Dr. Joe Maniscalco is a licensed prosthodontist – a specialist in cosmetic, implant, and reconstructive dentistry with wide experience as a family dentist in Brooklyn, New York. His office, Aesthetic & Implant Dental Arts, features the most up-to-date technology, while maintaining the feel of a family practice, making patients feel at ease. To keep up with the ever evolving changes in technology and patient care, the cosmetic dentistry office, acquired from another practitioner, was in need of a makeover.

The AIDA office interiors were reconfigured and upgraded to have a medical operatory, a second procedure room that also functions as a patient consult space, and a brand-new laboratory for the custom fabrication of implants in-house. Studioteka also designed two new dental hygienist rooms, as well as custom cabinetry for all the rooms. Brand-new driftwood gray floors and a gorgeous shade of blue are integrated into all the lab and procedure rooms, helping practitioners reset their vision when doing expert color corrections, whitening, and dental implants. The procedure room and hygienist areas had bespoke alabaster-white glossy cabinets, clerestory windows, and new inset glass doors installed to contrast with the shades of blue in the color scheme; this allows natural and artificial light to gently bounce which opens up and illuminates the spaces. The ceiling and existing lighting were stripped down and replaced with a new acoustical ceiling with crisp, white LED lighting, allowing for a sense of quiet within the rooms of this busy practice.

View from outside and entry vestibule looking into the reception area.

View from outside and entry vestibule looking into the reception area.

Beautiful Louis Poulsen pendants bring the reception area a touch of elegance and a warm welcome

Beautiful Louis Poulsen pendants bring the reception area a touch of elegance and a warm welcome

View of the hallway outside of the procedure rooms and lab, looking into the main operatory.

View of the hallway outside of the procedure rooms and lab, looking into the main operatory.

Dr. Maniscalco’s procedure room with color-correcting LED panels and state of the art dental chair.

Dr. Maniscalco’s procedure room with color-correcting LED panels and state of the art dental chair.

On the left, a view of Dr. Maniscalco’s operatory chair, on the right, a view of one of the dental hygenist rooms with intergrated custom millwork

On the left, a view of Dr. Maniscalco’s operatory chair, on the right, a view of one of the dental hygenist rooms with intergrated custom millwork

View of the custom cabinetry in the dental hygenist area designed by Studioteka to hold two autoclaves weighing close to 500 pounds.

View of the custom cabinetry in the dental hygenist area designed by Studioteka to hold two autoclaves weighing close to 500 pounds.

Details and close ups of the working spaces of the practice.

Details and close ups of the working spaces of the practice.

Details and close ups of the working spaces of the practice.

Nestled in a cozy enclave away from the city’s hustle-and-bustle, the Sutton Place Penthouse offers spectacular views of the NYC skyline from its wrap-around terrace. This two-bed, two-bath penthouse apartment with a wrap-around terrace boasts stunning views of the city skyline and the East River. For this 2,360 sq ft residential architecture and interiors project, Studioteka renovated the penthouse kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms and designed custom millwork for the space.

The team designed and incorporated bespoke floor-to-ceiling bunk beds which were inserted into a niche that had previously housed a wall of closets. This guest bedroom piece has dedicated reading lights and integrated cubbies for book and blanket storage easily accessible from the bunks.  In the entry hallway, a wall of closets and storage was completely gutted and redone with new custom doors and a niche for one of the client’s beloved antique furniture pieces.  A built-in wall of cubbies and vertical storage holds the client’s ceramics and artwork bringing the modern farmhouse-style kitchen to life. This material theme of white millwork and neutral stone is carried into the primary bathroom. The elegant art and antique pieces seen throughout the apartment are accentuated with newly installed recessed lighting, new Canadian wide-plank flooring throughout, new windows, and an exterior glass door leading from the living room to the terrace beyond.

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Located in the West Village, this three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath pied-à-terre incorporates mid-century modern elements, including soft grays, subtle textures, punchy metals, and natural wood finishes. Throughout the open living, dining, kitchen, and bedroom spaces are bespoke red oak shutters that allow for changes in natural lighting conditions and views. Lower panels with operable louvers can be closed for privacy, while the upper ones can stay open, allowing natural light to permeate throughout. Louis Poulsen recessed fixtures were placed in newly installed soffits along the beams of the historic barrel-vaulted ceiling, creating soft and beautiful lighting effects within the space. Two custom built-ins were designed for the living room and dining area: both with painted-white wainscoting details to complement the white walls, forest green accents, and the warmth of the herringbone-patterned white oak floors. The custom bookcase was designed to accommodate a sofa and original artwork in the living room. LED lighting and two decorative sconces were integrated into the unit’s display shelving, highlighting the reading nook and decor. The dining room has a custom television console. The TV is flush-mounted into a fabric scrim with storage cabinetry below. In the kitchen, an antique set of copper light fixtures were placed above the marble island, complementing and illuminating the intricate metal details and stone countertops. This elegant project was the result of a wonderful collaboration between the client, Studioteka, Ideas Dec, Fine Artisan Furnishings, and Tumen Construction.

