The client purchased the seventh floor loft apartment in the recently converted Edgar House, located in Manhattan's downtown financial district. As commemorated by a plaque placed by the New York Shakespeare Society, Edgar Allen Poe, in 1845, is thought to have penned portions of The Raven on the site of this project. The floor plates are wedge shaped and comprise of about 2,800 gross square feet on each level. All of the floors have southern and eastern exposures, while the upper five also have norther exposure along the lot line. The space's urban corner of Nassau and Ann Street affords an oblique view of the venerable palace of commerce, the New York Stock Exchange. The purpose of our collaboration with the client is to produce a physical manifestation of their concept of an urban lifestyle. That idea is a combination of the husband's native New York upbringing and his wife's childhood spend in Donna Reed's hometown of Denison, Iowa. The concerns of security, arrival, and openness form the essence of their vision. The formal architectural strategy creates a distinct public and private realm while simultaneously endeavors to reconcile the duality of the couple's individual demeanors.
The sponsor's build-out comprised of the loft's "core", namely a kitchen, bathroom, and utility room that defines the northern edge of the space. The client brief loosely described the need for a master bedroom suite and guestroom while still retaining the open loft feeling. The husband's security concerns was the impetus for a translucent glass and aluminum entry façade. The space's retinal gesture, a boldly colored 7'-2" high arching integral plaster wall, confronts the entrant and establishes a barrier between the existing "core" and the master suites as well as a formal entry procession. According to the native New Yorker, this space will also make for a fine dog rub. Spanning almost the entire east-west axis of the apartment, the plaster wall terminated and gives way to a raised aluminum platform that continues to trace the line of the arc in plan. This raised platform, the ultimate point of arrival, reinforces the urban corner and raises the observer's site line to the center of the existing window opening. The "little girl from Denison" now has the ability to frame a view of George Post's boldly scaled hexastyle temple portico façade of the Exchange. Adjacent to this corner, the master suite retreats behind the arching wall. Sliding aluminum frame glass doors provide privacy for both the master bedroom and bathroom.
The juxtaposition of the mater shower and the main entry allow for perhaps the most paradoxical aspect of the design. Peering out from behind the edge of the color wall floats a sliver of translucent glass which forms the back of the shower and allows a bit of voyeurism upon entering the space. The woman from Denison now appears comfortably positioned in New York.
View Original