A completely new structure was inserted within three of the original masonry walls; the fourth - rear - wall was replaced by a taught aluminum and glass skin designed to both clearly signal the modern idea of townhouse living and to let the maximum amount of light and air into the interior. Because of the unusual setting of the house, this wall becomes the main façade, with a generous entry stair leading up to the owner’s triplex. The stair, inserted into the space bounded by vine-covered walls of adjacent buildings, is landscaped to create a transition between the garden and the house. An open-riser interior stair, half of an oval in plan, dynamically winds upwards through the house towards a private roof garden.

To create the sense of spaciousness, openness and light, we treated each floor as an open loft, avoiding the use of interior partitions where possible and relying instead on translucent materials and sliding panels where separation between spaces is required.

Only half of the entry level floor belongs to the owner’s triplex. This multi-purpose entry foyer / library / guest room is screened off from the circulation by sliding glass panels laminated with photo transparencies by the owner, a photographer.

photo by J.B. Grant

An open-riser stair, half of an oval in plan, dynamically winds upwards through the house. The stair acts as a light conduit, allowing both the natural illumination from the skylight above, and the glow from the rear-lit glass panels set in stair walls, to filter through the house. These custom-made recessed lights feature images by the owner, a photographer, making the stair into a vertical gallery of her work. The upward spiral of the stair culminates in an oculus skylight over a small room that opens onto a private roof garden.

photo by J.B. Grant

The house is small, and the traditional townhouse plan, with two rooms per floor and kitchens / bathrooms in the middle, would have resulted in cramped and dark spaces. To create the sense of spaciousness, openness and light, we treated each floor as an open loft, with an open stair carved out of the center zone.

The main public level of the house is informally demarcated by furnishings into living, dining, and kitchen areas. Two fireplaces, original to the house but completely re-built, anchor the living and kitchen areas at either end of the space. At the living room end, large sliding doors in the aluminum-and-glass rear wall open onto a balcony, promoting the flow between indoors and outdoors and visually expanding the interior space by an additional thirty feet, to the garden wall opposite.

photo by J.B. Grant

The main public level of the house is an open loft with the stair carved out of the center zone. Custom-made lights recessed into the stair wall feature images by the owner, a photographer, making the stair into a vertical gallery of her work. Furniture floats in the space, leaving the walls free for art.

photo by J.B. Grant

The house is small, and the traditional townhouse plan, with two rooms per floor and kitchens / bathrooms in the middle, would have resulted in cramped and dark spaces. To create the sense of spaciousness, openness and light, we treated each floor as an open loft, with an open stair carved out of the center zone.

The main public level of the house is informally demarcated by furnishings into living, dining, and kitchen areas. Two fireplaces, original to the house but completely re-built, anchor the living and kitchen areas at either end of the space. Built-in cabinetry lines the perimeter of the space at the kitchen end, with window “wells” behind the counter used as herb gardens. A custom-built mobile table/storage allows the space to be re-configured as needed for entertaining.

photo by J.B. Grant

An open-riser stair, half of an oval in plan, dynamically winds upwards through the house. The stair acts as a light conduit, allowing both the natural illumination from the skylight above, and the glow from the rear-lit glass panels set in stair walls, to filter through the house. These custom-made recessed lights feature images by the owner, a photographer, making the stair into a vertical gallery of her work. The upward spiral of the stair culminates in an oculus skylight over a small room that opens onto a private roof garden.

photo by J.B. Grant

To create the sense of spaciousness, openness and light, we treated each floor as an open loft, avoiding the use of interior partitions where possible and relying instead on translucent materials and sliding panels where separation between spaces is required.

The entire top floor is occupied by the master bedroom suite. The spacious bathroom has its own fireplace facing a free-standing tub; the glass volume of the shower is laminated with photographic transparencies of water.

photo by J.B. Grant

To create the sense of spaciousness, openness and light, we treated each floor as an open loft, avoiding the use of interior partitions where possible and relying instead on translucent materials and sliding panels where separation between spaces is required.

The entire top floor is occupied by the master bedroom suite. The dressing area cabinetry in the middle zone is constructed of translucent acrylic; large sliding panels, made of the same material, pocket into the cabinetry to allow the spaces to be either open or screened off.

photo by J.B. Grant

The upward spiral of the stair culminates in the oculus skylight over a small room that opens onto a private roof garden. The spatial quality of this outdoor “room” is defined by the overscaled architectural elements of the aluminum-clad stair bulkhead and the masonry fireplace chimneys, with an intimate, secluded area in the back and a more open, public space at the street end.

photo by J.B. Grant