HEPPENHEIMER MANSION · NJ

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A series of micro interventions to optimize natural light and improve the layout of a North-West facing apartment.

The space occupies the main floor of the former Heppenheimer Mansion, a landmarked building in Jersey City. The elegant red brick, neo gothic building faces Van Vorst Park and was originally designed, circa 1884, for John Ward by architect Frederick Clarke Withers.

In progress

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Interior renovation

Location
Jersey City • NJ

Year
2024

“Because one thing he was good at, possibly the only thing, was imagining things so clearly that he almost saw and heard them.”
― Michael Ende, The Neverending Story

A number of Withers's works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and further honored as National Historic Landmarks.

Wikipedia

Courthouse, 425 Avenue of the Americas, New York
Source • Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS),

The Tombs, New York
Source • Library of Congress

Frederick Clarke Withers
Credit Wiki Commons

EAST VILLAGE GARDEN · NYC

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Interior renovation and custom furniture design [in progress]

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©

Interior renovation and custom furniture design

Location
East Village• New York City

Year
2023

Carpentry
Takeshi Miyakawa

Status
In progress

For behind the wooden wainscots of all the old houses in Gloucester, there are little mouse staircases and secret trap-doors; and the mice run from house to house through those long narrow passages; they can run all over the town without going into the streets.

Beatrix Potter, The Tailor of Gloucester

Samples SHADE rug • Design Begum Cana Ozgur, 2018 • Handmade by Nanimarquina

xxxx

One place suits one person, another place suits another person. For my part, I prefer to live in the country, like Timmy Willie.

Beatrix Potter
(The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse)

LOG CABIN • NY

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New addition to log cabin in the Catskills area of the Hudson Valley, NY.

In progress

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New addition

Architect
Studio STE

Location
Catskills • NY

Year
2022 • in progress

SIXTEEN TONS · KUOVOLA · FINLAND

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Sixteen Tons is an installation about the value of labor, where audience members move heavy pieces about a limited space and use real money to bid on each other’s work from turn to turn.

This version of the project was installed as part of the exhibition Playing Being at the Kouvola Art Museum in Finland. Rather than ship heavy elements overseas, or manufacture brand new ones, we collaborated with design students to fabricate the project using up-cycled materials. 

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Carolina Andrade / Ciudad Análoga

Material research, design and fabrication were conducted in collaboration with Jutta Oikarinen and Suvi Tuominen, under the supervision of Päivi Hölttä. Excess and waste materials were sourced from a local factory as well as from the workshops of the design school where the students were studying.

Research included an exploration of approaches using these materials that would satisfy the needs of the design, including heavy game pieces to be dragged by players, and walls to enclose the space of play.

Large-scale physical installation

Collaboration with
Game designer Eric Zimmerman

Location
Kouvola Art Museum • Finland

Year
2022

Exhibition
Playing Being

Lead Curation
Jaakko Kemppainen

Co-Curators
Harold Hejazi, Marleena Huuhka, Mari Lehtosalo, and Tuuli Saarinen.

Collages
Carolina Andrade / Ciudad Análoga

xxx

Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong

You load 16 tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

Sixteen Tons
Tennessee Ernie Ford

Carolina Andrade / Ciudad Análoga

“The buildings and construction sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for a staggering 37% of global emissions. The production and use of materials such as cement, steel, and aluminum have a significant carbon footprint.

Solutions to mitigate the buildings "embodied" carbon emissions – originating from the design, production, and deployment of materials such as cement, steel, and aluminum – have lagged. To effectively address this challenge, international action and collaboration must bring together all stakeholders from across the entire lifecycle of the buildings sector, both within informal and formal settings.”

“Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future, a report developed by UNEP, Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture in the framework of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), highlights the pressing need to establish innovative cooperation models to decarbonize building materials. […] The report also pinpoints three overarching strategies which need to be implemented together to decarbonize building materials:

• Avoid unnecessary extraction and production.
• Shift to regenerative materials.
• Improve decarbonization of conventional materials.”

Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future

UN Environment Programme

Download the Full Report

Carolina Andrade / Ciudad Análoga

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

Sixteen Tons
Tennessee Ernie Ford

Carolina Andrade / Ciudad Análoga

While the rules of the game were not altered for this version of the project, there were many small changes to the design.

For example, the dot shapes on the grid were changed to crosses and the arabic numerals to roman numerals, which accommodated the use of tape rolls to make the floor markings.

Carolina Andrade / Ciudad Análoga

If you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't a-get you
Then the left one will

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

Sixteen Tons
Tennessee Ernie Ford

ELIZABETH STREET · NYC

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La Porte ! La porte, c'est tout un cosmos de l'Entr'ouvert.

On dirait toute sa vie si l'on faisait le récit de toutes les portes qu'on a fermées, qu'on a ouvertes, de toutes les portes qu'on voudrait rouvrir.

Gaston Bachelard, La poétique de l'espace. (1957)

For the door is an entire cosmos of the Half-open.

If one were to give an account of all the doors one has closed and opened, of all the doors one would like to re-open, one would have to tell the story of one's entire life.

Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space. (1957)

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Interior renovation of a 800 Sf apartment

Location
Elizabeth Street • SoHo • New York City

Year
2021

Photo • Cris Moor

The apartment occupies the 5th floor of a 1920s building in Elizabeth Street, SoHo. The project's original objective was to join two small apartments into a larger unit.

While looking into possible solutions, the decision to proceed with a restrained renovation, rather than a gut remodeling, stemmed from the wish to preserve two original, large, slender windows.

From there, the project developed into a play among windows, doors and thresholds.

With the exception of the restrooms, each room has at least two doors. The resulting layout allows unexpected views, opening the space to new light and new possibilities for movement.

The renovation maintains and values existing details throughout the space. The original floors have been treated with a satin protective finish. Baseboards, windows frames, doors and their handles - have all been kept, including multiple layers of paint and imperfection.

Rooms

Entry • Kitchen
Living Room
Dining Room
3 Bedrooms
Bathroom
Powder room

The renovation connects and opens views across rooms, multiplying sources of natural light and cross ventilation. The new distribution allows multiple connections between spaces, bringing light across the apartment - from morning sunrise in the East sunrise to late afternoon sundown in the West.

The primary alterations happened in the kitchen and bathroom, where new components work in concert with a more open reconfiguration. The cabinets, in matte light grey, embrace the kitchen in calm and serenity.

Materials introduced to the space are subdued and elemental.

Door:“Why it’s simply impassible”
Alice: “Why, don’t you mean impossible?”
Door: “No, I do mean impassible. (chuckles) Nothing’s impossible!”

Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

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LOWER EAST SIDE · NYC

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Can a sober and severe design evoke a sense of whimsical wonder and discovery? In a Lower East Side apartment, a table, a carpet and a room-sized wooden box are designed with a kind of architectural magical realism: the childlike feeling that one has when finding - hidden in plain sight - a space that unfolds into a private and personal world.

This interior renovation took place on the second floor of a cast iron building, in a spacious loft filled with diffuse, indirect light. The original layout placed all the main living functions within the same open space, with the kitchen, dining, and living areas set at the extremities, leaving its center empty and unused.

It is unusual to break up a majestic, light-filled space. Yet the owners, a young couple who had lived there for several years, were confident that separate spaces would better suit their needs. The idea was prescient: the pandemic hit shortly after, and the desire to live in an open loft completely lost its appeal. Partitions could provide options for privacy and the feeling of not being in the same space all of the time.

Project nominated for the 2023 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards • Housing category

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The proposed redesign fully embraced this challenge, breaking up the single finite room, and replacing it with smaller spaces that would not immediately reveal their boundaries. In subtle ways, the new partitions act like the “beloved hedge” which prevented philosopher poet Giacomo Leopardi from seeing the horizon, allowing him to imagine endless spaces instead. The sequence of spaces, and views from room to room, leave options for the mind to wander.

