Page 45 - Reside Magazine Lusk Associates

Reside — Spring 2025

environment that feels cozy and intimate, even
when surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glazing.
Meanwhile, a pair of actor clients listed
the most important requests of their residence
in New York as “a giant table to read scripts,
a projection screen, and a big sculpture of a paper
horse,” Reddy recalls. She created a custom space
that incorporated all these elements, functionally
and aesthetically, while also providing ample
light and air in a setting to help inspire their work.
Similarly for Reddy, separation between
work and life doesn’t exist—nor would she
want it to. She spent this past winter in India,
visiting family, friends and collaborators. There,
she is currently working on a house for her sister,
who requested a covered courtyard and an image
of a mandala—a geometric design with spiritual
symbolism. Reddy commissioned a wrought-
iron version of a mandala to become a shade
structure for the courtyard, positioning it so that
its intricate shadow reflects perfectly onto the
home’s entry once a day. “It’s that kind of magic
that happens when one has a conversation
with somebody about something that you’re
equally passionate about,” she explains. “A lot
of architects will say they don’t like the hand-
holding that it takes to do residential work, but
I find that there is something in the personal
connection that is so appealing. A lot of times in
our world we’re left with this kind of generic
experience. Your home is the only place you get
to really tailor to your expression.”
Like all of her creative practice, Reddy sees
these projects as ripe for experimentation. “Our
Photos: Adil Hasan; Steve Benisty; Ashok Sinha; Greenwich Village William Jess Laird; Ye Rin Mok; Ball & Albanese.
bodies are always the centerpiece of our homes,
so when I’m doing residential work, I’m constantly
thinking about neuroaesthetics,” she explains. “I’m thinking about the quality
of light in a space; I’m thinking about the color of light; I’m thinking about
transition in and out. Even if you create very different looks in different rooms,
I’m making sure that the transition between is seamless and that it offers wonder
and discovery. That’s why I say I conceptualize a home in terms of the feelings
that it can help support; and when I look at it from that perspective, there’s a
lot of aesthetic information that can be harnessed to create each space.”
It’s also one of the few design typologies that is truly multidisciplinary.
Reddy is currently preparing exhibits for the inaugural art and culture-focused
Bukhara Biennial in Uzbekistan, the Venice Architecture Biennale in Italy,
and the Clifford Gallery at Colgate University in upstate New York, where she
is this academic year’s Christian A. Johnson artist-in-residence. She is also
designing international showrooms for furniture brand Humanscale and
starting a hotel project. Each satisfies a different part of her creativity, but the
residential designs she crafts uniquely bring together all aspects. From Left: Reddy used the natural lighting
architecture to art and even small details like glassware, these home projects provided through the large windows
of this Beverly Hills home to her
are “incredible opportunities to develop a holistic environment,” Reddy says. advantage when designing its interior
“It’s like creating a cocoon for someone; a really beautiful one.” 0
Above: Japanese design features combine
Elizabeth Fazzare is a New York-based editor and journalist covering with mid-century modern furniture in this
architecture, design, culture and travel West Village, New York, apartment

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