Greenwich Village Townhouse, New York

So when renovating an 1840s Greek Revival brownstone, subversion was on our minds. The landmarked exterior remains unchanged, as does the residence's unalterable 19-foot width. Inside, however, a pristine white space forms a backdrop for art by Warhol, Basquiat and Haring, as well as intriguing furnishings drawn from the continuum of modern design-pieces by Dalí and Gaudí, Patrick Naggar and Poltrona Frau, Armani and Versace. The architectural envelope references iconic 20th-century figures and genres: Jean Prouvé-like shutters in the kitchen, an industrial-chic bronze staircase and a ground-floor screen employing cast glass salvaged from Gio Ponti's 1950s design for Alitalia's Fifth Avenue showroom (paired with mercury mirror and set within a bronze grid). Unable to resist a bit of our usual wit, Greek allusions appear. "Revival" implies a retread of an old idea-not our interests at Axis Mundi.