Grand Avenue

commoncraft is currently completing the renovation of a landmarked two-family Brooklyn brownstone. The design of the renovation balances the restoration of the building’s historic features with the introduction of contemporary design elements. The monumental Parlor Floor of the building has been fully restored to its original condition. However, as one moves up through the building, intricate Italianate detailing increasingly gives way to minimal, modern components, culminating in a top floor that is highlighted by sculptural skylights and loft-like spaces. Colorful, curvaceous volumes are inserted throughout the building to punctuate this aesthetic interplay and add a degree of whimsy to the classic grandeur. Arched entryways mark the transitions into these volumes, but also frame view axes through the building. New reclaimed wood flooring flows throughout the majority of the spaces, embodying the project’s duality between old and new in material form.

Collaborators — Preservation Works, Alan Schwartz, BHK Engineering, BMB Building Consulting