The new issue of New York Magazine features their special Vu. real estate section which is always chock-full of fascinating projects. Our favorite? The transformation of Adam Gordon's Jane Street Townhouse. A walled-in back garden (that was viewed as the blemish of the property) was utilized for it's extreme privacy, allowing the entire rear wall of the house to be sheathed in glass...
Gordon's architect, Steven Harris used some local materials to cut down on cost: glass from upstate New York and marble direct from a quarry in Vermont (the kitchen's island, above). We think the smartest move was adding a fifth floor on the roof. While the building permit wouldn't allow them to add new square footage, by removing the extension on the rear of the house, Harris was able to deploy that usable square footage to the roof!
The story, including before and after pictures are at New York Magazine: This Became That. If the pictures from New York's slideshow aren't enough, there are even more at Steven Harris Architects (look under residential projects, 92 Jane Street Townhouse).
(Pics: Scott Frances)
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Comments (16)
that marble island is amazing.
An absolutely breathtaking execution of a design vision. And somehow despite the stark modernism, I still feel it's warm. I'll be looking at this over and over again.
Easyenough — be certain to look at the architect's site (linked in the post). There is an amazing photo of the backyard from the garden level!
OMG! I want to have my ashes kept in there! That truly is amazing. It's so perfect!
Insanely cool! I love that deck space on the 5th floor... amazing.
Nice, although for some reason it's always saddens me to see a place that was once inhabited by an elderly person(s) taken over and transformed to be sold for an astronomical figure.
they ruined it. i love, love, love, love old brick townhouses. *sigh*
i'm currently house hunting in brooklyn, and i refuse to move into a space that took anything brick and raped it.
On the first look, it is amazing. And the interior is just great!!!!
Yet, am I the only one, wondering what we need the design of huge glass windows in times of saving energy? And if we will still find them attractive in say 50 years?
Not to mention the missing private space (if I am interpreting the pictures correctly, there is a neighbouring building with a window front where the second picture is taken from...)
Besides judging from the photo, the backyard when it was bordered by ivy covered (and partly opened by some windows) brown stone walls had much more atmosphere than now with the blank white walls.
... beautiful, but I'm sad that the old house isn't there any longer
I think it's stunning.
"...for some reason it's always saddens me to see a place that was once inhabited by an elderly person(s) taken over and transformed to be sold for an astronomical figure."
What makes you think that someone was involuntarily displaced?
I found this really depressing. They might as well have torn down the old building. I also found the lack of furniture to be very institutional. I mean, a bedroom with a bed and a nightstand and that's it? (4th floor) Ick.
This place is stunning!
To the folks that are lamenting the loss of a brick townhouse, the before pics are pretty clear that any of the original details had been long removed... From the street, the townhouse is still there. I think it is much more appropriate to renovate to today's world than attempt to recreate the past which had long been removed. Nothing is worse than fake history.
Eh! It would have been far more interesting and inspiring if they had incorperated the bones of the old building in interesting ways (and there certainly would have still been room for a very modern aesthetic). I tend to agree with fiona, though would never want to suggest tearing down a great old building, rather find somewhere else and just build new!
incorporated*
Agree with the first comment by trygve. I would enver live there though. 100% windowns like this give me the creeps. Especially the bedroom floor. And doesn't it get cold in the winter??
I remember when this was being renovated as well another on West 4th a few blocks away. The facade is still gorgeous, as is the whole thing really. Sometimes photos make the scale look different, but I think this would be stunning from the interior looking out.