Search results for "Distinct strategy" in Home Design Ideas
Specht ArchitectsTreetops House The Treetops House is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house. The project presented some interesting questions of preservation vs change, as well as a compelling story of dealing with a challenging (and ultimately rewarding) site. The original house was very typical for its time and place—a sprawling single-story, fairly nondescript affair that had small windows, and was clad entirely in Texas limestone. Our challenge was to turn this into a modern house that was open, bright, and inviting, while not completely obliterating all traces of what had existed before. Part of our philosophy is that elements of the history of a place be retained and incorporated into any new design. There are characteristics of almost any design, regardless of how banal, that embody memories and a sense of neighborhood. We feel that preserving these adds depth to any new intervention. With the Treetops House, we largely maintained the entire limestone perimeter wall, and used it as a heavy plinth on which a new second level was added. The new upper level features large frameless glass windows and is filled with light. The interior was opened up to create double-height spaces that bring this light from above and into the center of the house. The new composition is one which is clearly of its time, but also respects and reflects the time and place in which the original house was created. The house is on a site that straddles a fault in the limestone base strata below. Water continuously flows up through this fault and flows out onto the property. The original 1955 house featured a foundation with extremely deep concrete piers that allowed the house to bear on more stable strata far below the surface. Given that building new piers was cost-prohibitive, we did not expand the house’s footprint at all, but cantilevered the new second level out from the existing structure. This strategy not only allowed for the house to be within budget, but also gave it a distinctive dynamic expression. The different materials and profiles of the first and second floors emphasize the house’s horizontality and create another kind stratum that is visual and expressive. Inside the house, a double-height entry hall features stairs that lead up to the second-level main living space. The perimeter of this space is made up of frameless glass is set atop a continuous planter wall that provides a green foreground to the treescape beyond. Large overhangs provide shade at all times of the day, and the surrounding cladding of charred cypress prevents glare and adds a textural counterpoint. Other features include a large kitchen with countertop-height serving windows that open out onto a pool terrace and entertaining area, as well as unique built-in storage and display elements.Landscaping is entirely comprised of native grasses and other low-maintenance plantings. Architect: Specht Architects
Contractor: Spencer Construction
Photography: Casey Dunn
building Lab, inc.The remodeling of the kitchen and bathroom forms the core of this interior renovation.
The existing peninsula design and cabinetry broke up the ‘great room’ and stood the kitchen as a distinct element within the room. Our design strategy operates more on a principle of integration. As such, we created a galley condition with a spine of cabinetry and appliances that anchors to the long wall of the room. The feature design element is the solid Caesarstone backsplash which appears to be carved from the wall itself.
The particular challenge in the windowless bathroom was how to create an inviting, expanded sense of depth without a resulting cave-like feel. Removal of a half wall, soffit and tub unified the space overall. We reinforced the unification with the deployment of a single large format tile spec. Smaller details such as touch latch cabinetry hardware and flush conditions between tile, wall and mirror further the principle that simpler is bigger, deeper and more inviting.
We were also charged with elevating what was a pedestrian 1990’s townhouse to something more sophisticated and engaging. Our approach was to first remove builder grade detailing around windows and railings. Then, we introduced simplified profiles and glass guardrails that would extend a consistency established in the new kitchen and bathroom designs.
photo by Scott Hargis
Axis MundiWhen the Gimbels department store chain closed in 1986, many of its selling floors were converted into luxury apartments, including those of this branch at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue. The retailer’s soaring ceilings allowed Axis Mundi to create bedroom mezzanine spaces overlooking the living and dining rooms. Defining them with translucent glass welcomed natural light while retaining privacy. Downstairs, spaces bleed one into another, their basic monochromatic black-and-white palette acting as a unifying leitmotif. Yet each space feels distinct, with its own programmatic purpose, a feat largely achieved by varying floor and wall treatments—a graphic tile pattern in the entry, a red wall in the hall leading to the master suite, a colorful area rug in the living room. In the retailer’s heyday, the then-common saying, “Would Macy’s tell Gimbels?” implied the strategies the competitors kept from each other to gain the upper hand. Here, a structure iconic in its day also conceals something: a handsome, wholly contemporary repurposing that represents just the sort of innovation that made Gimbels the celebrated name that it was.
