Beastie Boy Michael "Mike D" Diamond has left his Volkswagen hood ornament necklace behind and donned the mantle of Brooklyn townhouse developer, and the New York Times just can't help itself, writing "this time, it really is Mike D. with the master plan." But is it? As Curbed NY points out, it's far from clear what Diamond and his wife, director Tamra Davis, actually contributed to the design, which they collaborated with architects John and Jill Bouratoglou on. Davis tells the Times that "I'm the one interested in function, and he's all about form," and Ms. Bouratoglou credits Diamond with having "a real sense of rhythm, you could say, and I think we worked to express that in the facade."
Diamond and Davis have designed homes for themselves in Malibu, Atlanta, and the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cobble Hill, as well as a line of Brooklyn-themed wallpaper. This still under construction Boerum Hill single-family home is their first speculative venture, and is priced at $4.98M. Of the exterior of black bricks and ipe wood, Davis says they "wanted to really make a statement."
· A Mellower Beastie Boy, in Brooklyn, Adds Home Building to the Mix [NYT via Curbed NY]