A new trend is quickly emerging among luxury new development buildings — art-friendly spaces. Among these spaces comes one finite rule: fewer windows and more walls. With this comes a new terminology found on blueprints, the “art wall”. Many developers have begun adopting the phrase. Ian Shrager of 160 Leroy tells Bloomberg via e-mail, “These are walls large enough and with high ceilings that can accommodate the large paintings of modern art, as well as art from other periods. It also allows for a visually prominent display with appropriate lighting.”
In addition to allotting more white space to newly built units, developers are also beginning to adapt designs to look and feel like those of a museum or art gallery. Keeping in tune with art based designs, humidifiers and larger elevators are also becoming increasingly more popular amenities included as an art-friendly touch.
By marketing buildings as art-friendly, architects and designers are further perpetuating the relationship between real estate and art collecting. For real estate agent Wendy Maitland, a celebrity client opted for a unit downtown due to it’s large walls and freight elevator. Maitland comments, “The neighborhood was less essential than the wall space for art, and the ability to exhibit his art collection. That’s a big statement.”