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| Gleicher
majored in anthropology, but realized after a few weeks of working
his 3' x 3' plot on a dig that it wasn't really for him. He
decided to delay his graduation to take several courses in physics
and architecture, and he particularly remembers and values the
classes he took with Art History Professor Larry McGinniss (who
retired in 1996). |
Paul Gleicher '78,
architect and president, Gleicher Design Group
What do Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Donna Hanover and Michele
Marsh have in common? They all want a place to call their own, homes
that are comfortable, that reflect their personality and style,
and that meet their lifestyle needs. And they all chose Paul Gleicher
as the architect for their homes.
Certainly Gleicher doesn't cater exclusively to high-profile clients;
in fact, to hear him tell it, it's just the luck of the draw that
so many of his clients are celebrities. He met several of them through
his wife, Lisa, who is a senior producer at Good Morning America
on ABC. She introduced him to television host and actress Hanover
and to NBC anchor Marsh.
But Gleicher's work also speaks for itself, and many clients have
chosen him based on what they've seen of his work. That was the
case with Bacon and Sedgwick, whose apartment is three stories above
another client of Gleicher's: They liked what they saw. Gleicher's
forte is to fashion homes that are tailor-made to the lifestyle
and tastes of those who will dwell in them. When he meets with new
clients, his priority is to get a feel for how they see and experience
the world. In Gleicher's approach to design, listening is a key
component. He zones in on how people spend their time at home, on
their likes and dislikes, on the landscapes, images and artwork
they grew up with and those they've come to love. He'll begin a
first meeting with a client by saying, "Imagine it's Sunday morning.
How do you plan to spend the day in your apartment?" What are your
hobbies? What kind of relationship do you have with your children?
Do you entertain a lot? Are you homebodies?"
Gleicher is drawn to the clarity, sparsity of detail and lack of
clutter characteristic of post-modernist and classic modernist architects,
and these qualities are evident in his designs. He favors the use
of natural woods, glass, leather and chrome. Walls, windows, doorways
and furniture delineate clean, spare lines. Whites and neutrals
are accented with areas of intense color. Great emphasis is placed
on lighting -- both natural and artificial, much of it indirect
and subdued.
Yet overall, comfort and functionality inform every decision. For
Gleicher, a client's lifestyle provides both challenge and inspiration.
He views each job as a collaboration between himself and his client,
and he thrives on it. The payoff comes from their deep appreciation
and satisfaction -- as when Sedgwick said to him, "Paul, we've
lived in this apartment for four years and it never felt like home.
Now it feels like our place."
In his pursuit of architecture, Gleicher has found his bliss. "Everything
I've ever learned, everything I'm interested in, I can apply to
architecture," he said. "There's nothing like being able to design
and build something, and then, when it's all finished, walk through
it, be surrounded by it."
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You don't have to have a lot of money to have a beautiful
home, said Gleicher -- although he does acknowledge
that money helps. "Less money means it's more challenging,"
he said. "You have to be more creative." Following
is a list of considerations Gleicher considers paramount
in good design:
Scale.
"It's important to have both a human scale and
a monumental scale in every place," said Gleicher.
"For example, if you have a room with 10-foot-high
ceilings, that's a monumental scale, and doesn't easily
relate to the human scale of 5 to 6 feet tall. So I
need to introduce something into that space to make
it more human, and that can be accomplished either by
moldings that are 6 to 7 feet off the floor, changing
paint colors or adding a picture railing."
Light.
Gleicher takes his guiding principle from nature:
Light varies in nature, and artificial lighting should
follow suit. "The light should not be constant
throughout the entire day," he said. "The
architect should follow nature in that respect."
He emphasizes the importance of having various levels
and sources of lighting -- table lamps, chandeliers,
sconces and recessed lighting (providing it really is
recessed, that is -- nix on "glary" bulbs
that stick out of recessed fixtures).
Contrast.
"Black-and-white photographs are successful only
if you have black in them and white in them," Gleicher
points out. "If the photograph is entirely gray,
then it's unsuccessful." Likewise with design:
Contrast creates interest. Symmetry and asymmetry. "Design
that's 100 percent symmetrical can be stagnant and not
exciting," said Gleicher. For vibrant, interesting
design, he said, play symmetry and asymmetry off one
another.
Color.
Gleicher believes that every room should contain the
full spectrum of color. "It doesn't have to be
in equal proportions," he said. A room can be predominantly
white, and you can balance that by adding a little red
or blue by means of a vase, flowers or a piece of artwork.
In choosing wall colors, Gleicher favors neutral colors
contrasted with accents of strong colors. A striking
example of this is in one client's pied-a-terre: The
walls are beige except for a recessed nook that is terra
cotta with a deep blue recessed shelf area.
A favorite trick of Gleicher's in choosing wall and
accent colors for clients is to take note of the colors
they wear; people wear the colors they're comfortable
with.
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