generic display home, giving people the opportunity to visualise a fully-fledged, stylish life for themselves in the heart of New York.

Take 'A Green Sanctuary' for example. It capitalises on its immense and interrupted views across the skyline by keeping things light and airy and incorporating indoor plants and an abundance of off-white fabrics and light timber tones for a retreat that would suit a busy professional who seeks solace at home. On the other hand, 'Pret-a-Porter' speaks to the buyer who's fulfilled with luxury retail shopping and a natural affinity for all that glitters. This imagined character isn't afraid of pairing unexpected colours and definitely is partial to a touch of velvet here and there. Anna's palette is generally vivid within this project for One Manhattan Square, but she's able to show the full breadth of her design expertise in 'A Modern Pad'—sleek, refined and a stark contrast to its highly-pigmented neighbours. It could be the most Manhattan apartment of them all, perfect for the cool contemporary who tends to err on the side of minimalism. Whatever your lifestyle and taste in decor, you're sure to find a perfect match in one of these lively apartments.

Images courtesy of Anna Karlin. Photography by William Jess Laird.

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