Interior renovation

Carpentry
Takeshi Miyakawa

Carpet consultant
Begum Cana Ozgur

Location
New York City

Year
2021

This solitary hill has always been dear to me
And this hedge, which prevents me from seeing most of
The endless horizon.
But when I sit and gaze, I imagine, in my thoughts
Endless spaces beyond the hedge,
An all encompassing silence and a deeply profound quiet,
To the point that my heart is almost overwhelmed.

The infinite, Giacomo Leopardi, 1798 – 1837

The exact position of new partitions was tested several times, using wide textiles normally employed for agricultural use. Like playing with an oversized dollhouse, these real-scale prototypes were tested at different times of the day and with different light conditions. In the final version, the revised interior layout pivots around a new, unobtrusive element: a room-sized wooden box, hiding in plain sight within the apartment.

© Rafael Gamo

From the exterior, the box is almost unnoticeable. Like an impossible object from a dream, the wooden box feels like a slice of interstitial space - at times infinitely compressed, and then suddenly expanding into a room which was not there before. 

Entering into the box offers a world apart. As one steps into the box, the space shrinks to a cocoon, contrasting with the vastness of the large loft. The interior plays with a smaller height and a tighter width, shifting from a grand scale to an intimate and quiet one.

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

Its interior - which is wood cladded like a renaissance “studiolo” - is warm and rich. The box’s careful construction, by Japanese carpenter Takeshi Miyakawa, gives it a kind of meticulous preciousness. A translucent finish emphasizes the rich pattern of the plywood.

The composition of the panels is designed to visually structure the space, as well as minimize the use of material and avoid waste. The double height accommodates different options for use over time: a space for play, rest, work or study. 

And as one leaves the box, the spaciousness of the loft, its tall columns and sudden expansiveness, comes back into view as a pleasant surprise. 

ALICE

She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And she grew so tall,
She ate from a plate called TASTE ME
And down she shrank so small.
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin' at all.

― Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

“Because one thing he was good at, possibly the only thing, was imagining things so clearly that he almost saw and heard them.”
― Michael Ende, The Neverending Story

Without compromising the spaciousness of the original loft, the box adds complexity to the experience of the spaces and new possibilities to the life within. Wall-sized sliding doors enclose and define the box. When fully open, the doors contribute to uninterrupted circulation around the box. They allow soft-diffused light, coming from the North facing windows, to move from space to space. When the doors are closed, the box somehow vanishes from view.

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

Deceptive scale is also at play with a sprawling custom carpet, hidden in plain sight in the living area. A note of softness and calm set right between the busy dining and kitchen areas, the carpet differentiates the central living space from the rest of the apartment.

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

Its color - a mix of pink, beige and blue - blends with the variegated tones of the wooden floor. The carpet is a 20” by 15” custom piece fabricated with the consultancy of designer Cana Begun. It is the largest object of the home - its irregular oval shape stretches to occupy as much space as possible - yet its subtle color and its unobtrusive shape render it oddly unnoticeable.

© Rafael Gamo

Stepping into the carpet suddenly leads into a different space. As the family has grown, with a toddler and a newborn baby, the carpet has become a shared space for relaxation and play. It is a soft and unexpected landscape, an area of stillness and warmth in the lively spaces of the loft. 

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

Lastly, among the objects at play is an unassuming table, slender and grand at the same time. The table accommodates eight to ten people and the 4’ depth comfortably allows a formal dining setting. It is constructed of 1 1/4” thick formaldehyde-free plywood. The 10’ length is monumental - yet well-proportioned to the scale of the space around it.

© Rafael Gamo

The most noticeable feature of the table is a double tabletop. Structurally, the layered tabletop acts as a beam to prevent flexion. Functionally, the lower tabletop allows for a rapid shift from work to dining - as computers, drawings, and paperwork are quickly stored away. 

