Architecture Wednesday: Gramercy Park Redesign

So, I was planning on some where sunny this week--I woke up yesterday and we were in the 30s again so I needed some heat. But then I stumbled upon another New York City dream; a reconstruction townhouse, originally built in 1848, in Gramercy Park.
And it's fabulous.
It started out its existence as a single family townhouse, but over the years had been converted into three separate loft-wannabes. Now, the new owners wanted to, well, to quote Cher, turn back time a little, and yet bring in some modern, too. Now, it's really two separate units, but the top half is where I'm headed.
Ulises Liceaga redeveloped the upper half of the building only by adding a whole new top floor creating a 620 square foot master bedroom addition. The rest of the home is an open-plan, floor-through kitchen/dining/living space, a TV room, office, three bedrooms and three and half bathrooms.
The owners wanted a showcase home that honored its soul while bringing in the noise and the funk of the 21st century. The results are gorgeous, inside, and out; the walls and ceilings of the living and kitchen area are punctuated with the sensuous sculptures and exploding light fixtures. The bricks-and-mortar rear wall of the two main floors has been replaced by a glass curtain fitted with tiny diodes, invisible by day but glinting at night like a private constellation.
And, of course, I need some outdoor space. The terrace that leads from the living room has a glass floor and overlooks the private gardens below. With every available patch of roof converted into usable space, the house boasts two more terraces as well as a roof deck.
From the front it's a stately patrician townhouse from the 1800s. Inside, it's all 21st century greatness.
As always, click the pics to emBIGGERate.

and...for you floorplan whores like me.....

 

 

via Fractal Construction