Amsterdam Vale Shared Gardens and Renovations
New York, NY
2017 - 2021

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Amsterdam Vale is a collection of ten historic walk-up apartment buildings at 83rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. It is new thinking regarding how to give new life to old buildings, while making urban life, communities, and ecosystems sustainable.

The gatehouse is covered with an iron vine sculpture, which will be covered with flowering vines that will cascade over the street. Using the principles of biophilic design, these vines both signal the private garden beyond, while acting on their own as biomimetic elements. The gatehouse itself contains electronic package lockers for the residents of the ten apartment buildings (a desperately needed amenity for these buildings since they have small lobbies), as well as a wall of moss.

Beyond the gatehouse is a garden designed to transport residents far from noisy and active Amsterdam Avenue into a rich landscape of plants, Manhattan schist (salvaged during site excavation), and native trees. The plants flower over the entire growing season, and are a nod to the original name for this part of Manhattan: Bloemendaal or “Valley of Blooms”. By introducing raw nature into daily life, through plants, rocks, or designed elements, the design hopes to allow for a more balanced, integrated life to the residents of the entire community.

All photographs are by Alexander Severin.

Manhattan, NY
2019

S&A has designed lobby renovations and a shared garden for a group of adjacent Upper West Side townhouses, preparing them for the high-end rental market. Focused on a holistic approach, we created a set of coordinated designs for the interior shared spaces of the buildings. Our goal was to respond to the different historic architectural styles of the buildings, giving each space an individual brand while ensuring a sense of identity across the whole group.

Anticipating the client’s need to make beautiful and unique interiors economically, we created a system of matching finishes and coordinated color swatches. Based on a careful analysis of existing context and desired outcomes, the striking designs that resulted from this approach will add greatly to the residents’ quality of life, and enhance the client’s brand.

Photography: Alexander Severin

Itapetinga, Bahia, Brazil
2022

This house is located on a large family fazenda, or farm, in a savannah region of Bahia state, in Brazil. The biome region is a dry area of the Mata Atlântica, or Atlantic Forest, a forest that was the second largest rainforest on the planet when the Portuguese first encountered it 500 years ago. The area is now heavily deforested.

Traditional houses in this region have large roofs in response to the region’s two seasons: they shed torrential rains during the wet season, and provide shade during the hot dry season. However, new houses in the region follow the global suburban paradigm of ignoring local climate. In the face of harsh climate change, it is now obvious that this way of building has become unsustainable.

Our solution seeks to reconnect the family to the site’s natural climate cycles. We do this in a way that will make the house resilient to increasing rain events in the wet season and increasing heat in dry seasons. The roof of our house directs large water flows to planted areas; this extra water will support thriving vegetation and new trees that will further shade the house. The roof eaves mimic the lines of vegetation and provide a trellis for plantings to further blur the edge of the house and ground. The other site elements: churrasco, pool, areas for animals, and areas for outdoor play also benefit from the roof’s direction of water and filtering of sun.

The house is also sited to maximize natural ventilation: it is on the highest ground of the fazenda and is oriented to the prevailing winds.

Sweeping views of Central Park are a highlight of this Fifth Avenue apartment in a 1938 Art Moderne building by Rosario Candela. Like most prewar buildings, this one just needed to have its original design respected, and updated. We were part of Ariel Okin Interiors’ team for this project.

Opening up the kitchen to the dining room and gallery brings the the view and light deep into the apartment. Ariel Okin’s team created a gorgeous white backdrop that is modern but relaxed, and then layered in gorgeous and bold color and texture pops. To live here is to have a direct and elegant connection to the ever-changing the vista of the Central Park treetops.

Interior photos by Donna Dotan.

Featured in Elle Decor, March 31, 2021.

Upper East Side, New York
Square Footage: 1,736

S&A is renovating 220 balconied apartments in an Upper West Side building. As well as finding ingenious ways to add second bedrooms and bathrooms to the existing layouts, our designs modernize and bring the apartments up to code. Every detail is designed to create a sense of place for the increasingly discerning resident. By specifying a range of subtle high-end yet economical finishes for each unit we provide a backdrop for the individuality of the apartments’ occupants.