A more clandestine detail of the table is completely hidden from view.

A gap in the lower tabletop provides secret access to lower compartments, accessible only to those who choose to crawl underneath. While one of the reasons for the gap is to prevent the accumulation of dust, the gap also becomes something more.

It is a place where a child can cache toys and imagine a miniature universe, unseen inside the adult world. A secret place, hidden in plain sight, that brings a bit of wonder into the ordinary life that contains it.  

I liked you better as a rabbit, Charlie.
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

© Rafael Gamo

© Rafael Gamo

CRETE • GREECE

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Interior renovation and new addition to a home in Crete

In progress

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Interior renovation and new addition

Location
Crete • Greece

Year
2020 • in progress

FRENCH BUILDING OFFICES · NYC

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A thoughtful, prosocial company in Midtown Manhattan needed to reconfigure their offices in response to the global pandemic. The resulting design offered a flexible use of space, taking into consideration remote working and hoteling - the practice of occupying an office only a few days a week.

The proposal focuses on a few selected areas of intervention and is designed for modular, gradual implementation.

The offices are located on the top floors of the Fred F. French Building, a 1927 Art Deco skyscraper with Middle Eastern influences in Manhattan, registered in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

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Interior renovation of a 13,000 Sf office space

Status
Proposal

Location
New York City

Year
2020

In collaboration with
Rai Pinto Studio

The design is meant to integrate seamlessly with existing spaces while also bringing order and organization to the elements that are already there.

The design works to:
• leverage a more balanced verticality to instill an airy experience 
• utilize curved lines to draw a more peaceful flow through the space
• be sensitive to acoustic comfort for those working in the space
• bring warmth and color through surfaces and materials
• provide a nuanced visual language that can eventually be extended to other spaces

Proposal for an indoor herb garden with plants like mint or lemon verbena that can be enjoyed while working in the office and can also be brought home. Caring for the garden and bringing herbs home makes the workspace a place of nurturing health and growth while strengthening a connection with direct natural light in the urrban environment.

Natural Light

The design maximizes multiple connections between the larger space and the windows, allowing natural light to enter more workspaces. Focusing on sight lines to the windows brings structured order and rich complexity throughout the space.

Material Sustainability

The wood paneling, flooring, and other elements focus on material sustainability. They also consider the potential involvement of small local fabricators, with design solutions that consider the life cycle of the material within the larger perspective of a circular economy.

Lactation Room

Slender Verticality

Plywood paneling and vertical louvers will highlight verticality and facilitate noise attenuation.

The vertical paneling in some locations has a monochrome natural finish and in others a more vivid palette using colorful felt insertions.

PURE BOND ® PLYWOOD • COLUMBIA FOREST
Formaldehyde-free
Environmentally safe
Soy based
Made in North America

Soft Curves and Subtle Patterns

Gently curving lines and the introduction of natural materials (such as maple or oak plywood) lend the experience of the workspace a soft calmness.

The proposed color palette integrates with these warm material surfaces, resulting in subtle variations that unify the space.

Soft curves will engender a less rigid flow through the offices. They also encourage flexible inhabitation and usage: a desk becomes a place for social gathering or a collaborative workspace.

“Gray is the color... the most important of all... absent of opinion, nothing, neither/nor.”

Gerhard Richter

GRAND STREET · NYC

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The apartment occupies the 5th floor of a 1929 Lower East Side building.
Oriented toward a private courtyard, views open onto trees and a flower garden. Like in many New York City neighborhoods, the residents of the building are radically diverse in culture and history.

Designed for a couple from the UK and Germany working in the arts and academia, the renovation aims to set a space of quietude within the buzzing city. The design retains the sensibility of the original apartment, combining existing elements with pointed interventions.

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Interior renovation of a 800 Sf apartment

Location
New York City

Year
2019

The renovation connects and opens views across rooms, multiplying sources of natural light and cross ventilation. In the original layout, a long dark corridor sharply divided rooms from each other. The new distribution allows multiple connections between spaces, bringing light across the apartment - from morning sunrise in the East sunrise to late afternoon sundown in the West.