Axis MundiWhen the Gimbels department store chain closed in 1986, many of its selling floors were converted into luxury apartments, including those of this branch at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue. The retailer’s soaring ceilings allowed Axis Mundi to create bedroom mezzanine spaces overlooking the living and dining rooms. Defining them with translucent glass welcomed natural light while retaining privacy. Downstairs, spaces bleed one into another, their basic monochromatic black-and-white palette acting as a unifying leitmotif. Yet each space feels distinct, with its own programmatic purpose, a feat largely achieved by varying floor and wall treatments—a graphic tile pattern in the entry, a red wall in the hall leading to the master suite, a colorful area rug in the living room. In the retailer’s heyday, the then-common saying, “Would Macy’s tell Gimbels?” implied the strategies the competitors kept from each other to gain the upper hand. Here, a structure iconic in its day also conceals something: a handsome, wholly contemporary repurposing that represents just the sort of innovation that made Gimbels the celebrated name that it was.
Project Team: John Beckmann, Nick Messerlian and Richard Rosenbloom
Kitchen by Minimal USA
Photography: Federica Carlet
© Axis Mundi Design LLC
ZeroEnergy DesignAWARD WINNING | International Green Good Design Award
OVERVIEW | This home was designed as a primary residence for a family of five in a coastal a New Jersey town. On a tight infill lot within a traditional neighborhood, the home maximizes opportunities for light and space, consumes very little energy, incorporates multiple resiliency strategies, and offers a clean, green, modern interior.
ARCHITECTURE & MECHANICAL DESIGN | ZeroEnergy Design
CONSTRUCTION | C. Alexander Building
PHOTOS | Eric Roth Photography
Axis MundiWhen the Gimbels department store chain closed in 1986, many of its selling floors were converted into luxury apartments, including those of this branch at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue. The retailer’s soaring ceilings allowed Axis Mundi to create bedroom mezzanine spaces overlooking the living and dining rooms. Defining them with translucent glass welcomed natural light while retaining privacy. Downstairs, spaces bleed one into another, their basic monochromatic black-and-white palette acting as a unifying leitmotif. Yet each space feels distinct, with its own programmatic purpose, a feat largely achieved by varying floor and wall treatments—a graphic tile pattern in the entry, a red wall in the hall leading to the master suite, a colorful area rug in the living room. In the retailer’s heyday, the then-common saying, “Would Macy’s tell Gimbels?” implied the strategies the competitors kept from each other to gain the upper hand. Here, a structure iconic in its day also conceals something: a handsome, wholly contemporary repurposing that represents just the sort of innovation that made Gimbels the celebrated name that it was.
The Brooklyn StudioThis residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine.
Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home.
The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living.
This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut.
Photography by Kevin Kunstadt
Sponsored
Dulles, VA
Now Offering Zoom Consultation!
