If New York embodies the adage, “the only constant is change,” then scaffolds are its unsung hero: without these temporary structures the city could not rise, recompose, or layer upon itself. Workstead’s Buildings & Interiors team created a system of interior walls that pays homage to scaffolding and solves a major fault of loft living. 

The co-op occupies a full floor of a six-story masonry building that was erected in 1910, and which in recent decades had been converted by artists into live-work spaces. Because the structure was likely originally used to warehouse goods, it occupies most of its 25-by-100-foot lot. It also lacks fenestration beyond four tall and narrowly spaced window bays on its east and west elevations.

After stripping the apartment to its painted-brick perimeter walls, Workstead and Berryman decided that its most private space—a primary bath combined with a walk-in closet—could be centered on the south elevation. The design team then enclosed the dressing room in oak-trimmed panels topped by transom windows, so faraway sunshine could still reach inside. Workstead also lowered the dressing room’s interior cabinetry to the transoms’ sills, to both emphasize the overhead datum and expose the original brick on the south wall.  

Pointing to the inspiration of the history of the neighborhood's iconic architecture, and in part from Donald Judd’s home and studio nearby,the owner commented, “The primary bathroom is incredibly minimal and very peaceful, and I like the connection to the history of the neighborhood.”

The Workstead team extended the enclosure concept through the entire residence, by cladding all new interior walls in a similar pattern of panels. While the surfaces vary between limewashed, painted, and solid oak panels, as well as oak doors, they are united by oak trimming. Evoking scaffolding, the ribs add a deeply dimensional counterpoint to the smooth panels and lightly textured brick walls. They also arrange other systems of the residence, such as its lighting plan.