A year after moving into their newly renovated Fifth Avenue apartment, a New York couple received a poem in the mail from their architect, Eric Clough. It directed them to a secret panel containing a book, which in turn led them through 18 puzzles built into their house.

Door knockers removed from the wall connected together to make a crank that opened hidden panels in their dining room credenza. A decorative leather trim spelled a message when wrapped around a removable bar from a bed. Secret panels contained a cloth crossword puzzle, a magnetic cube that opened more secret panels revealing a poem, and more.

He even used Le Corbusier’s Modular Man in a piece of art which contained puzzle pieces. This (not this) is the way a truly star architect should build on the work of Le Corbusier.

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Tagged: architecture, le corbusier, new york

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.