The furniture itself serves as partitions, mediating between flexible spaces and allowing for transitions across formal and informal living.

A large, utilitarian entry closet is framed by sliding doors in brass - a panel of unexpected material that brings warmth and depth to the experience of the space.

Rooms

Entry
Living Room
Office • Dining Room
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bathroom

The renovation maintains and values existing details throughout the space.

The original floors have been sanded and treated with a matte protective finish. Baseboards, windows frames, doors and their handles - have all been kept, including multiple layers of paint and imperfection.

Even the handmade shelves in the interior of the linen closets - worn yet remarkably functional and usable - were retained and reused as part of the design. 

The brass and glass ceiling fixtures, original from the building’s inception, were cleaned and restored. They stand in measured counterpoint with more contemporary lamps.

The primary alterations happened in the kitchen and bathroom, where new components work in concert with a more open reconfiguration. The cabinets, in matte light grey, embrace the kitchen in calm and serenity.

Materials introduced to the space are subdued and elemental - unglazed mosaics and white ceramic lamps.

“If one were to give an account of all the doors one has closed and opened, of all the doors one would like to re-open, one would have to tell the story of one's entire life.”

Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

WHITE ISLAND · NYC

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Renovation of an existing kitchen and design of a new central island with the objective of improving the space while limiting the demolition work, utilizing the existing structure, and designing to maximize reusability.

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Interior design

Status
completed

Location
New York City · USA

Year
2019

The central island serves as a large working area for prepping food.

The 10'6" long countertop is made of stainless steel. Each side of the island accommodates large drawers for the easy storage of pots and pans.

The layout of the island allows as well four people to sit and eat comfortably in an informal setting.










The renovation also included the kitchen cabinets.

The existing structure was maintained, and the cabinetry was upgraded by replacing the door panels and replacing the lighting above the sink and work area.

PLYWOOD TABLE · NYC

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This elemental table is designed for flexible use in everyday life.

A slim shelf allows quick storage of laptops and books and an unobtrusive transition from work to dining. The design combines contemporary aesthetics and subtlety of detail, while honoring the quiet strength of simple forms. 

The table is slender and grand at the same time.

It accommodates eight to ten people and the 4’ depth comfortably allows a formal dining setting. It is constructed of formaldehyde-free plywood, 1 1/4” thick. The 10’ length is monumental - yet well-proportioned to the scale of the space around it.

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Furniture Design

A collaboration with
Ian Cheng

Fabrication
Takeshi Miyakawa

Material
Formaldehyde-free plywood

Status
completed

Location
New York City · USA

Year
2019

A hidden gap at the end of the shelf prevents objects from being forgotten in the depths, and offers - to a child hiding under the table - an unexpected space where things can be hidden and secret worlds imagined.

PureBond® Hardwood Plywood

LEED® & CARB compliant.
Winner, EPA’s Greener Synthetic Pathways Challenge

PureBond® is Columbia Forest Products’ formaldehyde-free innovation for hardwood plywood manufacturing.

Replacing traditional urea formaldehyde (UF) hardwood plywood construction with soy-based PureBond enables Columbia to eliminate any added formaldehyde from standard veneer-core and pMDI composite hardwood plywood core panels.

Excerpt from Columbia Forest Products

UNION SQUARE · NYC

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Interior renovation of an open, light-filled apartment on the 10th floor of a landmarked building.

The apartment occupies what were originally spaces dedicated to manufacturing. The 11' high ceilings and the large windows in the rear of the building allowed for working light and air circulation - while the front, with smaller double windows, was most likely occupied by offices. 

The renovation engenders a space with contemporary elegance and subtlety of detail, while honoring the qualities of the original structure. The owners, rather than proceeding with a complete renovation, considered careful, strategic interventions to adjust to new needs.

