citylikeyou — New York / Michael Szivos

Michael is a designer who has worked in New York since 2000. After leaving behind the bayous of Louisiana for NYC he received a masters degree in architecture from Columbia University. After school he began teaching and started SOFTlab, a design studio that is a unique blend of designers, artists, architects and educators who approach every project from a fresh perspective to create rich spatial, graphic, interactive and visual experiences. By mixing research, creativity and technology with a strong desire to make working fun, SOFTlab attempts to create new and unique experiences.

http://www.softlabnyc.com

Designer Architect

Current city: New York

softlabnyc.com

New York / Cafe

I am definitely a creature of habit, some good, some bad, and some worse. This is one of my better ones. Pretty much stop here every day on my way to the studio for caffeine. They brew up stumptown and always see someone I know from the neighborhood. When I get to the front of the line there is already a large coffee ready for me.

New York / Restaurant

I can never decide if I like pies or thighs more. Figure it's not the worst problem to have. Chicken biscuit is so good it should be listed as a narcotic. If you live in NYC and you haven't been, GO! If you are visiting and you find yourself in Williamsburg, GO!

New York / Bar

This is one of my favorite bars in Manhattan. It has a courtyard in the middle and they only serve a large selection of Belgian beer. It's always dark with red lights so it's like a giant darkroom with everyone developing hangovers instead of film. The courtyard creates a front bar that is open on the weekends, so if you get cornered talking about architecture you can escape over to the front bar and watch people walk down 4th street.

New York / Restaurant

I have been getting burgers here since I first moved to NYC. I think it is 1000 years old or something like that. Only two types of burgers, with or without bacon. I like easy decisions and this place is full of them. There is usually a line to be seated, but it always seems to go fast with $2.50 mugs of McSorley's. It's also at this strange vortex in the west village where 4th street and 12th street cross. Maybe that's why the line never takes too long and everything is so cheap.

New York / Park

I wish NYC produced more public projects like this. Chelsea is always worth a visit to check out the galleries. The highline is just another reason to make over to 10th ave. It is near our studio and a walk on the Highline always seems to clear any fog that might be gathering in your head. There are sections between buildings filled with trees. At night you can almost forget you are in the city. As an architect you can always find a detail or something that you would have done differently or that you think could have been better. The Highline is one of the few projects where everything just works perfectly how it is.

New York / Bar

This is my local spot and one of my bad habits. The bartenders make sure I don't do anything to embarrassing and its full of regulars. Has dangerously replaced my living room. It's one of the only real dive bars on Smith street. Layers of funkiness help keep away the frat boys and bachelorette parties. Never closes before 4am so all the other neighborhood bartenders, cooks, and waiters stop by after work. Needless to say that only the best business decisions get made here!

New York / Art Director

Charlotte Strick is a principal at the multidisciplinary graphic design firm, Strick&Williams, founded in 2014 with her longtime friend and colleague, Claire Williams Martinez. The studio collaborates with cultural institutions and clients in the arts, publishing, education, non-profits and everything in-between. For 14 years prior, Strick was a designer turned art director at Farrar, Straus & Giroux, where she designed book covers for much-loved authors like Jonathan Franzen, Roberto Bolaño, and Lydia Davis. Her work has been featured in the AIGA 50 Books / 50 Covers show, the TDC Annual Exhibition, Print Magazine, and in many books about cover design. The proud owner of a coveted Silver Cube from The Art Directors Club, Charlotte is also Art Editor of the distinguished literary magazine, "The Paris Review". Her writings on art and design have been published by "The Paris Review", "The Atlantic", and "The Huffington Post". A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Charlotte lives with her husband and their twin boys in Brooklyn, New York.

New York / Photographer

Paul Barbera is a lifestyle and interiors photographer with an observational reportage style whose work spans from cultural anthropology through to luxury living. Paul was born in Melbourne, Australia and currently resides in New York City. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts. With an adaptable yet distinct visual approach, his assignments regularly takes him around the globe, working with publications like VOGUE LIVING, BON APPETIT MAGAZINE, FRAME, MARTHA STEWART, LUCKY MAGAZINE and ELLE DÉCOR and clients including MARRIOTT HOTELS & RESORTS, STARBUCKS, BUGABOO and DEDON. He has been featured in T: THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, the PARIS REVIEW and FORBES. Barbera has turned his long term online passion project Love Lost Project in to an ongoing series of publications with the first limited edition book was available from Dashwood Books in New York and through KK outlet in London. His previous book release, Where They Create, is available globally and now Where They Create Japan.

New York / Designer

Product & Furniture Design

New York / Photographer

Photographer

New York / Writer

Luna Adler is a Brooklyn-based writer and illustrator. She likes to think of herself as an agreeable Scorpio.

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