Place: Brooklyn, New York

Client: Private Clients

Date: 2016

Size: 3500 SF

The nature of the site determined the project. The site is an undersized and irregular lot in an R6B zone in Brooklyn. Across the street is an elevated portion of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway-a six lane interstate highway. The front of the building, facing the BQE, faces north, and the rear faces south. We zoned the stairs and bathrooms to face the BQE, thus creating a buffer from the noise. There are few windows on the north rear yards to the south. The irregular shape of the lot gave inspiration for the roofline. Though not certified, the building was designed to meet Energy Star Criteria, including high efficiency boiler and AC, high levels of insulation and air sealing, radiant floor heat distribution, and an energy recovery ventilation system.

Place: Belfast, Maine

Client: Private Clients

Date: 2010

Size: 1500 SF

Pearl Street is located in downtown Belfast. It is a small house built as a worker’s cabin in about 1850. It was completely renovated in 2010 by Coggan + Crawford from a real wreck. Many fixtures and some finishes were saved and reused in the restoration – doors, cabinets, sinks, tub, timber, boards, and tin ceilings were some of the elements reused or repurposed. We made an architectural rule: In rooms where walls had the original boarding we left them as part of the interiors. Structural members were left exposed. Locally sourced wood was used as a durable finish material on walls and floors. Furnishings were largely finds at yard sales, flea markets, and thrift stores and painted, though some pieces were site-built. Part of the consideration was energy efficiency. A tight envelope was employed with high insulation values, and a high-efficiency heating system was installed, thus providing long-term reduction in costs.

At 1500 square feet, it is a large house by 19th century standards, though small by late 20th century standards. As we move forward in this century, we will see a return of such smaller scale dwellings that embody the narrative of efficiency, reuse, and simplicity.

Place: Park Slope, Brooklyn NY

Client:

Date: 2011

Size: 5000 SF

This project is at its core, a pragmatic project, albeit one that is tempered with a measure of poetry. It takes a critical view of contemporary building practices with an eye towards the performance criteria for 21st century building. Our title for the project was the “Baseline” - this project should represent a minimum standard for construction. The project is a four-story, four family row house located in Brooklyn, NY. It is a speculative development for a particularly enlightened client. They have a commitment to quality construction and high design, but more importantly, they have a commitment to green building. It uses many common materials, and standardizes components and assemblies, but modifies these to achieve a higher design quality and much higher energy efficiency. This project is certified LEED Platinum and EnergyStar.

Place: Greenwich Village, New York

Client: Private Client

Date: 2017

Size: 1000 SF

A 1000 square foot renovation for a long term client entailed a new stair, kitchen, and bathrooms. The project was essentially a series of discreet tailoring exercises to change the proportions and amenities of the original rooms. All finishes and furniture operate in a strict black, white, and gray palette, with only the client’s extensive collection of puzzles disrupting the rigor.

Place: Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn NY

Client:

Date: 2006

Size: 3600 SF

The narrative for this project was driven by the site. An old frame house situated on an underdeveloped site sits directly adjacent to a church near Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn.  The house was to be kept and altered while building a significant addition to the rear.  Our solution was to accentuate the meeting of these two volumes both spatially and materially.  The old house was gutted, stripped of its siding, structurally reinforced and clad in stucco.  New windows were inserted as punched openings. The addition, which by code had to be of non-combustible construction, was built of steel framing and concrete floors, and clad in corrugated metal. Floor to ceiling windows face south, and strip windows open onto the lot line, framing views of the adjacent church. Because of the existing certificate of occupancy, a fire escape was required on the rear of the house. This became an opportunity to provide easy access to the roof deck and create a sculptural volume. The house is located within an R6B zoning district. This is contextual zoning. This project is in keeping with the existing three story buildings of the neighborhood, and maintains the existing street wall of the original house.