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Apartment interior renovation

Status
completed

Location
New York City · USA

Year
2018

Among other small interventions, one of the bedrooms has been turned into a new private office space.

By integrating two new glass doors, the space acquires natural light and views toward the rear of the building, where a landscape of more than 10 water towers opens to the sky. 

The new office is imagined as a greenhouse.

Two thin, white steel sliding doors connect the office and main living room, integrating the overall space and bringing in soft and diffuse natural light. The combination of layered translucent partitions - old windows and new doors - shelters the space in calm and tranquillity, within a neighborhood that is energetic and dynamic.

The door echoes the proportions of the existing large tilt windows with simpler, contemporary details.

The renovation maintains the existing features and oddities of the original construction. The concrete ceiling beams are visible and the original windows, with a pull chain opening mechanism, are retained.

2ND STREET · NYC

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This small home occupies the top floor of a 1901 building on a lively, tree-lined Manhattan street. Although only 420 square feet, the original layout of the apartment has four distinct main spaces: living room, office, kitchen, and bedroom - in a two-by-two grid in which each room connects to two others. The compact, century-old layout feels inexplicably contemporary.

During the interior renovation, this remarkably efficient layout was only minimally modified. And yet, by slightly shifting the position of two passages, the entire usable space was efficiently optimized. A loft bed doubles the available floor space in the bedroom; the kitchen gains room for a table; the small office is expanded vertically, with supplies and documents stacked in a custom vertical shelf system.

In such an intimate space, small details become crucial: the undulating outline of plywood panels along the uneven profile of the walls, hand-cut silhouettes that frame heating pipes, cabinetry that follows the slope of the floor.

These details accumulate in the space, but through their careful arrangement, they somehow disappear, into a narrowness that is calm, open, and serene.

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Interior renovation of a 420 Sf apartment

Location
New York City

Year
2018

Carpentry work
Takeshi Miyakawa

[Project Brief]

"And there is almost no space here; and you feel almost calm at the thought that it is impossible for anything very large to hold in this narrowness."

Rainer Maria Rilke
as quoted in Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

A new light grey color – inspired by the original grey floor of the office - unifies all of the new built-in elements: the bedroom loft unit, kitchen storage, bathroom cabinet, library shelves. Small hints of grey also spread to other minor details, such as the steps of the bedroom ladders. The daylight coming from three directions varies the gray hues subtly throughout the day and across the seasons.

Despite this rather neutral palette, retained original features give the home a strong sense of materiality. The existing plastered walls, with their rough surface and finish, were restored and painted in a matte light grey tint. The existing floorboards, although rough and unleveled (the slope is nine inches from end to end), were kept in their original condition.

A careful selection of fixtures and furniture also optimizes the use and flow of the space.

Custom cabinets, together with ADA-compliant kitchen appliances, allow the kitchen countertop to maintain a limited height - especially given the significant slope of the floor. The bathroom sink is large, yet thin metal walls keep it unobtrusive.

Two egg-shaped tables, curved back chairs, and a small rounded sofa allow movement to flow from space to space, unhindered by strong corners and volumes. The custom kitchen sink is large in width but subtly narrow in depth, with the faucet set on the side to minimize the volume; and a removable draining shelf adding functional flexibility.

Storage areas are hidden in plain sight, behind bare, light grey plywood panels, with no visible handles or hardware. Accessible from the side, these shelves contribute to the feeling of lightness and openness throughout.

Like hidden secrets, the plywood panels conceal storage where it is most needed: at the entrance, where keys and letters are left, behind the bathroom sink, as a reinvented medicine cabinet, and by the kitchen sink, to store cutlery and everyday implements.

The distinction between functions - eating, sleeping, working, bathing - is regulated by the careful design of thresholds and boundaries, sometimes permeable and transient, sometimes more definitive. It is remarkable to find in this limited space six windows, seven doorways and a different declination for each threshold.

