SOHO TOWNHOUSE PROJECT

Conversion of a historic building from manufacturing to single family residential- one of only 6 single family buildings in the neighborhood.  Located in Soho’s Historic District, it was built in 1869 to house manufacturing tenants.  From the early 1960’s until 2014 it was the workshop of midcentury artisans and artists, Philip and Kelvin LaVerne.  Here they crafted custom furniture, art and sculpture.  Honoring this tradition, our design features hand crafted oiled bronze metal work, site carved hand rails, custom stone sinks and extensive hand-laid veneer paneling.

PROGRAM

Design a 7 level, 11,000sf single family residence with emphasis on entertaining and wellness- rooftop penthouse with indoor/outdoor living and pool; a spa level with pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam room, massage room, and exercise area; theatre and wine rooms, and elevator. 

CHALLLENGES

COMPLEX ZONING RESTRICTIONS The building is in a manufacturing district so when converting to residential, floor area could not be added but could be relocated. A new rooftop entertaining space was a requirement so we moved square footage that resulted from creating (2) 2-story spaces and a new internal light shaft.  We restricted that square footage to 1/3 of the roof area to create a penthouse, thus the rooftop addition is not considered an enlargement.

INSUFFICIENT NATURAL LIGHT 

With floor plates 25’ x 97’ and buildings on both sides, the interior was quite dark. To bring in more daylight, a new light shaft was cut into one side from the roof down to the 2nd floor located centered on the elevator foyer of each floor, and the top of stair landings.  The shaft was lined (3) sides by new white glazed brick and the 4th existing brick wall painted with luminescent paint.  In addition, we created the maximum number of new lot line (side wall) windows permitted by building code. 

NYC LANDMARKS APPROVAL

As the building is in a Landmark District, the rooftop addition had to be located and scaled to be minimally visible from the street.  The project included extensive restoration work.  The facade was stripped, the brick repointed with color tinted mortar matching the original, the metal cornice was replicated, the original wood storefront recreated from historic photos, and at the rear of the building, the original steel fire shutters were replicated and re-attached in partially open positions.

We selected all materials, finishes and hardware.  All cabinetry with the exception of a portion of the kitchen is custom.  The building is heated and cooled via high-efficiency variable refrigerant volume heat pumps, all lighting is LED.

This project won Interior Design Magazine’s 2020 NYCx Design Award for Best Freestanding House/Townhouse.