Prince Concepts

Soho Loft

This page is less of a project and more of a story. It can illuminate some of the thinking behind the philosophy we bring to the housing we develop.

Like with Prince Media Co, our experience with this Loft helped cultivate a point of view that significantly informs our work.

When I arrived in New York in February of 2010, I was sleeping on sofas at friend's apartments. After a month of that and with a bit of momentum behind Prince Media Co, I needed a place to live.

I wasn't sure of the future of the concept, so I minimized financial commitments and started with a month-to-month furnished sublease. Craigslist led me to an extra bedroom in a fifth floor walk-up loft at 166 Mercer in SoHo.

I was 23 at the time and the primary resident of the loft was a 45 year old Greek fashion designer. She'd been living in the loft for 10+ years; because of that, she had a deal on rent.

New York City doesn't have alleys. Mercer was originally designed as the ally for the West side of Broadway and Crosby for the East side of Broadway.

595 Broadway was the primary address for 166 Mercer. It was a 25'wide x 200'deep foot building whose face was on Broadway and backside was on Mercer.

The building was owned by a classic NYC character, great guy, who originally operated a leather tannery out of this building and the two adjacent ones (in the 1970s/1980s).

After he shut down his operation, he cut the 200' deep industrial building in half and had eight 25'w x 100'd lofts (four on Mercer and four on Broadway).

I was renting a bedroom on the top floor of 166 Mercer, but not from him, from the fashion designer. It was amazing space, classic SoHo, but I couldn't share the loft with a stranger for more than six months. I moved out, but not before becoming friends with the owner of the buildings.

I took a tiny tiny apartment on Sullivan Street, worked there for a few months and then moved my office operation into the very first We Work at 154 Grand St and Lafayette.

OK, now, I had a small apartment and a closet for an office. I was paying too much for both. Neither added to my existence. It was a house that didn't impress visitors and an office that didn't inspire confidence in my clients.

This is what cities do, they force you to exist on their terms. Small spaces, high rents, "we'll give you culture and connection just trade us your money and agree to take up as little space as possible." That's the deal. I wasn't into it.

After a year of living and working like this, again, I needed to make a change. I started to call the owner of my previous building, "Arnold, do you have a loft?" I'd stop by his office a couple times a month, cut it up, and check on his vacancies.

Finally... yes! I set a limit - I could only pay 25% more than my current apartment and office rent combined. Fine. Buying something for the sellers price isn't difficult, buying something for the price you can pay usually is.

We negotiated... success! I consolidated the Prince Media Co office and my living situation into a 2,500 SF SoHo loft.

The logic: with the extra money I paid, I could now host our holiday parties and client dinners, in house. I could use the space not only as an office and place to lay my head, but as way to entertain and impress clients, and that also made my personal life bigger.

Again, this is the exact sort of thinking that has informed the residential development projects we have completed and continue to work on: Live/Work spaces that enhance the way you live and work. Period.

If you're a creative or small scale entrepreneur, consolidate your rents and work from an inspired space that gives you more than just the standard utility of an apartment or office.

I turned the front portion of the loft into an office and the back into my apartment. I built a sliding wall that would shield my bed.

A sliding wall with a picture of our Prince and Mulberry billboard to create privacy.

After Prince Media Co was sold, the office converted into a studio, of sorts, and we began to experiment with polycarbonate, plexiglass, lights, and plywood to furnish and reappoint the space. We did this work ourselves, as a way to play with materials and ideas we were wanting to employ in Detroit.

The space, converted from office/home to studio/home.

We began playing with polycarbonate and converted the sliding wall from a photo to polycarbonate. Allowed for light to pass through while still offering privacy.

We bought sheets of 1" plexiglass and cut it into a table and pendant light (both pictured here). We now use this light design in many of our Detroit projects.

Plexiglass scraps turned into illuminated book shelves.

Dan Flavin inspired piece of wall art designed and assembled by Kafka.

Instead of a TV, we framed a linen canvas and projected onto it.

We converted an extroverted office and desk space into a more introverted studio space and used plywood for our work surface.

Space inspired, and was then occupied by life. Space makes the place.

The light piece on the wall let the street know when I was home.