Loft With Tilted Planes

This loft is a simple rectangular volume in a new building constructed specifically as minimally-finished residential units, available for customization by each unit owner. The space is distinguished by its nineteen-foot ceiling height, and affords direct daylight only by access to a terrace at one end and small windows high on the opposite wall, above a single-loaded access corridor.

The design plays to these features by inserting a large mezzanine above the entry door and arranging all other partitions to open the volume of the space towards the terrace, with its light and views. A double-height polished plaster wall cuts diagonally through the space, tilting back from bottom to top, to contain enclosed rooms and visually extend the main loft space. This tilted wall floats and shimmers slightly above a dark wood floor, and is detailed to stop short of the high ceiling. Behind the tilted wall are progressively smaller and more open spaces, starting with a large guest room, two ground-floor bathrooms and a partially screened kitchen. Above the kitchen, which features a 19-foot high wall of maple cabinetry, is the master bath, accessed by a small bridge, with a variety of clear and translucent openings blurring definitions of privacy within the loft setting. An etched-glass shower enclosure with a narrow clear slit affords controlled views to the loft below and the cityscape beyond.

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