East Village - Manhattan - New York - 2017 (In collaboration with SAOTA Architects)
Located in burgeoning and vibrant East Village, this renovation and addition to an existing penthouse apartment and terrace commands panoramic views of the neighborhood and Manhattan skyline. From Houston Street, the highlight of the project is a steel and glass “nest” perched on top the building with an integrated, light-weight metal screen facing south. The nest acts as master suite but also heightens the character of the underlying building.
Sands Point, New York - 2014
A renovation and addition to an existing ranch style house on the north shore of Long Island. Framing devices and exterior finishes heighten the integration of the house in the landscape and give character as you enter the house. Much of the existing interior walls were removed, opening up and reconfiguring the house to fit the lifestyle of the family while retaining and accentuating the character of the original house. A core “Element” was created at the center of the home that contains bathrooms and storage and is clad in white oak slats which add a unique texture to the character of the open space while acting as an acoustic baffle to mediate sound in the long and open loft-like interior. Natural lighting strategies throughout the space work in tandem with other lighting strategies to choreograph each domestic activity.
Midtown - Manhattan - New York - 2016 (In collaboration with Thomas Juul-Hansen, LLC)
Located within the Diamond District’s new International Gem Tower is a new office space build-out for the New York branch of an international diamond trading company. The architectural and lighting design are inspired by and accommodate for the specific needs of diamond inspection, sorting, display and sales. Being a millwork-intensive project, the cabinetry and custom furniture design enhance workflow while providing the maximum amount and quality of storage. Material selections and detailing befit the distinction and prestige associated with the core of their business: quality gemstones.
Brooklyn, NY - 2018
An upper level, two floor apartment with terrace is designed and built to maximize openness, utility and natural light. The formerly cramped and underutilized apartment went through a complete transformation with the removal of walls, floor and rearrangement of rooms to achieve this goal.
A combined, eat-in living/dining/kitchen space is enveloped with a ribbon of cabinetry providing storage while maximizing use and movement. A sculptural white oak stair flanks the two story back wall at the entry and a glass floor/skylight brings natural light from above to a brass pendant light and kitchen table below. Upstairs, the master bedroom and a home office are separated by a two sided, bookcase/armoire with integrated up-lighting. A planted terrace is accessed from this floor with views of the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood and Manhattan beyond.
Photos by Christian Phillips Photography
Kentucky, 2013
Situated on a lakeside promontory in central Kentucky, this addition and renovation to a 230 year old log home enjoys abundant light and sweeping views of nature.
Several years ago, the owners came to the realization that they needed additional space in order to expand the kitchen and dining areas. Their goal presented not only an opportunity to add space and functionality, but to also reconsider and improve the entire internal circulation of the house. In keeping with the transformative nature of the project, the addition was envisioned as a contrasting architectural form that was at once complementary and respectful to the materials and massing of the original structure.
The house’s new expression of space offers expansive views of the surrounding countryside and seamlessly blends old and new in a timeless fusion, befitting of a site formed by the timeless forces of nature.
Carroll Gardens - Brooklyn - NY - 2012
The conversion of a row house on a quiet street for a family of four. The upper two floors were updated and modified to create more open spaces. The lower level was completely reimagined with an open living and recreation area, modern oak stair and a rear extension and glass doors to the garden. The extension provided a new deck from the kitchen and dining room above.
Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York - 2011
On a corner lot in Park Slope, Brooklyn this 3 family row house was converted into an open and light filled upper floor duplex and rental apartment below. The attached 5 car garage roof was transformed into a roof terrace with integrated planters for gardening and recreation for the family. This deck is accessed through custom, bi-fold and swing steel and glass doors from the dining area. A stepped and raised cedar deck was created with exterior furniture and gardening storage below and a slatted cedar screen provides privacy from the street. Roof pavers allow grass to grow between them for a durable green roof.The Living Room bookshelves are planed-down solid pine rafters salvaged from the old garage roof. The kitchen was built from modified Henry Built teak cabinets found at a salvage mart and integrated into the design with Carrara marble countertops and backsplashes. A stair and blackened steel railing winds up to the sleeping, office and laundry room above culminating into a custom laser cut steel guard rail modeled after a map of the Santa Croce / Cannaregio neighborhoods of Venice.
