Open House at BassamFellows HQ and Private Tour of The Glass House

AIANY Custom Residential Architects Network is celebrating the launch of Archtober with an open house at the midcentury-modern headquarters of environmentally conscious furniture and lifestyle designers BassamFellows, located in Ridgefield, CT, followed by a private tour of The Glass House in nearby New Canaan, CT. The celebration will begin at the BassamFellows property with an open house gathering and introduction to the designers' work in the field of sustainable design for interior furnishings and objects. Following the Open House, meet us at the Glass House for lunch and a private tour!

To create their headquarters, Australian architect Craig Bassam and American creative director Scott Fellows translated the fundamentals of Modernism into their remodel of the historic Schlumberger Administration Building, a 1952 commercial structure designed by Philip Johnson and commissioned by Annette Schlumberger and Henri Doll in 1951 after visiting the Glass House, which Johnson had recently completed in 1949. The single-story rectangular building in steel, glass, and brick features perimeter offices organized around a central core that contains a landscaped courtyard, glass-enclosed conference room, and library. The building was meticulously renovated to showcase the BassamFellows collection of furniture and objects, which are intended to last generations, using materials sourced from from sustainable forests, zero-waste tanneries, and Italian producers that run exclusively on renewable energy.

Ticket price includes:
– Admission to Open House at BassamFellows property
– Lunch at the Glass House, followed by a private tour (transportation not included)
– Please Note: We are also offering a separate ticket ($15 for members; $30 for general public) for the Open House at BassamFellows only.

Speakers:
Craig Bassam, Architect and Co-founder, BassamFellows
Scott Fellows, Creative Director and Co-founder, BassamFellows

Moderator:
Brian Messana, AIA, SARA, Co-Founder, Messana O’Rorke

About the Speakers:
Craig Bassam is an architect who designs interiors, furniture, lifestyle products and homes. As the company’s chief designer, Bassam is responsible for BassamFellows’ celebrated Craftsman Modern aesthetic, applied across a collection of exceptionally crafted furniture and home and personal accessories. Bassam’s affinity for early modernism—its restrained beauty, simple proportions and rigorous craftsmanship—informs much of his designs. The architect and designer works like a classic modernist, producing total environments where architecture, interiors and furniture coalesce to complete a fully integrated experience. 

Scott Fellows is a multifaceted creative director. Merging extensive expertise in business and brand strategy with the instincts of a designer, Fellows has worked with some of the world’s most recognized brands. Known for his natural instinct for strategy and product development, Fellows has achieved successful rejuvenated brand identities for Ferragamo, Bally and Herman Miller. In 2003, Fellows partnered with architect Craig Bassam to launch BassamFellows, a new kind of American luxury company grounded in the principles of irreproachable craftsmanship, architectural rigor and sensual minimalism. Since the company’s inception, BassamFellows’ rigorously crafted aesthetic, which celebrates objects as timeless and rich in provenance. has achieved international recognition.

Brian Messana is cofounder of the Messana O’Rorke. Prior to establishing his own residential design practice, Messana worked with Peter Marino, Richard Meier & Partners and Asymptote. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Brian received his master’s degree from Columbia University in 1992 and a Bachelor in Architecture from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. He is on the board of the Society of American Registered Architects, and committed member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Custom Residential Architects Network, Architectural League of New York, and International Interior Design Association. He has taught at Columbia University, Pratt Institute, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette.