Designed by GRT Architects for a young family of creatives who moved from Brooklyn to Dutchess County during the pandemic, this 2,000 square foot home in Millbrook, NY was an exercise in creatively maximizing space in a way that felt distinct to the homeowners, while operating within a realistic budget. After masterplanning the twelve acres of wooded land to factor in potential future expansion (including a workshop, guest house, and sauna), GRT built a home that offered the most privacy and the best views, creating a simple footprint without compromising spatial complexity and nuance.<\/p>\n
Particularly unique to this home is its gabled catslide roof, whose asymmetrical curve introduces a playfulness to the home\u2019s interior spaces\u2014particularly where the slope meets the pitched roof. Constructed from simple materials including knotty pine floors and plywood millwork, and featuring joisted ceilings throughout, the home\u2019s distinct design makes it all feel elevated and cohesive. The windows\u2014all square, though varying in dimensions\u2014are specifically sized to enhance particular views, tailored to their exact usage. The lack of uniformity creates a sense of movement and playfulness across the facade while still feeling cohesive, creating something at once simple but distinctly contemporary.<\/p>\n
The highlight of the home is a tiled passageway with a corresponding skylight spanning from the front to the back of the home, serving as an entryway, mudroom, and solarium all in one. To introduce greenery and integrate the family\u2019s extensive plant collection, GRT constructed a custom shelf that divides the solarium from the primary living area, carving out distinct rooms while still maintaining a sense of openness.<\/p>\n
Pops of color are deployed skillfully throughout the space, from the yellow- and white-tiled bathroom to a deep green-tiled fireplace. To take advantage of the high ceilings, GRT built a lofted playroom for the homeowners\u2019 children, as well as a small lofted office space off of the primary bedroom, accessible via a sliding library ladder.<\/p>\n
Comprised of simple forms and thoughtfully assembled materials, this home presents a practical way to build without sacrificing character, creative vision, or utility.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture","url":"\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture","title":"Storefront for Art and Architecture","year":"2026","type":"Cultural","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/storefront-for-art-and-architecture\/39c464d4c4-1790112283\/storefront_remodel26_0771-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":"
For the recent interior renovation of Storefront for Art and Architecture’<\/a>s iconic Nolita gallery on Kenmare Street\u2014the first major renovation in decades\u2014Executive Director and Chief Curator Jos\u00e9 Esparza Chong Cuy enlisted Board member Tal Schori and his firm, GRT Architects, recognizing Schori\u2019s unique positioning and understanding of the space as a former gallery manager at the institution. Both Jos\u00e9 and Tal started their careers at Storefront upon graduating from architecture school. A storied New York space with a unique triangular shape, the building was first constructed in 1900 after the city block was cut through to try and relieve traffic from the newly opened Williamsburg Bridge. <\/p>\n Storefront moved into the space in 1986, following its beginnings on Prince Street. It wasn\u2019t until 1993 that they implemented their famous Vito Acconci and Steven Holl facade intervention of rotating panels, integrating indoor-outdoor architecture and allowing for a more dynamic experience of exhibitions: one where the outside world\u2014sounds, debris, weather\u2014permeates throughout. Over the past 40 years the gallery has undergone improvements as needed, such as replacing the tin ceiling and refurbishing the steel frames of the panels, but this particular project marks an exciting reinvestment into its mission, as GRT\u2019s work allows for the creation of more ambitious exhibitions with more precise control of the space and its design. The renovation will enable Storefront to continue its work for years to come, further cementing it as a mainstay of SoHo and a consistent cornerstone of New York\u2019s ever-changing downtown gallery scene.<\/p>\n In addition to long overdue infrastructural upgrades, including updated electric and HVAC systems, GRT designed a custom aluminum display system for Storefront\u2019s exhibition newsprints, books, and artwork that can be deployed in over a dozen positions throughout the gallery. This system, which takes inspiration from the gallery's riveted steel columns and moveable facade panels, is designed to respond to and complement each unique exhibition design. It can be infinitely reconfigured, allowing for the gallery to remain nimble and flexible within a smaller space. The track lighting for each exhibition can be modified to support the work and can change color depending on the show, allowing Storefront to tailor support for each artist they work with and adapt the space to meet the goals of each show. <\/p>\n Another goal of the renovation was to revamp the bathroom to make it both more functional and more welcoming, as one of the few publicly accessible gallery bathrooms downtown. Artist and Storefront Board member Jorge Pardo designed custom tiles, produced with Cer\u00e1mica Suro in Guadalajara, Mexico, to create a colorful constellation that is a trademark of Pardo\u2019s expansive art-meets-design practice\u2014taking a maximalist departure from the primary space. <\/p>\n The surgical renovation also includes GRT\u2019s designs for small furniture and hardware pieces, such as a gallery desk and back-of-house storage modules, which maintain a visual cohesion across the space. A newly designed exterior door handle (a first for the space) marks the oft-overlooked front door and allows for easier access to the gallery, creating a more welcoming entrypoint for visitors. The redesign also includes back-lighting for the front facade\u2014concrete letters originally designed by Vito Acconi that spell out \u201cStorefront for Art and Architecture.\u201d<\/p>\n Additional partners include Focus Lighting, who led with lighting design, Bestcase, who fabricated the aluminum pieces, Homlisitic, who served as the General Contractor, and Flos, who donated decorative light fixtures.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii","url":"\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii","title":"Amenia House","year":"2024","type":"Residential","location":"New York","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-house-ii\/5e6f093833-1785772677\/12_small-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" Living in a large city inevitably leads to conversations about leaving it. GRT Architects was contacted by Manhattanites in 2015 considering a move upstate. Thinking of retirement and grandchildren, our clients purchased twenty-four acres on a pond but remained apprehensive about relocating. We proposed to develop the site slowly, beginning with a masterplan that included a studio, a garage, a pool, and a house. The pastoral land was originally unimproved and we developed it with a drive and utilities to suit the future structures. In 2019 we completed the first of the three structures \u2013 a pinwheel shaped studio. When they moved upstate more permanently during the Covid-19 pandemic they tagged us to design a small painting studio and motorcycle garage, which was completed in 2020. Finally, in 2024, construction of a 2-bedroom house was concluded and with that the masterplan complete. <\/p>\n Situated on the eastern edge of the site, the house, coupled with the pinwheel studio to the west, frames an expansive view of the large pond and rolling hills beyond. By embedding the bedrooms, den, and mechanical spaces on a lower floor with a single exposure to the south the house belies its size (3,200sqft). Its form takes cues from regional linear barns. Along its length the form steps with the topography in alternating bands of stained cedar boards and large windows. The roof follows this stepping as well and reveals a thin clerestory window that corresponds to a split level at the interior. The roof is clad in photovoltaic shingles that provide enough electricity to power the home and adjacent structures. Passive House strategies were used throughout including a tested-airtight envelope, triple glazed windows, low embodied carbon insulation and all-electric heating, cooling and cooking. <\/p>\n The living area is on the upper level, entered at grade and oriented to views from the kitchen to the water beyond. The living and dining rooms follow natural grade, stepping down from the kitchen. The living room is centered around a large fireplace whose undressed stone hearth was unearthed as foundations were dug. Accordion doors extend the living space outdoors, to a screened porch with a stove of its own and wood deck that extends out into the landscape. Large south facing windows face the pond, adjacent to a planted area which is in fact the roof of the floor beneath. <\/p>\n The lower floor contains private spaces \u2013 a den, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and mechanical spaces \u2013 that are arranged along a spine defined by a cast-in-place concrete wall that also works as the foundation for the southern fa\u00e7ade above. The rooms look out towards the pond to the south through trapezoidal windows that correspond to the slope of the landscape immediately beyond. <\/p>\n Materials throughout the project are simple - reclaimed limestone floors at the kitchen, wood floors at the living and dining, and a ground and polished concrete slab in the lower level made to resemble terrazzo. The walls are finished in lime paint, white oak and douglass fir are used throughout for millwork and for the reclaimed barn beams used as collar ties. \u2003<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills","url":"\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills","title":"Bad Roman 90210","year":"2025","type":"Hospitality","location":"Los Angeles","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman-beverly-hills\/a961652070-1780930341\/2026-05-18-badroman-007-edit-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" Having created a successfully unhinged brand<\/a> in New York, GRT and Quality Branded set their sights on Beverly Hills. Steps from Rodeo Drive, we presumed local restaurants would have the ebullient energy of nearby fashion flagships. When we discovered a sea of polite, monochrome spaces we knew the time was right to bring the unapologetic exuberance of Bad Roman to the West Coast. <\/p>\n We set out to build a near replica of the original Manhattan location, but best intentions fell prey to the sheer joy of riffing on the brand we created. Starting with the fa\u00e7ade, our design adapts our favorite motifs and idols. We radically transformed beige brick cladding by adding a large-format version of the strigil pattern which is also incised into the banquette backs of both stores. Three openings previously glazed with aluminum storefront were framed in signature checkerboard, then infilled with textured glass block, blurring the space beyond into a play of stippled light. The blocks\u2019 prismatic texture becomes a canvas that diffuses neon signage into pools of red light visible from inside and out. We curved these blocks inwards to create a recessed entry that pays homage to Los Angeles\u2019 retail vernacular. And did we mention the snake? He is one of several Roman mythological icons to be found at all scales, from monumental and neon-lit to tableware and matchbooks. <\/p>\n Inside, patrons are greeted by Boaris, a neon-necklaced tribute to the Uffizi\u2019s original. Bad Roman is housed in a classic Los Angeles bowstring truss-framed shed, an iconic form home to liquor stores and Michelin-starred restaurants alike. The preponderance of these spaces are styled as bright, airy and plant-filled, so we pushed in the other direction. We sprayed the entire trussed ceiling in sound and light-absorbing tinted natural cork. We created a clubby room where artificial light becomes a material and the only flora is found stitched onto the upholstery. Trompe-l\u2019oeil shutters lift to offer a view of a Josef Frank garden. Look closer and find evidence of our \u2018all textures are good textures\u2019 approach with irregular speckling on glass mirror and terracotta echoing the pitting and veining on three varieties of unfilled travertine. Even though Bad Roman Beverly Hills is about half the size of its New York counterpart, it retains the original spatial complexity. Towards the rear of the restaurant we created a wall of textured glass windows that can be thrown open to connect a suite of private rooms to the main dining space. <\/p>\n Los Angeles has a wealth of handcraft talent we were thrilled to explore. A neon artist, Danielle Bonnet, created the glowing tendrils which \u2018sprout\u2019 from graniglia sconces, turning them into luminous vases. Together we worked (literally) hand-in-hand to swag neon inside Murano chandeliers, creating a subtly modded look. Calico Design Manufacturing brought our hand sketched bas-relief snakes to life. By mixing CNC fabrication with exquisite faux-painting they delivered our vision of trompe l\u2019oeil serpents emerging seamlessly from a wall of hand-glazed tiles. <\/p>\n Bad Roman is a unique brand that emerged not from a pitch deck but from an exuberant, messy creative collaboration between Quality Branded and GRT. In the best possible way, the lines blur between the design of the space, the tableware, the lighting, the food, and all the details that carry the story forward.