Ultra Modern Reno on South Portland Avenue
[nggallery id=”27585″ template=galleryview] Here are some very cool before and after shots of a renovation of a South Portland Avenue brownstone that took place in 2007. The architect was Field Lines Architecture, an Lower East Side-based duo with clearly modern leanings. We have to admit to mixed feelings about the whole thing: On the one…
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Here are some very cool before and after shots of a renovation of a South Portland Avenue brownstone that took place in 2007. The architect was Field Lines Architecture, an Lower East Side-based duo with clearly modern leanings. We have to admit to mixed feelings about the whole thing: On the one hand, the finished product looks really amazing, what modern architecture should be; on the other, the intact interior of a brownstone on the definitive brownstone block in the city was lost in the process. At least there are no Fedders boxes! Update: The architects just sent in another view that shows how they did in fact maintain original details where they could. Great to see that our fears were misfounded! “We at Field Lines believe that the real magic occurs when palimpsest of the past are not erased but rather incorporate as unique opportunities for design,” they wrote. Check out the new image on the jump.
Also, if they did gut original architectural detail, that just creates more salvage for other people who want to stick it in their homes! (Unless they just threw it out. Creating more garbage sucks a LOT more than getting rid of decor you don’t like…)
And besides, it doean’y make much sense to pay up for a place “dripping with architectural detail” with the intent to gut it.
You’re probably right tradionalmod, since that discussion is generating about 50% of the posts here and we’ve all been suckered in.
We’re not trying to dictate anything to anyone. We said we thought this was a beautiful renovation but we were a little sad at what may have been lost in the process. Hardly a controversial or rancor-baiting sentiment.
At this point I’m wondering if Brownstoner intentionally tries to provoke a debate and lots of posts with these threads, because he always assumes the homeowner took some gorgeous, ultra-unique house chock full of perfect details and ripped it all out. When we know that very likely didn’t happen. Homeowners and architects know full well the value of really good details IF a house has them. Many houses here don’t. Also the degree to which they’re historic and special can be very little. A bit of molding and maybe one fireplace doesn’t count as a historic interior worth preserving in my book. If that’s all a place has people should feel free to do whatever they want with the interior.
My great great grandmother used to wear the same dress thats hanging over the kitchen table. Her whalebone corset wasn’t as tight tho.
I think it looks great, and the renovation of the garden floor is exactly what I would do with respect to the rear glass wall.
If they did, however, gut an intact, or 19th century detail filled, interior, it would be a shame. It does not detract from the quality of the job, but there are places in the area that do not have the detail left that could have been gutted. Do we know the extent of what was removed?
I need to wipe the drool from my mouth!
Minus the hanging pots and pans over the kitchen island, I can be very happy here.
“on the other, the intact interior of a brownstone on the definitive brownstone block in the city was lost in the process”
Unless we know for sure that they ripped out a ton of architectural detail (which, by the one photo here, they DID NOT)then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what they did.
Even if they did rip out a ton of architectural detail, its still THEIR house and THEIRS to do whatever they please. It’s not what I’d do but you can’t dictate other people’s interiors, no matter how much you would like to.
I love this! Especially how the spaces flow and allow for so much light.