This month, Metal Architecture reached out to Alexander Zilberman, founder and principal architect of Alexander Zilberman Architecture. Based in Lower Manhattan, New York, the firm has grown into a practice of about ten designers since it opened its doors in 2011.
With a focus on bespoke, luxury design, Alexander Zilberman and his team specialize in creating spaces for high-end brands of all kinds while also looking for opportunities for greener techniques and materials. Recently, the firm has expanded its use of aluminum, making it a versatile addition to the Zilberman team’s design palette.
Modern simplicity
Zilberman points to the “simple geometry” of modernist architects as his inspiration for joining the profession. He recounts how seeing the works of Austrian-American architect Richard Neutra—especially Palm Springs, Calif.’s Kaufmann Desert House—truly lit a passion for architectural design in his heart.
“The first time I saw it [the Kaufmann Desert House]—in a single black-and-white image in a textbook—it became immediately clear in my mind that I was to become an architect,” Zilberman explains. “Simultaneously sculptural and responsive to the surrounding environment, the house is composed of simple geometric forms that anyone can understand. I had never seen anything like it growing up in the suburbs of Pennsylvania—it impacted me on a visceral level. It inspired me, and that made me want to design and realize architecture that inspires.”
Zilberman and his firm would go on to apply this aesthetic to the retail sector, designing new venues for major brands in high-end shopping districts and freestanding flagship locations for luxury retailers across the U.S.
Metallic versatility
One of the other throughlines for Alexander Zilberman Architecture’s portfolio is the innovative and sustainable use of metals, particularly aluminum. Zilberman points to its ready abundance, light weight, relative durability, and—most importantly—aesthetic versatility as the key reasons his firm makes widespread use of the material.
“The best part is that there are also new techniques and treatments for creating high-end bespoke, natural looks, even when mass-produced,” he says. “These treatments include anodization and coatings with a full range of finishes and textures from brushed to satin to high polish, making aluminum appropriate for most applications, whether the palette calls for warm metal or cool. Taking things even further, we can order these products with custom prints and graphic patterns, and layer these with translucence for any effect you can dream up.”
He adds how recent developments mean aluminum is “rapidly becoming more cost-effective” than its alternatives, such as copper, brass, bronze, or even steel.
Alexander Zilberman Architecture’s latest designs for freestanding flagships like the Michael Kors store in Woodbury, N.Y., feature a novel application for standing seam metal roofing. The flagship and headquarters for Precision Watches in Lower Gwynedd, Penn., boasts standing seam on its roof as well as its dormers.
They also designed a “champagne frame” façade for Q New York, Aston Martin’s first-ever U.S. showroom. Its chamfered-edge insert, composed of brushed anodized champagne-hued metal composite panels, highlights enormous glazed openings, drawing the eyes of passersby directly to the floor models on display.
Sustainable luxury
Zilberman says his team always looks for ways to maximize sustainability in design, material use, and building lifecycles.
“While our luxury clientele tends to focus less on sustainable design, especially in the retail sector, we nevertheless spend time and effort reviewing manufacturer documentation with an eye toward selecting products composed at least partly from recycled materials, and also products that can be recycled at the end of useful life,” he explains. “Documentation review must be performed anyway, as part of the due diligence process to ensure a completed project’s longevity, quality, and life safety compliance—and, of course, for cradle-to-cradle sustainability wherever possible.”
He also says his team is developing a new method of building luxury residential homes using sustainable, prefabricated elements.
“The proprietary system utilizes precision engineering, prefabricated, and ready-to-assemble components to leverage site installation, smaller crews, and reduced requirements for specialized trades,” says Zilberman. “The goal is to offer developers ways to build luxury homes and hotels in remote locations where conditions for construction are challenging, combining prefab assembly and traditional construction to produce luxury turnkey homes with bespoke aesthetics that capitalize on breathtaking views with full-height glazing.”
The design work of Alexander Zilberman Architecture demonstrates how even common, readily available metals like aluminum can play a key role in high-end building projects.