The block on which the vacant lot sat for decades was rich with architectural references, including Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne row houses, historic carriage houses, and a neoclassical firehouse by Frank Freeman. Two new brick townhouses, at 27½ and 22½ feet wide and reading as one coherent residence, now augment the streetscape with a modern touch.
After iterating with façade elements, brick patterns, and a brick arch framing a vehicle entrance in a series of process drawings that the jury “loved,” Brendan Coburn, FAIA, found the combination that fit the “complicated puzzle” of site context. Smooth face brick clads the first floor, providing a “public-facing, stoic piece of architecture that breaks down the scale of the building,” Brendan says. On the second and third floors, recessed window arrays reference neighboring row houses, but with added dimensionality through stepped brick headers and an inverted Flemish bond surround.
A setback fourth story, clad in blue-gray terracotta tile, continues the area’s mansard roof forms and approachable scale. Bluestone contrasts the red brick as trim, a base, and a scupper at the bottom of a vertical control joint demarcating the units.
The client, a private developer, commissioned the studio for its record of expedient approvals in historic districts. When time is paramount, Brendan says, “the cost difference in doing something right versus doing something cheaply is not significant.”
Citation · Architectural Details
Brooklyn Heights Townhouses by The Brooklyn Studio
Brooklyn, New York
Project Credits
Architect: Brendan Coburn, FAIA, principal in charge; Andrew Acevedo, Franklin Chuqui, Henry Aguilar, Mario Joya, project architects, The Brooklyn Studio, Brooklyn, New York
Builder: Brodmore, Brooklyn
Project size: 21,839 square feet
Site size: 0.16 acre
Construction cost: Withheld
Photography: Kevin Kunstadt
Key Products
Cladding: Glen-Gery
Entry doors: Jeld-Wen
Garage doors/elevator: First Choice Elevator, Advanced Glazing Corp
Roofing: Terreal North America
Roof windows, skylights, bulkhead doors: Apex Architectural Metal & Glass Systems Corp
Window wall systems: Apex Architectural Metal & Glass Systems Corp
Windows: Apex Architectural Metal & Glass Systems Corp