Butler Street

Butler Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, United States

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Butler Street

Butler Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, United States

Type

Residential › Private House

YEAR

2006

Butler Street Residence
Carroll Gardens,
Brooklyn

Public presence /
private lives
This residence
attempts to reconcieve the prevailing urban townhouse typology, originally
intended as a single-family dwelling, as a multiple dwelling which makes
discreet zones for both owner and tenant; seamlessly integrating public
presence with private life. Ultimately,
both family and tenant reside within their separate personal space while the
urban street reads as a contiguous system of townhouses each with their own
occupant.

Though the house was
originally designed for a single family it quickly became evident that a
supportive economic component would be necessary. Programmatically, a duplex
consisting of the ground and second floor operates as the family home complete
with garage, utility/laundry room and grassy lawn. Three bedrooms, three baths
and an office area complete the ubiquitous list ideal to suburbia. On the third and final floor, is a two
bedroom rental unit. In section, the
rental unit is nested into the second floor of the duplex affording visual
privacy to the rear garden below while pulling back and opening out as a
terrace adjacent to the street. The duplex is organized in reverse; with a more
opaque and subtle street presence, the combined kitchen, dining and living
areas open up to a storey and a half of storefront onto the Owner’s private
rear yard. Effectively, the house operates as a negotiator between the units
and their ‘public’ and ‘private’ spaces.

Utilizing available
standard cedar board sizing, the front façade reads as moiré or variegated
skin, securely masking the separate entrances of each dwelling as well as the
Owner’s garage. The façade unifies these disparate elements and integrates the
house into the urban context of the street. Within the duplex, the line between
interior and exterior, owner and tenant is further blurred. On the first floor,
the open space extends directly from the street into the family’s garden while
on the second floor the stairs ascend directly to a glazed façade, spatially
pushing the ceiling and opening towards the sky, reinforcing the
interior/exterior connection.

Material selection
responds to a series of constraints which provide order and unify the separate
residence by a single code. Throughout
the building all horizontal surfaces (countertops, stair treads or shelving)
are white – their material changing properties of hardness or density depending
on function. In each bathroom, a series of composite hues are created by mixing
penny tiles with colored grout, while vertical built-ins such as wardrobes and
desk fronts are made of riff cut white oak. Effectively, these constraint
reinforce the unity of the building and clandestine nature of the rental unit
within; one could pass through the entire building and read it as a cohesive
whole.

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Butler Street

Butler Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, United States

Butler Street

Butler Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, United States

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team