We like to call this sequence a ‘render and after!’ The image on the left is one of our renderings of one of the spa-like treatment rooms in our office annex project for client Dr. Yael Halaas’ plastic surgery practice. The two images to the right are photos of the finished space! This shows that at Studioteka our design vision truly matches the built reality we deliver at the end of a project.

Another ‘render and after!’ The image on the left is a rendering of the Halaas Annex hallway with the entrances to the various offices and treatment rooms. The two images on the right show the finished space, including the hallway and the interior of a treatment room. We use powerful tools such as these to develop and demonstrate our design concepts well in advance of construction. What you see is what you get!

The photos on the left show the old Pizzeria De Santo that we converted into Tre, a warm and inviting Italian restaurant with an extensive wine list and Italian-style small plates from Napoli! The space had been very underutilized with minimal seating and a small office taking up much of the back. A massive pizza oven dominated the front of the space leaving little room for anything else, and the lighting was very cold and uninviting. The images on the right show our transformation where we added whitewashed brick, a new bar with a custom blackened steel bar top and bamboo plywood base, and custom niches for candles and jars of preserves that also cleverly hid pipes!

The four photos on the left show the former pizzeria before Studioteka’s design intervention, which can be seen in the three larger images on the right. The old neon storefront facade, seen in the top left image, was completely replaced by a new custom floor-to-ceiling glass folding door which can open during the warmer months. A new awning and signage in the restaurant’s signature colors, dark brown and cream, was added, along with a temporary vestibule that prevents cold air from entering the space during the colder months (far right photo). The former pizza oven (second from left, top) and office (second from left, bottom) which dominated the space and made it feel much smaller, were completely removed, allowing for a much more open dining space. Warm ‘Edison’ lightbulbs and candle niches create a warm and inviting glow when seen both from the street and from within the space itself.

On the left are two progress shots showing the place under construction. You can see the blackened steel bar top has been installed, as has the bar sink and one refrigerator. Electrical for concealed lighting hidden under the bar top was not yet installed in the two photos on the left, but you can clearly see the finished effect in the photos on the right!

The image on the far left shows the custom blackened steel wine racks we designed which had not yet been installed in one of the niches we built around pipes in the space. The finished result can be seen in the third image from the left with the bar height communal table in front. The second image from the left shows the whitewashed brick after being sandblasted and sponge painted, and the last image on the right shows the custom wine racks full and ready to go!

Studioteka recently reworked an existing medical office suite in Manhattan’s Midtown East for Dr. Yael Halaas, a successful, high-powered plastic surgeon. The existing suite lacked a consult room where the surgeon’s upscale clientele could meet with the doctor or staff to discuss procedures and options. The doctors sharing the 1,865 SF office suite had been holding patient consultations in the existing procedure rooms, rather than in a designated space. They felt that this limited their ability to really connect with clients in a safe space, and wanted the new consult room to feel warm, inviting, and luxurious.

Studioteka also designed custom cabinetry for an administrative office in the space in order to maximize storage in the busy practice. A new floor-to-ceiling unit was built along the eastern wall of the space which incorporates two lockable file drawers for confidential documents, a fold-down laptop desk, and a series of storage areas with sliding doors in white Wilsonart laminated mica. The workstations on the opposite side of the room had a new wall unit installed above the desks with three sliding, lockable doors for the doctors’ medical supplies. This allows for a much more efficient use of the space and keeps everything tidy and organized.

The two photos above on the left show Aladdin Lounge before the redesign, and the one on the right is taken looking into the space after a dramatic transformation! The previous lounge at this location was in need of a serious facelift–the flooring was cracked and damaged, the banquettes needed to be redesigned and reupholstered and the lighting did little to create the type of environment that the new owner wanted for the place. Studioteka stripped and gutted the existing space and completely reworked the lighting design. The new look for Aladdin is based upon the feel of a Moroccan courtyard at sunset under a deepening blue sky. Studioteka whitewashed the existing brick wall in the space, adding brightness and texture and a white palette for the color-changing LEDs in the coves and concealed in the backs of the banquettes.

