In its previous life, Kessler Apartment was two side-by-side one bedroom apartments; our clients occupied one of the units, and decided to purchase the adjacent unit after a prolonged search for a larger space for their growing family.
The apartment is in Manhattan's West Village, on an upper floor of a historically significant, and now Landmark protected, pre-war building.
In combining the apartments we set out to reference the flexible and light filled loft the clients had occupied in their formative New York City lives. Replacing traditionally arranged walls-which had formed a series of dark, confined spaces-a procession of built-in cabinets perform double duty as screen elements; creating a threshold anteroom at the entrance, and buffer between the kitchen and living areas.
Circulation within the apartment has been redirected along the window wall to provide the family with a more direct interaction with the exterior, and the iconic views of the midtown Manhattan skyline.
“I thought the central living area needed one strong organizing element to establish a structured entry sequence and support the family’s desire for an informal living space.”
— Simon Arnold