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Virginia-Based, Award-Winning Window Specialist
Specht ArchitectsTreetops House The Treetops House is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house. The project presented some interesting questions of preservation vs change, as well as a compelling story of dealing with a challenging (and ultimately rewarding) site. The original house was very typical for its time and place—a sprawling single-story, fairly nondescript affair that had small windows, and was clad entirely in Texas limestone. Our challenge was to turn this into a modern house that was open, bright, and inviting, while not completely obliterating all traces of what had existed before. Part of our philosophy is that elements of the history of a place be retained and incorporated into any new design. There are characteristics of almost any design, regardless of how banal, that embody memories and a sense of neighborhood. We feel that preserving these adds depth to any new intervention. With the Treetops House, we largely maintained the entire limestone perimeter wall, and used it as a heavy plinth on which a new second level was added. The new upper level features large frameless glass windows and is filled with light. The interior was opened up to create double-height spaces that bring this light from above and into the center of the house. The new composition is one which is clearly of its time, but also respects and reflects the time and place in which the original house was created. The house is on a site that straddles a fault in the limestone base strata below. Water continuously flows up through this fault and flows out onto the property. The original 1955 house featured a foundation with extremely deep concrete piers that allowed the house to bear on more stable strata far below the surface. Given that building new piers was cost-prohibitive, we did not expand the house’s footprint at all, but cantilevered the new second level out from the existing structure. This strategy not only allowed for the house to be within budget, but also gave it a distinctive dynamic expression. The different materials and profiles of the first and second floors emphasize the house’s horizontality and create another kind stratum that is visual and expressive. Inside the house, a double-height entry hall features stairs that lead up to the second-level main living space. The perimeter of this space is made up of frameless glass is set atop a continuous planter wall that provides a green foreground to the treescape beyond. Large overhangs provide shade at all times of the day, and the surrounding cladding of charred cypress prevents glare and adds a textural counterpoint. Other features include a large kitchen with countertop-height serving windows that open out onto a pool terrace and entertaining area, as well as unique built-in storage and display elements.Landscaping is entirely comprised of native grasses and other low-maintenance plantings. Architect: Specht Architects
Contractor: Spencer Construction
Photography: Casey Dunn
Specht ArchitectsTreetops House The Treetops House is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house. The project presented some interesting questions of preservation vs change, as well as a compelling story of dealing with a challenging (and ultimately rewarding) site. The original house was very typical for its time and place—a sprawling single-story, fairly nondescript affair that had small windows, and was clad entirely in Texas limestone. Our challenge was to turn this into a modern house that was open, bright, and inviting, while not completely obliterating all traces of what had existed before. Part of our philosophy is that elements of the history of a place be retained and incorporated into any new design. There are characteristics of almost any design, regardless of how banal, that embody memories and a sense of neighborhood. We feel that preserving these adds depth to any new intervention. With the Treetops House, we largely maintained the entire limestone perimeter wall, and used it as a heavy plinth on which a new second level was added. The new upper level features large frameless glass windows and is filled with light. The interior was opened up to create double-height spaces that bring this light from above and into the center of the house. The new composition is one which is clearly of its time, but also respects and reflects the time and place in which the original house was created. The house is on a site that straddles a fault in the limestone base strata below. Water continuously flows up through this fault and flows out onto the property. The original 1955 house featured a foundation with extremely deep concrete piers that allowed the house to bear on more stable strata far below the surface. Given that building new piers was cost-prohibitive, we did not expand the house’s footprint at all, but cantilevered the new second level out from the existing structure. This strategy not only allowed for the house to be within budget, but also gave it a distinctive dynamic expression. The different materials and profiles of the first and second floors emphasize the house’s horizontality and create another kind stratum that is visual and expressive. Inside the house, a double-height entry hall features stairs that lead up to the second-level main living space. The perimeter of this space is made up of frameless glass is set atop a continuous planter wall that provides a green foreground to the treescape beyond. Large overhangs provide shade at all times of the day, and the surrounding cladding of charred cypress prevents glare and adds a textural counterpoint. Other features include a large kitchen with countertop-height serving windows that open out onto a pool terrace and entertaining area, as well as unique built-in storage and display elements.Landscaping is entirely comprised of native grasses and other low-maintenance plantings. Architect: Specht Architects
Contractor: Spencer Construction
Photography: Casey Dunn
The Brooklyn StudioThis residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine.
Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home.
The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living.
This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut.
