Brooklyn
brownstone renovation
The renovation of this traditional Brooklyn brownstone began with a difficult plan: deep, dark and divided into rooms that no longer suited a family of five. Kiln collaborated closely with Studio Lyon-Szot, the local architect of record, on the concept and detailed design to open connections through the house while retaining its existing character. Two interventions organise the project: a full-height storage wall and opening the skylight above the stair.
- Location
- Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, New York
- Year
- 2021 to 2022
- Scale
- Building
- Role
- Design
- Architect
- Studio Lyon-Szot
Concept
Storage
One element runs through the house from bottom to top. Conceived first as joinery, the oak storage wall became a thin-framed element that carries the ventilation and the storage, and defines the edges of the circulation. Its material and proportions continue from floor to floor, giving rooms with different uses a common structure.
Light
At the centre of the plan, walls were removed and a small skylight above the stair was enlarged to draw daylight down to the children's floor, dramatically changing the entry foyer. A second glazed hatch was added for roof access to further increase natural light on the top floor.
As found. The stair, the dark joinery and the original stained glass skylight above it.
Details
The house was developed as a connected interior rather than a collection of separate rooms. White oak repeats in the thresholds, shelving and fitted storage, while plaster, brick, stone and glass give each space its own weight without breaking the continuity of the whole. The rooms were tested in detail so the family could judge how they connected, where daylight would reach and how the materials would sit together before those decisions were built. The testing went down to the junctions, with five options drawn for a single shelf and door reveal, so the detail was settled before documentation began.
Outcome
The project reached permitting ahead of schedule. Studio Lyon-Szot then led construction documentation and site supervision. The house is complete, occupied by the family and published by Studio Lyon-Szot.