The house boasts significant sustainable features. It is the first Energy Star rated project in Brooklyn which means that the house uses 30% less energy than required by the model energy code. The building volume is super insulated. The south facing rear windows admit winter sun, and the concrete floors are a significant thermal mass, while the overhanging balconies of the fire escape provide shading from the summer sun. The fire escape serves as a trellis for vines.  The front roof is designed for the installation of photo voltaic panels, and has conduit ready for the installation. The original concept called for a trellis above the roof deck to support PV panels. Lighting is provided by high quality linear and compact fluorescents, many of which are dimmable. Air conditioning uses Puron refrigerant that is not ozone depleting. All windows have low E and argon filled insulated glass. All appliances are Energy Star rated. Flooring is the structural concrete in the addition, while the floors of the original frame house are bamboo, a sustainable material. Carpeting in the hallways is from Interface, a company that subscribes to the principals of cradle to cradle.

Place: Starkville, Mississippi

Client: Private Client

Date: 2009

Size: 1500 SF

This is not the first restaurant venture to aspire to a value system rather than just a business. But it is unique in that the design laid the ground work for a democratic enterprise and a far reaching design dialogue.  Alice Waters created the farm to table movement, which establishes a business venture as an activist mechanism. The project seeks to examine the café as an example of entrepreneur as community activist that is potentially more successful than the role of the community designer.

The café is seated in the notion of the local, and operates with this concept at a number of scales. Food is sourced regionally with a 100 mile goal. The location is in the downtown district, avoiding the automobile-centric and ubiquitous “strip.” The architecture is framed by an existing mixed-use building (commercial and residential), which was completely renovated using sustainable design principles and local craftsmen. Fixed single-pane windows were replaced with operable double insulated low e windows. The ceiling is insulated to R-50. The roof has a venting skylight with solar hot water panels on the south side. Back-up hot water is via a natural gas tankless water heater. Heating and cooling is supplied by high efficiency heat pumps. Chairs were either found in local thrift shops for under 20 dollars or in the trash. Most had a weakness that needed to be reinforced before being put back into service, engendering a southern vernacular meets Surrealist aesthetic. Tables were constructed on-site. Cups, plates, bowls, etc. are a mismatched collection from local thrift shops.

This project examines how a building can be a critique of current urban development patterns and the entire US food industry, as well as form an anchor for the revitalization of a walkable downtown community.

The goal of the café was not to design all the activity inside the four walls of the building but to extend the influence of the farm-to-table movement throughout the community.  An unconventional space that is used is the Little Building Blog that, along with the sandwich board out front, serves as a town crier for the ever changing daily menu. The virtual space has lead to quite an intimate relationship with the customers: daily face book critiques of spring greens soup and chocolate chip muffins make the café feel very democratic.

The space is used for public events. Partnering with the local artist’s co-op has lead to a constant flow of artist and designer community events that promote the creative capital of Starkville.

Place: Brooklyn, New York

Client:

Date: 2006

Size: 8100 SF

This project was the conversion of a two story industrial building into a two unit residential building. The existing structure was an industrial building in an area of Brooklyn re-zoned for residential use. The original building was two stories tall and built to the full extent of the lot. In order to convert it to a two family residential use it was necessary to provide for light and air. In order to provide light and air, our scheme was to make a series of strategic cuts into the structure to provide a central court yard and a new stair, creating front and rear units. The front of the building faces a manufacturing district, and the building is near public housing projects. We felt this required a “tough” exterior. Folded plates in natural steel with a clear urethane coating make the front facade. The courtyard is heavily glazed, and separated by a trellis that provides a green screen between the units. The courtyard as well as the stair wells provide light and air to the interiors of the units. The roof has been developed as outdoor space. The interior was intended to be delivered partially built – essentially loft like apartments that the purchasers could then configure to their needs. The roof is accessible to both units and is occupiable.

The building is Energy Star rated, and boasts a host of other sustainable strategies. Metals and clean fill were diverted from landfill during demolition. The building is super insulated. The existing masonry shell and wood floor and roof joists were kept. The existing concrete floor was refinished. We salvaged beams and flooring from the demolition to patch the existing where damaged. We even used some of the beams as shelves in the kitchens. All appliances, lighting and mechanical components meet Energy Star criteria. Water saving devices such as dual flush toilets, flow restrictors, and recirculation lines were employed.