STEELE RESIDENCE
Location: Brooklyn Heights, NY
Date of Completion: 2004
Square Footage: 1,650 sf
Program:
Materials:
Floor: 3-1/4” ebonized oak, slate tile.
Walls: painted gypsum board, black steel base, maple veneer plywood,
white back painted glass, stainless steel, limestone tile. Ceiling: painted
concrete, gypsum board. Cabinetry: maple veneer, white lacquer, Baltic birch.
Doors: custom maple and frosted glass, stainless steel and frosted glass.
Project
Description:
The
Steele Residence project is a complete gut renovation of an apartment for a
couple returning to the city after long careers in Chicago. The couple, recently retired, but still
active in various community oriented projects throughout the country sought a design
that reflected this phase of their lives.
The
primary organizational strategy for the apartment is a central utility island
that contains parts of the kitchen, mechanical and storage. This core, expressed as a maple volume,
is the center of which all the elements of the apartment rotate around. The public areas such as the living
room, entry and gallery are located more central to the core and bedrooms and
offices further away. This
rotation is further accentuated by the manipulation of the ceiling plane. Soffits that compress the private
spaces open up to full ceiling heights at the public areas and curve
directionally around the central core.
The
rotation of space sets up several organizational axes that provide multiple and
unique focal points. Several of
these center on various portions of a custom built-in “art” wall that
encompasses an entire side of the living/dining room. Each axis creates movement around the space into the next.
Large custom maple, steel and glass doors are utilized to provide various
degrees of privacy, screening various areas or even becoming the focal point
while maintaining an openness throughout the space with light.
Architects:
Joseph Tanney, Robert Luntz
Project
Architect: John Kim
Contractor: Isernia Construction
AV
Consultant: Harvey
Photographer:
© Floto + Warner