Photography by Kevin Kunstadt
The Brooklyn StudioThis Cobble Hill Brownstone for a family of five is a fun and captivating design, the perfect blend of the wife’s love of English country style and the husband’s preference for modern. The young power couple, her the co-founder of Maisonette and him an investor, have three children and a dog, requiring that all the surfaces, finishes and, materials used throughout the home are both beautiful and durable to make every room a carefree space the whole family can enjoy.
The primary design challenge for this project was creating both distinct places for the family to live their day to day lives and also a whole floor dedicated to formal entertainment. The clients entertain large dinners on a monthly basis as part of their profession. We solved this by adding an extension on the Garden and Parlor levels. This allowed the Garden level to function as the daily family operations center and the Parlor level to be party central. The kitchen on the garden level is large enough to dine in and accommodate a large catering crew.
On the parlor level, we created a large double parlor in the front of the house; this space is dedicated to cocktail hour and after-dinner drinks. The rear of the parlor is a spacious formal dining room that can seat up to 14 guests. The middle "library" space contains a bar and facilitates access to both the front and rear rooms; in this way, it can double as a staging area for the parties.
The remaining three floors are sleeping quarters for the family and frequent out of town guests. Designing a row house for private and public functions programmatically returns the building to a configuration in line with its original design.
This project was published in Architectural Digest.
Photography by Sam Frost
Specht ArchitectsTreetops House The Treetops House is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house. The project presented some interesting questions of preservation vs change, as well as a compelling story of dealing with a challenging (and ultimately rewarding) site. The original house was very typical for its time and place—a sprawling single-story, fairly nondescript affair that had small windows, and was clad entirely in Texas limestone. Our challenge was to turn this into a modern house that was open, bright, and inviting, while not completely obliterating all traces of what had existed before. Part of our philosophy is that elements of the history of a place be retained and incorporated into any new design. There are characteristics of almost any design, regardless of how banal, that embody memories and a sense of neighborhood. We feel that preserving these adds depth to any new intervention. With the Treetops House, we largely maintained the entire limestone perimeter wall, and used it as a heavy plinth on which a new second level was added. The new upper level features large frameless glass windows and is filled with light. The interior was opened up to create double-height spaces that bring this light from above and into the center of the house. The new composition is one which is clearly of its time, but also respects and reflects the time and place in which the original house was created. The house is on a site that straddles a fault in the limestone base strata below. Water continuously flows up through this fault and flows out onto the property. The original 1955 house featured a foundation with extremely deep concrete piers that allowed the house to bear on more stable strata far below the surface. Given that building new piers was cost-prohibitive, we did not expand the house’s footprint at all, but cantilevered the new second level out from the existing structure. This strategy not only allowed for the house to be within budget, but also gave it a distinctive dynamic expression. The different materials and profiles of the first and second floors emphasize the house’s horizontality and create another kind stratum that is visual and expressive. Inside the house, a double-height entry hall features stairs that lead up to the second-level main living space. The perimeter of this space is made up of frameless glass is set atop a continuous planter wall that provides a green foreground to the treescape beyond. Large overhangs provide shade at all times of the day, and the surrounding cladding of charred cypress prevents glare and adds a textural counterpoint. Other features include a large kitchen with countertop-height serving windows that open out onto a pool terrace and entertaining area, as well as unique built-in storage and display elements.Landscaping is entirely comprised of native grasses and other low-maintenance plantings. Architect: Specht Architects
Contractor: Spencer Construction
Photography: Casey Dunn
The Brooklyn StudioThis residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine.
Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home.
The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living.
This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut.
Photography by Kevin Kunstadt
Sponsored
Dulles, VA
Now Offering Zoom Consultation!
Windows on Washington Ltd
Virginia-Based, Award-Winning Window Specialist
Schwartz and ArchitectureThis house addition on a typical San Francisco lot doubles the size of the existing non-descript 1954 "Contractor's Special". Our strategy carves out a series of strongly contained, yet open, outdoor rooms that carefully balance between engaging the site's expansive urban views and maintaining a distinctly private domestic realm. The initial move is to carve a new small internal outdoor courtyard and entry out of one of the existing bedrooms, bringing light into the center of the new scheme. The rear façade and third floor roof decks build on this strategy of carving voids out of a solid mass—perhaps an apt image of the way many urbanites create their private homes within the density of the city.