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/amant","url":"\/projects\/amant","title":"Mixed-Use Arts Complex \/ Zoli at Amant","year":"2026","type":"Cultural, Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/amant\/2f020853a6-1775068719\/grt_zoli_0263-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" Lonti Ebers commissioned GRT Architects to add a 10,000 square-foot mixed-use building to Amant<\/a>\u2019s art complex in East Williamsburg. The site is adjacent to Amant\u2019s existing exhibition and performance buildings and is occupied by a single-story warehouse that is very much in keeping with the neighborhood\u2019s industrial use. Rather than demolish, we preserved and reinforced the 1980\u2019s warehouse, adding mass timber beams and textured concrete block walls to support the addition of a second story. The complex is home to Zoli, conceived as a dining destination and a social hub. Zoli extends Amant\u2019s mission of fostering experimentation and dialogue by bringing together culinary and artistic practices. Pierre Huyghe\u2019s commission Satellite<\/a>, transforms the restaurant\u2019s bar into a living sculpture\u2014blurring the boundaries between conviviality, art, and environment. Zoli\u2019s kitchen will be led by chef Ned Baldwin of Houseman. The building will also house a 1,500 square foot flexible gallery\/performance space designed to directly communicate with both Zoli and exhibition areas in the neighboring building. <\/p>\n Amant\u2019s campus is a unique break in Brooklyn\u2019s urban fabric where all are invited not only into a complex of exhibition spaces but between them, to find courtyards and through-block connections. The building we designed expands on this language. We created an opening in the wall of neighboring 306 Maujer that connects both to gallery space and art-filled courtyard. A mezzanine seating area invites guests to pause while ascending an open stair that threads through the warehouse-scale dining room up to a skylit transition to the terrace. A breeze- block screened window offers a glancing connection to the courtyard next door and a rooftop light monitor which doubles as an outdoor bar links the terrace to the dining room below. The rooftop is planted as a re-wilding conceived in collaboration with Verdant. Among native flora we created an untreated wood deckscape and private dining room which look south to the neighborhood\u2019s warehouses and factories. <\/p>\n In keeping with Maujer Street\u2019s predominantly manufacturing use we left the existing warehouse\u2019s fa\u00e7ade predominantly as-found. Our most noticeable intervention was to combine two existing garage doors into one large opening, glazed with monumental double-hung windows. We added a simple volume above, intentionally devoid of windows and clad in marled concrete blocks whose abstract stacked-bond grid contrasts to the utility brick below. Interior material choices were also inspired by the industrial legacy of the neighborhood and its ongoing re-use by the arts community. We worked with a nearby manufacturer to cast two-tone concrete blocks which serve as structure and finish. We laid these out to create a tripartite wall that gives scale to the warehouse\u2019s twenty-foot volume. Blocks vary from rusticated at the base to polished at eye level to corduroy above. \u2018Turned\u2019 and modified blocks become light fixtures, ventilation grates and screening elements. The space is completed with a simple palette of materials picked to age naturally without applied finishes including a natural burlap paneled ceiling, cast pewter bar, cork wall cladding and reclaimed fir tables.<\/p>\n GRT Architects worked closely with Ebers to bring this project to life, acting both as Architect and Interior Designer and leading a team to transform an uninsulated warehouse into a high-performance complex with all-electric systems and hybrid structure of new and reused components. The project team includes JK Blum structural engineers, ABS MEP engineers, Next Step kitchen design, Buro Happold lighting design, Verdant landscape design, and Walker Ridge Construction. <\/p>\n GRT is currently working with Amant on a prefabricated structure that will support pop-up events and performances on Ten Eyck Street and recently completed an interior redesign of Kis bookstore-caf\u00e9.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/limusina","url":"\/projects\/limusina","title":"Limusina","year":"2025","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/limusina\/b50f48ebfc-1764097339\/limusina-grt-bferry-20251103-0063-edit-ret-web-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects created Limusina<\/a>, a new Mexican restaurant by Quality Branded. The same team created Bad Roman<\/a>, a playfully maximal and intentional un-authentic exploration of Italian cuisine and aesthetics. With Limusina we took a different tack on maximalism, one that doesn\u2019t look to the past but to an imagined retro-future in the spirit of Blade Runner\u2019s Los Angeles. Our design was not guided by any cultural references but by the desire to create an engaging new visual language. In the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s Limusina was a garage where we imagined off duty drivers having a smoke before returning to tonier parts of town. In the era nothing was more glamours than a limo \u2013 boomerang antenna and all. And so the limousine, equally glamorous and gritty, became something of a spirit animal as we brought this new concept to life. <\/p>\n Limusina is located in a former warehouse in Manhattan\u2019s west side. The raw concrete space was full of idiosyncrasies including an abandoned loading dock, worn-in mushroom columns and oil-stained floor that sloped almost two feet from east to west. We suppressed the instinct to regularize these oddities and instead built a dynamic space around them. By spreading 215 seats over three levels we were able to make a 5,000 square foot room feel at once intimate and expansive. <\/p>\n Guests arrive facing a monumental back bar whose color story and materiality establish the mood. Abstract planes of light in peach, amber and pale violet (don\u2019t say purple) make one wonder why Stanley Kubrick\u2019s 2001 spaceship did not have a margarita bar. Contrast comes from slabs of honed marble that appear to float in the luminous wall. We picked the stone for its irregular clasts of black limestone that seem adrift in a white calcite background. This combination of colors and effects sets the mood for the rest of the space. Color derives from unapologetically futuristic lighting whereas pattern is explored in black and white using natural materials. <\/p>\n These themes continue in the main dining room. Hand dyed sheer curtains hang in front of all windows, bathing the interior in orange sherbert light and offering a reset from the world outside. This warm glow is echoed by monumental chandeliers and contrasted by a crisply patterned trapezoid-and-square marble floor. Throughout Limusina we used custom glass and lighting to explore a color story. We turned the former loading dock into a private dining room by glazing it with violet crown bullions. The round pattern visible from hand-blowing rhymes with a row of custom-lit breezeblocks used to create intimacy in the main dining room. The gridded steel framework which holds the glass is echoed in two custom chandeliers, each made of a lattice of tinted and etched glazing. <\/p>\n And yet there are more surprises at Limusina. Step through an unmarked lightbox at the bar and you\u2019ll find a secret dining room for ten. Step around a faux-bois service bar and you\u2019ll find the restrooms, clad in cast basalt tile and graphic trim. Coats disappear (and reappear) through an abstract mirrored volume that also serves as vestibule. Step down from the main dining room and you\u2019ll be in the pool where all finishes below water level are glossy green. Naturally the bar flows down into the pool to meet you. The bar-back lightbox conceals a second private dining room with a green wainscot at water level and clad above in red-and-purple travertine. Because no one said you have to fill unfilled travertine in a responsible manner. <\/p>\n Limusina is layered with the work of other hands. We sandblasted years of smoke and dirt from concrete columns to create a palette for hand painted vegetal motifs. Live desert plants break the rigidity and establish a mood suited to the traditional, Tex, Cali, Oaxacan and other regional Mexican cuisine.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals","url":"\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals","title":"Clinton Hill Townhouse I","year":"2024","type":"Residential","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/passive-house-greek-revivals\/63449a8972-1788189577\/thumbnail-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects was hired by a brother and sister to renovate two of the oldest Greek Revival townhouses in Brooklyn. These side-by-side homes are located in the Clinton Hill Historic District and unique for their wood frame construction which was infilled or nogged with brick that acts as rudimentary insulation and fire protection. Since their construction in the 1840s these buildings have been irregularly maintained and altered as they changed hands. GRT was asked to consider the structures holistically and individually: unifying them when appropriate while acknowledging the siblings\u2019 personal tastes. <\/p>\n The report establishing the Clinton Hill Historic District mentions these buildings several times and the city\u2019s tax photos show how they\u2019ve changed over time. The earliest documentation we found is from 1940 and shows the buildings alike in many ways, but not all. A cornice unites the two but features brackets on just one building. Both have window shutters but only one has lintels over each opening. The entry stairs are configured differently and each has a unique awning. We felt the balance of similarity and individuality to be consistent with Greek Revival structures of the era and made the decision to base our restoration on the earliest known conditions. The significance of the work pondered required the approval of the Community Board and a public hearing at the Landmarks Commission. The thoroughness of our approach was complimented and met with unanimous approval by both bodies. <\/p>\n Under the skin significant changes were needed to make the buildings comfortable and energy efficient. Existing ceiling heights ranged from stingy to illegal. To rectify this we added two feet to the roof of each building and excavated their basements by four. Intriguing though it is, brick nogging is poor insulation and firestopping. We asked our clients to cede interior space to allow us to thicken walls to accommodate enough insulation to meet stringent Passivhaus standards. To sweeten the deal we made hay of the walls\u2019 unusual thickness, gently curving, or quilting them as they fold into each triple-glazed window and door opening. We leveraged numerous opportunities to redirect existing materials back into the project, rather than throwing things away. The nogging we removed from walls was put to pasture in the yard where we created a walk-out basement, planters, and brick paths. The joists removed in the double height spaces were employed as stair treads and risers.And lastly, period appropriate wooden doorknobs were salvaged from the original home and reused throughout. <\/p>\n The \u2018quilted jacket\u2019 that defines each window marks a transition between our historically accurate exterior restoration to each building\u2019s unique and unabashedly contemporary interior. It is also where the similarities between the two houses end. <\/p>\n One house employs an elegant simplicity with a unified palette of blue tones, wood and concrete. Its double height kitchen and dining area is split from the living room by a sculptural stair that leads to a primary bedroom. The bedroom floats above with interior windows that bring in borrowed light from the second story windows beyond. Upstairs is a child\u2019s room, office, jewelry studio and small roof garden for yoga. In the basement is a guest room, TV den, and walk-out patio. Furnishings were chosen in collaboration with Revamp NYC.<\/p>\n While this house leans into true flights of fancy. Taking off from the curves at the quilted windows, a cantilevered spiral stair floats in the double height space above the kitchen and living room. A dining room beyond is fully wallpapered in a custom pattern by Charlap Hyman and Herrero to transform the space into an architecturally-scaled work of Tramp Art. The second floor contains two childrens\u2019 bedrooms and has an undulating walkway that overlooks the kitchen. The stair then ascends to the top floor and spirals out to create curved partitions that define a study and the primary suite with connected roof terrace. In collaboration with Charlap Hyman & Herrero, the interiors are appointed with exuberant finishes, furnishings, and art that refer to the building\u2019s Victorian origins, whether that be through period-appropriate originals or bespoke commissions from contemporary designers.