Buro renovated 750sf square foot apartment in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York City revealing a bold, sculptural, open apartment. Once a 3 bedroom dark renovation from the 1980’s is now a one bedroom plus 1.5 bath. The apartment is on the corner of the 5th floor of a tenement building overlooking Sarah Roosevelt Park. The interior space is divided by a sculptural wave-like wall that houses the laundry, storage and the powder room. The tile in the powder room is bas-relief honey comb and the master bath is an all plate glass enclosure. Most of the walls are exposed brick that has been white-washed, and the flooring is oak. The team preserved bits of history in the apartment such as leaving traces of vintage wall paper in the kitchen area. The project won the best of the year award for residential spaces in 2011.
After the centuries old farm house, located in the east of the Netherlands, burned down due to a vigorous fire, a new house had to be constructed as quick as possible.
As a reaction to this grim experience the clients didn’t want a replica of the original farmstead. Instead they aspired for a contemporary, square pipe like, house where all the functions would be organised along a linear sequence. The pipe developed in to a knot which takes better use of the surrounding landscape. The shape also offers similar spatial qualities as the old house like double height ceilings, movement in different directions and diverse views on the landscape.
To speed up the construction process the house was designed in tight cooperation with the main contractor. The wooden wall elements were CNC cut and prefabricated in Germany. From there they were transported to the Netherlands and erected in less than a week. The wooden structure allowed for big cantilevers and openings which frame the views of the vast fields around the property.
The local building regulations required the house to fit in to environment, which indirectly means that the structure should be similar to the white plastered vernacular architecture of the neighbouring houses. Rather than blending the house with the built environment it fits in to the surrounding nature. The dark stained vertical boards of larix make the building disappear against the backdrop of trees.
The house is designed to conserve as much energy as possible and has high levels of insulation combined with a heat recovery system. Solar thermal collectors and a heat accumulating wood stove serve as additional energy sources. Only during the coldest winter days the house will need an external heat source.
All together it took about one and a half year from the start of the design process until completion. After the fire and an aberrant time in a temporary accommodation the clients were recently able to move in and feel at home again.
Homizer 