How They Pulled It Off: A Stained-Glass Bench That Illuminates a Brooklyn Backyard

Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

Interior designer Lauren Williams Russett—founder of multifaceted interiors practice Studio Solenne—and her husband were at North Fork, Long Island, architectural salvage shop Lumber + Salt when they came across a set of stained-glass panels. "We saw the sun shine through and knew we needed them," she says. "We weren’t sure what exactly to do with these architectural components at the time but knew they needed to be illuminated somehow." They were in the middle of gut renovating their Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, brownstone with architecture firm The Brooklyn Studio and found a clever, unexpected application for these decorative elements: built-in seating for outdoor dining that also filters natural light to an otherwise gloomy basement level below.

"So much of this transformation—creating our forever home—was driven by bringing more light and life into what used to be a dark space," she adds. "Creating a bench like this was such a clever way to translate ‘more light!’"

Though not necessarily religious, the couple chose to outfit the six-story home with found elements sourced from within the historically listed property and its immediate vicinity. It just so happened that several items came from a church that once stood across the street but was demolished in the 1960s. Pews that somehow made it into the attic were turned into a bar cabinet. Bringing in the element of stained glass made sense.

"A town house can sometimes be a bit too serious, and finding a way to use these panels reminded me to make sure we stayed a little playful with the design," she says. But the process of doing so wasn’t straightforward. The bench was installed as the main element of a sunken patio and is a part of a new three-story, wood-and-glass window system added to the property’s rear facade. A complicated excavation phase—replacing masonry walls while ensuring that neighboring structures wouldn’t implode—required near constant coordination between the architects, engineers, and contractors involved.

The resulting custom solution consists of four removable 30-by-30-inch stuccoed concrete pavers, each encapsulating a collage of colored glass fragments. Backlit LEDs reveal the various tones and shapes. "They’re able to act as both a finished bench seat and structural member spanning from the seat front to the retaining wall," says Jasper Crace, Brooklyn Studio project manager. "During the day, light passes through to the subterranean guest suite."

How they pulled it off: An outdoor bench that doubles as a skylight 

• After getting approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to carry out this significant architectural renovation, Brooklyn Studio—along with Martos Engineering and contractors Black Square—began excavating the backyard. 

• An existing masonry wall was determined to be structurally deficient and was carefully replaced without causing damage to the rest of the brownstone or those on either side. The retaining walls of the sunken living room are a key element to anchor the rest of the facade.

• The stained-glass panels were pulled apart and the fragmented elements were embedded within square concrete masonry unit (CMU) pavers (made from Portland cement and aggregates), cut to span across two retaining walls and to fit flush with the dogleg staircase that leads up into the home’s interior. Steel bars cast into the elements reinforce the perimeter.

• The modular panels were engineered to be removable, so that the weatherproof LEDs backlighting these components can be serviced. Gravel was added to the bathtub-like volume below to ensure rainwater doesn’t pool up and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Weep holes lead to a French drain that takes in any residual water and brings it out to the street.

"What I enjoyed most about designing this house was creating little moments of joy and personality," says interior designer Lauren Williams Russett about the formerly dark and cold Cobble Hill brownstone. "I find that this component brings that joy outside. It’s such a treat to flick a switch and surprise our dinner guests with illuminated bums." 

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Brendan Coburn, FAIA and  Jesse Fearins, AIA, LEED AP,  The Brooklyn Studio

Builder/General Contractor: Black Square Builders

Structural Engineer: Martos Engineering

Interior Design: Lauren Williams, Studio Solenne

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