San Francisco, California
Completed 2018

For the design of a two-family house on a rare vacant lot in San Francisco, S&A explored varied relationships between the ground and the sky. The site is narrow and steeply sloped with breathtaking vistas of the city and bay. Our design threads together disparate experiences of the site, connecting a split level arrangement of front and rear rooms with a bridge-like stair. Beside the stair the building volume is carved away to enable the rear rooms - and neighboring dwellings - to take advantage of the views. The strategy complements the exterior spectacle with interior vistas created as a sequence of surprises. The house is simultaneously other-worldly and a part of its neighborhood.

Photography: Gustav Liliequist

Brooklyn, New York
2013

As part of the growing investment portfolio of Weissman Equities, the Halsey Street project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn brings about positive change to an underperforming property, as well as to the surrounding neighborhood.

Improvements to the property include redistribution of the space occupied by the existing ground floor liquor store. Reclaiming storage space in the existing cellar allowed the building owner to capture valuable ground floor storage space and make it a profitable second retail space. This solution called for the installation of a new material lift for the liquor store to better access the cellar storage spaces with inventory, new security walls, and the restoration of a former retail storefront that was bricked over in past years.

Since the building is on the western edge of the newly expanded New York City “Bedford-Stuyvesant Historic District”, all work on the project was subject to review at a hearing of the city’s Landmarks Preservation Committee (LPC). Our storefront proposal was the first project in the expanded historic district that was reviewed by the committee, and it was overwhelmingly approved at the first hearing.

Plans for the new storefront call for a modern interpretation of a traditional storefront in steel, aluminum and glass, complete with inset entry doors and “bay windows” for retail display and/or restaurant/café seating. Historically sensitive improvements to the remainder of the façade include the removal of excessive and garish liquor store signage; installation of a secure trash bin enclosure; concealment of existing security gates behind new awnings; signage upgrades; and lighting, signage and aesthetic upgrades to the residential apartment entryway.

The residential scope of the project gut-renovated four of six existing apartments. Kitchens were installed with new cabinets, attractive finishes and modern appliances, including a washer/dryer in each unit. Bathrooms were rearranged with a separate water closet room, accessible from the common hallway, to better accommodate multiple roommates. Bedroom space in each apartment was redistributed to make the three bedrooms more equal in size and with more spacious closets. New lighting and flooring finished off the look and feel of a tasteful and highly marketable New York City apartment.

Press:
brownstoner.com 'Developer Expands in Bed Stuy, Starts Leasing in Landmarked Building' | 18 February 2014 PDF

Fire Island Pines, New York
2008 - 09

The site for this house is unique: it is one of the few non-beachfront houses in the Pines that can be seen from a distance. It is on a high dune, surrounded by protected wetlands.

The tasks set forth by the owner were simple: create a distinctive profile and views of the ocean and sunset.

Our solution was to create a higher dune. The roofline gives the house shade as well as its distinctive profile; from some vantages the flat surface of the roof disappears entirely, leaving only the gesture. Lattice screens are open to the primary views (north-south) and dense to the cross views (east-west). The grooved siding further accentuates this lattice effect, blurring the line between house and wetland.

At night, the beadboard ceiling is visible from the walks when lit creating a warm lantern visible from afar.

Photo credit: David Joseph

New York, New York
2010

For this new roof garden in Manhattan, we took the DNA of traditional Japanese gardens and reconfigured it. The result is a layered terrain of elegant shapes and materials.  The perimeter is a continuous wood-lined planter with native, drought-resistant plants that can withstand the harsh sun and wind conditions of a New York City roof garden.  Between the wood walking surface of the deck and the perimeter planter is a moat filled with black river rock.  The experience of being on the deck is one of respite, like being on an island, or a raft: floating in the city.

 

New York, New York
2004 - 05

The client for this duplex residence had one directive: a place for everything.