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii","url":"\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii","title":"Clinton Hill Townhouse II","year":"2023","type":"Residential","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/greek-revival-revival-ii\/1b42a65fe5-1742311621\/ad0425_grt_charlap_1-copy-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects was hired by a brother and sister to renovate two of the oldest Greek Revival townhouses in Brooklyn. These side-by-side homes are located in the Clinton Hill Historic District and unique for their wood frame construction which was infilled or nogged with brick that acts as rudimentary insulation and fire protection. Since their construction in the 1840s these buildings have been irregularly maintained and altered as they changed hands. GRT was asked to consider the structures holistically and individually: unifying them when appropriate while acknowledging the siblings\u2019 personal tastes. <\/p>\n The report establishing the Clinton Hill Historic District mentions these buildings several times and the city\u2019s tax photos show how they\u2019ve changed over time. The earliest documentation we found is from 1940 and shows the buildings alike in many ways, but not all. A cornice unites the two but features brackets on just one building. Both have window shutters but only one has lintels over each opening. The entry stairs are configured differently and each has a unique awning. We felt the balance of similarity and individuality to be consistent with Greek Revival structures of the era and made the decision to base our restoration on the earliest known conditions. The significance of the work pondered required the approval of the Community Board and a public hearing at the Landmarks Commission. The thoroughness of our approach was complimented and met with unanimous approval by both bodies. <\/p>\n Under the skin significant changes were needed to make the buildings comfortable and energy efficient. Existing ceiling heights ranged from stingy to illegal. To rectify this we added two feet to the roof of each building and excavated their basements by four. Intriguing though it is, brick nogging is poor insulation and firestopping. We asked our clients to cede interior space to allow us to thicken walls to accommodate enough insulation to meet stringent Passivhaus standards. To sweeten the deal we made hay of the walls\u2019 unusual thickness, gently curving, or quilting them as they fold into each triple-glazed window and door opening. We leveraged numerous opportunities to redirect existing materials back into the project, rather than throwing things away. The nogging we removed from walls was put to pasture in the yard where we created a walk-out basement, planters, and brick paths. The joists removed in the double height spaces were employed as stair treads and risers.And lastly, period appropriate wooden doorknobs were salvaged from the original home and reused throughout. <\/p>\n The \u2018quilted jacket\u2019 that defines each window marks a transition between our historically accurate exterior restoration to each building\u2019s unique and unabashedly contemporary interior. It is also where the similarities between the two houses end. <\/p>\n This house employs an elegant simplicity with a unified palette of blue tones, wood and concrete. Its double height kitchen and dining area is split from the living room by a sculptural stair that leads to a primary bedroom. The bedroom floats above with interior windows that bring in borrowed light from the second story windows beyond. Upstairs is a child\u2019s room, office, jewelry studio and small roof garden for yoga. In the basement is a guest room, TV den, and walk-out patio. Furnishings were chosen in collaboration with Revamp NYC.<\/p>\n The other house leans into true flights of fancy. Taking off from the curves at the quilted windows, a cantilevered spiral stair floats in the double height space above the kitchen and living room. A dining room beyond is fully wallpapered in a custom pattern by Charlap Hyman and Herrero to transform the space into an architecturally-scaled work of Tramp Art. The second floor contains two childrens\u2019 bedrooms and has an undulating walkway that overlooks the kitchen. The stair then ascends to the top floor and spirals out to create curved partitions that define a study and the primary suite with connected roof terrace. In collaboration with Charlap Hyman & Herrero, the interiors are appointed with exuberant finishes, furnishings, and art that refer to the building\u2019s Victorian origins, whether that be through period-appropriate originals or bespoke commissions from contemporary designers.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii","url":"\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii","title":"Park Slope Townhouse II","year":"2024","type":"Residential","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-ii\/c8d05a3816-1735938244\/ar_825carrollstreet_hbxtuwxgrt_3115_sittingroom_ret-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects renovated a five-story townhouse in Brooklyn\u2019s Park Slope Historic District. Built in 1896, the house is one of eight Romanesque Revival townhouses on the block designed by local architect, Thomas McMahon. The houses are brownstone at the basement and first floor levels and in keeping with the Roman theme, Roman brick above. <\/p>\n When we began work on this home, it had already undergone a renovation to update the kitchen and install a high velocity HVAC system. Still, intricate historical elements remained\u2014notably a carved screen and integrated bench at the stair parlor and elaborate door frames at the first, second, and third floors. Thus, our work began with the twofold task of adapting the house to its new owners and reconciling elements of the past renovation with the original architecture.<\/p>\n Our work focused on modernizing individual spaces to better suit the clients and their family and take advantage of what was already special about the house. One of the first things we noticed was the incredible southern light coming into the second floor. We quickly decided to locate the living room there and use the first floor parlor as the dining room. A large walk-in closet created a corridor between the second floor living room and the guest bedroom to the north. We converted that central space into a library, thus bringing natural light deep into the house. Upstairs, we revised the layouts of the bedrooms and bathrooms to add storage and expand the bathrooms. In the basement, a ballet studio and hot tub were turned into a home gym and a podcast studio. <\/p>\n Upstairs we revised the layout of bedrooms and bathrooms to make better use of space, eliminating odd corners and unnecessary shafts. We worked with and around the parquet floor patterns, relocating them as needed to make elegant and spacious rooms. When we added new decorative elements such as bathroom tiling, we had the home\u2019s exuberant floors in mind. <\/p>\n We replaced electrical and plumbing systems throughout while adding underfloor heating, air conditioning and central humidification \u2013 without harming extant historical detail. By creatively using leftover space we were able to conceal new equipment from view. Steam heat was retained with custom cast iron radiators commissioned to suit layout changes. Our work also included planning for a photovoltaic array on the upper roof and structurally reinforcing the extension to accommodate a walk-out green roof. Recessed lighting was kept to an absolute minimum in favor of period appropriate sconces, pendants and floor lamps. Throughout the project we worked closely with The Union Works on all manner of interior finish decisions including lighting, paint colors, plumbing fixtures and furnishings. <\/p>\n In addition to these improvements we restored many of the features that made the building unique in the first place. Fold-out wood window shades were repaired and made operable, brass hardware was restored and reused wherever possible. Looking at the images of the completed renovation it can be difficult to tell where our work begins and the building\u2019s 19th century details end \u2013 a sign of success.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/alba-la","url":"\/projects\/alba-la","title":"Alba LA","year":"2025","type":"","location":"Los Angeles","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-la\/e9e28dda88-1742392408\/lb_00787-1-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects designed a second location for Cucina Alba<\/a> in West Hollywood, following success in Chelsea<\/a>. Our design reprises many materials and motifs but does so in a way that blurs the line between inside and out, taking full advantage of Los Angeles\u2019 temperate climate. <\/p>\n In the spirit of Los Angeles classic supper clubs, Alba LA keeps a low profile to the street and offers no tell of what\u2019s beyond. An arched door takes guests through a barrel vaulted corridor striped alternately in glossy oak and raked plaster. This transition is drawn out to create a sense of occasion and surprise when one discovers not a windowless dining room but a vast airy volume made intimate by wood built-ins, integrated plantings and warm lighting. This courtyard seats eighty guests at curved banquettes upholstered in Italian beach chaise fabrics. Tables sit on cobblestone pavers and are surrounded by plaster walls, trellised to train climbing plants. A fabric roof can be deployed for LA\u2019s rare inclement weather, its underside striped yellow and white in echo of Chelsea. The courtyard is defined on two sides by tented structures, the bar at one end and a private dining bungalow at the other. Arched openings frame a row of site-specific murals by Alex Proba, whose work surrounds the garde manger in New York, as well as glazed doors and windows to the indoor dining room. <\/p>\n Step out of the sun and you\u2019ll find a clubbier, cozier sibling to Alba New York. White oak paneling, ivory leather upholstery, sandy terrazzo, chrome framed Cesca chairs and our own playful sconces are all direct call-backs. Overhead is a lux version of Chelsea\u2019s casually billowing beach-parasol ceiling, here rendered in taut, velvet-upholstered vaults. This ceiling meets the walls in a cascade of anodized aluminum chain that playfully disguises air vents while recalling the semi-private dining area in New York.<\/p>\n Continue upstairs and the mood continues to subdue. Guests glide around a suite of carpeted rooms that include a windowless bar with a smokey-mirrored ceiling and a gloss-burgundy private event space which overlooks the courtyard. This suite evokes the back-room glamor of Alba Accanto, which we designed next door to Alba New York.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/it-s-bagels","url":"\/projects\/it-s-bagels","title":"It's Bagels","year":"2023-2024","type":"Commercial, Hospitality","location":"London","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/it-s-bagels\/e38a0e0aa1-1732712921\/soho-2_1-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" It’s Bagels<\/a> co-founder, Dan Martensen, and GRT Architects partners, Rustam Mehta and Tal Schori, became friends in grade school. In 1995 Rus and Dan worked together as cashiers at a small grocery store. After a year at the checkout they moved on \u2013 to delivering pizza. Ever in search of a cooler vehicle to perform their duties, Dan and Rus would meet in the morning to browse the used car classifieds over bagels and flavored (sorry) coffee. Twenty years later Tal and Rus co-founded GRT Architects and gut renovated a townhouse for Dan\u2019s family who then lived in Brooklyn. Things came full circle when Dan relocated to London and took it upon himself to bring New York style bagels to a city in dire need. <\/p>\n New York style bagels must be served in a New York style bagel shop, a subject with which we all have considerable expertise. Together we created a series of stores that evoke the informal family-run shops found on every main street in the suburbs. Like these shops, no two locations for It\u2019s Bagels are the same. We designed each in response to its neighborhood and to explore different sides of classic New York eateries. Checkerboard floors, laminate surfaces, wood clad walls, and aluminum edging are ingredients that tie the family together. However in eateries like this the hand of the shopkeeper is as important as the materials and design. For that reason we left plenty of empty surfaces, knowing they\u2019d be covered with merch and ephemera, including some of Dan\u2019s own early work as an up-and-coming young photographer. Our design yes-and\u2019s the winks and jokes in It\u2019s Bagels\u2019 cleverly designed paper goods which miss no opportunity to riff on classics like the Anthora Greek coffee cup, frosty-type \u2018Ice\u2019 and on and on. <\/p>\n The most recent location to open is in Soho where we leaned into the upbeat informality seen in NYC\u2019s timeless lunch spots, a style that doesn\u2019t rely on tall ceilings or picturesque views but instead crams it all in and celebrates energy, heterogeneity. We created a twist on the classic checkerboard floor in powder blue and cream, playing with the scale of the tiles and bringing the pattern up as a baseboard. Walls are wood-clad in a manner that will be familiar to anyone who has enjoyed a slice of pizza on a paper plate. Back-lit lightboxes ring the ceiling of the small shop, advertising the goods on offer. Outside, the shop keeps a low profile aiming at an effortless not-too-designed feeling, punctuated by a colorful hand painted sign-band. Stay tuned for more in London from GRT and It\u2019s\u2026 with future shops perhaps selling other New York City culinary classics.