Brooklyn, New York - 2016
A repurposing of an unused alcove as a playroom and sleeping loft for the son of two urban professionals near Brooklyn Bridge Park. Full use of the double height space was accessed and a custom designed steel staircase and cabinetry/step ladder was created to access the sleeping loft. The former small, alcove was transformed into a small living space with sliding doors that separate it from the main living area.
New York - 2013
Roofdock provides an exciting new way to add a floor or two to your New York City townhouse. The system utilizes pre-fabricated modules that delivered to a prospective townhouse, lifted into place and assembled in a short amount of time. The final result is a beautifully designed, environmentally friendly and comfortable addition to the existing building that maximizes the prescribed, allowable building area and does so through a less burdensome construction process on site. The overall unit design is modern and flexible. The End-caps, which attach to the front of the modular building unit, function both as a shield for privacy and as shading and wind modulation devices. They add texture and depth and can be modified in material and layout to the taste of the owner. Inside, the home is open and airy, with abundant natural light and cross ventilation from windows at both ends and operable skylights and panels above in the central zone. Because each townhouse can be of different width, this zone of the building can be customized to fit the width of the building below. A green roof, solar heating panels, photovoltaic panels as well as wind turbines can be integrated into the unit and sustainable building materials will be used throughout. Add to this, the added benefit of prefabricated construction and the result is that waste is kept to a minimum and quality is engineered into each element.
Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York - 2013
Converted from a former industrial space, Room 17 was envisioned as a creative space for the production of extraordinary music and art. Our team worked closely together to create a spacious and dynamic environment that promotes innovation and experimentation. The 3200 sf studio houses one of the largest drum and tracking rooms in New York and is extremely live with 14 foot high ceilings allowing drums to project deeply into the space. In addition to the main cutting room there are two large isolation rooms for tracking vocals and instrumentals, 3 smaller, flexible ISO rooms and a unique echo chamber converted from the former boiler room. The physics of sound dictated that asymmetrical wall geometries would define the floor plans of spaces where music recording would occur. The control room was designed to maximize sight lines to and from the main space and ISO rooms while symmetrical wall geometries were created behind the trident 80 series 40 channel console and monitor speakers for optimal stereo imaging. A dynamic recipe of both reflective and absorptive ceiling/wall surfaces ensure optimal acoustics throughout the studio. Specialized wall assemblies enhance sound isolation between all rooms. Custom and stock windows are double glazed and all doors are detailed with acoustical seal components.
Downtown Brooklyn, New York - 2012
A conversion of a cramped and outdated apartment into a lively, modern apartment for a young professional couple. The height of the space was utilized and expanded to create a loft space for a home office above which is accessed via a spiral stair designed both functionally and sculpturally to occupy the least amount of space possible while creating a cascading feeling from the loft to the floor. The loft above was detached from the wall that supported it, hung from the ceiling and clad in oak, emphasizing the fact that it is its own element floating in the space. This critical gesture allows light to spill into the entry space and aids in the open feeling of the apartment. The owners are avid cyclists and needed a way to display and store their bikes in this small space so a unique pulley and tie-off system was created to lift them out of the way.
Anywhere, USA - 2000 - Unbuilt (Envisioned while employed at Resolution: 4 Architecture)
The project was initiated as a critique of the stereotypical American suburban home and the edification of its image in the media. Instead of designing the house from the established tropes we started with nothing and sculpted what we found at arms reach, initiating the process by arranging discarded scraps of cardboard on a table and ending by creating computer renderings. Each stage of the process was given no forethought and as it was manifest, another manipulation of the form was made using scale-shifts and spacial juxtaposition as our tools until a semblance of architectural form and space was created. What started as a critique of the suburban home became a critique of the processes of presentation and the “eye candy” of computer based imagery. The true irony of all of this was the publication of the project in Architecture Magazine in the “On the Boards” section and the subsequent protests by angry readers who wrote in saying how inappropriate the house is.