Photography: Matthew Millman
Specht ArchitectsTreetops House The Treetops House is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house. The project presented some interesting questions of preservation vs change, as well as a compelling story of dealing with a challenging (and ultimately rewarding) site. The original house was very typical for its time and place—a sprawling single-story, fairly nondescript affair that had small windows, and was clad entirely in Texas limestone. Our challenge was to turn this into a modern house that was open, bright, and inviting, while not completely obliterating all traces of what had existed before. Part of our philosophy is that elements of the history of a place be retained and incorporated into any new design. There are characteristics of almost any design, regardless of how banal, that embody memories and a sense of neighborhood. We feel that preserving these adds depth to any new intervention. With the Treetops House, we largely maintained the entire limestone perimeter wall, and used it as a heavy plinth on which a new second level was added. The new upper level features large frameless glass windows and is filled with light. The interior was opened up to create double-height spaces that bring this light from above and into the center of the house. The new composition is one which is clearly of its time, but also respects and reflects the time and place in which the original house was created. The house is on a site that straddles a fault in the limestone base strata below. Water continuously flows up through this fault and flows out onto the property. The original 1955 house featured a foundation with extremely deep concrete piers that allowed the house to bear on more stable strata far below the surface. Given that building new piers was cost-prohibitive, we did not expand the house’s footprint at all, but cantilevered the new second level out from the existing structure. This strategy not only allowed for the house to be within budget, but also gave it a distinctive dynamic expression. The different materials and profiles of the first and second floors emphasize the house’s horizontality and create another kind stratum that is visual and expressive. Inside the house, a double-height entry hall features stairs that lead up to the second-level main living space. The perimeter of this space is made up of frameless glass is set atop a continuous planter wall that provides a green foreground to the treescape beyond. Large overhangs provide shade at all times of the day, and the surrounding cladding of charred cypress prevents glare and adds a textural counterpoint. Other features include a large kitchen with countertop-height serving windows that open out onto a pool terrace and entertaining area, as well as unique built-in storage and display elements.Landscaping is entirely comprised of native grasses and other low-maintenance plantings. Architect: Specht Architects
Contractor: Spencer Construction
Photography: Casey Dunn
Embellishments Design StudioLiving room - transitional medium tone wood floor, brown floor, exposed beam and wallpaper living room idea in Minneapolis with pink walls, a standard fireplace and a brick fireplace
Specht ArchitectsTreetops House The Treetops House is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house. The project presented some interesting questions of preservation vs change, as well as a compelling story of dealing with a challenging (and ultimately rewarding) site. The original house was very typical for its time and place—a sprawling single-story, fairly nondescript affair that had small windows, and was clad entirely in Texas limestone. Our challenge was to turn this into a modern house that was open, bright, and inviting, while not completely obliterating all traces of what had existed before. Part of our philosophy is that elements of the history of a place be retained and incorporated into any new design. There are characteristics of almost any design, regardless of how banal, that embody memories and a sense of neighborhood. We feel that preserving these adds depth to any new intervention. With the Treetops House, we largely maintained the entire limestone perimeter wall, and used it as a heavy plinth on which a new second level was added. The new upper level features large frameless glass windows and is filled with light. The interior was opened up to create double-height spaces that bring this light from above and into the center of the house. The new composition is one which is clearly of its time, but also respects and reflects the time and place in which the original house was created. The house is on a site that straddles a fault in the limestone base strata below. Water continuously flows up through this fault and flows out onto the property. The original 1955 house featured a foundation with extremely deep concrete piers that allowed the house to bear on more stable strata far below the surface. Given that building new piers was cost-prohibitive, we did not expand the house’s footprint at all, but cantilevered the new second level out from the existing structure. This strategy not only allowed