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/66monitor","url":"\/projects\/66monitor","title":"66 Monitor","year":"2024","type":"Residential, Commercial","location":"New Jersey","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/66monitor\/dd1751fef5-1721414583\/2024mv21-060-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects designed a mixed-use complex by restoring and enlarging three brick warehouses in the Morris Canal historic district of Jersey City. While preserving and stabilizing existing fa\u00e7ades, we added four additional levels to the existing buildings and created thirty-nine market rate and affordable residential units, a large restaurant, a small caf\u00e9 and parking. <\/p>\n The nineteenth century buildings which occupy the site were most recently used as one structure yet they were built independently of each other. Each has its own cornice line and fenestration rhythm. Our reuse and addition amplify these distinctions, underlining the layers of history. We stepped the mass of our four-story addition back in plan and elevation to acknowledge the tripartite fa\u00e7ade along Monitor street and reduce bulk adjacent to neighboring buildings of a smaller scale. This allowed us to express the gable roof of the central building, which we emphasized by locating the lobby in a double height space beyond. New openings in existing facades were kept to a minimum, the primary glazed areas being those which previously had rolling steel gates for vehicular entry. When we did create new openings we used a contemporary, abstract language to identify alterations as such. A shadow-reveal separates new construction from old. While a seven-story building was allowable we satisfied the program in six stories yielding a coherent base-middle-top composition in scale with the reused structures and the urban context. The rationally laid out facade above contrasts with the irregularity of the existing early 20th century buildings. New stacked-bond brick in bright white emphasizes the regular grid of windows while remaining materially adjacent to the warm white running-bond brick below. <\/p>\n We oversaw significant technical work to adapt the old warehouses to their new use. This included resiliency and accessibility upgrades like bringing the floor level of residential areas above the flood plain and creating a ramp to that significantly raised level. With our engineers we devised a structural steel fa\u00e7ade reinforcement which preserved existing brick walls during construction and remains in place to permanently stabilize them. In accordance with mass wall principles, foot-thick existing brick was insulated from the interior and waterproofed from the exterior. <\/p>\n GRT was responsible for all interior design, lighting and furniture specification, allowing us to bring the confident rationality and celebration of history from the building\u2019s exterior to its interior public spaces. We aimed to reuse and reclaim as much as possible. The lobby features restored trusses which once framed the central warehouse\u2019s gable roof and furniture made from the reclaimed rafters. Where new concrete structural elements were added we exposed them to be part of the d\u00e9cor, celebrating their irregular relationship to the original buildings\u2019 features. Furniture and finishes speak softly in natural materials intended to age gracefully, like the buildings themselves. <\/p>\n A roof deck looks out to 270 Johnston Ave, whose interiors and furniture GRT also designed, as well as the Manhattan Skyline. Adjacent to the Liberty Science Center is Scitech S\u2019city, where GRT and ILA are presently under construction on a 500-unit complex<\/a> including significant outdoor public space overlooking Liberty State Park.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/san-sabino","url":"\/projects\/san-sabino","title":"San Sabino","year":"2024","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/san-sabino\/717534bd3d-1709925129\/san-sabino_interiors_045-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects reunited with Chefs Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli to create San Sabino<\/a>, a next-door sibling to Don Angie<\/a>. While the two do not share a menu item nor design detail, we conceived San Sabino as an evolution, a second take, a space to explore ideas we\u2019ve both had since the runaway success of Don Angie. <\/p>\n Like Don Angie, San Sabino occupies a flatiron-like wedge of the West Village. In a prior life, both restaurants used to be three diminutive storefronts, resulting in a heterogeneity to the fa\u00e7ade which we celebrated. Under many layers of paint and filler we found the original storefronts clad in copper sheet that seemed only better for neglect with a charming verdigris and patina. We removed street facing AC units and reopened shut-in windows to restore the fa\u00e7ade to a state befitting its location in the Greenwich Village Historic District. We unified the irregular interior by removing a foot thick brick wall and creating a ribbon like crown which ties the bar to the dining room. This textured stainless-steel band is punctuated by polished brass sconces designed by GRT. This horizontality is reprised at the bar with a shapely solid pewter rail, echoed by stainless nosings set into the bar die. In collaboration with Focus Lighting, we bathed the room in a warm yellow glow, reaching for custom and modified fixtures more than identifiable classics. Brass frames support textured glass panels to create a suite of light boxes recessed into the walls and back bar. <\/p>\n The mood inside is set by contrasting buttery yellow and milky grey, warm and cool metals, hard and soft surfaces aiming at the aesthetic equivalent of the cuisine; familiar and fresh in equal measures. Just as Don Angie riffed on the ubiquitous vinyl checkerboard floor, San Sabino spins the classic carreaux d'octagones by introducing a circle and blending natural stone with glossy tile. This hand-made tile is reprised at the bar which aims to blend with the room rather than punctuate it. We know we\u2019ve done our job when the design feels familiar without being a direct quotation. With Angie and Scott we think we\u2019ve created something new, something that came not by quoting the past but by evolving our prior collaboration and still developing voices.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/don-s-next-door","url":"\/projects\/don-s-next-door","title":"Don's Next Door","year":"2023","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-s-next-door\/d9c8f83f07-1710957105\/don-s-next-door_bar_009-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects created Don\u2019s Next Door, an eighteen seat private event space located, as you may have guessed, one door west of Don Angie. The two share a menu but are not physically connected. <\/p>\n We designed Don\u2019s to evoke the intimacy of being at a great dinner party. In many restaurants we\u2019ve removed walls to create a lively space. At Don\u2019s we took the opposite tack, creating distinct rooms as one might find in a pre-war apartment and celebrating the passage between them with deep and materially varied thresholds. <\/p>\n In support of the residential feeling we reclaimed a pegged pine floor from the dining room of a 19th century townhouse we were concurrently renovating. Guests are greeted by a small bar clad in a stone \u2018gingham\u2019 we created in appreciation of the classic \u2018red sauce joint\u2019 tablecloth. Step through an arched opening and one is in a moody dining room. An antiqued mirror and bistro curtain visually extend this space while a fabric clad ceiling controls sound levels and adds a residential richness to the room. The low slung, ribbed banquettes are identical those at Don Angie, but here upholstered in a honey colored natural leather. Art was kept in the family, with paintings by chef Angie Rito\u2019s great uncle Luciano hung in frames of her own design. Finishing touches include a mix of vintage and contemporary lighting, fabrics and glazed terracotta tile in adjacent tones of burgundy and hand painted linework in the manner of Don Angie. <\/p>\n We have been busy on this block. Don Angie opened in 2017, Don\u2019s Next Door in 2023. In 2024 San Sabino took over the north-east corner.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/harlem-rectory","url":"\/projects\/harlem-rectory","title":"Harlem Rectory","year":"2023","type":"Residential, Artist Studio","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-1x.png","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-372x274-crop-q85.png","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-480x.png 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-768x.png 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-1080x.png 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-800x600-crop-q90.png","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-1x.png","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-800x600-crop-q85.png","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-480x.png 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-768x.png 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-1080x.png 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/harlem-rectory\/0fdb890579-1695737643\/thumbnail-800x600-crop-q90.png","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects converted the Rectory of St. Thomas in Harlem to a family home and studio for a world-renowned artist who discovered the property while creating monumental works in the adjacent church. This renovation is a milestone in GRT\u2019s ongoing dialogue with historic structures of New York City. It represents a new scale of material and spatial innovations brought to bear on a centuries old building.<\/p>\n The rectory was designed by Thomas Henry Poole and completed in 1907, but had long stood vacant. Its Neo Gothic fa\u00e7ade and interiors suffered from neglect, windows from haphazard replacement. The building\u2019s derelict condition and change of use invited us to significantly rethink the volume of the interior, a process which also led to a unique solution for the exterior. <\/p>\n A rectory is a multi-family townhouse by another name; in this case six stories connected by a conventional staircase. We began by looking for ways to move light and people through the space in a more poetic way. Our solution was to create multiple double-height volumes and connect them by a diaphanous stair which lands in a different place on each story, culminating in a skylight above. The journey up this stair first arrives at a street-facing living room where two stories are combined, their previous division recalled by a change in wall cladding. The monumental pointed-arch window we created to mark this room is the only public-facing tell of the unique spaces within. In a visually simple yet technically complex act of stretching, we combined two windows into one. We kept remnants of the cut sill and arched lintel to testify to the building\u2019s history and extended this approach to brownstone repairs which were executed in subtly contrasting colors marking new from old. <\/p>\n The sense of expansion implied by the stair and experienced in the living room is balanced by varied intimate spaces. A modest principal suite is entered under a wall of casework and connected to a softly arched bathroom with a carpet like mosaic floor. Bedrooms for the client\u2019s two children let out onto a loft nestled in the reeded wood cladding that forms the upper part of the living room. <\/p>\n The roof of the rectory was raised to create a studio that accommodates works up to fourteen feet tall, as well as a suite for friends and collaborators. While the use of this floor is different than the family space below, it is connected visually and aurally by a shaft that runs straight through to the entry level. Through this shaft runs a four-story Noguchi lamp hack conceived by artist Danh Vo, a friend of our client. This informal, collaborative approach was reprised many times, including struck brick pavers by Theaster Gates and cast door handles by Nairy Baghramian. In addition to designing built-ins and selecting all finishes, GRT also contributed custom elements including Flutes & Reeds<\/a> tiles on the fireplace and cement tile flooring on the ground floor, both collaborations with Kaza Concrete. The hexagonal tile influenced the oak legs of the dining table we designed for the rectory and now offer as a full line under the name Poole Tables<\/a>. <\/p>\n Furniture, lighting, fabrics and cast stone were largely sourced by and from friends and makers in the fashion, art, and interior design worlds; notable contributions made from Granby Workshop, Duro Olowu, Misha Kahn, and Michael Anastassiades.<\/p>\n Landscaping was designed in collaboration with Laura MacDonald. GRT, the client, and decorator Michael Kirkland chose furniture and accessories. Focus Lighting assisted with lighting throughout. Mark Ellison, Adam Marelli, & Bob Chan led the contracting team who realized and refined many of the unique custom details and assemblies found throughout the house, at least half of which are intentionally concealed from view. Without compromising the building\u2019s nineteenth century character we were able to insulate it on all sides, conceal a substantial steel frame to strengthen existing brickwork while opening its interior and exterior as well as insert a five story elevator. Together we seamlessly integrated many features to increase comfort and safety and create an appropriate environment for the many unique artworks in the client\u2019s personal collection. These included humidification & energy recovery ventilation systems, concealed roller shades, centralized security systems, and remote lighting and A\/V controls.