The image on the left shows the main space looking towards the street, with the dark brick wall and dated interior decor. The image on the right shows the same view after the redesign. The lighting has a variety of color settings allowing Aladdin’s new owner to create different moods within the space-based upon time of day, year, or special seasonal events. We removed the tired wall sconces, took out murals and idiosyncratic ad hoc decor and pulled the space together into an appealing new entrant to the bustling Steinway nightlife scene.

The image on the left above shows the VIP lounge before the transformation, while the image immediately next to it shows our redesign. The walls were completely rebuilt and lighting incorporated into the decorative Moroccan arches surrounding the space. The image on the far right shows some of the establishment’s patrons enjoying some of the desserts, shakes and imported hookah tobacco that makes this place so popular.

The image above on the left shows a typical seating arrangement in the lounge before the redesign. The middle photo shows a close-up of the new banquettes with an imported tea set and glasses on a silver tray. The far-right image shows the new banquettes with integrated lighting, new tables and chairs to create an atmosphere that is comfortable and welcoming.

The two photos on the left show Nurse Bettie, a Lower East Side favorite, under construction! We built the bar around a large and imposing column, which very quickly became a feature. The bar top was made of multiple cubes of end-grain wood, while the finish surrounding the bar was made of donated blackened steel from a neighboring project. The concrete floor with steel beams was left exposed and repurposed 50’s barstools were added and reupholstered. A window above the bathroom door was salvaged from Ratner’s, a nearby staple which had recently closed, as was the bathroom door. The project was about introducing elements with weathering, patina and contrasting textures, which we were then able to combine with new ones to create a unique and timeless mix.

Studioteka was asked by a happy former medical client to gut renovate a dilapidated office across from the doctors’ main office suite into a new annex for the practice in Manhattan’s Midtown East. The image far left shows what would become the larger of the two treatment rooms and the only windowed space in the annex. The two images on the right show the space after our redesign. We provided full architecture and interior services to create two new treatment rooms, a designated photo room, a small administrative office and additional storage. The practice’s successful plastic surgeons wanted additional rooms where patients would be able to receive treatments in a warm, inviting and luxurious spa-like environment. A visual connection between each of the treatment rooms and the administrative office was created by the addition of clerestory glass which allows natural light to pass between the spaces in the suite.

The two images on the left show the annex before construction and our complete gutting of the space. The two on the right show two of the treatment rooms after we finished! An elegant white patient chair and round doctor’s stool sit in the middle of each treatment space. Contrasting wallpapers, one with a natural texture, the other with an embossed white pattern, wrap the room, while a sleek, silver chair rail finishes the look. Sleek white cabinets were chosen to contrast with dappled gray countertops and resilient flooring the color of warm, brown leather, while a pair of minimalist modern suspended lights brighten and warm the space.

The two photos on the left show the annex before our intervention. The hallway was cramped and dark, and the carpet had seen better days. The hallway post-facelift has a soothing, neutral palette with warm stone flooring and a wall unit to one side, and a row of glass sliding and barn doors to the other, allowing light from the rooms beyond to filter into the circulation space of the annex and open up the space.

Located in Queens, this 1,119 sf project converted a former Jiu-Jitsu studio in a commercial storefront into the new offices of City Homes Realty Group, a bilingual family-run real estate practice.The project combines two distinct areas, one more public, with a receptionist desk, a waiting area for guests and a glass-enclosed conference room for meetings and closings, and another more private rear space with custom workstations that wrap the perimeter of the space and a glass-enclosed office volume for the group’s husband and wife team who sit facing one another at a custom, T-shaped station with bespoke file and storage drawers below the desks.

The back wall of the private office has white display shelves for the group’s awards, artwork, and keepsakes, as well as custom, integrated file drawers for the wife’s multi-services clients.

The entry to the suite is framed on one side by the conference room which creates a diagonal that leads guests directly to the receptionist’s desk, and a waiting area along the other wall flanking the space. The receptionists’ backdrop is a wall in white stonewashed by light from above that highlights the firm’s silver logo which is mounted on the accent wall. The custom workstations then wrap the back of the space, allowing for desk space for family members, as well as room for potential expansion.

Located in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, this 3,100 square foot space for an innovative, cutting edge marketing firm, is a different take on the urban workplace. The project combines fluid custom workstations specifically tailored to the firm’s dynamic working style, as well as spaces for creative encounters that allow for chance meetings and informal discussions. The entry is framed on one side by a curved DJ booth and waiting area, and on the other by a reception area. This area is the start of a custom wall which also incorporates a kitchen with a bar height table for informal meetings, workstations, and a production area.

