Quickly, the branches of their enterprise might be united underneath a typical roof: a headquarters is being developed reverse RW Guild, the place employees might be educated in licensed Roman and Willliams romance. “I feel we have a tendency to draw an individual who’s slightly dissatisfied with the design training system,” says Alesch, who describes himself as a “tender architect,” drawn to issues like draperies and inside particulars. , and Standefer as a “arduous”. inside designer”, who loves stone, wooden and diving into building methodology. Collectively they create spontaneous however rigorously deliberate and at all times luxurious areas. “A whole lot of our staff are individuals who have been criticized for being beauty- or emotion-focused of their designs. We’re sort of a protected haven for these individuals.
With this workforce, Roman and Williams additionally design the primary floor constructing on Gramercy Park in 75 years; a lodge and spa within the English Cotswolds that highlights Roman ruins on its website; and a San Francisco lodge for the Hearst household, for which Alesch and Standefer have been requested to extract architectural artifacts and furnishings from the household archives stored in a Bronx warehouse since 1945. After launching their second main line of furnishings there just a few months in the past, they experimented with misplaced wax and melting glass for a brand new assortment of bronze lamps. In flip, these technical initiatives and explorations can encourage new design questions.
Based on Standefer, the agency has at all times tried to reply the query: “How do you have a look at the previous and the long run with a brand new perspective?” With historical past as a scale, their work to this point is only a drop within the ocean. However, what’s necessary, they are saying, is the legacy they’ll go away with the design ideas they uphold. “We wish to create an archetype,” Standefer explains, “and also you simply do not do it in a 12 months.”
Twenty years later, the duo shared with AD PRO the ideas which have guided their enterprise to this point and can hopefully gentle the best way for the following 20.
Ethics earlier than fashion: “Our work is linked to a philosophy, not a method. We don’t match into typical structure and design tropes or classes and reject widespread stereotypes of what it means to be fashionable at this time. As an alternative, our work is underpinned by a set of core beliefs and is an extension of these values, a continuum of longevity meant to stay past them, just like the title of the studio itself, from the title of our maternal grandfathers.
Narrative: “We animate areas by unearthing tales, amplifying historical past and exploring symbols. All the pieces we design, from an object to a constructing, is underpinned by storytelling.
Nature: “We’re naturalists, impressed by the twists and turns of untamed imperfection. We love pure supplies and their evolution by use.
rigidity: “We create rigidity by combining opposing concepts and parts. We consider that there’s richness within the rigidity of the “combine” which is order and dysfunction, group and freedom, rigor and spontaneity, excessive and low, refinement and insurrection, previous and future, unity and selection.