Situated along a quiet street in Cobble Hill, this townhouse had been incrementally renovated over the years to the extent that no original details remained. In fact, the second floor featured a room kitted out with a wrestling ring, and the rear yard was home to a small building extension clad in bright yellow siding.
In considering how to restore a sense of place to the townhouse, while renovating the building to provide a long-term home for a young family, we developed a simple palette of architectural elements that pay homage to the original Néo-Grec details that would have been found in the home.
The townhouse is currently under construction and slated to be completed in April 2024. The building features a new, two-story 25ft-wide extension into the rear yard, a large rooftop monitor, a new elevator, and skylights wherever possible (most notably the 4ft x 9ft skylight over the kitchen).
All of this required complicated structural and mechanical coordination, and a convincing pitch to the Landmarks and Preservation Commission. And all of this was in service of bringing the townhouse back to its neighborhood, grounding it again in what we feel is one of the most beautiful streets in the borough.