Downtown Brooklyn, New York - 2010
This high ceiling, multi-level apartment has been fully designed to emphasize light and maximize the use of space. Innovative storage solutions and a playful design of cabinetry were created that separate living, dining and office areas on the lower level from the sleeping loft above. A home entertainment center, stow-away computer desk and toy box/steps frame a child’s sleeping area, playroom and library on the desk-height level. Below, a massive pull-out storage box can be accessed which frees up the rest of the loft from clutter. A sleeping loft accessed by a series of alternating stairs that double as shelves, laundry bin and hidden ironing board separates the bed from the rest of the apartment and is hidden from view by a translucent Lumasite panel.
Chelsea - Manhattan - New York - 2015
(In collaboration with Lauren Wegel Architect and Wilvan Van Campen Architects)
A renovation and fit-out of a space in the historic Terminal Warehouse Building for a retail store and management hub of a fine wine storage company. The building is situated between the developing residential and commercial areas of the Chelsea Gallery District, Hudson Yards District and The High Line. The existing raw, brick columned and exposed wood beam space built in 1891 is preserved and accented by the integration of a series of contemporary design elements that are composed in such a way as to focus on the display and sale of fine wine while retaining the feel of a traditional cellar. A “wall of wine” between each column is penetrated by an entrance “portal” through which one accesses the space from the public corridor. Display and storage areas are made from industrial materials that have been reimagined with a refined, modern character. Reclaimed wood beams found in the basement were honed down and used as countertops for a sales desk and tasting table and hot rolled steel plate is used for shelving, seating and wall covering.
Bedford Stuyvesant - Brooklyn - New York - 2012 (A collaboration with Gluck+ Architecture, Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Lonni Tanner, NYCHA)
A proposal for a renovation to the Saratoga Senior Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Our team of Architects, graphic designers and landscape designers worked closely with the local community, the New York Housing Authority, the NYC Department of Design and Construction and the Mayor’s Office to assess the needs of the current residents and community that the center serves. The proposal sought to create a realizable, cost efficient and adaptable solution to the outdated and underutilized facility that reinforces the initiative to improve the living environment for seniors in this community as well as envisioning a model for New York. The outdated facility was envisioned as a community hub and activity center with special programs, a new cafeteria and a central garden and green house area. A red railing extends through the entire space as a physical support system for walking and exercising but also as a gauging device and anchoring mount for activity boards and crafts.
Winnetka, Illinois - 2010 (Design/Build project completed while employed at Gluck+)
From the street and from inside, this house appears rather simple and unimposing, but in fact it is a very large house with an extremely complex program. Significant parts of the house are cut into the bluff and are not visible from the street and these buried spaces express themselves as irregular horizontal fissures in the hillside. The experience of moving through the house from the bluff to the lake takes advantage of the steep slope by way of a series of descending spaces set off from one another in both plan and section which afford dramatic and ever-changing views of the water. At grade, two “bars” containing the parents wing and garage/kitchen respectively carry a glass box containing the children’s bedrooms and playrooms. The box is constructed with massive steel trusses mounted on 4 steel columns which allow for unencumbered views to Lake Michigan and make the box seem to float above the living areas below. The subsurface areas which make up half of the area or the house contain guest and maid’s quarters, office space, a lap pool, gym and basketball court. A fresh-water pool and stone clad boat house complete the terraced landscape down to the water’s edge. The house was realized through the Architect led Design/Build process where we performed the duties as Architect and then assumed the role of Contractor and Construction Manager on site. This allowed for a very high level of execution while keeping costs and schedule in check. Although large with much glass on the exposed portions of the house, we received LEED certification in part because half of the house is below grade and we also incorporated green roofs, a geothermal heat pump system, and many other energy efficient systems.
East Hampton, NY 2010
A renovation and addition to a former one story home on Further Lane. Maintaining the basic style of the home, two small additions and a reconfiguring of the floor plan allowed for a large master suite, guest rooms, baths and common space to expand the home from its former modest scale. Large windows, finishes and lighting design serve to brighten the interior and a full below grade entertainment and utility area was created by shoring up the house and excavating. A large raised stone and grass terrace with a pergola and cascading stairs completes the design to the expansive yard, pool house and view to the sea beyond.