Our inspiration was the Japanese cabinet, known as <b>tansu</b>. For this project, we created residence-as-tansu.  The design centered around a continuous cabinetry lining for every aspect of the owner’s belongings and functional concerns.  The cabinetry took on architectural functions  as well, creating openings for light, folding into a cantilevered stair, opening up the kitchen, and displaying books as artworks in a continuous, rhythmic pattern. The cabinetry is both functional storage and architectural device.

The residence-as-tansu approach does not stem from the idea that architecture is defined by the shape and functioning of its space.  Instead, it proposes that architecture is defined by our perceptions and emotional reactions, in addition to our abstract understanding of the spatial boundaries.  It encapsulates both our mental understanding and our emotional reaction, the conceptional and the experience of material.  Our solution was to create architectural devices out of what would normally be considered built-in furnishings.  It is also a pragmatic approach suited to renovating post-war apartment buildings, where the slab and plumbing risers limit spatial flexibility.  

New York, New York
2008

Full-height open shelving (solid walnut and mill-finish steel plates) were complimented with gallery-grade lighting.  The elements added allow the owner curate his collection of contemporary art, books, and collectible toys.

Brasília, Brazil
Design 2013

Casa Pereira takes a common feature of Brazilian houses - the outdoor tiled roof covering a churrascaria - and modernizes it.  Using the same materials and assembly methods, the roof over this churrascaria slopes in only one direction, shedding water to the nearby cerrado and away from the house.  The top of the perimeter wall slopes and playfully bends into the space, screening where needed but also creating a hilly backdrop to the open space beneath the roof.

New York, New York
2014 -

As part of the growing investment portfolio of Weissman Equities, the Mount Morris Park project in Harlem brings about positive change to an underperforming property, as well as to the surrounding neighborhood.

Improvements to the property include the conversion of a basement level apartment to retail space and includes the introduction of a modern storefront that is sensitive and responsive to the historic context of the neighboring buildings. All work on the project is subject to review at a hearing of the city’s Landmarks Preservation Committee (LPC). 

The residential scope of the project gut-renovates five existing apartments. Kitchens will be installed with new cabinets, attractive finishes and modern appliances, including a washer/dryer in each unit. Bathrooms were redesigned and bedrooms will be added to the larger apartments to convert them from two-bedroom to three-bedroom units. New lighting and flooring finish off the look and feel of a tasteful and highly marketable New York City apartment.

Press:
NY Yimby '187 Lenox Avenue' | 28 January 2015 PDF

Daily News 'New ownership renovating former Dickens eyesore' | 23 January 2015 PDF

New York, New York
2005

This project combined two inefficient apartments in adjoining mews buildings into an efficient and open two bedroom apartment.  When all the pocket doors are open, the apartment feels like a large loft.

Oakland, California
2016-
Under Construction

This project consists of four attached row houses on a sloping site in Oakland. Adapting an existing bungalow at the site’s street front with additional floors provides a transition into the new development. The design features a series of bay windows and balconies on the south-facing façade angled to capture light and views on a narrow lot. The building mass is accented with carefully detailed Kebony wood screens that relate to the surrounding landscape and enliven the narrow driveway approach to create a traditional mews for the community living in the complex. Ground-floor flats can be rented separately, while the upper units of each townhouse include a second floor living area, and a third floor with two bedrooms and a bath.

This pre-war family apartment featured panoramic views of the Hudson River. The challenge was to undo an insensitive 1980’s renovation while updating the flow of spaces to accommodate a new family. We were part of Ariel Okin Interiors’ team for this project.

We combined the kitchen and dining room into a single space that is the hub for the family. An antique french work bench acts as kitchen prep area, and a generous banquette is an eating, working, and studying center. Attached to this space is are two miniature jewelbox areas: a powder room and a screening room/home office. Ariel Okin’s team created interiors that are refined and liveable.

Interior photos by Donna Dotan.

Featured in Coveteur, August 31, 2022.

