New York-based GRT Architects has rearranged the layout of an apartment in the East Village and added warm materials during its renovation.
The studio undertook the project in Onyx Court, a six-storey corner Beaux-Arts structure on Second Avenue built in 1902 by Harde & Short.
▲ 东村公寓改造需要将厨房搬迁到更明亮的空间
The East Village Apartment renovation involved relocating the kitchen to a brighter space
Goals for the renovation included reorganising rooms to improve sightlines through the apartment and optimising the natural light available in each room.
"Our renovation completely rethought the apartment's layout while preserving its turn-of-the-century disposition," said the GRT Architects team. "The space is neither more open nor closed than when we found it."
▲ 厨房、起居区和用餐区都是相连的，但拥有各自的独立性
The kitchen, living and dining areas are all connected but intended to be read as separate rooms
第一步是从入口处设计一条直走廊，以便使用者从前门看到朝东的窗户。
为了实现这一点，建筑师在承重砖墙上创建了一个浅拱形开口，这是改造期间唯一的结构变化。
The first move was to straighten a corridor from the entrance, to provide a view of an east-facing window from the front door.
To enable this, a shallow-arched opening was created in a load-bearing brick wall – the only structural change made during the overhaul.
▲ 客厅的完整储物墙包括一个隐藏电视的面板
A full storage wall in the living room includes a panel that hides the TV
"The journey down this corridor celebrates the building's irregularity with asymmetrical niches and rounded openings in thick plaster walls," GRT Architects said.
This journey ends at the semi-open kitchen, which was relocated from diagonally across the apartment, to an area with better light and improved integration into the rest of the home.
▲ 一扇带纹理的推拉门通向后面的一间小办公室
A textured sliding door reveals a small office behind
An island clad in oxblood-coloured tiles sits at the centre, surrounded by white oak cabinetry with oversized handles and a satin white countertop.
Chequerboard two-inch mosaic tiling across the kitchen floor ends below a storage unit suspended from brass bars, clearly defining this space from the adjacent dining room.
▲ 厨房曾经的位置现在改造为主卧
The primary bedroom now sits where the kitchen once was
A minimal brass pendant hangs above the walnut dining table, while the living room is found through a cased opening and also demarcated by a strip of herringbone parquet flooring.
Largely decorated in a cooler grey hue compared to the warmer tones elsewhere, the living room features accents like a yellow armchair that matches the upholstery of the dining chairs, and a storage wall backed with sienna-coloured panels.
▲ 卧室增加了定制的内置壁橱
Custom built-in closets were added to the bedroom
"We organised this space around a full wall of built-in shelves which includes a sliding panel that conceals a television," said GRT Architects.
"A series of complementary colours emphasise the relief of this composition while oak pulls tie it back to the kitchen."
▲ 借助可伸缩墨菲床，第二间卧室既可用作办公室又可用作睡眠区
The second bedroom acts as both an office and a sleeping area thanks to a retractable murphy bed
隐藏在一扇带纹理的滑动玻璃门后面，一间小办公室在所有四面墙上延续了相同的赭色阴影。
主卧室位于旧厨房的位置，包括定制的内置壁橱——一个占据了一个废弃的杂物间的竖井。
相邻的浴室结合了各种硬质和软质材料，从斑点水磨石和绿色马赛克瓷砖到视觉上与厨房相连的橡木橱柜门。
在第二间卧室，一张墨菲床使该空间可以在需要时用作另一个办公室。
Tucked behind a sliding textured glass door, a small office continues the same sienna shade across all four walls.
The primary bedroom is located in place of the old kitchen and includes custom built-in closets – one occupying the shaft of a defunct dumbwaiter.
An adjacent bathroom combines a variety of hard and soft materials, ranging from flecked terrazzo and green mosaic tiles to oak cabinet doors that visually tie back to the kitchen.
In the second bedroom, a murphy bed enables the space to be used as another office when needed.
▲ 浴室的材料与厨房的材料相呼应
Materials in the bathroom echo those in the kitchen
作为重组的一部分，一间化妆间也被纳入平面图。
“我们通过在不影响隐私的情况下大大减少流通空间来为这个小房间找到空间，”该团队说。
A powder room was also slotted into the floor plan as part of the reorganisation.
"We found space for this small room by greatly reducing circulation space without compromising privacy," the team said.
▲ 公寓现在沿着一条笔直的走廊组织起来
The apartment is now organised along a straight corridor
GRT Architects, founded by Tal Schori and Rustam-Marc Mehta in 2014, has worked on a variety of projects in New York City – from a Brooklyn townhouse overhaul to a cosy bakery.
More recently, the firm has expanded further afield, completing a cedar bungalow above marshland on the Connecticut shoreline and a black house with huge triangular windows in Dutchess County.
The photography is by Nicole Franzen.
Project credits:
Design architect and architect of record: GRT Architects: Rustam Mehta, Tal Schori, Pablo Taberna, Chelsea Stitt
MEP engineer: ANZ
Structural engineer: Old Structures
