Designed to feel like home: Life at 450 Warren, New York
Sebastian Mendez is the co-founder of Tankhouse, a Brooklyn-based real estate development firm.
WHAT IF CITIES WERE BUILT with the same care as the homes we live in? That idea became the starting point for Tankhouse, a Brooklyn-based real estate development company founded by architect Sebastian Mendez and his close friend Sam Alison-Mayne.
After years of designing buildings around the world, Mendez returned to the neighborhood scale with a vision: to create spaces that feel personal, flexible, and deeply connected to their surroundings. Tankhouse’s first project, 450 Warren in New York, is not just a building but also a home for Mendez and his family. With open-air walkways, generous natural light, and layered indoor-outdoor spaces, the building's architecture blurs the line between private retreat and shared experience.
Sebastian Mendez's home is located in Brooklyn, New York.
The rooftop terrace at 450 Warren opens up to a skyline of towering skyscrapers. What better place to take it all in than from the comfort of a Pacha lounge chair?
In collaboration with GUBI, Design Stories had the chance to sit down with Sebastian Mendez to explore life at 450 Warren. The conversation touches on the relationship between architecture and everyday life, the importance of outdoor spaces in the city, and how thoughtful design can shape the way we live.
Read the full story to see how a vision for better living takes form. Welcome to New York!
They are the happy residents of the 450 Warren building: Sebastian, his wife Candice, and their kids Edie and Luca.
Hello, Sebastian! Where is your home, and who lives there with you?
“I live with my wife, Candice, and two kids, Edie and Luca, in Brooklyn, New York. We have acquired a flat in 450 Warren, which was Tankhouse’s first ground-up residential project.
This project is an optimistic one. With its open façade, mesh-encased walkways, and expansive windows, 450 Warren brings in an immense amount of natural light, air, and views, which creates a very different experience, set in an apartment building in Brooklyn.
We were the first family to move into 450 Warren and have lived here for over a year now. The motivation was obvious. I have spent years envisioning, designing, and building this project in collaboration with the design and construction teams, and I firmly believe in its uniqueness. The quality of spaces, both communal and private, indoors and outdoors, makes up for a very stimulating and rewarding lifestyle.”
Sebastian Mendez was closely involved in designing and constructing the building, so it felt only natural for him to move in with his family. They were the first to call 450 Warren home.
450 Warren's mesh-encased walkways create a very unique experience.
The building has large windows that let in generous natural light.
What room is the heart of your home?
“Home is the base where we all come together as we start the day, and as we finish all of our activities – in our kids’ case, there are a lot! Given our kids’ ages, we spend quite a bit of time all together. In our case, and considering my role at Tankhouse, home is also an experiment. It is the place where I test whether our ideas at Tankhouse work or not.
“Home is also an experiment. It is the place where I test whether our ideas at Tankhouse work or not.”
We use the combined living, dining, and kitchen space the most. In this very large island, we cook, and the kids play, do homework, and sometimes eat. This space has views and light in multiple directions, and opens onto a covered patio. This is where we all spend time outside when the weather is nice.
I also like our bedroom; it is cozy, not too large, and also opens up to an outdoor space, so I can sit there quietly to make a phone call, read a book, and look outside.”
The big kitchen island is the heart of the home where the whole family spends most of the time.
It's the place for cooking and homework, but also games and fun! The chrome lamp is a portable Multi-Lite table lamp, designed by Louis Weisdorf.
The bedroom is a quiet place where Sebastian makes phone calls, reads a book, or just looks outside. The Timberline floor lamp charms with its pleated canvas shade.
What do you look for when choosing furniture and lighting?
“It needs to offer a combination of design, style, and comfort while being functional and practical. I’m constantly looking at different designers, from young and emerging to more established, individuals to large companies, international to local. In the end, it all needs to work together, so materiality and tone are important. At the moment, Candice and I are in a phase where we like muted, natural colors, and natural materials – and always a bit of steel for me.”
Pacha lounge chairs, designed by Pierre Paulin, move effortlessly from room to room. Mendez likes their low, organic shape that offers a perfect contrast to the building’s bold, angular geometry. Chairs pair with the TS coffee table.
Classics and new designs go well hand in hand. Greta Magnusson's iconic Gräshoppa floor lamp was first introduced in 1947 and reissued in 2011.
What sort of outdoor living space does your home offer you, and how do you use this space?
“450 Warren embodies a balance between public and private space, indoor and outdoor living. Among the communal spaces, there is a patio/atrium at the center of the building; a lush green courtyard on the second floor, and a terrace on the top level, with open views across the NYC skyline. All the apartments are linked by bridges, open to the elements and the sky.
You enter our house through a foyer. This is the space where we transition to home: we take off our shoes, leave the stroller, park the umbrella. Once inside, the living and dining area opens up to a covered patio, which is sheltered from the elements but open to the neighborhood.
This is where we have meals when the weather is nice. Our dog loves napping there, our kids play with water there, and we have a lot of plants. There is also a very private, smaller balcony off our bedroom, which is a charming spot to read a book or have a quiet coffee.”
Lush greenery pairs beautifully with the building’s industrial character, creating a striking balance between softness and structure.
The shared spaces open directly onto the city, offering a front-row seat to the urban skyline.
The living and dining area opens up to a covered terrace. Sebastian enjoys GUBI’s flexible furniture that can be used inside and outdoors as well, just like the Pacha lounge chairs here.
The patio is the place where the family has meals if the weather is nice. The floor lamp is Mathieu Matégot's Satellite.
What do you enjoy most about the Brooklyn lifestyle?
“Brooklyn offers the best of urban and suburban living. It’s central, well located, very close to Manhattan, and has its own scene and style. At the same time, there are so many places of pause, calmness, sunlight, green spaces, parks. I walk from home to the office, dropping my kids at school on the way, and every day I enjoy meeting neighbors, friends, colleagues, and stopping at my favorite coffee shops.
“I am constantly looking at, admiring, critiquing, absorbing design.”
Brooklyn is a place with young professionals, artists, designers, and families gravitating towards, and so it seems that the threshold for good design, and style is pretty high in Brooklyn. After living in Manhattan for almost a decade, and about the same time in Brooklyn, I’d say Brooklyn is our place.”
A cozy nursery offers a quiet escape from the metropolis's hustle and bustle – and the possibility of admiring the city from the big windows at the same time.
What inspires you beyond work?
“Besides my family, I love architecture and design. My work is – fortunately – my life. I am constantly looking at, admiring, critiquing, absorbing design, and all various shapes, sizes, disciplines, and locations. I like bikes, cars, art, photography, and objects. We are lucky to have a place outside of the city, in the Hudson Valley, that gives us more opportunity to fully disconnect from work and connect as a family.”
See also:
Interview and photos: GUBI
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Published on 6 Jun, 2025
