“Before getting started we embed ourselves in a site,” notes Whitley Esteban, comparing herself and fellow firm founder Ernesto Gloria to “applied archaeologists.” Souvenirs from past creative digs abound at their Flatiron district studio (pictured), where pressed flowers and dried seed pods mingle with found stones and scraps of seaweed. All served as rich fodder for their most ambitious project to date, a new villa at the Panamanian resort Islas Secas (AD, July/August 2024). Research-heavy and context-driven, their approach reveals the combined wisdom of their impressive résumés. (She worked for AD100 firms G. P. Schafer Architect and Roman and Williams, he for Tom Scheerer.) Now, Studio Tre is adding to that expertise in projects like an adobe house in Abiquiú, New Mexico, and a gut reno of an uptown Manhattan apartment. All are close collaborations with their clients—the critical third party referenced in their moniker. As Gloria points out: “A three-legged table doesn’t tip.” tre.studio
Get inspired by the work of nine interior designers on the rise and browse their tried-and-true favorites—the products they source for their clients over and over again.
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