The Battery, Lower Manhattan, New York - 2012
A proposal for a flexible use, environmentally friendly and durable outdoor chair for The New York City Battery Conservancy. The seating design features a dynamic shape whose continuous surface invites the discovery of multiple uses. Depending upon on the seat's orientation it may be used as an upright chair, a lounge seat, a recliner or a table. The single design accommodates the various needs and moods of the user, its continuous surface hugs the body and simultaneously touches the grass lightly, with a minimum of footprint on the park. The chairs would be formed via injection molding using recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), often used for plastic beverage bottles and reinforced with glass fiber. Addressing the interface between the new park and foot and bicycle access, a precast concrete bicycle and chair docking element is envisioned along the periphery of the Battery Green and features permanent seating, portable seat storage and a continuous bike rack that would be illuminated by LED lights at night.
East Hampton, New York - 2009 - Unbuilt
Commissioned as an accessory building to a residence we renovated and drawing from the modern and shingle style influences in the Hamptons, the pavilion is made up of two smaller, self contained units connected by a common roof and basement. Eating, socializing and viewing are on the left, sleeping and bathing and exercising on the right and faces a tennis court. The sloped shed roof is cantilevered to the South and East to shade the interior in the summer and allow sun to bath the spaces in the winter. A reflecting pool and sliding glass doors provide passive cooling in the summer and a green roof and solar array on the roof aid in energy efficiency.
Upper East Side - Manhattan - New York - 2014
A bespoke cabinet designed for a professional couple as storage and display for glass ware and liquor. The design was conceived as a series stacking boxes of different shapes that form a composition in response to the room in which it occupies and for what occupies it. The color scheme was based on a Josef Albers study.
Austin, Texas - 2006 (Design/Build project completed while employed at Gluck+)
Standing amid a grove of two hundred landmarked live oaks, significant portions of this house were built below grade to maintain the rural landscape of the site. Between the ground plane and the floating box is an entirely transparent glassed enclosure that gives the living room, dining room, and kitchen unobstructed views of the natural surroundings on one side and the Austin skyline on the other. The stainless steel structure holds all the mechanicals for the house and produces the illusion of a wall-less space and a floating box above. Moving through the building, the sectional complexities add to the spatial experiences inside and outside the house. The sunken courtyard, formed by a sharp cut in the earth, connects the ground floor to the transparent living room by an upward-sloping grass ramp. This ramp becomes the roof of the buried sections, with skylights cutting through the grass to provide natural light for the spaces below. The house was realized through the Architect led Design/Build process where we performed the duties as Architect and then assumed the role of Contractor and Construction Manager on site. This allowed for a very high level of execution while keeping costs and schedule in check.
Scarsdale, NY - 2005 (Completed while employed at Gluck +)
This renovation and extension provides classroom, office and worship areas to the existing temple. The layered zinc wall provides muted views from the classrooms within, and pin-up space for class presentations. A subterranean temple for smaller gatherings was created that incorporates a wooden and inlaid steel ark for holding the torah and a single light suspended from the skylight above.
East Harlem, New York - 2010 (Design/Build project completed while employed at Gluck+)
A non-profit community health, wellness and family support center in East Harlem. For the past five decades, Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service provided a variety of public services to the East Harlem community from five separate buildings. The new building was designed to consolidate these programs. The façade of the building is made up of an ordinary exterior door system, large pieces of fixed glass and insulated panels. The program of the building includes classrooms, a thrift store and a rooftop play space.
Flat-Iron District, Manhattan, New York - 2000 (Completed while employed at Resolution 4 Architecture)
Sculpted into the shell of two floors of an existing mercantile building, this headquarters of an emerging dot com start-up incorporates independently crafted programmatic elements, juxtaposed to one another throughout the space projecting an identity of a dynamic team of creative individuals. Freestanding programmatic elements; reception desk, workstation, stair module and conference pod act as nuclei of activity and create spaces at their perimeter for circulation and employee interaction as well as providing for the interplay of natural and artificial light that spills through the space.
Brooklyn, New York - 2008
This renovation across the street from the Brooklyn Museum capitalized on the existing layout of the 650 sf space by converting walls and cabinets into multi-functioning storage and display areas. Drawers between the entry and the bedroom open to both areas and a blackened steel sheet wraps around the entry for displaying family pictures behind magnetic frames. The television folds out on an arm from behind a cabinet door, the built-in couches contain storage and a “beauty bar” in the bedroom contains makeup and grooming needs.
Photos by Christian Phillips Photography