for the house to be within budget, but also gave it a distinctive dynamic expression. The different materials and profiles of the first and second floors emphasize the house’s horizontality and create another kind stratum that is visual and expressive. Inside the house, a double-height entry hall features stairs that lead up to the second-level main living space. The perimeter of this space is made up of frameless glass is set atop a continuous planter wall that provides a green foreground to the treescape beyond. Large overhangs provide shade at all times of the day, and the surrounding cladding of charred cypress prevents glare and adds a textural counterpoint. Other features include a large kitchen with countertop-height serving windows that open out onto a pool terrace and entertaining area, as well as unique built-in storage and display elements.Landscaping is entirely comprised of native grasses and other low-maintenance plantings. Architect: Specht Architects
Contractor: Spencer Construction
Photography: Casey Dunn
Showing Results for "Distinct Strategy"
Schwartz and ArchitectureThis house addition on a typical San Francisco lot doubles the size of the existing non-descript 1954 "Contractor's Special". Our strategy carves out a series of strongly contained, yet open, outdoor rooms that carefully balance between engaging the site's expansive urban views and maintaining a distinctly private domestic realm. The initial move is to carve a new small internal outdoor courtyard and entry out of one of the existing bedrooms, bringing light into the center of the new scheme. The rear façade and third floor roof decks build on this strategy of carving voids out of a solid mass—perhaps an apt image of the way many urbanites create their private homes within the density of the city.
Photography: Matthew Millman
The Brooklyn StudioThis residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine.
Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home.
The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living.
This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut.
Photography by Kevin Kunstadt
Specht ArchitectsTreetops House The Treetops House is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house. The project presented some interesting questions of preservation vs change, as well as a compelling story of dealing with a challenging (and ultimately rewarding) site. The original house was very typical for its time and place—a sprawling single-story, fairly nondescript affair that had small windows, and was clad entirely in Texas limestone. Our challenge was to turn this into a modern house that was open, bright, and inviting, while not completely obliterating all traces of what had existed before. Part of our philosophy is that elements of the history of a place be retained and incorporated into any new design. There are characteristics of almost any design, regardless of how banal, that embody memories and a sense of neighborhood. We feel that preserving these adds depth to any new intervention. With the Treetops House, we largely maintained the entire limestone perimeter wall, and used it as a heavy plinth on which a new second level was added. The new upper level features large frameless glass windows and is filled with light. The interior was opened up to create double-height spaces that bring this light from above and into the center of the house. The new composition is one which is clearly of its time, but also respects and reflects the time and place in which the original house was created. The house is on a site that straddles a fault in the limestone base strata below. Water continuously flows up through this fault and flows out onto the property. The original 1955 house featured a foundation with extremely deep concrete piers that allowed the house to bear on more stable strata far below the surface. Given that building new piers was cost-prohibitive, we did not expand the house’s footprint at all, but cantilevered the new second level out from the existing structure. This strategy not only allowed for the house to be within budget, but also gave it a distinctive dynamic expression. The different materials and profiles of the first and second floors emphasize the house’s horizontality and create another kind stratum that is visual and expressive. Inside the house, a double-height entry hall features stairs that lead up to the second-level main living space. The perimeter of this space is made up of frameless glass is set atop a continuous planter wall that provides a green foreground to the treescape beyond. Large overhangs provide shade at all times of the day, and the surrounding cladding of charred cypress prevents glare and adds a textural counterpoint. Other features include a large kitchen with countertop-height serving windows that open out onto a pool terrace and entertaining area, as well as unique built-in storage and display elements.Landscaping is entirely comprised of native grasses and other low-maintenance plantings. Architect: Specht Architects
Contractor: Spencer Construction
Photography: Casey Dunn
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