Wardell Sagan Residence

This building, an old concrete warehouse originally built for a dried flower wholesaler, gave us great bones to start with. The concrete bearing walls, wood framed floor and roof, and steel industrial sash windows were quite beautiful elements that only had to be uncovered. The design opportunity here came about as a result of the client wanting a roof terrace, which required removing a portion of the roof structure in order to add the stair and patio. Since the roof was open we craned in two shipping containers that had been modified to be a guest room and an office space – two objects that float within the larger space of the second floor loft. The two containers were stacked (but not aligned), forming a sculptural volume that read almost as an element of the client’s art collection. A new steel and glass staircase provides access to the upper container as well as to the roof terrace above. Photos by: Drew Kelly