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/alba-accanto","url":"\/projects\/alba-accanto","title":"Alba Accanto","year":"2022","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/alba-accanto\/a98bf8bb9f-1690386266\/rm-rec-albaaccanto-grt-20230417-241-ret_v2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects designed Accanto which, true to its name, sits one door away from Cucina Alba<\/a>. Accanto builds on the mood we created for its neighbor but goes its own way, especially in its private back room.<\/p>\n We designed Accanto\u2019s thirty-five seat front bar to be a relation of Cucina Alba, reprising some materials and motifs while evolving others. The beachy terrazzo floor at Alba becomes natural travertine at Accanto, carried up the bar die and creating subtle stripes when used against the same sandy quartz that makes the bar next door. To make Accanto a step dressier than its neighbor, we carried polished stone up the wall that demises the front and back. We set deep portals into this wall and glazed them in corduroy glass to hint at the moodier space beyond without undoing the cloistered feeling that makes it special. The billowing yellow and white ceiling at Alba is rendered in a tighter, sartorial stripe at Accanto. Mixed upholstery in suede, wool, and leather are direct quotes while decorative lighting blends custom, contemporary, and vintage. <\/p>\n The back room of Accanto serves small groups as an elegant private dining room, event space, or outright nightclub. East light from Tenth Avenue filters through the five arched openings, but the space is layered with atmospheric indirect light intended to be moodier and more formal. A high gloss ceiling reflects elegant but exuberant finishes including fully upholstered walls on three sides and a fourth clad in GRT Architects\u2019 own Flutes and Reeds<\/a>. Prints by Alex Katz and exuberant flora complete the mood.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/scholars-village","url":"\/projects\/scholars-village","title":"Scholars Village","year":"Ongoing","type":"Commercial, Residential","location":"New Jersey","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/scholars-village\/8fb19f9063-1695239644\/scholars-village-1-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects and Ismael Leyva Architects won a competition to design Scholars Village, a two-tower mixed-used complex in Jersey City, NJ. This project constitutes the residential component of Scitech Scity campus, a new community of tech entrepreneurs, scientists, students, families, and organizations envisioned by Liberty Science Center and Jersey City. Our proposal is anchored to the larger campus with a terraced water garden that extends over the buildings' lobby and offers the public broad views of Liberty State Park and New York harbor beyond.<\/p>\n The Scitech masterplan called for two long twelve story buildings to accommodate five hundred residential units atop several hundred parking spaces \u2013 a potentially unfriendly massing. Our response was guided by efforts to create a human scale and considered transition between the campus and the state park. This was achieved by breaking down the massing into a series of blocks from top to bottom, left to right. The residential stories from the third through eleventh floors, which form the bulk of the buildings, sit atop a two story plinth which conceals parking with a curtain of corrugated perforated metal. The buildings step back at the penthouse story, and open up in the center to reduce their visual bulk. Facades are broken down in scale by step backs and given texture with deep balconies on all sides. <\/p>\n Our team also designed the buildings\u2019 interiors and selected all its furniture. A color palette rich in greens and decorative motifs inspired by the fa\u00e7ade became signatures of the project\u2019s interiors, which meld industrial and traditional inspiration to produce a contemporary aesthetic.<\/p>\n Scholars Village is slated to begin construction early 2024.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/bad-roman","url":"\/projects\/bad-roman","title":"Bad Roman","year":"2023","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bad-roman\/398ee153ec-1676409698\/ch_bad_roman_nyc_round_1-grt-edit-crop-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects created Bad Roman<\/a>, a playful and maximalist not-Italian restaurant located in Columbus Circle. Bad Roman is the second restaurant we\u2019ve designed for Quality Branded, the first being Don Angie<\/a> the Michelin-starred West Village favorite. GRT Architects renovated an apartment in a storied East Village building known as Onyx Court. The six-story corner structure was designed by Harde & Short best known for landmarked structures like The Alwyn, a terracotta masterpiece with a playful tromp l\u2019oeil courtyard. When Onyx Court was completed in 1902, Second Avenue was a thriving district of theater and arts, sometimes nicknamed The Yiddish Rialto<\/em>. The building was long home to \u00e9migr\u00e9 opera singers, Oscar-winning composers and others before being turned into a co-op in 1983.<\/p>\n Our renovation completely rethought the apartment\u2019s layout while preserving its turn of the century disposition. The space is neither more open nor closed than when we found it. We created a new collection of rooms, organized by a corridor, demarcated by decorative parquet, with sightlines, adjacencies and program tailored to our clients\u2019 lifestyle. <\/p>\n At the entrance we straightened a previously cricked corridor to offer a view through an east-facing window from the front door. To create and frame this sightline we added a shallow arched opening in a bearing brick wall, the only structural change called for in our design. The journey down this corridor celebrates the building\u2019s irregularity with asymmetrical niches and rounded openings in thick plaster walls. The corridor delivers you to the kitchen, which we relocated diagonally across the apartment. The kitchen previously made do with the least desirable windows and did not communicate with other spaces, per nineteenth century custom. We reversed this but took care to recreate three discrete rooms \u2013 kitchen, living, dining \u2013 each with their own mood. <\/p>\n We used functional elements to create a semi-open kitchen. A low cabinet on brass legs provides modesty to the entry corridor while a suspended storage system demises the kitchen from the dining room. We mixed simple materials in varied textures and colors to create a playful and functional kitchen. A satin white counter helps blur the line between cooking and living spaces, playing nice with adjacent walls. Cabinetry, including custom oversized pulls, was made locally from white oak. All hard surfaces are two-inch mosaic, a nod to the exuberant original tilework that graces the building\u2019s public spaces. A sculptural island is home to all-electric appliances and creates an abstract backdrop to the dining table. <\/p>\n A linear brass pendant and decorative parquet further imply the dining room, while a gently curved plaster cove brings the spaces together. The living room is demised by a herringbone threshold in a framed opening and reinforced with a new material palette. We organized this space around a full wall of built-in shelves which includes a sliding panel that conceals a television. A series of complementary colors emphasize the relief of this composition while oak pulls tie it back to the kitchen. The largest such pull is mounted to a sheet of textured glass which allows east light to reach a small office without compromising privacy. <\/p>\n We created a principal suite where the kitchen was formerly located. We revised the corridor to create a sense of privacy between the sleeping area and the bathroom to make as gracious a sequence as possible between spaces. Custom built-in closets were installed throughout, including one in the footprint of an inoperative dumbwaiter. The adjacent bathroom expands on ideas from the kitchen, mixing textures and scales of hard surfaces with soft forms in oak. <\/p>\n A small guest room doubles as a second office when its murphy bed is tucked away, as it is in our photos. <\/p>\n We were able to add a powder room \u2013 no small feat as anyone who has been on the receiving end of the phrase wet over dry will tell you. We found space for this small room by greatly reducing circulation space without compromising privacy. GRT Architects was hired by Cobi Levy and Will Markris\u2019 Prince Street Hospitality to create Cucina Alba<\/a>, a lighthearted and confidently simple home for noted chef Adam Leonti whose cuisine tacks the same way.<\/p>\n Cucina Alba is located in the southeast corner of Thomas Heatherwick\u2019s Lantern House, which straddles the Highline at 18th street. The room is defined by its L-shape footprint and distinctly faceted bay windows. We responded with a design that softens the sharp edges of Heatherwick\u2019s fa\u00e7ade while emphasizing the sweep around the corner. We wrapped a banquette around the perimeter of the room to accommodate fifty-five guests in groups of all sizes. The space between the banquettes and the projected windows was conceived as a terrarium, richly planted and informally decorated with follies and found objects. Twenty guests are accommodated at the bar and open kitchen which are housed in a continuous wall of woodwork that echoes the sweep of the banquettes. All built-ins are rendered in quartered white oak, detailed with smooth curves and radiused panels. This woodwork sits on a terrazzo floor in sandy tones which was poured on site and embellished with zinc strips emphasizing the geometry of the room. We draped the ceiling with sunny outdoor fabrics to evoke a day at the beach. Overall the feeling is fun without being funny, elegant and familiar in equal measures.<\/p>\n GRT selected furniture, lighting, and details to carry the mood through to the finest touch points. We specified Marcel Breuer\u2019s 1928 Cesca chair in unconventional materials for bar and dining seating. The stools mix classic caned backs with aquamarine ultrasuede while chairs combine a playful 80\u2019s chenille fabric back with a persimmon-colored boucle seat. Breuer\u2019s sinuous chrome frame echoes the curves of custom light fixtures designed by GRT. These sconces feature handprinted lampshades atop a pair of outstretched, coral-pink arms that resolve into a mirrored backplate. Lighting is otherwise concealed to foreground the room\u2019s amber glow. Similar coral metalwork frames the entrance to a semi-private dining room and suspends an anodized aluminum curtain which creates a sense of intimacy and openness. Sheer ripple-fold curtains allow the entire restaurant to transform from having radically open views of the Highline to a more subdued yet still bright space suitable for private events.<\/p>\n Chef Leonti\u2019s craft is on display at an open workstation set against a mural by Alex Proba. Leonti\u2019s team can be seen at work in a semi-open kitchen whose views we carefully framed. Following the success of Cucina Alba, GRT designed a private event space located one door away - Alba Accanto<\/a>.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/poole-tables","url":"\/projects\/poole-tables","title":"Poole Tables","year":"2022","type":"Furniture & Products","location":"Worldwide","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/poole-tables\/8a006c14a8-1695673103\/grt-20210825-177-edit-web-thumbnail-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" Originally designed to complement GRT Architects\u2019 renovation of an early 20th-century building designed by Thomas Henry Poole, this suite of tables continues our exploration of modest materials coupled with fine craftsmanship, bold color, and unexpected proportions. The tabletops are constructed of plywood sandwiched between two layers of high pressure laminate. Leaving the 2\u201d-thick edges exposed, the plywood echoes the appearance of certain cuts of solid wood, such as the linear grain of old-growth heart pine. The legs and undercarriage, with their hexagonal geometry, are constructed of white oak. <\/p>\n Currently, there are three tables in the Poole Table family \u2013 Dining Poole, Coffee Poole, & Side Poole Tables. All designs incorporate the same size legs and table thickness but are adjusted to coordinate with different heights and tabletop dimensions.<\/p>\n For more information on sales and available colors please reach out to sales@mattermatters.com<\/a>.