Architect Transforms Gowanus Parking Garage Into Garden-Topped Modernist Paradise
Exposed cinder block walls aren’t something the typical house-proud Brooklynite brags about. But the Gowanus pad of architect Philippe Baumann elevates common things — cement, weeds, cinder block — into elegant contemporary design. Baumann’s three-bedroom home, recently featured in Dwell, takes up the entirety of its Gowanus lot — a feat accomplished by keeping the…
Exposed cinder block walls aren’t something the typical house-proud Brooklynite brags about. But the Gowanus pad of architect Philippe Baumann elevates common things — cement, weeds, cinder block — into elegant contemporary design.
Baumann’s three-bedroom home, recently featured in Dwell, takes up the entirety of its Gowanus lot — a feat accomplished by keeping the bones of the site’s original structure, a parking garage.
For two years, Baumann served as contractor for the bulk of the renovation, carving out high-ceilinged interior spaces and a central court yard that’s bookended by the open glass walls of the living room and a den.
But when Baumann and his family moved into their new home in 2011, it still wasn’t completely finished. It took another two years of work to install the structure’s unique cedar and steel-mesh facade, place the cement courtyard pavers, and seed the roof garden with native plants and vegetables, among other projects.
Steel and cement are the home’s defining interior textures. The floors have radiant heating extending even to the snow-free sidewalk outside.
The plywood bed frame in the master bedroom was also designed by Baumann. Wood accents throughout the home add touches of warmth to the cool gray space.
Check out more details of this home — including its very cool transforming bathroom — in Dwell.
[Source: Dwell]
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smokin!
Love the house. Hate the cinder block. At least paint it a warm color. Who wants to live in a jail cell?
Interesting concept and well executed. My one niggle is no matter how much ‘elevating of common things” is going on here, those cinderblock walls would still make me feel like I’m sleeping in a cell. For the rest of the house, some natural fabrics could go a long way make the hard surfaces feel a little more homey.