This
5,000 square foot townhouse is located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn,
a rapidly developing New York community consisting largely of artists and young
professionals. Martin
R. Tomczyk was originally selected only as the design architect for this
project. However, it soon became apparent during the early stages of this
project that the selected contractors were unable to properly execute the
design or maintain the proposed budget. In response, Martin R. Tomczyk
established MRTA Design Construction to serve as contractor and project manager
with the help of the consulting engineer. This
project was built for mixed-use; comprising of one commercial level and two
residential floors with resident access to a rooftop garden and second floor
rear terrace. This project required demolition of an existing wood frame
structure in multiple stages, excavation of basement and considerable restructuring
of the preexisting foundation. The curtain wall and imported windows were
customized to give the façade its particular form. The curtain wall retracts at
its peak back into a skylight. The rear façade was made from zinc tinted custom
corrugated sheet metal. All the concrete façade elements were custom fabricated
for structural integrity by MRTA. The urban custom stone façade was developed
to contrast the glass curtain wall which floods the structure’s interior in
natural light. The intention of these two elements was to create a balanced
juxtaposition between the heavy and the light, the transparent and the opaque.
The size and scale of the façade was designed with the intent to compliment the
human scale and the existing surrounding environment.