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i","url":"\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i","title":"Park Slope Townhouse I","year":"2021","type":"Residential","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/park-slope-townhouse-i\/558311b11d-1649945305\/04-grt-park-slope-townhouse-dining-to-kitchen-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects renovated a four-story townhouse in Brooklyn\u2019s Park Slope Historic District. The term brownstone is used loosely but applies quite directly to this 1889 home whose entire Neo-Grec fa\u00e7ade is so clad. Design and construction are attributed to John Magilligan, a prolific local builder who developed eight adjacent row houses in a similar idiom. <\/p>\n We found the interior of this home extraordinarily detailed and well preserved. Every room and hallway feature intricate parquet floors with elaborate borders and infill patterns, none of which repeat. Counterweighted wood windows, some curved, survived along with accordion style recessed shutters and fretted transoms. Most rooms retained their original wainscotting and plaster moldings. Which is to say the building demanded a thoughtful approach. We\u2019ve worked on many historic structures and respond to each differently. The museum-like condition of this building suggested a soft voice and great care where new meets old. <\/p>\n Our efforts began with the parlor level as it was saturated with detail yet needed the most work. A poorly laid out kitchen shared a rear extension with a too-conspicuous powder room. Our solution was to transpose an existing architectural scale built-in away from the dining room wall just enough to slide a powder room behind it. In doing so we reconfigured the dining room to have a clear rectangular shape. This opened views from the front to the back of the house creating a more contemporary sense of space while enhancing the symmetry of the dining room. This seemingly simple solution touched every historic element of the home from crown molding to parquet. To make the change as seamless as possible we reused material from the house where possible and recreated details to match where not. Having freed space in the extension, we replanned the kitchen around a central skylight and enlarged its connection to the dining room. Windows and doors were replaced and reconfigured to suit the layout while stained glass transoms were preserved and relocated. We believe the ground floor feels a great deal more open and inviting without straying from its nature as a collection of clearly defined rooms. <\/p>\n Upstairs we revised the layout of bedrooms and bathrooms to make better use of space, eliminating odd corners and leftovers. We worked with and around the parquet floor patterns, relocating them as needed to make elegant and spacious rooms. When we added new decorative elements such as bathroom tiling, we had the home\u2019s exuberant floors in mind. <\/p>\n We replaced electrical and plumbing systems throughout while adding underfloor heating, air conditioning and central humidification \u2013 without harming extant detail. By creatively using leftover space we were able to conceal new equipment from view. Steam heat was retained with custom cast iron radiators commissioned to suit layout changes. Recessed lighting was kept to an absolute minimum in favor of period appropriate sconces, pendants and floor lamps. Our work also included planning for a photovoltaic array on the upper roof and reinforcing the extension to accommodate a walk-out green roof. <\/p>\n In addition to these improvements we restored many of the features that made the building unique in the first place. Fold-out wood window shades were sanded down and made operable, brass hardware was restored and reused wherever possible. Looking at the images of the completed renovation it can be difficult to tell where our work begins and the building\u2019s 19th century details end \u2013 a sign of success.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/streeteries","url":"\/projects\/streeteries","title":"COVID Streeteries","year":"2022","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City, Colorado","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-1x.gif","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-372x274-crop-q85.gif","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-480x.gif 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-768x.gif 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-1080x.gif 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-800x600-crop-q90.gif","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-1x.gif","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-800x600-crop-q85.gif","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-480x.gif 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-768x.gif 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-1080x.gif 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/streeteries\/74ec62fb66-1669229076\/street-gif-small-800x600-crop-q90.gif","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" In June of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City loosened regulations on outdoor dining to help the ailing hospitality industry survive the limitations on indoor service. The popularity of this change led to the Open Restaurants initiative which formalized the rules for using adjacent streets and sidewalks for dining. The program was set to expire on Labor Day but on the 25th of September it was extended for a year. <\/p>\n The following week GRT began work on the first of many outdoor dining structures which would differ from what came before for being designed to last through seasons. These little buildings seem to have as many names as the hero\/sub\/grinder; we\u2019ve known them as parklets, cabins, cabanas, streeteries, traincars. This work was exciting for many reasons. We are proud of all we did during the pandemic but architecture\u2019s long gestation makes it hard to feel we\u2019ve helped in a direct way, and the hospitality industry had acute need. Further it is rare that a young firm like ours can contribute to the development of a new typology and rethinking of how shared space is used in New York City. We present here a selection of built and in-progress work that demonstrates our changing approach to this evolving type. <\/p>\n We believe our cabins have not only supported the restaurants which host them but have brought some joy to patrons and created space to think about how we want to use public streets. By adapting each structure to its neighborhood and adjacencies we\u2019ve aimed to lead by example, showing what is possible when the space in front of restaurants is used for something other than parking cars. <\/p>\n The first parklets GRT designed were a pair for Don Angie, a restaurant we completed in 2017. We began work on these immediately following the announcement that Open Restaurants was extended for a year. We believe these were some of the first outdoor structures designed to last through the seasons and provide a customer experience on par with indoor dining. We conceived these cabins closer to small homes than sheds, using two-by framing, plywood sheathing, insulation, shingle roofing, operable windows and decorative cladding. We created individual booths which allow servers to remain on the sidewalk and diners not to share air with their neighbors. Simply plywood built-ins obviate the need to move tables and chairs each day. This layout also creates shear walls to stiffen the structure and conceal wiring for lighting and heat. Our design maximized what could be done with in-stock materials on a short timeframe using straightforward on-site labor. Decorative elements including checkerboard floor and inverted arches make reference to our design for the host restaurant, which plays with the line between Red Sauce joint and Milanese sophistication. For longevity we included a linear drain at the curb and base course of vinyl tile. These structures endure to this day, helping Don Angie navigate changes in the pandemic and the happy problem of a long waitlist made longer by a Michelin star awarded in 2021. <\/p>\n Several of the parklets we\u2019ve designed have stuck around long enough to give us occasion to update them to changing seasons and approaches to pandemic dining. Our project for Cote was conceived in the dead of winter to evoke the restaurant\u2019s subdued cozy atmosphere using dark colors and under-seat heating. As the pandemic evolved so did the structure. We transformed the interior and its enclosure with natural materials, flora and color and added exterior improvements to take advantage of a nighttime street closure. We gave this structure an innovative roof form to shed water away from the curb where servers grill tableside and away from diners sitting in the pedestrianized street. We also used a hybrid layout, split between individual booths and a small open-plan area which provides flexibility for large groups and can accommodate more diners with limited mobility. <\/p>\n One of our smallest projects is a four-booth cabin we completed for Quality Meats in early 2021. We evoked the host restaurant\u2019s clubby interior with dark toned plywood, faux-finished to evoke board-and-batten cladding. After a year in service we designed a pop-up within the pop-up, converting an end booth to a speakeasy for two. Without altering the framing we added built-ins and details that wink at the street. The bar is frankly an experiment, an opportunity we and our clients saw to see what works within this developing type. <\/p>\n Perhaps our most ambitious outdoor structure is a nearly hundred foot long occupiable hedge we designed to grow and bloom with the seasons. This structure is hosted by Quality Bistro and fronts a privately-owned-public-space that felt a bit devoid of flora. Host restaurant Quality Bistro has an exuberant and green interior which we sought to compliment with our topiary-traincar. Open Restaurant regulations limit each structure to 400 square feet so we created two, joined by a planted arbor. We used our time proven stick frame construction to create a low-res version of the intended hedge and then gave it a wooly and ragged appearance with a mix of live and faux flora cladding. The hedge is due to bloom in spring with an exuberant compliment of floral plantings. <\/p>\n In addition to those we\u2019ve highlighted, GRT has completed and is currently building a number of structures each of which takes its own approach as the pandemic and conversation about outdoor dining evolves.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/guilford-house","url":"\/projects\/guilford-house","title":"Guilford House","year":"2020","type":"Residential","location":"Connecticut","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/guilford-house\/e54182e32c-1649945364\/2020mv17air-005-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects designed a home for a three-person couple looking to trade a peripatetic life for a place to call home and age in-place gracefully. The throuple began their search as many do, with the presumption that it does not pay to build what one can buy. Their vision of aging described a home as maintenance free as possible, entirely barrier-free and wheelchair accessible, sustainable, views balanced with privacy, right-sized for their family unit with an eye to accommodating a live-in care provider. An easy find on the Connecticut shoreline, right? As it happened, GRT was called to look at two unimproved acres perched above a tidal marsh. The long, narrow lot was constrained to the north and south by newly built large homes and to the east by steep topography and required setback from the wetlands. <\/p>\n With views to the east, we oriented the one-level home north-south, as close to the water as topography allowed. The owners asked for a small pool and a large workshop with the proviso that neither should impact views of the marsh. We responded by creating a courtyard, defined by the workshop on one side and the home on the other, each with elongated overhangs that create shelter and lend definition to this outdoor room. The courtyard is the center of three distinct outdoor zones and contains a salt-chlorinated pool and a kitchen garden. On the marsh side we foregrounded nature by excluding all man-made improvements besides short decks off the bedrooms. On the approach side we provided double doors that open from the workshop to a large covered area where big projects can spill outside while taking in the view of the garden and owner-built P\u00e9tanque court. <\/p>\n Inside and out, we selected materials that would age as gracefully as the owners. We built an aesthetic around long-life materials that need no finishing and therefore no re-finishing. The exterior is clad in unstained cedar, installed as an open-jointed rain screen which prolongs its life by allowing it to dry. We created renderings simulating the natural and irregular greying of wood to help the owners visualize their property over time. The roof is painted aluminum with standing seams that can carry photovoltaic panels without the need to drill holes in the surface of the roof. Exterior decking, including the pool surround, is Garapa, a dense, rot resistant wood needing no stain or paint. Interior floors are poured concrete with radiant heat except in the loft where red oak flooring was locally milled from the trees felled during construction. <\/p>\n Life inside centers around the great room whose window wall faces the marsh, perched at the point where grade drops precipitously. To foreground flora and fauna we painted the window frames black and limited decks to either side. The rest of the room is wrapped with custom millwork whose function differs from wall to wall, but with similar details and materials to unify the space. The millwork on the south conceals a pantry and powder room. A generous island was sized to make use of a large slab of brushed white granite and marks the transition from dining to cooking space, which looks out onto the kitchen garden through a ribbon window. During construction the clients bought a chainsaw and taught themselves to cut and split wood, making use of all the trees felled to make way for the house. We integrated a clean burning firebox into the north wall and designed a truss-like surround that was fabricated in plate steel by a local artist. <\/p>\n The principal wing has two equal sized suites, laid out to be wheelchair accessible including zero-threshold showers. Sleeping rooms were kept intentionally modest in size but open to marsh facing decks. The north wing is the only part of the home with stairs and was designed to accommodate a live-in caregiver should the need arise. A half-flight of stairs up brings you to an exercise loft and a half flight down leads to a home office with small full bath, imagined as a future dwelling unit for a caregiver or extra guests. <\/p>\n Sustainability and thermal comfort were a big part of the design process and budget. A photovoltaic array covers the entire workshop roof, its output calculated to exceed the home\u2019s demand and return energy back to the grid. The house was designed to use no fossil fuel but does have a propane tank as backup. Runoff from all roofs is collected to a buried cistern and is used for irrigation. Walls and ceilings each have three layers of insulation, designed to control the transfer of sound, moisture and heat, and exceed energy code requirements.