Upper West Side penthouse designed by Memphis Design founder Ettore Sottsass seeks $19M

Memphis design is having a moment, and for those who are devoted to the playful ’80s movement, the penthouse atop the Upper West Side’s Hotel des Artistes could be the opportunity of a lifetime. The 5,377-square-foot triplex penthouse, which just hit the market for $19 million, is the brainchild of Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, considered the godfather of the movement (and the subject of an upcoming retrospective at the Met Breuer).

The home is being sold by Italian entrepreneur Jean Pigozzi, who purchased it in 1986 when it was still “really weird,” as he told Bloomberg. So he commissioned Sottsass to give the place a makeover, and per Pigozzi, the Italian master “designed 100 percent of everything… Every table, every sofa, every book shelf, every sink, every doorknob.”

Unsurprisingly, the home is filled with pops of bright color—a red ventilation hood over the oven, a teal seating area in the living room, you get the idea. Sottsass also helped incorporate an adjacent apartment into Pigozzi’s original duplex, adding even more space and a quirky curved solarium.

As for the specifics, the apartment—which is listed jointly by Corcoran and Sotheby’s—has three bedrooms, including a master suite with its own dressing room and kitchenette; five bathrooms, one of which is also outfitted in teal tile; a study with three exposures; enormous ceilings; and a double-height, extra-long great room that’s covered in colorful pieces of art. (That space is also where Pigozzi threw some real ragers, with guest lists that included Mick Jagger, Michael Douglas, and other A-listers.)

Per Bloomberg, the seller says that a truly devoted Sottsass fan could buy the place with his designs intact. “But if somebody wants to do something completely different, I’m more than happy to take the furniture with me and put it in my house in LA,” said Pigozzi.

• Listing: 1 West 67th Street PH905 [Corcoran/Sotheby’s]
• Famed Playboy’s $19 Million New York Triplex Hits the Market [Bloomberg]
• Memphis Design, pop culture, and the battle against ‘good taste’ [Curbed]