Project 05

WytheResidence

Location: Williamsburg
Type: Residential
Year: 2024
Size: 3,600 sq ft

Converted warehouse living room with exposed brick, black steel windows, a concrete floor, and a view of the Williamsburg Bridge

A former warehouse on the Brooklyn waterfront, where the bricks still carry the stencilled names of the trades. We treated the shell as a given and worked in what it was missing: warmth and shelter.

The owners are two designers who wanted to live in the building rather than inside a finished product. The plan keeps everything simple, a few strong materials and a few well-placed windows, with the roof turned into a garden.

Material samples of travertine, honed limestone, oak, boucle, and aged brass on a plaster table

Travertine side table with an olive branch beside a steel window set in exposed brick, the river and bridge outside

Brick and stone

The brick was cleaned, repointed, and sealed, nothing more. Against it we set softer materials: travertine, limestone, oak, bouclé, and brass, like the travertine side table by the river window.

Curved plaster staircase with a carved oak handrail, light falling across the wall

Raw shell,quiet rooms.

The stair

Against all that brick, one smooth element: a curved plaster stair with a carved oak handrail, lit from the skylight above.

Linen lounge chair beside oak shelving and a tall steel-framed window

Loft living area with tall arched windows, cast-iron columns, and a travertine coffee table

Steel and glass

Tall windows in slender blackened steel, sitting deep in the walls. The reading corner gets the best of them, with a linen chair and oak shelving in the morning sun.

Long view of a bright loft with arched windows and a low cream sofa

Softening

To balance the hard surfaces, one room is warm and enclosed: a marble fireplace, built-in oak shelving, a wool rug, and a deep cream sofa.

Sitting room with a cream sofa, oak coffee table, and built-in oak shelving

Section, looking east

Roof light

A skylight and a new roof garden bring daylight down through the stair. Planting is simple, grasses and a single honey locust, and drainage is hidden below the decking.