Brooklyn-based architecture studio Lea Architecture is pleased to share the completed renovation of its 4,975 sqft Greenpoint Townhouse project. The 3-story residence in North Brooklyn saw crucial updates to energy efficiency, and introduced innovative solutions for floor-to-floor connection and openness. Family-friendly utility and durability were key, as was the aesthetic strategy to reconcile the multi-national client’s itinerant lifestyle with the rooting sensibilities of home.

Openness and Connection
All three floors of the townhouse are connected by a custom, geometric wooden stairwell that serves as the home's backbone, sculpturally flowing between each level. Besides anchoring the space both structurally and aesthetically, the exposed stair needed to allow light to pass into the 2nd floor from the lower-level living area. Its geometries respond to each of these needs, "solving" all of them. The stair not only plays a role in the spatial continuity of the residence, but also mirrors the kitchen’s wooden casework and offers a tactile, graceful material carry-over across each level of the home. The project as a whole was an extremely close collaboration with Land and Shore Creative, the general contractor, exemplified by the complex stairwell.

Lea Architecture also maximized space around the building’s ground-floor, which holds a retail space as well as an abutting 3-car garage. Reframing the garage site allowed the designers to incorporate a deck extension from the 2nd level of the building – which is the residential unit’s technical Floor 1. This deck extends from the open living-kitchen area, freshly introducing an outdoor program to the home.

Brooklyn-Scandinavian Aesthetic
Minimalism was a reigning principle in the overall design, in order to capture the family’s personal taste as well as create a sanctuary for retreat. One looming, yet subtle, nod to their home country was the sturdy and durable Rift white Oak stairwell, custom-stained to mimic the Falu red that’s characteristic to architecture across Scandinavia.

This Falu red color reference continues in the fireplace tiles, and also inspired by the stand-out, maroon color-blocked bathroom addition, a conceptual collaboration with Note Design. These dashes of color within an overall calmed palette lend a sense of familiarity to the clean, but collectively expressive interior architecture.

Energy Efficiency
Upgrading the energy systems throughout the home, Lea Architecture converted the Townhouse and its downstairs commercial unit to all-electric. They added solar panels on the roof, tons of insulation, and installed Europe-sourced windows for maximal efficiency to exceed both the state’s and the conscientious client’s expectations for passivity – to which the home is now as close as possible.