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New York City Townhouse

The facade at dusk

The family room and kitchen

Family dining area with table designed by K+Z

Formal Living and Dining Rooms with dining table, chairs and chandelier designed by K+Z

The library with reading nook

Interior of the sun porch with translucent facade and floor

Kiss + Zwigard has just completed the renovation of a 36 foot wide townhouse in the Upper East Side Historic District of Manhattan. The complexity of this project represented an exciting opportunity for our firm as we explored issues of context in a landmark neighborhood and the scale of a multistory structure for a single family. The townhouse required extensive renovation and reconfiguration. Several additions to the house over the last century have not taken into consideration the structural, spatial and exterior integrity of the building. Kiss + Zwigard completed the building form both in plan and elevation.

The new facade benefited both the neighborhood and the environment: a green facade or solar space acts as a buffer for weather extremes and as a source for natural light into the house while reestablishing the traditional street wall of the block. To complete the building in elevation, the architects filled in the zoning envelope and create a formal facade respectful to the context of the neighborhood. Factors in this solution included compatibility of material and language and compliance with Landmarks Commission standards.

The facade at the top three levels becomes an "expanded skin" or sun porch that serves both public (the neighborhood) and private (the family) functions and creates an environmental green space. First the sun porch forms a transition with the city, masking interior functions and spaces while integrating nontraditional materials in a dialogue with the historic landmark district. Kiss + Zwigard did not wish to mimic historic building elements to comply with Landmark standards, instead the firm chose to reinterpret traditional elements such as the cornice and base, loggia and punched windows (found in masonry buildings) through the "expanded skin" by the use high tech building methods.

A down filled parka clothes and insulates its wearer, in the same fashion the "expanded skin" also dresses and insulates the building. The sun porch appropriately dresses the facade to dialogue with the neighborhood and as a second skin thermally protects the interior spaces. In winter months the sun warms the air and the internal facade allowing heat to pass into the living spaces. In the summertime the living spaces are shadowed by the sun porch which can also be opened for ventilation.

A primary concern of the clients was to spatially inter link the house making it more family orientated. Most often buildings in New York City require tight space programming in a small envelope which do not allow for exploration of architectural space. This renovation presented a unique chance to explore vertical programmatic and spatial relationships. The first two floors are linked to form the public part of the residence containing the living room, family room, dining room and staff functions. The third level contains the living quarters for the children with interior and exterior play space. The top two floors contain the master suite and are joined together by a two story library that acts as a private circulation link. The yard is planted with Holly trees to create privacy from the adjacent buildings and contains a central open space for relaxation.