Brooklyn Townhouse (Brooklyn, New York)
In synch with the clients’ profile – an environmentalist couple - we used both sustainable infrastructural and finished components to renovate this classic 19th century townhouse in the heart of Brooklyn. Maintaining as much of the existing structure as possible, the scope consisted of combining two floors into a duplex apartment, adding a new kitchen, bathrooms, a yoga room, a large bookcase, and various touch-ups in adjacent spaces.
The design departed from the placement of a new lightweight steel staircase that would work as a light well, bringing the much need sunlight into the long and narrow footprint of the lower level. The steel spine staircase highlights thick reclaimed wood steps, sourced from an old barn that had been dismantled.
Interior partitions were removed on both floors to allow for a more open and airy ambience. The existing wide-plank wood floors were stripped and refinished with a low VOC white wash coating. Displaying eco-friendly cementitious panels and wall tiles, and bio-glass vanity tops the design of the bathrooms helped sustaining the intended openness of the spaces, making use of radiant floor heating and metal grilles to enclose existing pipes in order to maximize heating capacity at low cost.
The kitchen flooring was replaced with cork tiles, a warm and sustainable material that matches the earthy tones used throughout, just like the kitchen and bathroom bamboo cabinets and the 80% post-consumer glass tile used for the kitchen backsplash, produced with material from an off-curb collection program in Seattle.
Featured on AU magazine.
 A new staircase acts as a light well maximizing daylight coming from the rear façade at South. |  |  Kitchen with white-washed bamboo cabinets |
|---|---|---|
 Kitchen backsplash with and 80% post-consumer glass tiles |  Steel spine staircase that also works as a light well |  Steel spine staircase with reclaimed wood steps |
 The staircase works as a light well and features reclaimed wood steps sourced from an old barn |  The custom bookcase in the upper floor hallway |  The custom bookcase in white washed wood and low VOC matte lacquered shelving |
 The new master bathroom sets back from the rear bearing wall to allow for maximum sunlight penetration, housing a yoga room |  1st floor washroom with bio-glass vanity top and bamboo cabinets |  Master bathroom with bio-glass vanity top, bamboo cabinets, Eco-cem wall panels and Eco-gres tiles. |
 Detail of staircase railing and reclaimed wood steps |  The master bathroom featured on AU magazine |