Subterms
The Ace Hotel’s newest outpost in Downtown Brooklyn by interior designers Roman and Williams features art in every room, and a public gallery in its lobby with rotating exhibitions. More
House-shaped openings and cheerful hues are found in a New York daycare centre designed by American firms BAAO and 4|MATIV. More
New York studio Space4Architecture has brought natural light into a townhouse in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens neighbourhood by adding a staircase topped with a skylight. More
Designer Christopher Al-Jumah has created Daughter, a community-oriented cafe in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights with interiors informed by the staircases of local brownstone buildings. More
New York City-based architecture office Schissel Montgomery has completed a minimalist renovation of a three-bedroom apartment in the Park Slope neighbourhood.
Named Wendy’s, the studio decluttered the 1,300-square-foot (120-square-metres) apartment’s living spaces to create “a quiet, generous background for art and life”.
Schissel Montgomery Architects also converted one of the bedrooms facing the street into a study.
The kitchen uses only lower cabinets to create a sense of openness
The renovation centres around a new kitchen, which is partially open to the living and dining space. Previously, these two areas were separate.”The intervention focuses on creating connections between the shared spaces of the apartment and selectively removing materials accreted over time,” said the studio.
A key move was to declutter the apartment’s living roomA new banquette along the wall integrates storage beneath the seat while consolidating the previously separate spaces.
At the end of a corridor, the studio repurposed an existing bedroom to create a study for the owner. Furniture selections here include a table by midcentury designer Eileen Gray and a Barcelona Daybed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
BC—OA hides storage behind metal panels in renovated Soho loft
Since the apartment is at street level, Schissel Montgomery designed sheer fabric curtains to cover the bottom portion of the windows.
This gives residents more privacy, while still admitting light into the space.
The new study occupies a former bedroom at the far end of the apartmentThe project has a restrained palette with light wooden floors, white painted walls and selectively curated furnishings and artwork.
“The intervention focuses on creating connections between the shared spaces of the apartment and selectively removing materials accreted over time,” Schissel Montgomery explained.
The entrance includes a full-height mirror and built-in storageCustom details include a handmade concrete enclosure to protect the building’s steam pipe.
It is made of stacked, textured cylinders that resemble a classical column’s fluting motif.
Custom details include a concrete sleeve to cover the building’s steam pipeAnother additional at the apartment’s entrance is a floor-to-ceiling mirror that was to expand the space and brings more light to a darker area of the apartment.
“The intervention uses painted surfaces, whitewashed floors and window sheers to maximise bounced light in the space,” explained Schissel Montgomery.
The pipe enclosure nods to similar classical columns visible from within the apartmentThese pipes are left exposed in many New York City apartments and can become so hot that they are hazardous to residents, in addition to being unsightly.
Schissel Montgomery was established in 2019 and is led by two graduates of Columbia University’s architecture school, Michael Schissel and Talene Montgomery.
Other apartment renovations in the Brooklyn area include a townhouse by GRT Architects that is filled with eclectic art objects and a monochrome interior renovation by local firm Arnold Studio.
Photography is by Daniel Terna.
Project credits:
Architect: Schissel Montgomery ArchitectsConstruction: WK Renovation
Read more: More
New York studio GRT Architects has transformed a turn-of-the-century Brooklyn townhouse into a home and studios for an artist couple, featuring a mix of functioning studios and eclectic interiors. More
Turkish artist Eva Karabudak designed a soothing and welcoming interior for her tattoo parlour, Atelier Eva, in New York’s Williamsburg neighbourhood. More
American studio The Brooklyn Home Company has designed a Brooklyn townhouse using Passivhaus principles in New York’s Carroll Gardens neighbourhood.The Sackett Street townhouse comprises four storeys as well as a rooftop with views of the Manhattan skyline, along with a basement and a drive-in garage.
The four-storey townhouse has views of the Manhattan skyline
Stairs from an outside decking area lead to a back garden, and a private terrace is accessed from the main bedroom.
Passivhaus is a recognised European energy standard for homes that require minimal energy to heat or cool and promote high indoor air quality.
The Sackett Street townhouse’s back garden
For the townhouse project, The Brooklyn Home Company used an energy recovery ventilation (ERV) filtration system.
“The air quality brings health and cognitive benefits that the developer believes will become the new standard for home building in New York City,” co-founder of The Brooklyn Home Company William Caleo told Dezeen.
“The homes also maintain humidity levels to prevent virus spread, which is common in both dry and cold weather. In short, our opinion is it’s the best way to build new homes,” he said.
A living room leads to the back garden
Adopting Passivhaus principles addresses two of society’s greatest threats, argued William Caleo.
“As society grapples with not only the current public-health crisis but the reality of climate change, builders and home designers are using Passivhaus design as an alternative technique in the wake of Covid-19.”
The house’s walls are painted in white Farrow and Ball paint
William Caleo and his sister Lyndsay Caleo Karol worked closely with his sister’s husband, Fitzhugh Karol, the studio’s in-house artist, to design the interiors.
Madera white oak hardwood floors and walls painted with white Farrow and Ball paint were chosen to create a “bright and airy” home.
A hand-crafted bed by Fitzhugh Karol in the main bedroom
Hand-crafted pieces of furniture designed by Fitzhugh Karol include the wooden four-poster bed in the main bedroom.
VonDalwig Architecture brightens Brooklyn townhouse House 22
Other one-of-a-kind pieces include a bespoke dining table and a dresser, and the elegant twin beds in the children’s room were also made bespoke for the property.
The twin beds in the children’s bedroom were made especially for the house
The townhouse’s open-plan kitchen is a mixture of exposed beams and custom built-in wood, also designed by Fitzhugh Karol. A reclaimed ceiling by The Brooklyn Home Company hangs overhead.
These rustic features are offset with sleek Pietra Cardosa countertops and a range cooker by La Cornue. Hardware fixtures by Waterworks and Restoration Hardware tie the space together.
The property’s kitchen is a mix of rustic and polished features
Selected artwork is also integral to the townhouse’s interior atmosphere. A notable piece is Tyler Hays of BDDW’s painting of a woman, made of puzzle pieces, which hangs in the dining room.
Artistworks by Jen Wink Hays, Paule Morrot and Caleb Marcus Cain also decorate townhouse’s light and open rooms.
Artist Tyler Hays’ puzzle painting adds depth to the dining room’s white walls
The Brooklyn Home Company has recently launched 25 new homes also built according to Passivhaus principles across two Brooklyn developments in South Slope and Greenwood Heights.
More Passivhaus projects outside of Europe include the upcoming 1075 Nelson Street skyscraper in Vancouver, designed by UK studio WKK Architects. When completed, it will be the world’s tallest Passivhaus building to date.
Photography is by Matthew Williams and Travis Mark.
Read more: More
