Founded in 2001, pulltab is an architectural firm located in the Flatiron District of Manhattan. 

 

Firm Description: 

Pulltab specializes in residential design including apartment renovations, townhomes, penthouse additions, roof gardens and furniture design. 

 

Approach to Residential Design: 

The studio creates warm environments using natural materials. While strident modernists, architects Melissa Baker and Jon Handley respect historical precedent and continually strive to look outside set perspectives. Pulltab’s finished designs fulfill the functional needs of a space and imbue sensory and emotive qualities. 

 

Distinguishing Characteristics: 

Pulltab creates open light-filled spaces with modern and inventive detailing, including project specific, custom-engineered and fabricated pieces. Our work is noted for its ingenuous and practical solutions, such as concealed storage systems, fold-down tables, built-in and freestanding furniture, display cabinets and custom hardware. 

 

Work Influences: 

The exchange of ideas with both the client and a longstanding group of top-level contractors informs the project. We also continually refer back to midcentury modern design from the amazingly talented designers and architects of the day, including Carlo Scarpa, Louis Kahn and Marcel Breuer. We are big fans of the architect poet Juhani Pallasmaa and the writer Leonard Koren, whose book on Wabi-Sabi is a constant inspiration.

 

Principals:

Melissa Baker, partner, University of Pennsylvania, M. Arch, New York State registered architect.

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Jon Handley, partner, University of Pennsylvania, M. Arch, New York State registered architect.

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