Crown Heights Apartment
The top floor apartment in a row house in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, receives good north and south light, has limited views, and sits one block south of a commuter rail that cannot be felt, but can occasionally be heard within the apartment which presented a unique design opportunity in the form of a large scale, thick industrial felt wall panel for absorption. The design sought to create a modern upgrade that would take full advantage of the space and light that was being constricted by poor floor planning.
Brooklyn, NY
Completed 2010
The top floor apartment is designed to maximize the flow of light. This is achieved in three ways; an open floor plan to draw light from the northern and southern windows, an etched glass bathroom door to carry indirect light from a skylight, and a series of daylight balanced fluorescent light ceiling pockets that mimic the quality of a skylight.
Commuter trains can occasionally be heard, although their vibrations cannot be felt in the apartment. This environmental factor inspired the use of a thick, industrial felt wall panel in the design for sound absorption. Custom metal pulls are assembled from simple, bent stainless steel plate to stiffen the light, full height doors and protect the edges.
Accent colors of pale yellow and blue are introduced at the back of the numerous bookshelves in the home as well as in small recessed potted plant holders in the window sills.
Prior to renovation, the apartment was a congested arrangement of five separate rooms in only 700 square feet of space. This layout did not provide balanced light or efficient use of the space for the new occupants - a married couple one of whom was completing her PhD.
The new renovation re-calibrates the sizes of the rooms by shifting the position of the bathroom core, removes walls and doors that stifled air and light, and organizes storage along one clear, formal element sheathed in the felt panels. By further eroding the main north-south interior wall that had isolated the bedroom and kitchen, upper story views and cross-ventilation are maximized.
The apartment is unified by a continuous storage element that extends from the street to the garden side of the apartment. To achieve budgetary goals, interiors of the closets are outfitted with Ikea modular closet systems while the doors are custom, low weight doors to lend cohesion and scale to the space. The last closet, adjacent to the kitchen, is a custom pantry fitted to varieties of cooking equipment and supplies.
Photography By Giles Ashford Photography
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