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio","url":"\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio","title":"Amenia Painter's Studio","year":"2020","type":"Residential, Artist Studio","location":"New York","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/bb5bffce0c-1649945151\/20201103_grt_studio_093-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/bb5bffce0c-1649945151\/20201103_grt_studio_093-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/bb5bffce0c-1649945151\/20201103_grt_studio_093-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/bb5bffce0c-1649945151\/20201103_grt_studio_093-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/bb5bffce0c-1649945151\/20201103_grt_studio_093-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/bb5bffce0c-1649945151\/20201103_grt_studio_093-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/62c8430bf5-1649945155\/20201103_grt_studio_286-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/62c8430bf5-1649945155\/20201103_grt_studio_286-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/62c8430bf5-1649945155\/20201103_grt_studio_286-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/62c8430bf5-1649945155\/20201103_grt_studio_286-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/62c8430bf5-1649945155\/20201103_grt_studio_286-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-painter-s-studio\/62c8430bf5-1649945155\/20201103_grt_studio_286-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects designed a tiny painter\u2019s studio in Dutchess County New York. This 440 square foot structure was commissioned by an artist who wanted space to paint and sleep on a beautiful 24 acre property two hours north of Manhattan. Ninety square feet of the interior are used as a super-efficient kitchen-bathroom-shower and another ninety are home to a motorcycle and utilities. The balance of the space is a multifunctional studio which is designed first and foremost for painting but with an eye to its dual use as a bedroom. The walls are clad in recycled cellulose board which can be used to pin up works in progress and provides excellent acoustic insulation. Simple materials were used creatively including plywood built-ins and a unique tile mosaic designed by artists Luke Murphy & Yael Meridan Schori. The studio is lit from above with a single skylight and opens onto a south facing deck with a large tri-fold glass door. We like to make things. For its own joy, because a physical prototype clarifies an idea like nothing else and because it helps us work with the people who build our designs. When designing the kitchen of the Prospect Lefferts Townhouse<\/a> we had an idea for a cabinet pull that would be simple to make and create unique figures when grouped. The most direct way to test the idea was to do it ourselves. We ordered brass sheet in several gauges and alloys to see how each feel in the hand and patina with use. Using a jigsaw and file we cut out a few prototypes and formed them on a small brake. Having a looks-like and works-like prototype gave the client and contractor a clear idea and the design was sent to a local laser-cutter for serial production. We\u2019ve since refined the design into a suite of pulls to be produced by izé<\/a><\/strong> hardware in the United Kingdom. We\u2019ve collaborated with iz\u00e9<\/strong> on several projects and we love their unique finishes and willingness to customize. We\u2019re currently collaborating with iz\u00e9<\/strong> and an artist to cast and machine a family of hardware for a project in Harlem. <\/p>\n We love brass for its complex natural patina that requires no further finishing, but it hasn\u2019t stopped us from experimenting further. Brass has excellent formability and is often used as a base for other finishes. We\u2019ve experimented with textured powder-coating and electro-plating. Our most recent experiments look at split finishes that blur the line between host and plated metals.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/dallas-restaurant","url":"\/projects\/dallas-restaurant","title":"Georgie by Curtis Stone","year":"2020","type":"Commercial","location":"Texas","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dallas-restaurant\/1c1608febb-1594387463\/grt_georgie_interiors_dining_room_116_r3-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" We designed Georgie<\/a> to reflect chef Curtis Stone and restaurateur Stephan Corseau\u2019s vision of a modern steakhouse. We came to understand this vision together, by dining with each other at their own restaurants and like-of-kind venues around town. What emerged from this admittedly enjoyable research was a set of design principles we felt represented a new take on a classic typology. At its core, Georgie is a Steakhouse. To us this means an element of indulgence. The comfort of seating, the richness of the materials which customers touch and feel and a general calm, refined air were all elements we sought to retain from the classic steakhouse formula. However Georgie is emphatically not a classic steakhouse. First and foremost we sought to create a space equally appealing to men and women, of all ages. Further we aimed to take a step away from the windowless clubhouse feel to create a room that feels vibrant throughout the day. Georgie is unique for its connection to the outdoors. Large bi-folding doors were added along Travis to open the dining room directly to the street. Wherever possible windows were added or enlarged and exterior mahogany louvers were added to control the mood inside and conserve energy. <\/p>\n At the center of the dining room is what we call the proscenium, a reference to the arched opening that frames the stage of a theater. In this case the stage being framed is the kitchen; however to control the light and sound from the kitchen we infilled the proscenium wall with natural rattan caning that offers a hint of the action beyond without compromising the ambience of the dining room. Customers may walk behind the proscenium where they have direct views into the kitchen as they access a private dining room and the restrooms. <\/p>\n The layout of Georgie is unique for providing banquette seating at every table. A landscape of curving C and H shaped banquettes are upholstered in rich orange-red velvet and have the effect of breaking down a large open space into more intimate groupings. This effect is reinforced by large format coffers that sit above each group of banquettes. These coffers serve both aesthetic and technical purposes \u2013 they are fully upholstered with acoustically absorptive material and house pinhole sized light fixtures that creating a constellation effect above diners. This lighting is complimented by a suite of custom light fixtures we designed to make use of off-cuts that resulted from the fabrication of the custom floor mosaic. Arched shapes were cut out of the marble and complemented by polished brass and sandblasted glass to make a family of softly glowing table lamps and sconces. <\/p>\n The floor of Georgie is a large-format mosaic composed of six types of natural stone, predominantly unfilled travertine. We picked this material for its beautiful natural figuration and as a reference to some of Dallas Fort Worth\u2019s most elegant buildings such as The Kimball Art Museum. The brightness of the natural buff travertine is set off by rich, bold colors including polished blood red Rosso Levanto and green-black Verde Alpi.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio","url":"\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio","title":"South Williamsburg Live\/Work","year":"2020","type":"Residential, Artist Studio","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/williamsburg-townhouse-studio\/bdc4c27c74-1594386824\/rubystudio_hires-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" Artists Ruby Sky Stiler and Daniel Gordon approached GRT Architects to consolidate their studios and gallery with a home for their growing family. The couple purchased a turn of the century building in Brooklyn which previously housed the Seneca Club, a local Democratic institution. GRT set about dividing the structure in half to suit the live-work program, reusing existing details and repurposing materials as much as possible. <\/p>\n Ruby and Daniel previously lived in South Brooklyn where they rented separate art studios and ran an underground gallery called Downstairs. This arrangement suited them for years but neighborhoods change quickly in New York and they faced an uncertain future as renters. Rather than chase the next affordable rental they looked for a way to \u2018live above the shop\u2019 and economize by consolidating work and living spaces. On the list of hard things to do in New York, being a parent is a close second to being an artist. Having the kids nearby and space for the in-laws was a life goal this project addressed. <\/p>\n We located studio spaces at the parlor level, where Ruby and Daniel can welcome visitors and collaborators without passing through dwelling spaces. The parlor level is where row houses customarily present their grandest elements such as elaborate moldings, window trims and decorative floor patterns. We preserved these elements in a deliberately informal manner, changing as little as possible in order to convert what would have been a living room into Daniel\u2019s photo studio and what would have been a dining room into Ruby\u2019s sculpture studio. A high gloss oil finish protects the original 1920s wood floor and gallery-style lighting replaces decorative pendants. At the garden level, we created a shared workspace where the artists can make a mess. Separate rooms for staged photoshoots, plaster-casting and screen printing, occupy what would typically be an in-law apartment. This workspace opens to the rear yard which we kept simple so it may be used to fabricate art objects or take a break from doing so. We fit an in-law studio apartment in the space which remained of the garden level. <\/p>\n Having converted the lower levels to workspace, we set about creating a home for a family of four on the two upper stories. Townhouses of this vintage present tall ceilings and open spaces on their parlor level but above that one usually finds a corridor adjacent to the stair followed by a series of small rooms. To create an open living space on the second floor we added reinforcements that allowed us to remove all partitions except the bathroom (we have yet to do a plan that open). The only things which demise the kitchen, living and dining spaces from each other are a handful of structural elements and original details which we preserved, informally. With the corridor partition removed, the refinished staircase and its niche become a sculptural element that bring light down from a skylight above. Other decorative elements were kept to a minimum to foreground the owner\u2019s art collection, accrued from years of buying and trading with artist friends.<\/p>\n We designed kitchen cabinets in white oak to match oak floors and paired them with a counters in Breccia, an inexpensive natural stone with terrazzo-like patterning. We worked with Max Wang, a local art-school classmate of Ruby\u2019s to build the millwork and stair to the terrace. Having designed the rear yard as a functional, studio-adjacent space, we opened the kitchen onto a roof terrace with a more refined feel to it. We created this space on top of a prior rear addition. We\u2019ve often found older additions to be built poorly and uninsulated. Ruby and Daniel\u2019s was unfortunately no exception so we stripped it to the joists and reinforced it to safely support the deck above. <\/p>\n We repurposed surplus cement tiles from the owners\u2019 previous home for use in the second floor bathroom. This black-and-white checkerboard was the point of departure for a simple-but-not-minimal bathroom. Frustrated by a near-miss between shades of white on glazed wall tile and porcelain plumbing fixtures, Ruby asked us to explore an intentionally mis-matched solution. In response we blended subtly cooler and warmer white tones to play nice with the plumbing fixtures and Breccia offcuts. <\/p>\n Bedrooms for the couple and their two children are located on the top floor, which we improved with selective removals. A flat dropped ceiling was removed in order to insulate the underside of the sloped roof above. We replaced the drywall tight to the sloping roof, creating a gradient of ceiling heights from front to back. Existing plaster-and-lath was selectively removed, exposing brick walls where doing so did not create any insulation issues. <\/p>\n Since completion in late 2019, Ruby and Daniel have been productive in their new space, each making beautiful work \u2013 shown in the photos \u2013 and welcoming a new member to the family. Especially given the events of 2020 they are happy to have their home and workplaces together and safe.