Kips Bay Towers
Private Residence

Uli Wagner Design Lab

Residential
New York, NY

2024

Working within an original masterpiece by I.M. Pei, our lighting design was guided by a deep respect for the architecture and a commitment to subtlety. From the outset, we followed Uli’s vision closely, ensuring that the lighting approach supported and enhanced the spatial clarity he was cultivating. Light was used as a quiet tool to reveal materiality, rhythm, and depth throughout the space.

Warm wood tones introduced across the interiors brought softness and warmth, which we echoed with carefully calibrated layers of light. In close coordination with Uli, we developed custom architectural pockets integrated into the ceiling panels. These elements allowed us to conceal linear lighting sources, delivering diffuse ambient light while maintaining a clean and uninterrupted ceiling plane.

Dropped ceilings helped define spatial zones, providing opportunities to introduce differentiated lighting atmospheres. Each window frame was treated as a sculptural feature: perimeter lighting was integrated into the surrounding walls, and minimal accent fixtures highlighted curated decorative objects placed within. The overall result is a quiet and deliberate interplay between architecture and light, grounded in Uli’s design language and aligned with the disciplined elegance of Pei’s original work.