Adjacent to the kitchen is a custom lounge pod (on the left, seen under construction) designed by Studioteka with a partial surrounding wall which provides another space for collaboration. In this way, we energize the entry sequence and provide visitors with an experience of the dynamic interaction that has made the company so successful.

The image on the left shows the DJ booth under construction, while the one on the right shows the finished result! Taking inspiration from a pinball machine, the DJ booth forms a bumper, while the partners’ offices form an island in the middle of the space, flanked by workstations for the various creative teams, which are organized by project and also by volume. A large conference room sits adjacent to this space as one of the few enclosed moments in the plan.

Studioteka was asked by a happy former medical client to gut renovate a dilapidated office across from the doctors’ main office suite into a new annex for the practice in Manhattan’s Midtown East. We provided full architecture and interiors services to create two new treatment rooms, a designated photo room, a small administrative office and additional storage. The practice’s successful plastic surgeons wanted additional rooms where patients would be able to receive treatments in a warm, inviting and luxurious spa-like environment. A visual connection between each of  the treatment rooms and the administrative office was created by the addition of clerestory glass which allows natural light to pass between the spaces in the suite. An elegant white patient chair and round doctor’s stool sit in the middle of each treatment space. Contrasting wallpapers, one with a natural texture, the other with an embossed white pattern, wrap the room, while a sleek, silver chair rail finishes the look. Sleek white cabinets were chosen to contrast with dappled gray counter tops and resilient flooring the color of warm, brown leather, while a pair of minimalist modern suspended lights brighten and warm the space. The hallway has a soothing,neutral palette with warm stone flooring and a wall unit to one side, and a row of glass sliding and barn doors to the other, allowing light from the rooms beyond to filter into the circulation space of the annex. Project Team: Vanessa Keith, Tae Hyung Kim, Anya Lee, Yuhui Huang, Manwei Wang

Located in the heart of Astoria’s busy nightlife strip, this 1,400 sf lounge opens onto Steinway Street beyond, welcoming passersby in with its mellow, relaxed ambience. Studioteka designed the interiors for the lounge, the garden, as well as the logo and signage for the storefront. Custom banquette seating flanks the space on either side, while small walnut brown tables and leather chairs allow for flexible seating for groups of different sizes. Dark slate gray tile allows the floor and the bottom of the banquettes to disappear, as the light coves draw the eye upwards. Warm colored light washes up from the backs of the banquettes, as well as down the walls from arched lighting coves, their shapes evoking the geometries of the courtyards of Morocco. Whitewashed brick adds texture and contrast along the length of the front of the space, and programmable LEDs in the coves ensure that a variety of moods can be created within the space to suit different times of day or seasons of the year.

A series of light boxes with rounded coves grace the ceiling with soft blue light, highlighting the imported Moroccan chandeliers at the center of each, their colored glass catching the light and adding detail and interest. The rear bar, with its display wall of imported tea glasses, serves as a prep area for the cappuccino, smoothies, mint tea and ice cream shakes that make this place a hit with the locals, as well as a staging ground for the imported hookahs with their scented tobacco which are brought to the tables for the venue’s clientele. The VIP area, with its warm, orange walls and arched cove lighting, is both a focal point and the lounge’s most coveted place to sit, relax and enjoy a smoke and perhaps a football match. The rear garden is a comfortable oasis, perfect for balmy summer nights under the stars.

Located in a 35,000 square foot former warehouse in the Caribbean, this project brings youthful vibrant energy to the island tourist scene. The ground floor of the building is being transformed to hold a 76 seat restaurant and a generous hostel lobby and bar, while a co-working space with 12 offices, 4 conference rooms and a casual cafe is accessed via a separate entrance. The ground floor courtyard space becomes the heart of the project, with 18 seats at the outdoor bar and table seating for 36 patrons, as well as a small stage for evening performances. Shade trees with wide rings of seating around them grace the courtyard for natural cooling during the warm Caribbean afternoons. The courtyard is visible from many vantage points, whether from the stairs which connect the different levels of the building, or from the public rooftop bar or the private pool deck and grilling station used exclusively by hostel guests on the building’s second floor. The first floor is reserved exclusively for hostel guests, and contains a communal kitchen and lounge areas, as well as bunk rooms for 24 guests, and a variety of smaller shared rooms for between 4 and 6 guests, some with en suite bathrooms. The building’s generous circulation spaces become activated as lounge and hangout space for guests throughout. The third and fourth floors contain bunk rooms for between 6 and 8 people, with one room reserved for 12 and smaller outdoor areas where guests can sunbathe and admire beautiful views of the sea in the distance. In addition to providing design services on this project, Studioteka has also provided market research regarding trends in the hostel, hospitality and co-working industries to create the right mix of room types, programs and amenities. Current Phase: Schematic Design/Concept Development. Project Team: Vanessa Keith, Tae Hyung Kim, Yuhui Huang, Jing Hai, Manwei Wang.

