urban townhouse by GLUCK+ is reorganized for privacy in nyc

‘urban townhouse’ by GLUCK+ is reorganized for privacy in NYC

GLUCK+ has re-organized a traditional ‘urban townhouse’ to promote the privacy of the residents of this new york city dwelling, tucked behind a four-storey vertical library. the most radical change removes the stair from the party wall and places it and an elevator at the front of the townhouse, toward the street. this move separates the majority of the living quarters from the street both visually and audibly. the circulation no longer squeezes the space into a long corridor with compartmentalized rooms, but allows a singular inhabitable area stretching to the back of the house which runs 38-feet-deep. during the day these spaces are flooded with natural light from the full height curtain wall that overlooks the private backyard.

(left): at night the facade of ‘urban townhouse’ is illuminated, setting it apart from its neighborsphoto © erik freeland

(right): during the day the facade has a matte appearancephoto © raimund koch

the front facade is mostly solid and opaque. though constructed of metal, it references the materiality of its neighbors with brick-shaped cut-outs functioning as a rain screen. a glass reveal respectfully separates the two palettes, with panel reveals acknowledging the floor levels of the adjacent buildings. these slots and windows cut into the bookshelf behind the aluminum rain screen allow light to stream into the interior. in contrast, the rear facade is clad in glass. within, the communal programs (living room, dining room and kitchen) are linked by a light-filled mezzanine that overlooks the backyard. the upper three floors of the transparent edifice are etched providing more privacy to the bedrooms and baths. extending the ground floor opening up the living and dining areas onto the backyard provides one a complete experience of the 70-foot-depth site.

detail of facade illustrating the brick-like cutouts in the aluminum rainscreen

openings in the bookshelf let light into the reading nook

image courtesy of gluck+

(left): stairs and glass railings cantilever off the elevator core. photo © erik freeland

(right): light streams in through the strip window between the party wall and rainscreen. photo © erik freeland

the living room occupies a space with generous proportions

photo © erik freeland

overlooking the backyard, the bedroom is awash with natural light

photo © erik freeland

(left): a study nook is located off the stair. photo © erik freeland

(right): the bathroom is set back away from the street. frosted glass adds privacy. photo © raimund koch

the rear facade of the town house is open to the privacy of the backyard

photo © raimund koch

model of circulation core and street facade

image courtesy of gluck+

building section

image courtesy of gluck+

floor plans

image courtesy of gluck+

site plan

image courtesy of gluck+

video courtesy of gluck+

project info:

project: urban townhouse location: new york, nycompleted: november 2009project team: architecture and construction by gluck+ (in alphabetical order)

guido furlanello peter l. gluck thomas gluck robert holton jason kreuzer shlomit levav ab moburg-davis scott scales jeff straesser jason walls

consultants:

structural engineer – robert silman associates p.c.mep engineer – rodkin cardinale consulting engineers p.c.

construction type: architect led design build

photo credits: erik freeland, raimund koch