Kitchen:
The Developers of the base building and their architects sought to build the maximum allowable squarefootage. This is a town house site, twenty feet wide. There is a stipulation of the New York City Buildingcode that there must be at least one operating window or door at the rear of a building that is at leastthirty feet from a site boundary. In order to satisfy this mandate, the designers introduced a chamferedplan geometry which while it maximizes the amount of space that can be sold leaves those of us whocome later with a host of perplexing plan geometries to solve.We clad part of the kitchen in the same white translucent plastic as the window louvers and the tables.The counter top is 3/16” stainless steel plate with a hand finished surface that makes it look like grayleather.A wine cabinet with translucent door is orthogonal to the rest of the kitchen cabinets but runs into thediagonal wall at the rear.The backsplash is the same blue tinted plastic as the louvers but is lit from behind and offerssupplemental lighting for the work surface.
Stair:
A Stair in a Triplex Apartment
There are two stairs connecting three levels.The stairs were stripped down to their structure and re-clad and detailed. White oak flooring is heldaway from the walls so that it looks like a wooden carpet runner.The stairs include winder sections toward their bottoms and at the outset had discontinuous handrailson the outside. We removed the wall between the flights and placed the new stainless rail at the insideso that it would be running over the portion of the winders that were too small to walk on anyway.To develop the line of the rails we extended a vertical line thirty six inches above every nosing and just connected thedots. The resolution of this procedure created a handrail line of surprising complexity. There areadditional elaborations where the walls drop away and the stairs grow wider and where there was notenough dimension to make proper run outs. Despite the unusual geometry, as you walk down the stair,the rail is always precisely where you need it to be. It feels very comfortable.We developed the curves in sketch form using wire models, drawings, digital media and full scale mock-ups on site use ½” copper tubing. The fabrication of the rail was very difficult to accomplish - taxing allwho worked on it. The curved sections were bent using a digitally controlled bending machine by a firmin Chicago and welded together and ground smooth on site.
Louvers:
Louvers for Light Wells
This is a row house proportioned building with direct light entering only from the front and rear. There are two 4 and 5 foot by 8 foot windows that look into an air shaft that receive no direct sun light. Doing something about these windows was a principle task of the project. We design louvers made from one inch thick acrylic resin with a very pale blue tint. The vertical edges of these are polished so that when you look at them closely they look like two sheets of vellum drawn tight. Each louver has a pivot and clamp at the top and bottom with a quarter inch tie rod at the rear to keep it all together. The rod can be seen ghost-like from the in front of the louvers. In some images the blue appears more intense. It isin reality, very pale.
At the entry on the fourth floor there is a small stainless key shelf inset in the light shaft window jam,opposite the elevator - a welcoming gesture but also the beginning of an expression of order offered to offset the bustling City.
The louvers transform an ordinary City experience, the dim view of light wells into something that reminds us all of looking out on the morning light bouncing off the sea. More than anything else that we did, this piece totally changed the feel of the space.
Library Desk:
A Library Desk
The desk is indeterminate, out of focus, approximate. Its form is rigorous but its material is fuzzy.The top rear room of the triplex serves as an office and library. The desk shares this room with a wall ofbookcases designed by Dieter Rams.
Because this room is at the top of the stair it became obvious that the desk would be articulated as anelaboration and conclusion to the materials of the apartment – the stair in particular.In the center of the room is the principle writing desk, an eleven foot long rectangular prism. Theinternal structure of white painted particle board is revealed at the discontinuities in the skin and, in anout of focus way can be seen through the translucent skin. The core structure contains drawers at thewriting surface and file drawers and storage at either end. The desk appears volumetric and unitaryfrom some vantage points and assembled from discrete parts from others.
Principle materials:
½” and 1” Thick Translucent cast resin panels: 40% Recycled Content
Particle Board: Formaldehyde Free MDF
White Oak Flooring: Existing and Harvested and Reinstalled. Oiled (Monocoat) finish.
Painted plaster
Stainless steel.
Park Avenue Triplex
The Developers of the base building and their architects sought to build the maximum allowable squarefootage. This is a town house site, twenty feet wide. There are six apartments on top of each other.
The Kitchen
We clad part of the kitchen in the same white translucent plastic as the window louvers and the tables.The counter top is 3/16” stainless steel plate with a hand finished surface that makes it look like gray leather.
A wine cabinet with translucent door is orthogonal to the rest of the kitchen cabinets but runs into thediagonal wall at the rear.
The backsplash is the same blue tinted plastic as the louvers but is lit from behind and offers supplemental lighting for the work surface.
The Stairs
There are two stairs connecting three levels.The stairs were stripped down to their structure and re-clad and detailed. White oak flooring is heldaway from the walls so that it looks like a wooden carpet runner.The stairs include winder sections toward their bottoms and at the outset had discontinuous handrailson the outside. We removed the wall between the flights and placed the new stainless rail at the insideso that it would be running over the portion of the winders that were too small to walk on anyway.To develop the line of the rails we extended a vertical line thirty six inches above every nosing and just connected the dots. The resolution of this procedure created a handrail line of surprising complexity.
Louvers for Light Wells
This is a row house proportioned building with direct light entering only from the front and rear. Thereare two 5 foot by 8 foot windows that look into an air shaft that receive no direct sun light. Doingsomething about these windows was a principle task of the project. We designed louvers made from one inch thick acrylic resin with a very pale blue tint. The louvers transform an ordinary City experience, the dim view of light wells into something that reminds us all of looking out on the morning light bouncing off the sea. More than anything else that we did, this piece totally changed the feel of the space.
A Library Desk
The desk is indeterminate, out of focus, approximate. Its form is rigorous but its material is fuzzy.The top rear room of the triplex serves as an office and library. The desk shares this room with a wall ofbookcases designed by Dieter Rams. Because this room is at the top of the stair it became obvious that the desk would be articulated as an elaboration and conclusion to the materials of the apartment – the stair in particular.
