New York City, NY
2002

This loft renovation provides a new, downtown environment for an empty-nest single father. There are three major elements, inserted into the vast space: the (grown) children’s rooms, for when they stay here; the kitchen, seldom used but significant; and the master suite, a multi-story, dense, layered sequence of rooms. The karaoke room doubles as a projection screen. The mezzanine, passerelles, and massive bookshelf-wall are glass, in a light steel frame suspended from the ceiling. This creates the effect of a hovering partial presence, an in-between space mediating between the suite and the open space. The master bath is the most dense, enclosed, intimate space in the loft – in a way the heart of a large, open space. It is formed by a steel matrix whose spaces are filled with white oak dressing room cabinets. Each cabinet fits precisely into its assigned space in the grid. The glass catwalk that flows through the loft space enters the bathroom, allowing a perspective from above and access to extra clothing storage. A network of color-changing LED lights animates the loft space, and it enters this bathroom too, connecting it with the enclosing space of the loft. Building the small WC entailed raising the floor to install the plumbing lines. Instead of making a simple tile or stone floor, MESH took the opportunity to use this space, installing fluorescent lights underneath. A flooring material called Riverstone, small white pebbles suspended in green, translucent resin, glows dramatically, activating this narrow space. Chalkboard paint on the walls encourages (erasable) bathroom graffiti, to activate it further, and the lights were hand made by MESH.