Ross School Building 2 (Arts Facility Building)
East Hampton, NY
Overall Building Design and Fabrication of All Glass and Metal
Founded by Courtney Ross, widow of AOL Chairman Steve Ross, the Ross School set out from the beginning to be a visionary and inspirational approach to education. Joseph Jaroff worked closely with Ms. Ross to understand the philosophy of the school, which he then wove into the concept of an interactive, porous and high-tech arts facility. This project extended past our traditional role providing custom architectural glass and metal fabrication, to include everything from the overall architectural plan for the building to the detailed, custom furniture designed to integrate new technologies into every desk. Forming the core of the arts building is a two-story spiral learning center and editing suites constructed out of wood, patinated steel and laminated glass panels and partitions. Surrounding the central video editing facility, Jaroff Design’s custom movable chairs and desks allow students to watch the professionals at work through sound-proof glass laminated with a piece of light fabric to give the right balance of visibility and privacy. The spiral itself was designed to be both sculptural and functional. The acrylic sunshades fanned across the top limit glare, hide the integrated lighting system, and give a sense of energy and upward motion to the space. The Cor Ten steel structure supports workstations and interactive displays but also hides internet jacks, plug-ins for live feed monitors and power sockets in its hollow columns.
For the past thirty-eight plus years, Jaroff Design, under the management of founder Joseph Jaroff, has led the design, fabrication, installation and coordination of custom architectural glass and metal for the construction, architecture, interior design and art communities.
Joe received a BFA in Metalwork and Sculpture from RIT’s prestigious School for American Craft and studied Art History at Harvard University. During the time he was a student, Joe received several grants for public art projects including those from the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council for the Arts.
After graduating, Joe moved to New York City to pursue an art career, supplementing his income with architectural metal and glass design and fabrication work for contractors and commissioned projects. This early work led Joe to the realization that he could fill an unrecognized need within the building and arts community through blending his skill sets of designer, fabricator, coordinator and project orchestrator.
Jaroff Design has developed and realized design solutions for projects by architects such as Tony Chi, Herzog & De Meuron, Richard Gluckmann, Peter Marino, Toshiko Mori, Polshek Partnership Architects, Ennead Architects, S.O.M., Phillipe Stark, Adam Tihany, Annabelle Selldorf, Andrew Berman and The Rockwell Group among many others.
Fashion Clients include showrooms and flagship locations for Armani, Issey Miyake, Alexander McQueen, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Stella McCartney, Barneys, Louis Vuitton, Van Cleef & Arpels, YSL and Chanel.
Fine dining clientele have seen JD work at Asiate, Le Cirque, The Sea Grill, 11 Madison Avenue, Bruno’s Wine Club, and the Hudson Hotel Bar. Cultural clients include Jazz at Lincoln Center, MOMA PS1 and New York City Center.