What’s new with NYC-loving starchitect Thomas Juul-Hansen
Divorced and “rootless,” Danish-born architect Thomas Juul-Hansen had just graduated from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design with a Master of Architecture degree when he decided to go on a two-month, cross-country motorcycle tour.
“I started in New York and that’s where I ended,” Juul-Hansen told Gimme Shelter. “It’s the only part of America where I could see myself staying.”
And so, he did. The “people, and the energy of the city,” is why he stayed, remarried and raised his beautiful children here.
But it’s not just his personal life that thrives in the Big Apple — it’s his professional one, too. Through his work, he’s left an everlasting, not to mention stylish, mark on the city’s skyline. It’s a canvas he loves dearly.
New York City is inspirational, he added, because, “It’s an enormous melting pot, not only in terms of who resides here but in terms of who you interact with — people from all sorts of different economic, social and cultural backgrounds across the whole spectrum of the planet. You don’t get that in a car culture, where you are just in and out of your car with no interaction with humanity, just, ‘Get the f–k out of my way, a–hole.’ “
The “constant energy of the city is inspiring,” said Juul-Hansen, who often travels the city by way of the subway and Citi Bikes.
Juul-Hansen got his start working for starchitect Richard Meier before becoming one in his own right, launching his own firm in 2003.
He made his name dazzling the interiors for One57, at 157 W. 57th St., the city’s first “supertall” condo tower on what’s now known as Billionaires’ Row. One57, he said, became “the DNA for all of 57th Street. It’s the most attractive real estate proposition.”
Juul-Hansen has since created 505 W. 19th on the High Line and his latest building, Sutton Tower, is an 848-foot-high limestone tower on the Upper East Side — currently the area’s tallest. It’s likely to stay that way, too, since zoning rules now outlaw buildings higher than 250 feet tall in the neighborhood. His other projects are in Miami, Los Angeles, London, Bangkok, Washington, DC, and beyond.
Gimme Shelter sat down to interview Juul-Hansen at his Financial District home, with 20-foot-high ceilings and glass walls, at 50 West St., a building whose interiors he also designed. We also toured the city from a helicopter to see Sutton Tower, from the sky, and walked the High Line.
From there, Juul-Hansen showed us one of his favorite buildings, the Standard Hotel. He didn’t work on it, but that doesn’t stop him from loving it.
“Most buildings have views for people from the inside looking out, but here, the High Line is the spectator,” said Juul-Hansen, who has also worked on hospitality and retail projects for clients like top Michelin-starred restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten and others. He also worked on the restaurant Scarpetta. With all of his projects, Juul-Hansen is known for his master use of natural materials — wood and stone — that are always classic.
Sales at Sutton Tower are currently going “really well,” Juul-Hansen said. Other current projects include 96+ Broadway where he led the exterior and interior design, and a new 20-story luxury condo tower project in West Chelsea that’s still under wraps.
Now that the US presidential election is over, the architect said, real estate sales are starting to pick up.
“There’s a new optimism in terms of developers gearing up to be more active post-COVID, which is already almost five years ago. There’s a new energy with clients. I can feel that they are more active,” Juul-Hansen said.
He added that his firm is getting more calls and inquiries about potential development sites and projects.
“It’s not necessarily a science, but when this atmosphere is in the air, it means that more prosperous times are ahead in New York City,” Juul-Hansen said, adding, “Now is a good time to buy,” even if news about the direction of interest rates under a new administration are still up in the air.
As for anyone looking to do home improvements for the sake of generating “a new appreciation for the home, if they stay, or if they are thinking of selling down the road and making a profit,” Juul-Hansen had some advice.
“Make sure that the materials and expressions stay clean and neutral. Don’t try to make a design statement. Odds are you will f–k it up — 99% of people f–k it up because it’s not easy,” he said.
Juul-Hansen added that it’s the “energy” of the city that drives him — every day.
“I think the energy of the city inspires me to get up and see what I can do better today than I did yesterday — how I can improve on what I did previously, that whatever I do next will be better than what I did the last time, and it fuels what I do. If I lived in the Hamptons, I don’t know how I’d get the energy to do what I do. I’d be in ‘off’ mode 90% of the time. If you aren’t ‘on’ most of the time in New York City, you’ll drown!”
