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project overview
Predating 1789, the building held a mysterious 5x5 opening in its upper floor, now reimagined as a skylight
The first move was to cut a slot to allow the tree to be seen from inside. This revealed a cedar frame infilled with handmade brick underneath the sheetrock and vinyl siding.
The slot became the spatial idea of the house, and is repeated to extend the house vertically and horizontally. This simple incision transformed the relationship between interior and exterior, creating a dialogue between the preserved maple and the revealed archaeology of the original structure.
Slot incision reveals original brick and timber wall inside
The resulting interior is an open, vertical 'loft' that reveals the archaeology of the original structure. Program and construction are cautiously stripped to bare bones. Space is collected through establishing material and compositional families that quietly repeat from front curb to back deck.
Material families: Cedar planes and metal screens. Compositional elements: Vertically mounted standard hollow-core doors fold into table above.
Upper floor: Seams of light touring the surfaces of the house. Kitchen and back deck visible to the right.
The construction process revealed layers of history within the modest structure. Each decision was made to honor both the existing fabric and the new interventions, creating a dialogue between old and new.
Standard materials were deployed in unexpected ways – hollow-core doors became folding tables, metal screens created privacy while maintaining visual connections, and the slot motif repeated throughout to unify the design.
The renovation of this small house, and the public accolade it received, reminded us that engaging community isn't an issue of size or location. Big or small, each piece added to the places that we live and work is vital if it allows us contact with ordinary stuff in slightly extraordinary ways.
View from top of stair, lit by skylight. Bed is visible below through grill.
The success of this project led to the official launch of noroof.
Open House New York (OHNY) 2009,2010. dwell + Brooklyn Designs. Brooklyn Home Tours, 2009.