ELIZABETH STREET · NYC
Nathalie Pozzi
La Porte ! La porte, c'est tout un cosmos de l'Entr'ouvert.
On dirait toute sa vie si l'on faisait le récit de toutes les portes qu'on a fermées, qu'on a ouvertes, de toutes les portes qu'on voudrait rouvrir.
Gaston Bachelard, La poétique de l'espace. (1957)
For the door is an entire cosmos of the Half-open.
If one were to give an account of all the doors one has closed and opened, of all the doors one would like to re-open, one would have to tell the story of one's entire life.
Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space. (1957)
Interior renovation of a 800 Sf apartment
Location
Elizabeth Street • SoHo • New York City
Year
2021
Photo • Cris Moor
The apartment occupies the 5th floor of a 1920s building in Elizabeth Street, SoHo. The project's original objective was to join two small apartments into a larger unit.
While looking into possible solutions, the decision to proceed with a restrained renovation, rather than a gut remodeling, stemmed from the wish to preserve two original, large, slender windows.
From there, the project developed into a play among windows, doors and thresholds.
With the exception of the restrooms, each room has at least two doors. The resulting layout allows unexpected views, opening the space to new light and new possibilities for movement.
The renovation maintains and values existing details throughout the space. The original floors have been treated with a satin protective finish. Baseboards, windows frames, doors and their handles - have all been kept, including multiple layers of paint and imperfection.
Rooms
Entry • Kitchen
Living Room
Dining Room
3 Bedrooms
Bathroom
Powder room
The renovation connects and opens views across rooms, multiplying sources of natural light and cross ventilation. The new distribution allows multiple connections between spaces, bringing light across the apartment - from morning sunrise in the East sunrise to late afternoon sundown in the West.
The primary alterations happened in the kitchen and bathroom, where new components work in concert with a more open reconfiguration. The cabinets, in matte light grey, embrace the kitchen in calm and serenity.
Materials introduced to the space are subdued and elemental.
Door:“Why it’s simply impassible”
Alice: “Why, don’t you mean impossible?”
Door: “No, I do mean impassible. (chuckles) Nothing’s impossible!”
Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
