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Alex Gil and Claudia DeSimio created a duplex in an apartment building where they’d been renting for years in Brooklyn, New York, and set to work gutting the interior and adding a new rooftop addition clad in panels of Cor-Ten steel.
Alex Gil and Claudia DeSimio created a duplex in an apartment building where they’d been renting for years in Brooklyn, New York, and set to work gutting the interior and adding a new rooftop addition clad in panels of Cor-Ten steel.
In the upper-level bathroom, tiles painstakingly fired by DeSimio cover the walls and ceiling.
In the upper-level bathroom, tiles painstakingly fired by DeSimio cover the walls and ceiling.
Architect Alex Gil and his wife, Claudia DeSimio, affixed a 750-square-foot addition to the roof of a 19th-century Williamsburg townhouse, transforming their cramped third-floor apartment into a modern duplex. The original fireplace remains, but has been stripped down to exposed brick, as have the surrounding walls, creating an almost wainscot-like design of exposed brick with flat white drywall above.
Architect Alex Gil and his wife, Claudia DeSimio, affixed a 750-square-foot addition to the roof of a 19th-century Williamsburg townhouse, transforming their cramped third-floor apartment into a modern duplex. The original fireplace remains, but has been stripped down to exposed brick, as have the surrounding walls, creating an almost wainscot-like design of exposed brick with flat white drywall above.
In this rehabilitated 19th century Brooklyn duplex, architect and owner Gil DeSimio painstakingly covered the walls of his upper-level bathroom with these beautiful glossy blue fish scale tiles.
In this rehabilitated 19th century Brooklyn duplex, architect and owner Gil DeSimio painstakingly covered the walls of his upper-level bathroom with these beautiful glossy blue fish scale tiles.
Architect Alex Gil and his wife, Claudia DeSimio, affixed a 750-square-foot addition to the roof of a 19th century Williamsburg townhouse, transforming their cramped third-floor apartment into a modern duplex.
Architect Alex Gil and his wife, Claudia DeSimio, affixed a 750-square-foot addition to the roof of a 19th century Williamsburg townhouse, transforming their cramped third-floor apartment into a modern duplex.
The bedroom is tucked in the back of the residence and doesn’t receive a lot of natural light. The couple emphasized the coziness of the space by painting the walls in Space Black from Benjamin Moore and selecting an oversize artwork, Flotar, 2011, by Christian Curiel. The bed is a Louis XV–style reproduction, approximately from the 1950s, that Gil and DeSimio found on eBay.
The bedroom is tucked in the back of the residence and doesn’t receive a lot of natural light. The couple emphasized the coziness of the space by painting the walls in Space Black from Benjamin Moore and selecting an oversize artwork, Flotar, 2011, by Christian Curiel. The bed is a Louis XV–style reproduction, approximately from the 1950s, that Gil and DeSimio found on eBay.
Onwers Alex Gil and Claudia DeSimio reconfigured the space inside their 2,000-square-foot duplex, creating one open area to hold a monolithic "wedge core" to house the staircase. "The older the building, the more you can adhere to older codes, which gives you more liberty," says Gil, who heads the architecture firm Spacecutter.
Onwers Alex Gil and Claudia DeSimio reconfigured the space inside their 2,000-square-foot duplex, creating one open area to hold a monolithic "wedge core" to house the staircase. "The older the building, the more you can adhere to older codes, which gives you more liberty," says Gil, who heads the architecture firm Spacecutter.
After buying adjacent apartments in a 19th century tenement building in Brooklyn, Alex Gil and Claudia DeSimio created a multi-level space that included a rooftop addition clad in Cor-Ten steel. While the interior is both modern and whimsical, the couple also made an effort to incorporate many of the building's original features that were revealed during the renovation process.
After buying adjacent apartments in a 19th century tenement building in Brooklyn, Alex Gil and Claudia DeSimio created a multi-level space that included a rooftop addition clad in Cor-Ten steel. While the interior is both modern and whimsical, the couple also made an effort to incorporate many of the building's original features that were revealed during the renovation process.
“People have an immediate reaction to the space,” DeSimio says. “It’s minimal in a lot of ways, and that’s how we like it. But there’s also a function and a simplicity that I think is important to experience. It’s a matter of style; even though the space is very simple, it feels rich to us.”
“People have an immediate reaction to the space,” DeSimio says. “It’s minimal in a lot of ways, and that’s how we like it. But there’s also a function and a simplicity that I think is important to experience. It’s a matter of style; even though the space is very simple, it feels rich to us.”
The first tenement codes were written in the mid-1800s, and this was one of the original buildings for worker housing,” adds DeSimio, who spent many hours researching the building’s records in the municipal archives. “It’s a neat place,” she says. “In the mid-to late 1930s the city took tax photos of every single building in the city—it’s basically Google Maps from 1935.”
The first tenement codes were written in the mid-1800s, and this was one of the original buildings for worker housing,” adds DeSimio, who spent many hours researching the building’s records in the municipal archives. “It’s a neat place,” she says. “In the mid-to late 1930s the city took tax photos of every single building in the city—it’s basically Google Maps from 1935.”