Residential

Joining two apartments is sometimes analogous to two people back-to-back trying to hug. The solution here is to insert a 9-foot cube in the middle of the space. This object engages three separate areas, providing different storage to each: clothes in the bedroom, media / entertainment in the living room, and coat closet / deep storage at the entry. It works as a lighting device at night, glowing through translucent surfaces. It is constructed of medium density fiberboard (MDF) with acrylic and honeycomb composite panel inserts and doors. Nearby a shelving unit of the same materials forms a partition between the study and the living room and includes a projection screen surface. The combination of two adjacent apartments yielded a strange floor plan. The solution is to install a large cube in the middle of the intersection of the previous units. This cube of storage, display, and lighting organizes the new space. One side faces the entrance and contains the coat closet and large-item storage; the second side faces the living room and combines media and book storage with display shelves; the third side is a clothes closet facing the main bedroom. The cube is constructed of medium density fiberboard (MDF) with acrylic and honeycomb composite panel inserts and doors. Nearby a shelving unit of the same materials forms a partition between the study and the living room and includes a projection screen surface.

A true penthouse, a triplex erected in the 80’s on top of 13 pre-war stories. MESH has been engaged to transform it from an awkward box resembling a shipping container into an elegant home. This is essentially a single-family house on midtown Park Avenue. The first floor is a play of transparency and opacity, with large areas of glass to maximize sunlight and views to east and west. Opaque walls provide privacy, enclosure, and space for paintings. The upstairs floors are more private, but the reconstruction of the first-floor solarium allows for a wraparound terrace with spectacular views.

An old penthouse on the upper west side has spectacular northern views. As we enlarge the central bathroom we glaze it in privacy glass that can switch between transparent and translucent. The bathroom looks out on the cityscape and morning sun, but if guests are over they have full privacy. Meanwhile the kitchen is moved across and opened up to create a generous living space. The cabinetry and flooring are bamboo.

This house fits in with a compound of 19thC American-style houses upstate, but the space is contemporary, with a dramatic “great room” and generous glazing. The solar array recently heated water to 165ºF on a 50ºF day!

A loft in the West Village transforms an old stable into a unique living space. Almost a square, with windows on two sides, the loft presents all the usual difficulties in regards to light and air.

Our solution was to insert a glowing cube or “lantern” that warms and centers the space. This intimate media library serves to contrast and balance the capaciousness of the loft.

MESH designed the lighting and used reclaimed wood for the library and window frames. The lights are available through Etsy

Owners who wanted a loft bought a Victorian-style Park Slope house. The challenge was to open the house to space and light without neutering its character. This is accomplished with two related gestures: First, open the parlor floor as a large open space for family living. We removed the central wall and redistributed its load to the party walls. Then open a zone through the middle of the house that ascends to a large skylight, to bring light down and animate the central circulation. In this zone, finishes are translucent panels or peeled back to reveal the old structure. Lighting in the zone is by pipe lights, designed and fabricated by MESH. The resulting configuration is consistent with contemporary family life but does not erase the original structures. Instead a layered, more complex spatial composition balances gravity with lightness, old with new, raw with finished.

Extending the rear of this house’s garden level floods it with light, transforming a dark basement into a sun-filled family space. The 10-foot addition features skylights and glass doors. The new floors and countertops are salvaged Vermont butternut.

Built on spec, this house is for another kind of speculating, as well. This peaceful enclave near the beach is perfect for thinking, wondering, hypothesizing. The house is organized around a central stair tower that offers views as one ascends. At the top is a room for speculation with views to every direction and access to a dramatic roof deck. To the left of the tower are functional rooms on two floors — kitchen, dining, bedrooms. On the right is a lofty great room.

MESH finished a brownstone renovation in Ft. Greene. It’s a great example of how we are able to mix old with new and express the personality of a client. Newly constructed double height space creates new relationships between architectural elements.