Giuseppe Zambonini, a young Italian architect, moved to New York City in the 1970s. He became well-known for his unique design of downtown lofts. At the time, most loft dwellers lived in the vast undifferentiated space of these old factory buildings. Beppe designed rooms with ''theatre set'' walls, demarcating rooms without blocking the natural light from the loft windows. The New York Times featured his loft designs in four front page sections of their Home edition in the 1970s and early 1980s. Beppe became part of the burgeoning downtown art scene. He founded a design school, The Open Atelier of Design, and allowed his best students to work on his projects.Wanting a weekend retreat, Beppe (the name he preferred to Giuseppe) bought land on a ridge above the lake in a new development that later became Traces of Lattimore. In the summer of 1985, Beppe began building the house with a group of his students. By the following spring he and his wife Claudia were able to stay. They had a young daughter, and Claudia stayed there with the baby, while Beppe joined them on weekends.Beppe built a three story upside down trapezoidal house. The barrel vaulted ceiling is supported by eight interior columns. Only one column is exposed on each floor. In the study, the exposed column is red; in the master bedroom, blue, and in the dining room, yellow. The third floor is an open loft design, and Beppe differentiated the space with his theatre set walls. One of Beppe's students made three designs for a garage door painting. A local artist created the chosen design in shades of Chinese red, grey, and white. It resembles a theatre curtain.I purchased the house from Claudia in June, 2005. I became more the custodian of the house than its owner. I scrupulously maintained the original colors of the house, inside and out, and kept the kitchen and bathrooms as I found them. After 21years, it is time for a new custodian to live in this significant work of art.
Show all description