Interior Design Best of Year 2008 Eco-Residential WinnerAIA NY State Award of Excellence 2009 AIA Westchester/Mid-Hudson Chapter Honor AwardPushing green
design beyond the familiar incorporation of a list of sustainable materials;
this Broadway penthouse renovation rethinks the notion of an urban garden by
literally bringing the outside in. Exterior wood decking and vegetation flow
into the heart of the loft forming a planted core, a living green veil that
screens the public living/dining room from the private master bedroom. The
stair bulkhead doubles as a skylight and provides access to a roof terrace
planted with sedum and grasses.
This green core is
tactile as well as a visual: the owner can bathe surrounded by lush vegetation
visible through a glass wall that separates the bathroom from this planted
zone. The rear of the bathroom is clad with modular plant panels. Surmounted by
a skylight, this living wall is yet another element that vertically links roof
and interior.
An eco-friendly
palette of natural and synthetic materials confound traditional distinctions
between natural and artificial. When seen from entry, the planted core merges
with the living lounge: the upholstered floor and seating evoke a textile
garden, the interior counterpart to the roof terrace, where a bed of sedum
defines a walk-able planted surface.