KUCKA SUTTER LOFT

The top three floors of this wide commercial building had been previously split diagonally, front-to-back. Our design camouflages the inherited diagonal, focusing on the expression of the central stair and on suffusing the loft with natural light. The stair links the lower floor and artist's studio to the upper penthouse and twin roof gardens - one with a sandblasted glass floor, the other with a sod garden. Skylights bring daylight deep into the building. Steel accents echo the buildings commercial origin. 2000

Architect of Record: ABA Studio, New York.
Project Architect: Philippe Baumann

MARCUS MEHTA

Adjoining mirror-image one-bedroom apartments combine to form a single three-bedroom unit. All circulation occurs along the new corridor linkage, which doubles as book storage for this couple, both writers. The corridor receives natural light through a high clerestory window and sliding glass doors at either end. 2002

PERRY WIGGINS CARRIAGE HOUSE

Originally a one-story brick carriage house, this 120-year-old building served many purposes, from cast-iron storefront grocery to home of a Hollywood screenwriter. Renovation began by pouring a continuous concrete bond beam on the existing parapet wall in preparation for the imminent second floor -- a 1000 square foot, steel-framed loft space. The new floor was offset three feet from the neighboring building to let light in below: a 40’ skylight parallels the living room wall. Structural logic, spatial clarity and light define the design, augmented by natural materials -- steel beams, plank floor, plate glass and plaster. 2004

Residential > Wiggins > Drawings >>     

Ground Floor       First Floor       Second Floor       Roof       Elevations       Section       Front Facade       Front Porch       Side Elevation      
Rendered Elevation

ZENAIDA

The penthouse, built atop an existing one-story residence, was designed to frame panoramic views of St. Martin. An open plan and continuity of interior and exterior spaces were intended to contrast the inherited Spanish colonial architecture below. Pungent dark wood and a deep overhang shelter the visitor from the sun. Structural systems are exposed -- externally the concrete frame allows a deep roof projection and hurricane bracing; internally teak ceiling beams, infilled with Laotian pine, support the raised bedroom ceiling. A garden stair slips through the trees from the penthouse to the pool and grounds below. 2004

HOOSICK HOUSE

A residence for a psychoanalyst couple and their two children, the house is designed with two distinct facades: the northern entry façade is closed and monolithic, the garden façade opens to the valley. Cantilevered concrete roof structure and columns contrast the irregular wood-clad volume of the house. A sod roof, geothermal heating and cooling, radiant flooring, and passive solar radiation provide a high degree of sustainability. Wind turbines provide electricity and feed energy back into the grid during the off-season.2005

N+S HOUSE

Smooth reinforced concrete floor slabs and exposed columns contrast textured volcanic stone, Madagascan hardwood and local slate. Full-height glass doors slide away and out of view, opening the interior spaces to the pool and volcanic landscape on the horizon. 2000

Architect of Record: Salim Currimjee Architect; Mauritius/London.
Design Consultant: Philippe Baumann

STEEL HOUSE

The house occupies a promontory on a 30-acre site, overlooking the Taconic foothills. Steel structural members were used to maximize areas of south facing glazing and to provide unobstructed interior space. The 24' high living space opens to the view, and all other spaces inflect towards this room including the adjacent interior pool. A suspended steel stair rises along the double-height space to the bedrooms above. Radiant flooring, solar power, and geothermal ease the energy requirements in this remote location. 2003

Residential > Steel House > Drawings      

Double Height       Entry Facade       Pool       Stairs       Ground Floor       First Floor       Second Floor       Section       Site

BEECH STUDIO

The front of an existing manufacturing space in East Williamsburg was replaced with poured concrete, plate steel and glass. The interior was reconfigured so that the perimeter masonry wall is free of obstruction -- maintaining the autonomy of the single large volume. The studio occupies the rear third of the building. A support post located in the middle of the studio was replaced by a steel beam, in order to make a column-free working space. Thirty feet of brick wall was removed at one end of the studio, where an inset glass wall frames a garden using the adjacent building as border and light refractor -- contrasting the severity of the closed front facade. 2007