The doorway between the living room and office is wide and open, and yet the floors change in color, keeping the identity of the two spaces separate but still permeable and symbiotic. The passage between the bedroom and the kitchen is low, deep and narrow, acting as a kind of “gate” that separates the spaces, while providing visual privacy to the upper bed loft. A doorway and an interior window, both original to the apartment, connect the kitchen with the living room. The window lets light flow through from the kitchen, without exposing the more formal living area to the cooking and dining spaces.

Within these rather small spaces, a complex narrative emerges through the alternation of low and tall ceilings, wide and narrow doorways, dark and light floors, dense and empty wall surfaces. The overall composition of space is also enhanced by the unfolding of multiple options to move from room to room, resulting in layered views and flowing circulation.

Exposed brick walls and a red tin bathroom ceiling remain untouched. Considering that the apartment is located on the 6th floor without an elevator, reducing transportation of materials was also a consideration.

… is bigger inside than out.

Michael Ende, The Neverending Story (1979)

Surface
420 SF

Rooms
Living Room
Kitchen
Office
Bedroom
Bathroom

Materials
3/4” Plywood
Stainless Steel
Fabric

MAISON BÉRARD · ALPS [progress update]

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The building sits in the old core of the village, adjacent to a dense forest. It was constructed in the 1950s, following a traditional Alpine “tower house” model, and was later renovated in the 1980s.

The renovation maintains the existing features and oddities of the original 1950s structure. The ceilings are low (barely 200 cm in places), and the rooms and windows are small. Yet everything is well-proportioned to the overall modest footprint of the house: 5.5 by 5.5 meters.

New elements introduced to the building include thin white steel stairs that connect the three upper levels and basement, integrating the overall space. Two added skylights bring in soft and diffuse interior light. The interior wood paneling and the original windows in dark reddish larch evoke a strong feeling of warmth, in this region of long, cold winters.

The renovation will result in a home that combines contemporary elegance and subtlety of detail, while honoring the quiet strength of the original dwelling and the way it transitions from the social life of the village to its surrounding natural environment.

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Renovation of an Alpine dwelling

Status
progress update

Location
Cogne · Italy

Year
2013 design development
2016 first phase
2019 completed

Photo:
Paolo Rey

STARRY HEAVENS · SMITHSONIAN

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“Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing awe: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.”

Immanuel Kant's Tombstone Inscription

Starry Heavens is a large-scale installation designed with game designer Eric Zimmerman.

Originally commissioned for an event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2011, Starry Heavens was installed in the Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of “America Now - Innovation in Art” in June 2015.

The game itself is a kind of moral fable. The central player - the Ruler - commands all of the other players, telling them how and where to move. Players must work with and against each other to overthrow the Ruler, who stands at the center pulling down a central balloon in an ironically futile gesture.

In the past, Starry Heavens has been played outdoors, often at night: from MoMA’s sculpture garden to the courtyard of the Stedelijk Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands) to Karl-Marx-Allee, the monumental socialist boulevard of Berlin. The Kogod Courtyard, although indoors, has many qualities of an outdoor space. The challenge was to develop a large form that would feel coherent with the majestic scale of the space and the undulations of the glass roof.

Technical constraints included a light overall weight, since anchoring from the glass roof structure was not possible. Other considerations included access to power sources, as well as planning for a very short setup time and working within the limited height of the vertical lifts used for installation. The final version of the curve is a cold air inflated, suspended structure which was fabricated with the consultancy of the Netherlands-based firm Air Design Studio / Erik van Dongen.

The large white curve integrates the project into the space and focuses viewers on the spectacle of play through a performative construction. Starry Heavens is both a game to be played as well as a performance to be spectated. The intent is for the project to be equally engaging for those people who want to jump in and play, but also for those who prefer to stay on the side and… just watch.

