Narrative #1
The project is a duplex renovation for a couple and their two rescue dogs, one of whom vehemently refused to travel down the existing stair because it had open risers at his eye level. The project focused on an overhaul of the living area beyond the stair, kitchen, bathrooms, and material upgrades and custom millwork throughout both levels of the residence. Floor plan improvements include a new accessory door behind the stair for easy access to the unit’s adjacent deeded parking garage. The kitchen’s (round!) island conceals integrated stools and maximizes storage. Upstairs, an oversized pocket door separates the primary suite from the rest of the residence. Conceived as a large shifting plane, it was detailed with walnut fins and resin inserts in a gradient of orange colors, together becoming a kinetic object, breaking up its own large scale while allowing for natural light to filter through and preserving privacy.
We’re happy to report that post-renovation, both humans and canines now comfortably travel up and down the stairs, which include a steel metal anti-slip insert routed into each tread.
Narrative #2
Taking cue from Josef Albers’ seminal color studies, this project explores the interaction of color with the visual memory of movement through the space. As Albers highlights, “every perception of color is an illusion, we do not see colors as they really are. In our perception they alter one another.” This project asks what should be controlled vs left to chance and surprise regarding the choice of color, considering our perception of color at a given moment in a particular space is relative, fragile, and shifting. With unpredictable natural light and various options to sequence through the space, the project becomes a live experiment in the interaction of color, challenging an awareness to our own changing perception of it. One dominant color was chosen per space, along with Venetian lime plaster for several color applications in the residence as it magnifies the dynamism of hue, saturation, reflectivity, and layered depth in varying conditions of natural light.
Narrative #3
The project consciously limited the use natural stone, popular as it may be, a non-renewable material resource. The kitchen counters and stairs are clad with a more environmentally consious material made of paper pulp and eco-resin. It’s thin, resilient, and strong. In the current finish seleciton, the dark material has a slightly leathered finish, adding a soft tactility to the crisp lines throughout.
Location: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Type: Duplex, Condo
Status: Completion Q4 2022
GC: M&E Construction Corp
Electrician: Fused Electric
Millwork: KMBuilds
Photography: Hayley Day (photo 4,6 Idan Naor)
Team: Idan Naor