FOR A HIGH-DESIGN IRONING BOARD

which is run by Max, a woodworker who MAX WANG STUDIO, trained as an architect, and his spouse, Kaori, is the go-to shop for much of GRT Architects’ high-end millwork and custom furniture jobs. They’ve tackled everything from a mahogany lobby reception desk wrapped in CNC-cut scalloped wood to a bright, warm kitchen with all the appliances hidden behind white-oak cabinets. GRT trusts Wang to do it all because “he’s as committed to every nuanced detail as we are,” says Tal Schori, GRT’s co-founder. For a dining table with exposed edges, they exchanged a dozen emails about the right kind of plywood to use. For commissions, Wang likes to start with a home visit and take measurements of the space where a finished piece will live (chairs start at $1,000, coffee tables at $3,000, and a wall of bookshelves at $20,000). “Our projects are always for a specific space, not meant to be mass-produced,” Wang says. He once did a plywood ironing board for a fashion designer that was mounted on a complex counterweight system that allowed it to be raised and lowered to ideal steam-ironing height. Another time, he designed a modernist Torah ark for a client with doors made from rift-cut oak and Charlotte Perriand–inspired handles.