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Large-scale physical game

A project with
Game designer Eric Zimmerman

Location
Kogod Courtyard · Smithsonian American Art Museum · Washington, DC

Event
“America Now Innovation in Art”

In collaboration with
Air Design Studio · consultant and fabricator of cold air inflatable
Clara Ranenfir · 3d modeling and design development

Year
2015

More details about Starry Heavens

Photography
© Susana Raab (event)
© Nathalie Pozzi (installation)

SURE WE CAN · NEW YORK CITY

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Sure We Can is a non-profit recycling center, community space and sustainability hub in Brooklyn where canners, who are people that collect cans and bottles from to streets to make a living, come together with students and neighbors through recycling, composting, gardening and arts. 

[Its] mission is to support the local community, particularly the most vulnerable residents, and promote social inclusion, environmental awareness and economic empowerment. For over 9 years, Sure We Can has served the community of canners, and today it has evolved into a community center that promotes a sustainable urban culture and facilitates a circular economy.

www.surewecan.org

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Adjustable sorting system for the non-profit recycling center Sure We Can

Collaboration with
Clara Ranenfir

Location
Sure We Can · Brooklyn· New York City

Thanks to the donation of
Sonotube

Year
2015

Photography
Abigail Simon

LIBRARY · NYU GAME CENTER / MAGNET

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The Game Center is the Department of Game Design at the Tisch School of the Arts / New York University.  The NYU Game Center is dedicated to the exploration of games as a cultural form and game design as creative practice.

The Library provides access to digital games within a context of critical analysis and discussion. With a catalog of nearly 3,000 game titles, the library is a community center, hosting student clubs, curated exhibitions, and tournaments.

The furniture system is designed to adjust to the many activities of the Open Library. The elements include  a desk, custom shelves for board games, cartridges and books, movable shelves for technical equipment and consoles, and boardgames tables.

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Furniture and space identity design

Client
NYU Game Center · Open Library

Tisch School of the Arts

Location
Magnet Center, Brooklyn, New York

Year
2015

In collaboration with:
Takeshi Miyakawa Design

CLINTON STREET · NYC

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Waka Waka: a temporary hub for New York City’s indie game community.

The space - a bright 2,000 square foot storefront - works as a game incubator, gallery, event and co-working space.

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Space design and project management for temporary installation

Client
Waka Waka

Status
Completed

Location
Clinton Street · New York City

Year
2014

Collaboration
Livia di Mario
Paolo Agostinelli

MAISON BÉRARD · ALPS

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The building sits in the old core of the village, adjacent to a dense forest. It was constructed in the 1950s, following a traditional Alpine “tower house” model, and was later renovated in the 1980s.

The renovation maintains the existing features and oddities of the original 1950s structure. The ceilings are low (barely 200 cm in places), and the rooms and windows are small. Yet everything is well-proportioned to the overall modest footprint of the house: 5.5 by 5.5 meters.

New elements introduced to the building include thin white steel stairs that connect the three upper levels and basement, integrating the overall space. Two added skylights bring in soft and diffuse interior light. The interior wood paneling and the original windows in dark reddish larch evoke a strong feeling of warmth, in this region of long, cold winters.

The renovation will result in a home that combines contemporary elegance and subtlety of detail, while honoring the quiet strength of the original dwelling and the way it transitions from the social life of the village to its surrounding natural environment.

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Renovation of an Alpine dwelling

Status
2013 design development
2016 first phase
2019 completed

Location
Cogne · Italy

OPEN LIBRARY · NYU GAME CENTER / TISCH

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The Game Center is an interdisciplinary program at New York University that explores the design and development of games as a creative practice.

The Open Library provides access to digital games within a context of critical analysis and discussion. With a catalogue of nearly 3,000 game titles, the library is a community center, hosting student clubs, curated exhibitions, and tournaments.

The modular furniture system is designed to adjust to the many activities of the Open Library. The elements include a 10' long desk, movable shelves, and rolling stools that use magnets to form a larger board game table.

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Furniture and space identity design

Client:
NYU Game Center · Open Library

Location:
Tisch School of the Arts, New York City

Year:
2012

In collaboration with:
Takeshi Miyakawa Design