MONI Studio NYC

Ridgewood, new york (2025)

MONI Studio is a creative studio and multipurpose venue located in Ridgewood, New York founded by Zexi Qi. The project involved leading the aesthetic development of the space, shaping its visual language, material sensibility, and atmospheric experience. Occupying a 5,000-square-foot industrial warehouse, the design translates a sculptural and atmospheric language into spatial form—integrating MONI’s major production components into a cohesive environment through material sensitivity and custom details . Built for high-end commercial shoots, exhibitions, and private events, MONI functions both as a production facility and an adaptable spatial framework for a range of creative uses.

The palette extracts vibrancy from monochrome, using texture, surface, and light as pigments in themselves. Silver metals, concrete, glass, crystal, and mirror establish the foundation of the space—materials selected for their ability to reflect, diffuse, and sculpt light. Minimal geometry and restraint shape the environment, creating a calibrated field of luminosity. Site-specific elements were designed for continuous visual dialogue: space as sculpture, sculpture as space.

The ceiling heights undulate to create moments of compression and release, with lighting that subtly choreographs how visitors move through the studio.

An aluminum cladded storage unit sits adjacent to the illuminated walkway and internal loading dock. The entrance features a custom aluminum sign and an oversized 11’ x 11’ steel bi-fold door.

The studio provides clientele a 48-foot-wide unobstructed infinity cyclorama and a 15 × 12-foot LED screen with over five million pixels, offering immersive potential for film and digital-based work.

A 12’ wide streamlined kitchen counter and a private office enclosed by metal-framed glass doors establish flexible thresholds between openness and intimacy; the office can become fully private with remote-controlled blackout curtains. This area can be lit in multiple configurations, enabling different atmospheres to compliment to the needs of each production, exhibition, or event.

Two powder rooms are available with walls of marble tile and concrete. Stainless steel sinks sit atop black quartz counters with stainless steel faucets. Silver tip bulbs add mood lighting to the recessed ceiling LEDs illuminating the full length mirror.

Architectural, electrical, and technical execution were developed by the client’s licensed professionals.