Have you ever met someone whose design dialogue + brainstorming gets you both so excited that you welcome every opportunity just to get together and share that dynamic energy?
Our collaboration with Barbara Littman—a true design diva—and our team produced some of our best work.
Recently, Barbara Littman passed away, but her enduring passion for design and how she integrated design—including fashion, interiors and architecture—into her daily life remains an inspiration.
I met Barbara after she decided to pursue architecture formally. She already had a degree in interior design, yet yearned for more. She had the tenacity and brilliance to pursue an architectural degree at that point in her life (dare I say 50 years old).
Upon her graduation, I got to know her; I invited her to assist me while teaching an overseas program in Venice. Barb put forth a riveting presentation on Carlo Scarpa’s Olivetti showroom located in St. Mark’s Square, an architect that she had admired. The students were jazzed!
During the height of the financial meltdown, she later approached me to work with her on an apartment—a penthouse that she and her husband, Lenny, bought in New York City. At that point, she was a grandmother and felt she earned the right to design a ‘dream space’ in the sky and chase her muse.
She wanted to surround herself with everything that she collected and loved about design. She had furniture by Ron Arad, Ettore Sottsass, and Michele De Lucchi, and artwork by our favorite artist, Louise Nevelson.
We began to collaborate on the interior design; her only requirement was to make it reductive and modern. We came up with a spatial design that celebrated why they purchased this apartment: the bright light and city views. I suggested a fashion runway that took you from the front door, up a stairway, bringing you to the rooftop sculpture garden. It was a simple axial procession of entry-path-goal.
Barbara’s personal design aesthetic is restricted to black and white, with an occasional shade of grey. 
This prescriptive palette encompassed everything she pursued: Fashion + ID + Architecture.
I encouraged her to bring a little color into her life! So we chose an accent wall that divided the private from public space; the circulation armature that led you to the upstairs rooftop garden. I suggested an acid yellow. “Are you insane?” was her reply. After she left the site that evening, I had the painter hit it with a brilliant Van Gogh yellow. The next morning I got a phone call: “You jerk, I love it!” Later in her New York Times interview, she described the color as a really unexpected pleasure, introducing a strong, powerful, yet calming statement.
For her, it was a “lifestyle by design.” She remains an inspiration to her students, colleagues, and collaborators, and continues to inspire all of us to chase our muse!
Robert Henry
roberthenry@rdh-architects.com
www.rdh-architects.com
212.533.4145
