This loft, housed in a converted industrial building, was purchased in a completely undeveloped ‘raw’ condition. The loft is situated on one of New York City’s rare diagonal streets. The diagonal imposes a powerful affect on the geometry of the space. Finding a clean, patina-ed industrial space is unusual and one of the primary goals of the client and our office was to celebrate the raw texture of the existing shell and provide counterpoint elements constructed of durable, appropriately industrial modern materials.

We highlighted the contrasting diagonal and orthogonal ceiling beams, the pitted and stained concrete floor and the rough brick surfaces of the exterior walls through the use of concealed perimeter lighting and a rigorous, unbroken grid of porcelain sockets and frosted bulbs evenly lighting the space below. A smoothly finished curved and planar soffit acts as a bold organizational gesture, defining the more private functions housed under it.

Walls are fashioned in a variety of translucent and opaque materials including translucent channel glass, polycarbonate, sandblasted cold rolled steel and stainless steel. The materials were used as elements to deflect or reveal hidden layers of space beyond.

Photographs © Paul Warchol