On Partnering with Creative Clients
Working with creative clients is high-stakes work—more challenging, but also more rewarding.
Working with creative clients is high-stakes work—more challenging, but also more rewarding. These are people with sharp instincts, strong points of view, and visions that often resist easy translation. As architect, we have our own expertise and wealth of experience, but in our studio, we don’t see ourselves as sole authors, but as co-creators. The best results come when everyone on the design/ownership team is seen as an expert in their own field: chef, artist, architect, builder, curator, storyteller whatever. Our role is to hold the center—guiding the process—while staying open to ideas from every direction.
When we were hired by Max Levai to renovate the Marlborough Gallery in Chelsea, we were able to take advantage of Max and his families deep knowledge of the art business. At the time, Max was assembling a stable of contemporary artists, each with their own distinct medium and collectors, who also proved indispensable.
As architect, we have our own expertise and wealth of experience, but in our studio, we don’t see ourselves as sole authors, but as co-creators.
Openness is key partnering with creatives – more dialog in more fluid, more responsive. We don’t hide behind polished presentations or hold back the messiness of early ideas. Instead, we invite clients into the process as it’s unfolding, knowing that their reactions help shape the direction.
It takes a certain humility. Good ideas can come from anywhere, and they often do. The challenge is to stay loose enough to recognize them, and generous enough to integrate them without getting precious about authorship. On the side/after one of our presentations Max joked with an artist about a “backroom deal” – we all soon realized that the new gallery should have a “deal room” in the back for private showings and meetings. Our open process/open mind system allows us to build better projects than any one person could envision on their own, momentarily drop their assumptions and approach the problem with fresh eyes. In this way, honoring each person’s mastery helps reframe the whole team into a beginner’s mind—where there are more possibilities than limits.
Working this way requires patience. The early design phases might stretch out longer than a typical timeline would allow. But that expanded timeframe allows the right ideas to surface—and stick. When there’s trust in the process, and trust in each other, the results don’t just look good—they feel right.
