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OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. P airing two Art Deco skyscrapers — home to law firms and other white-glove downtown tenants — with cutting-edge creatives known for conjuring avant- garde art happenings might seem an unlikely match. But as Andy Warhol said, "Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art." Cue the 1927-era Niels Esperson Building, an ode to the Deco style done in an Italian Renaissance Revival direction, and its annex, the Mellie Esperson Building. Both are monuments to the prowess of John Eberson, a 20th-century architect known for extravagant movie-palace designs. The Esperson's Cameron Management, led by leasing agents Morris Chen and Christine Gabriel, has tapped artist-founded From top: Christine Gabriel, Anthony Rose, Preston Gaines, Elesa LeCompte-Channell, Morris Chen. Italian Renaissance Revival details on the 1927 Niels Esperson Building. Architecture Art Hearts United by Design principals Anthony Rose and Preston Gaines to bring fellow creatives into the high-rise Class A tenant mix. Rose is known for murals that have spilled out into commissions to reimagine entire corporate spaces; Gaines, an architect turned artist, often employs plants in his installation-based practice. The 32-story Niels Esperson and 19-story Mellie Esperson will devote a portion of their floors to United by Design exhibitions and a pool of talented tenants. Floor 13 is a creative hub; a wall has been broken through to allow both skyscrapers to meet, forging a raw space perfect for openings, pop- ups, music rehearsal spaces, and video production. Floor six offers another exhibition space, recently leased by UH biz school grad Elesa LeCompte- Channell for a showcase of UH art-department grads, with the goal of supporting the arts from a business perspective. The pristinely built-out floors 18 and 19 are home to arts-in- business offices and event spaces, including buzzy curator-producer Moriah Alise's Alise Art Group. Alise plans her next "Dear Glory" for this fall, with a special rooftop experience on floor 25, where the Niels Esperson's famous terraces serve up a downtown architectural panorama alongside walls devoted to works by Colby Deal, Erika Alonso, LaMonté French, a n d Ry a n Wi l l i a m s , among others. More on this story on papercitymag. com. @_unitedbydesign. Catherine D. Anspon PHOTOS JENNY ANTILL CLIFTON 10