Upper West Side, New York

Saint Albans, Queens
2023

Forestdale is a Queens-based social services organization that supports families in need. Recently, Forestdale has begun to expand from their main campus in Forest Hills by creating community centers in other neighborhoods, including this project in the Saint Albans neighborhood of Queens.

This project called for a series of community-based design sessions that gave the community a voice on the kind of “third space” they wanted. Smith & Architects prepared several design options themed around different types of third spaces: café, hotel lobby, spa, and college union. From here the community was able to guide Forestdale into providing the type of third space the community wanted.

Forest Hills, Queens
2019 - present

Forestdale is a Queens-based social services organization that supports families in need. The work on their campus is incremental across several buildings but requires a long-term design vision.

There are multiple challenges for this project. The campus was designed as an orphanage, with five separate orphanage houses. However, Forestdale is no longer an orphanage. Over time, the buildings have but cut up into offices and rooms to provide their current services, and so the comfort and charm of the original 1930’s art modern style buildings have been lost. The project seeks to restore this original comfort, and we see it as an extension of Forestdale’s mission of community care. This attention extends to the campus grounds, with extensive planting design.

Brownsville, Brooklyn
2022

This headquarters for Ascend Learning Charter School was conceived of as a microcosm of the Brownsville neighborhood in which it is located. Their are a variety of work areas that accommodate many types of collaboration spaces, from single learning to a space that can accommodate all of the people on the floor.

The interior would be dynamic: community artists could work with school students to create vibrant wall paintings that would change every year.

Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens
2019-2023

THE WETLANDS, THE HILL, THE ISLAND
Before Hunters Point had the name, it was mostly wetlands. This wetlands filtered water running off into the East River from the small area waterways and Newtown Creek.

However the intersection of Vernon Boulevard and Jackson Avenue used to be dry land. It was a hill that during high water events became a small island. The garden sits on land that was wetlands, riparian land, and high ground.

The design for the garden is meant to help us recall this brackish, mutable state of the ground.

The deck and trellis at the house are conceived of as a pier on a natural coast: an active platform that extends the activities of the house onto safe ground. The edge of The Coast weaves its way across the lot with an indeterminate edge.

The central portion of the garden is densely planted with native plants that thrive in the many microclimates of water and shade.

The west lot line and border of the rear platform is treated as a riparian zone, filled with grasses and flowers that intermix to create a dense barrier. Gabions on the west lot line create a barrier between the two yards, some of them filled with rocks and some overgrown with grasses and flowers. This creates a visual extension of the yard to the west.

The rear existing stone platform and bench is maintained as The Island, a floating sanctuary that can host friends and family while surrounded by the tall grasses and flowers.

ConBud Delancey Street
Lower East Side, New York, NY 2023

This project was for one of the first New York State cannabis dispensaries, for our client and friend Coss Marte (who also owns ConBody). Coss and his two business partners were recipients of one of the restorative justice licenses distributed by the state.

This retail space focused on creating a brand environment that told the restorative justice story while also imbuing it with a vibe of fun and celebration. After all, the brand’s slogan is “still your dealer”. To do that, we focused on the texture of the Lower East Side itself (layers upon layers of paint and texture). We also focused on Coss’s story. Coss sold cannabis on a milk crate outside of Lower East Side bodegas; he was sent to prison for selling two nickel bags of cannabis. The store’s sculptural centerpiece is a new modular retail display composed of custom crates that echo Coss’s crate, painted many shades of green (to reference both cannabis and the color of that incarcerated individuals wear in New York State prison system’s). This system is a brand element as well as a flexible display system for this newly emerging retail type.

Other elements of the shop include a large video display wall, a graffiti artist painted phone booth (for cop-and-go pickup orders), rolldown gates by the Lower East Side artist Hektad (painted his signature hearts in many colors of green).

The grand exterior sign wraps the corner of Delancey and Orchard, and includes grids of the many colors of green. The intent was to have it blend with the street painting and texture that is the Lower East Side’s most recognizable visual features.

Photographs by Alexander Severin