multi-unit

In this truly tiny apartment, a 240-square-foot shoebox of an apartment in NYC with a sleeping loft over the kitchen, architect Tim Seggerman went straight to his toolbox to craft a Nakashima-inspired interior. Photo by David Engelhardt.

Bright yellow and purple paints were used to add some vibrancy to the daughter’s desk area, one of the ways the architects tried to honor the personality of each inhabitant's space.

Winning approval for the terrace was no small feat. “Others on the street had tried and been refused,” says Colette. “We’d originally applied for a bigger extension, with the study projecting over the kitchen. Later, we decided to make the study smaller and add a terrace instead. Ollie argued it was less built form, and that’s why it was approved.”

From the street, the extension reads as a classic mansard, its stepped roofline defined by a pair of windows—one lighting the bedroom, the other the bathroom. The abundance of windows in the new extension, plus the addition of two roof lights, floods the space with natural light.

Connection with the outside was an important part of the brief. "We talked a lot about designing moments where you’d really engage with those views—a window seat where you could sit and read while looking toward the city, or a study that feels connected to the terrace even when it’s not warm enough to be outside,

A built-in desk and shelving unit crafted in oak make the study a serene place for Dan to work from home. “The joinery is what links the geometry of the mansard and the curved walls,” says architect Oliver Cooke. “It makes the space feel sculpted rather than fitted in.”

The stairs lead up from the existing first floor—which is now entirely occupied by the couple's two daughters—through the new study, and up to the primary bedroom suite.

A short flight of stairs connects the study and the primary bedroom suite, with a palette of natural oak and white walls visually connecting the two spaces.

The stairs from the first floor lead directly into the new study, which opens out to a generous roof terrace.

The loft extension is arranged over two levels, with the form housing the study and terrace, and the upper front section the primary bedroom and en suite.

The loft extension is perched atop the red-brick terrace and clad in dark zinc—a material choice that is sensitive to the surrounding streetscape, while also immediately signifying the contemporary nature of the addition.

Robertson, Kolbeins, Teevan & Gallaher—the firm that designed the hosue—is still in operation, contributing to Vancouver's architectural heritage

Entering on the top floor, the home has a restrained street presence.

This wood-clad 1970 home has exposed beams, clerestory windows, and a big backyard with raised beds and abundant plantings.