: f o k s e
D e h t t
A
Ismael L e y va
DREAM HOME Leyva hopes to resurrect plans, waylaid by the recession, to build this home on land he owns in Columbia County, N.Y.
T
he prominent Mexican-born architect — behind the Upper East Side condo the Charles and the Riverhouse condos in Battery Park City — cut his teeth working under one of New York’s most prolific architects, Costas Kondylis. In 1996, he struck out on his own, launching an eponymous firm by renting a desk from a friend’s firm for $500 a month. The now 70-person company is headquartered at 48 West 37th Street and also has offices in Costa Rica. And it has more than 50 completed projects in the Big Apple. Here’s a look at Leyva’s office and some of his favorite things. B y G uelda V oien
WOODEN Elephant
Bonsai tree
Leyva often receives gifts from his many
Leyva has a Japanese bonsai tree
foreign-born employees. He has items
that he refers to as his “baby.” The
from India, Croatia, Qatar and Mexico.
tree was a gift, but he could never
A staffer born in India brought him this
figure out from whom because there
wood-carved elephant. But Leyva said
was no return address. “I like miniature things,”
he does not work much in India because
Leyva said.
“the fees are the lowest in the world.”
THE BookSHELF Self-help books are Leyva’s go-to reading
Random House building
One client of Leyva’s owns 5,000 acres in Costa Rica, where this
author and motivational speaker Wayne
Leyva worked in association
sprawling, verdant estate was planned. Unfortunately, the client had a
Dyer, who overcame a childhood in a
with
firm
stroke before breaking ground and the project was killed. Still, Leyva’s
Detroit orphanage, and has written more
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
proud of the design, which would have allowed a nearby waterfall to
than 30 books, including “The Power
to redevelop the Random
be seen from anywhere in the house.
of Intention,” and “Excuses Be Gone!”
architecture
Costa Rica HOME
material. The architect particularly likes
House Building at 1745 Broadway in 2003. Leyva handled the residential
Golf
component, and SOM the commercial space.
Leyva is an avid golfer, often playing with clients and associates. He
Mixed-use complex in China Leyva once had offices in China, Costa Rica and Qatar, but
mainly plays in New Jersey and Connecticut.
following the financial crisis, only the New York and Costa Rica offices remain. While he designed massive projects like this mixeduse complex in Hangzhou, China, he said he no longer works there. “It’s just the way they do businesses … I never got paid for that [project].”
CARVED MEXICAN Heads Carved heads known as “toltecas” from Zapote, Mexico, which were discovered by a friend who was building a home there. The archaeological relics might be valuable, but Leyva said he “would never sell them.”
THE Theater LIFE Leyva is a regular theatergoer. One of his recent favorites: “The Lion King.”
24 February 2014 www.TheRealDeal.com
PHOTOGRAPH OF ismael leyva FOR THE REAL DEAL BY jeremy williams