Studioteka was asked to rework the design of an existing medical office suite in Manhattan’s Midtown East for a successful, high powered plastic surgeon. The existing suite lacked a consult room where the surgeon’s upscale clientele could meet with the doctor or staff to discuss procedures and options. The doctors sharing the 1,865 SF office suite had been holding patient consultations in the existing procedure rooms, rather than in a designated space. They felt that this limited their ability to really connect with clients in a safe space, and wanted the new consult room to feel warm, inviting, and luxurious. A connection between the consult room and an adjacent procedure room was suggested by the design team, effectively turning the two rooms into a new spa consult suite.

The consult room, which had been a cluttered administrative office, was completely transformed by Studioteka. A BDI desk with a white top and warm walnut accents was chosen, along with a Lumi Source office chair for the doctor, and a pair of Liam office chairs, both in white with walnut accents, for clients. A Safavieh rug provides a contrast with the warm brown of the hardwood floor, while two new linear suspension chandeliers brighten and warm the space. A sleek custom display case by Alinea was mounted on the eastern wall, allowing the surgeon to prominently display her own line of spa facials and products. New custom draperies with sheer white fabric from Knoll, were made for both the consult and spa treatment rooms. Both spaces had new Maharam wallpaper installed along with sleek metal chair rail around the perimeter of each room completing the transformation.

Studioteka also designed custom cabinetry for an administrative office in the space in order to maximize storage in the busy practice. A new floor to ceiling unit was built along the eastern wall of the space which incorporates two lockable file drawers for confidential documents, a fold down laptop desk, and a series of storage areas with sliding doors in white Wilsonart laminated mica. The workstations on the opposite side of the room had a new wall unit installed above the desks with three sliding, lockable doors for the doctors’ medical supplies. This allows for a much more efficient use of the space, and keeps everything tidy and organized.

The reception and waiting areas were given a much needed face lift with the addition of dimmable overhead fixtures as well as accent lighting which washes the front of the reception desk as well as the wall immediately facing it in the waiting area. The reception desk top was custom refinished and hand painted to have the feel of warm brown leather, contrasting with the cool white tiles below. Sleek metal chair rail behind the desk and in the waiting area both accents and matches the metal of the chairs, with their custom upholstery. New subtly contrasting wallpapers from Maharam finish the space off and add to the new Zen effect, creating an atmosphere which is both relaxing and welcoming for the doctor’s busy clients. Project Team: Vanessa Keith, Yuhui Huang, Tae Hyung Kim.

Project featured in AIA New York, Center for Architecture, Featured Member Vanessa Keith, See: Featured Member: Vanessa Keith, AIA — AIA New York (aiany.org)

Consult room palette and details

Consult room facing entry to treatment room

Waiting area for patients

Reception desk seen from waiting area

Reception desk and entry to treatment, OR and office areas

Waiting area seen from behind reception desk

Entry to office and surgical suite

Treatment room

Treatment room details

Treatment room details

Treatment room facing entry to consult room

Admin room and custom cabinetry

Admin room and custom wall unit

Workstation with wall mounted unit

Custom wall unit detail

Consult room before/after shot!

Consult room palette and details

Consult room facing entry to treatment room

Waiting area for patients

Reception desk seen from waiting area

Reception desk and entry to treatment, OR and office areas

Waiting area seen from behind reception desk

Entry to office and surgical suite

Treatment room

Treatment room details

Treatment room details

Treatment room facing entry to consult room

Admin room and custom cabinetry

Admin room and custom wall unit

Workstation with wall mounted unit

Custom wall unit detail

Consult room before/after shot!

Studioteka was asked to provide feasibility study and design services for a high profile downtown waterfront revitalization project in Jamaica. The project involves a waterfront streetscape revitalization and the creation of an entertainment district, a new marina with luxury residential units, a new waterfront park and pier, and commercial and office space, as well as proposing improvements to area housing and the creation of small business incubators and skills training. Protecting coastal Jamaica from the potentially devastating impact of increasingly powerful storms due to climate change, as well as forging a path towards more inclusive development which considers the needs of all of the various stakeholders in the project area was an important consideration in this work, which was presented to the Prime Minister and members of government and the private sector business community.

Studioteka Project Team:

Vanessa Keith, Sangyun Lee, Soo Youn Lim, Mary Jo Schlachter, Phillip Song, Stefan Stanojevic, Youyi Wang