Part 2 – Wozney Residence, New York

Posted on: March 18th, 2009 | 12 Comments

Part 2 – Wozney Residence, New York (PDF)

Millwork Images From Louis (PDF)

  • http://www.thirdstone.ca Louis Pereira

    Can i change my plan?…Haha. Nice – An excellent example of thinking ‘outside-the-box’!

  • http://our-minergie-house.blogspot.com/ ersie

    I had already started on my version (which I’ve emailed to you) before I realized this post was up. I like your ideas, but I wonder if the table and the closet wouldn’t feel too heavy in the small space. Unless I missed something and the closet doesn’t go up to the ceiling…

    Not knowing how much stuff the client has and wants to keep, I tried to maximize built-in storage space.

  • Grace

    I love doing these projects along with you–great idea!

    For this project, I would:

    1. get rid of the bathtub and put a big shower where the large entry closet is. The current tub then becomes part of the ‘loft’ space.

    2. relocate the bedroom to the current kitchen site. This gives easier access to the bathroom. The walls can be half glass block at the top for light. Or the room can be a Z-Box as in the Dan Hisel Design. It will be small–a bed and a wall of closet.

    3. do your kitchen wall(s) in the old bedroom area with no walls at all in the living/old bedroom space.

  • Grace

    p.s.–i meant that the space of the current tub becomes part of the ‘loft’!

  • http://beck-and-martin.com.ar pat

    I’d make the closet not taller than 1.80 mts. so as to make everything look more *open space*an aerial.

    The prolongation in front of the table should be storage place with doors.If the owner wants to put books and dvds they can go in there.

    The bathroom should have a small storage place and the big storage place for sheets,blankets,towels etc should be along the hall’s right wall.

    As you can see i’m a storage person,but I find that the problem with small flats is where to put things away.The traditional Japanese houses have found an excellent solution.

    BTW i hate the word *should* but couldn’t find anther in the english language.

  • John Brown

    Ersie,

    A very very insightful observation about how this might feel. This brings up a very important point – plans only tell us part of the story. They are very useful tools, but they necessarily abstract out the third dimension, finishes, and a series of other critical design issues that must be addressed at some point in the design process.

    I had anticipated that the closet piece would not go entirely to the ceiling as being able to see the ceiling extend above the piece will contribute significantly to the overall sense of the house as a single large space. I am going to be talking about this in more detail in Friday’s case study project, the Z box house (currently featured as the project of the week).

    In terms of the table, I think that the desire to keep the space as open feeling as possible would dictate a very light, simple table design with a minimal base. Of course there is also the practical consideration of the table surface – as it needs to be both a work top for cooking and dining surface.

  • John Brown

    Grace,

    What a good idea. I based my design on the assumption that the kitchen plumbing could not be moved – but – now that you mention it we might be able to use the plumbing stack from the bathroom.

    If so, I agree that the kitchen should be in the “better” space by the windows and the bedroom would be okay in the slightly darker space of the old kitchen. As you say, using the Z box as a precedent a curtain or sliding doors facing into the living area and the front window would be quite nice and allow at least some view of the window from the bed.

    A shower in the bathroom also makes sense, either in place of the existing tub or, if there is room, in the old closet. I have a feeling this might be a bit too tight but we may be able to cheat over a bit given the changes to the old kitchen area.

    Nice work.

  • John Brown

    Pat,
    Good comment about storage. I have always been fascinated by boat cabins and the ingenious ways that storage is incorporated into the design without it being really obvious. You are correct about traditional Japanese houses as well. In fact, I have also seen some interesting ideas in new Japanese housing. For example, some have trapdoors in the floor to use the space between the floor beams as storage.
    The Z box house project also has some good ideas, particularly along the back side of the cube. I am going to be reviewing this project in this Friday’s case study segment.

  • John Brown

    Louis emailed me some images of millwork storage cabinetry that has detailed to look like an object in a small apartment space. I believe they are by the New York firm Messana O’Rorke Architects http://www.messanaororke.com/. I have posted the images, including one Louis sent in with an intriguing idea for the bathroom, in a pdf for all to enjoy.

  • Tony

    I think the space at the entry where you put the linen closet should be for an upright washer/ dryer. I would much rather have that than a linen closet/ bench.

  • Tony

    I also think I would try to put a flat screen TV on the living room side of the closet unit.

  • John Brown

    Tony,
    Two valuable suggestions. Having a washer/dryer in the unit certainly adds a lot of convenience and flat screen televisions are an architect’s dream. I used to spend too much time trying to figure out clever ways to hide those bulky old sets. Now tvs look good just hanging on the wall. (If you decide to still hide one, check out the example Louis sent us in the millwork image attachment at the top of this post).