The Wythe Corner House involved the gut renovation and a contemporary addition to a 1900’s townhouse on a corner lot in Williamsburg. The addition’s massing proposes a radical break from Brooklyn’s traditional townhouse typology. Rather than equally divide the floor-area-ratio (FAR) at each level or simply prioritize a larger lower addition, our design distributes all available area on the second and third floors. The available area was increased by cutting through the existing townhouse to create a double height living room. A new “unhinged” mass is introduced by a void at the third floor level.
This distribution of FAR allows parking under the new hovering addition and integrates unique exterior landscapes at three distinct levels in section. The surface of the addition is clad in a perforated and corrugated zinc, subtly playing off the scale, proportion, fenestration and texture of the existing townhouse. New and old are unified as black.
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