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I-Kanda Architects

I-Kanda Architects

Charlestown, MA

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Penthouse

The challenge was to create new out of old in this gut-renovation of a floor-through penthouse unit in a 1928 Back Bay building.  The original floor-plan was organized around a long, window-less service corridor.  A centralized servants' quarters separated formal rooms in the front from private bedrooms in the rear.  A 1980s renovation did little to improve this compartmentalized layout.  

The new plan removes all unnecessary partition walls, allowing circulation to flow and re-connect freely around the few remaining elements: chimneys, wetwalls, stairwells, and elevators cores.  These volumes become floating objects in an otherwise open plan.

The middle area is now completely open - with light coming from the front and rear, from the windows running down both sides, and from an oversized skylight above. The result is a kitchen/dining area fulfilling its role as the new "core".

The newly exposed posts and beams are encased in faceted plaster to become tree-like features sprouting life throughout the new spaces.

 
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Status: Built
Location: Boston, MA, US
Additional Credits: Project Team:  I. Kanda, M. Kanda, C. Sledziona
GC:  Brite Builders
Millwork:  Furniture Design Services
Stone:  Louis W. Mian   
Structural:  Structural Integrity
Photography:  Steven Hien Photography