a floating platform bed in the primary bedroom of an apartment
A vintage Eero Aarnio Ball chair sits opposite Mondo Collection’s floating platform bed in the primary bedroom.

November 3, 2023

Words: Jesse Dorris

Photography: Joshua McHugh

Hines Collective Creates an Artful Museum Tower Apartment

César Pelli’s 52-story condo on West 53rd Street, developed in 1982 as part of a redesign of the Museum of Modern Art complex, is its own kind of masterpiece. Longtime friends of Hines Collective had a 2,000-square-foot, two bedroom/2 ½ bath apartment in the building; it had been untouched since it was originally built, and while an Old Master should be treated to careful restoration, this apartment needed more serious work.

They wanted, says founder Devin Hines, “a 1960s, mod-inspired, gallery-space-meets-space-station.” And they got it. First, the team “stripped [it] to studs and slabs.” Then began an inspired rethink. “They are minimalists with a lot of stuff,” Hines says, including an important collection of vintage and contemporary art and design. “We had to be creative with the floor plan to balance form and function.” The second bedroom soon became an enviable walk-in closet and dressing area; more closets line the hallway to the primary bedroom, all with hidden flush doors.

Toka Builders created a seamless, gloss white epoxy resin floor throughout the apartment in a single pour. Finally, the install, careful as a gallery show: In the living area, a custom section extends some 28 winding feet. “It carves different seating opportunities for conversation, intimacy, and views,” Hines says. “It also carves out a home office space that follows the same path at its back.” A Skeleton desk chair by De Sede and AYALA desk lamp are ready to work, as are a curved desk and floating corner console. Akdo tiles and a banquette upholstered in Dedar’s Flimflam warm up the otherwise whitewashed kitchen, from its custom cabinetry to the Miele white glass appliances. And stupendous objects from the collection are everywhere in view—an untitled Jin Soo Kim sculpture watches over chairs hand-carved from more than 25 hardwoods in the dining area, for example—if you can tear your eyes away from the floor-to-ceiling windows looking down grand Fifth Avenue.

wood chairs and Tulip chairs surround a dining table
Yard Sale Project’s wood Corsican chairs alternate with vintage Eero Saarinen Tulip chairs, their seats upholstered in Vernon Panton fabric by Maharam, around a Vortex table by Mattia Bonetti.
a white sectional in the living room of an apartment in the Museum of Modern Art complex
A custom sectional with Perennials upholstery snakes through the living area, past Peter Ghyczy Garden Egg chairs and a Platform C table by Karen Chekerdjian.
a pendant light hangs above a table in the kitchen of an apartment
A vintage Luigi Massoni pendant illuminates the LeisureMod table and Pinto Paris stool.
a floating platform bed in the primary bedroom of an apartment
A vintage Eero Aarnio Ball chair sits opposite Mondo Collection’s floating platform bed in the primary bedroom.
a custom blue upholstered headboard
The primary bedroom’s custom headboard is upholstered in Maharam fabric, with a hidden light source; the visible light source is a Martinelli Luce Cobra 629 table lamp, upon a custom night table.
looking into the crisp white hallway of an NYC apartment
A vintage Eero Saarinen Tulip stool, with a white leather seat, and a Dino chair by Daniel Arsham delineate the entrance to the hall; the wall sconces are vintage Giotto Stoppino.
a vanity area inside a walk-in closet in an apartment
Along with ample storage space, the walk-in closet offers custom vanity area with a Katie Stout’s “Bonnet Chair 1” and a table lamp by Carmen D’Apollonio called “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful.”
the primary bathroom of an apartment at the Museum of Modern Art complex
In the primary bathroom, a custom vanity with Nano White “Glassos” countertop, in a polished finish, sets the stage for Kohler sinks and Hansgrohe faucets.

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