The loft occupies the top floor of a classic brick-and-wood 19th century manufacturing building in SoHo, and has a configuration common to such buildings - a long rectangle with windows at each end. The clients, a couple with a small child, were seeking to create a living and working environment (one member of the family is an active artist) that could also serve as a gallery for their extensive collection of contemporary art.

Living, eating and sleeping spaces are located on the main level which is linked to the rooftop "outdoor living room" by the stair and by a service dumbwaiter.

photo by Michael Moran

The loft occupies the top floor of a classic brick-and-wood 19th century manufacturing building in SoHo, and has a configuration common to such buildings - a long rectangle with windows at each end. The clients, a couple with a small child, were seeking to create a living and working environment (one member of the family is an active artist) that could also serve as a gallery for their extensive collection of contemporary art.

photo by Michael Moran

In this renovation, the considerable ceiling height and an existing mezzanine in the middle of the space were used to transform an otherwise generic loft into a rich spatial experience comprised of interlocking vertical and horizontal volumes. By day, the formerly dark central zone is illuminated by a skylight spanning the length of the open-riser stair suspended between the main level, the mezzanine and the roof. At night, the space is brought to life by a “waterfall” of light from the vertical slots that have been carved out of the wall adjacent to the stair, suggesting an infinite upward movement.

photo by Michael Moran

By day, the formerly dark central zone is illuminated by a skylight spanning the length of the open-riser stair suspended between the main level, the mezzanine and the roof. At night, the space is brought to life by a “waterfall” of light from the vertical slots that have been carved out of the wall adjacent to the stair, suggesting an infinite upward movement.

The artist’s studio occupies the mezzanine, where an oppressively low ceiling has been replaced by a tall skylight spanning almost the entire space.

photo by Michael Moran

By day, the formerly dark central zone is illuminated by a skylight spanning the length of the open-riser stair suspended between the main level, the mezzanine and the roof. At night, the space is brought to life by a “waterfall” of light from the vertical slots that have been carved out of the wall adjacent to the stair, suggesting an infinite upward movement.

The skylight and the stair volume emerge on the roof as overscaled metal-and-glass “shards” reminiscent of Alpine peaks, the favorite landscape of one of the clients who is an avid mountaineer.

The skylight and the stair volume emerge on the roof as overscaled metal-and-glass “shards” reminiscent of Alpine peaks, the favorite landscape of one of the clients who is an avid mountaineer.

By day, the formerly dark central zone is illuminated by a skylight spanning the length of the open-riser stair suspended between the main level, the mezzanine and the roof. At night, the space is brought to life by a “waterfall” of light from the vertical slots that have been carved out of the wall adjacent to the stair, suggesting an infinite upward movement.

In this renovation, the considerable ceiling height and an existing mezzanine in the middle of the space were used to transform an otherwise generic loft into a rich spatial experience comprised of interlocking vertical and horizontal volumes.