South Slope Fixer-Upper

Our team was tasked to transform this 120-year-old, 3-story wood-framed structure into an environmentally-friendly & energy-efficient home for a modern family.  Also, to give it some architectural character that was lacking.

Photography by BlueSlateFilms and reBuild Workshop

The Plan

The 16-foot-wide framed row house is located in Brooklyn, New York. It was reconfigured for single-family use;  sleeping and home office areas are located at the lower and upper levels, with living & dining at the second (“parlor”). The design of the interior space has been tailored to the owners’ programmatic needs but is flexible enough to work with several different occupant scenarios.  At the parlor level, emphasis has been given to maximizing daylight and connecting the indoors with the outdoors - both visually and functionally - to take advantage of the spacious backyard.  

Timber was the material of choice for this project because of its sustainable features, versatility, and warmth. It was used throughout: for the new framing members, the pre-finished hardwood floors, the kitchen’s custom white-oak millwork, the new doors and windows, new interior stairs and railings, the new cedar fence and deck.

Sustainability

One of the project’s primary goals was to reduce the house’s environmental footprint to a minimum. For this reason, a series of sustainable strategies were adopted. These include going 100% electric (removing natural gas) and installing of a solar panel system that generates most of the power needed year-round. Also: high-performance windows, an air-sealed and heavily insulated building envelope (exterior walls, roof), high-efficiency mechanical systems ( “heat-pumps”) for heating, cooling as well as hot water; induction cooktop and other energy efficient electric appliances, LED lighting.