.svg){kind=small}
project overview
Black elements give the house its quiet order. A raw palette of slate porcelain and Viroc, a cement-bonded wood panel with the warmth of timber and the toughness of stone, balances industrial and natural textures.
The stone mantel from the original house is reused, the pine floors reclaimed from a Carroll Gardens project by another architect. But it’s the magic pantry that surprises: swing open the door and the shelves illuminate, lit with adjustable white LEDs like a secret stage.
The angled white form is the mass of the stair ascending to the unit above. The stair and party wall are wrapped in mass loaded vinyl for sound dampening.
The blackened steel folded plate stair is part of the palette of industrial materials. Contrasted with a section of exposed rubble foundation wall. The cellar is exposed, honed concrete.
The kitchen is tucked along the party wall to allow flexibility for the main floor. In-floor power points were placed to allow for the ground floor to be used for a professional office.
An insert corner window unifies the front and back. It blurs the spatial boundaries between inside and outside. A future raised deck on pedestals is planned as a continuation of the tile floor. Wild strawberries, spring tulips, and black-eyed susans thrive in the small pollinator garden.
The combined tub and shower is recessed into the floor where a stair once led to the cellar. Overhead, a high skylight softens the room with daylight and views of the sky, while southern light filters through the two layers of sliding glass doors, translucent toward the bath, clear toward the slot garden. With one of the pair of pivot doors closed, the bathroom functions as an ensuite. In the image at right, the tub is shown partially filled.
The bedroom has views to the neighbor's bamboo grove and a small private outdoor sitting area.
A pair of pivot doors allow varying forms of privacy. When the west door is closed the bedroom has ensuite access to the bathroom. When the west door is open and the east door is closed, guests have access to the bathroom.
A simple requirement, fresh air to the has service room below, sparked a spatial invention. The project frame not only conceals the intake but also orchestrates the entry: a threshold that invites pause, with a bench to take off your shoes and hang up your coat, and a shelf for keys.
The front deck was rebuilt and the porch restored. New glazing provides connection to the outside.
noroof, project notes
Open House New York (OHNY), 2023
"Long, Dark Fort Greene Row House Opens Up to Nature" — Brownstoner, The Insider, Cara Greenberg (Feb 2023)