Vertical Loft

  • Prize
    Winner in Architectural Design - Restoration and Renovation
  • Company/Firm
    Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership
  • Lead Designer
    Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA
  • Design Team
    Joern Truemper, Project Manager and Jason Hudspeth, Project Architect
  • Architect
    Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership
  • Interior Designer
    Studio Volpe
  • Const. Company
    Reis Contracting
  • Photo Credit
    Thomas Loof
  • Location
    New York, ny
  • Client
    Owner's Representative: Christine Kennedy
  • Project Date
    6/1/2019

Located in the Greenwich Village historic district in New York City, this project called for the complete renovation of a five-story, 1830’s townhouse. The historic Federal Style façade was carefully preserved during construction, as were most of the existing interior floor plates. Behind this masonry face we created a new world centered around light, space, and revelation. New apertures through floors and ceilings channel natural light from the skylight down to the lowest level.

To extend the experience out to the garden and up to the sky, a dramatic four-story wall of glass envelops the back of the house, joining the interior to nature through views out to the rear garden. By carving out the earth at the garden level of the home, we created a seamless connection to the rear terrace. On the roof, a new penthouse space similarly connects to a terrace garden.

The functionally defined areas were reimagined to be suited to the owners' lives, everyday experiences, and sensibilities. What was once a cozy, traditional family home made up of many discreet rooms is now a vertical loft, conceived to bring nature and light to life in the middle of one of the densest cities in the world.