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/dutchess-county-studio","url":"\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio","title":"Amenia Studio","year":"2020","type":"Residential","location":"New York","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/49f244f358-1649945608\/grt_millerton_studio_08_040_rt_v2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/49f244f358-1649945608\/grt_millerton_studio_08_040_rt_v2-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/49f244f358-1649945608\/grt_millerton_studio_08_040_rt_v2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/49f244f358-1649945608\/grt_millerton_studio_08_040_rt_v2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/49f244f358-1649945608\/grt_millerton_studio_08_040_rt_v2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/49f244f358-1649945608\/grt_millerton_studio_08_040_rt_v2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/ab49cc2747-1649945603\/bferry-grt-dwell-dutchesscty-final-20201008-494-edit-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/ab49cc2747-1649945603\/bferry-grt-dwell-dutchesscty-final-20201008-494-edit-2-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/ab49cc2747-1649945603\/bferry-grt-dwell-dutchesscty-final-20201008-494-edit-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/ab49cc2747-1649945603\/bferry-grt-dwell-dutchesscty-final-20201008-494-edit-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/ab49cc2747-1649945603\/bferry-grt-dwell-dutchesscty-final-20201008-494-edit-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/dutchess-county-studio\/ab49cc2747-1649945603\/bferry-grt-dwell-dutchesscty-final-20201008-494-edit-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects designed a studio in Dutchess County, New York for Manhattanites considering a move. Living and working in a large city inevitably involves conversations about leaving it. Our clients raised their children in the Frank Lloyd Wright-planned Usonia community and then moved to Manhattan as their nest emptied. Looking to retirement and grandchildren they found twenty four pastoral acres on a lake in Dutchess County, yet remained apprehensive about full time relocation. <\/p>\n We proposed to start by building a small studio that would let the clients develop a feel for the land before committing further. In order to locate the studio we needed to create a master plan. Doing so meant creating schematic designs for a three-bedroom house, workshop, swimming pool, fire pit, and dock then laying them out to share utilities sized to serve all including a common drive, septic system, well and electrical service. We located the studio where it would have a view but not be the view. <\/p>\n We composed three equally sized volumes in a pinwheel to create an 800 square foot open plan studio. Each mass has an identical roof atop a beak-like clerestory window but asymmetry was introduced in response to the site. The masses meet at a center point, marked by the pinwheel intersection of three steel beams but the interior is conceived as three subtly implied rooms, each oriented each to a different view. The southern mass steps down to follow the topography and windows are sized and located to balance views with privacy. Built-in elements perform many of the roles walls normally would, implying rooms without dividing the space and creating areas for cooking, living and sleeping. A Murphy bed in the living space allows for guests while tall closets in the sunken sleeping space create some privacy between them and the owners. The studio is heated and cooled without the use of fossil fuels, using a radiant concrete slab and air conditioning concealed above the only \u2018true\u2019 room \u2013 the bathroom. The bathroom walls are tinted waterproof plaster executed in Moroccan tadelakt and the floor carries the triangle motif forward with custom terrazzo tiles. The counters are also in custom terrazzo, fabricated by Kaza Concrete who also produce GRT\u2019s Flutes & Reeds line of concrete tiles. <\/p>\n Outside, the studio is clad in textured black brick, a material that plays optical tricks depending on lighting, sometimes flattening the complex mass into a single plane. The roof is clad in natural cedar shakes with copper trim intended to add a warmer aspect to the design. <\/p>\n The owners have greatly enjoyed the studio and have asked us to proceed with other elements of the master plan - construction is currently under way for a 3,000 square foot home.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/les-lobby","url":"\/projects\/les-lobby","title":"Lower East Side Lobby","year":"2019","type":"Commercial, Residential","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/les-lobby\/dbf91093a7-1649945614\/10_rutgers_lobby_040-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects was asked to redesign the public spaces of an 83 unit residential building in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. We used a number of strategies to insure our design could be built quickly, without looking rushed. Our first stop was to a local stone yard where we sourced in-stock square tiles in four types of marble. These went to Queens where each received a single cut, resulting in a large and small trapezoid that nest into each other. We laid these out in a checkerboard pattern primarily composed of contrasting grey and white, with a confetti of yellow, red, and green. Where the floor meets the walls we rotated the small trapezoids to serve as the baseboard, their sloping sides creating a chevron profile in elevation. Custom mahogany wall paneling meets the stone base, incised with lines to emphasize the geometry of the tiles. This motif is exaggerated at the entrance desk where the lines become three dimensional profiles, inlaid with natural brass. The red marble top of the desk is echoed in a custom bench supported by chamfered wide-flange beams relieved into the wall cladding. We worked with small husband and wife team to fabricate all of the wood and steel elements which also included a redesign of the vestibule. Again using a mix of in-stock items and custom design, we created a small but elegant transition space with a grid of mailboxes, enclosed by a mahogany storefront. <\/p>\n In addition to the lobby, GRT selected furniture, lightings, and accessories and designed all of the corridors and elevator lobbies.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/history-in-the-making","url":"\/projects\/history-in-the-making","title":"History in the Making @ GSAPP","year":"2019","type":"Teaching & Writing, Furniture & Products","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/history-in-the-making\/15578adace-1594387545\/dougong-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT has taught History in the Making at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation, and Planning since 2018. This project-based course emerged from our work on Flutes & Reeds<\/a> and engages students with historical approaches to surface embellishment. The course begins with an inventory; students research and analyze a decorative motif selected so a broad range of cultures and eras are represented. We then cast as broad a search for modes of translation. Students examine how humor, misinterpretation, materials and sustainability have transformed visual history on purpose or by accident. The balance of the course is split between designing and producing a suite of architectural elements by using one of the translations to evolve at item from the inventory into something new. \u201cTiles\u201d is shorthand for what we make. More broadly these are non-structural, low-relief modules designed to be installable by hand and suitable to mass production. Making is as important as History in our course and we lead casting & mold-making workshops and host guests from industry who can speak to the economic, labor and energy concerns embedded in serial production.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/bourke-street-bakery","url":"\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery","title":"Bourke Street Bakery","year":"2019","type":"Commercial","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":""},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/bourke-street-bakery\/8831d7a4bf-1594386678\/2019mv04-003-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":""},"text":" GRT Architects was asked to design the first American outpost of Sydney\u2019s renowned Bourke Street Bakery<\/a>. Founder and baker Paul Allam has twelve locations in Australia, beloved for their friendly atmosphere, meticulously sourced ingredients and exquisite selection of savory and sweet baked goods. Having agreed with his wife that their three children were not in fact getting any younger, it was decided that 2018 was the year to try something new. After pondering Tokyo, Paul found an ideal space in Manhattan\u2019s NoMad district and made the move. <\/p>\n The space Paul found is located on the ground floor of a half-block complex of buildings formerly known as the Hotel Seville, presently The James Hotel NoMad. Designed by architect Henry Allen Jacobs in 1901, the hotel was formally recognized in 2018 as a Historic Landmark for its Beaux Arts facades. To create a ground floor retail space, the owners of The James selectively demolished former staff offices on the second floor resulting in a volume ranging in height from eight to eighteen feet. This two thousand square foot space was delivered raw. The steel beams which formerly supported the second floor were exposed, barely above head height. Throughout the design process we looked for ways to preserve the unique character of the space while building a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen visible to patrons of the all-day caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n To introduce Bourke Street Bakery to a new continent we created a kitchen visible from all parts of the space. We conceived the kitchen workflow for the mutual benefit of bakers and customers. Diners can eat on the same slab of marble that bakers use to roll out pastry. Bread is baked throughout the day in a seven foot tall deck oven, given pride of place at the junction between front and back of house. We left the passageway to the kitchen open, trusting that customers would respect the space of the artisans at work. <\/p>\n Baking activity and equipment contributes to but does not define the space. Upon entering the space, customers are immediately enveloped in a warm, textured material palette that leaves the street behind. The steel beams running nearly seven feet overhead are an important design element both in their appearance and as a \u2018watermark\u2019 used to divide wall finishes. Below the beams softer, acoustically absorptive cork paneling lines the walls and composes against custom cherry millwork. Above, a more abstract thin wale corrugated steel reflects light and resolves the transition to fully exposed mechanical systems. The beams also serve as an armature for lighting, effectively turning them into fixtures. The same eight-inch globe fixture is employed throughout, mounted atop beams where head clearance was needed, hung below beams at service counters, and in a stepped \u2018chandelier\u2019 configuration at the community table. <\/p>\n A lightweight concrete slab was poured to address the uneven and hole-ridden floor. Our firm has experimented with colored concrete in both architecture and product design, drawn to its durability and the natural variation that is inherent to casting. We selected a salmon color to evoke Bourke Street\u2019s sunnier home and for the way it adds warmth to bounced light.<\/p>\n A total of forty six can be seated in a variety of settings. At the center of the caf\u00e9 is a community table with stools in splattered pink and green enamel. This area was kept intentionally low and informal to preserve views into the working bakery. The perimeter is lined with a custom banquettes in solid cherry with a deep green leather back. Loose seating in shades of green complements the warm tones throughout and echoes the various plants distributed in the space. Having considered concrete and terrazzo counters, we chanced upon nature\u2019s version in Ceppo dell\u2019Adda, a fluvial conglomerate with beautifully irregular aggregate. We used this affordable natural stone for all customer facing counters and backsplashes including a bar-height counter that is separated from the bakers by just a pane of glass. <\/p>\n Besides crowds waiting for bread and sausage rolls, the greatest compliment paid has been from visiting Australians who said the room feels like home.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/usonian-renovation","url":"\/projects\/usonian-renovation","title":"Usonian Renovation","year":"2019","type":"Residential","location":"New York","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/usonian-renovation\/7c48021fd9-1594500952\/laurel-lane-2-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects was asked to renovate a 1950\u2019s Usonian home in Westchester County, NY. Our client purchased the house from its original owner who built several extensions over the years, turning a modest square structure into a 5,725 square foot home. The house is less than a mile from Usonia, the community planned by Frank Lloyd Wright featuring modestly sized homes integrated with their surroundings. The original structure was designed by David Henken who worked for Wright and was heavily involved in Usonia. GRT partner Tal Schori grew up in this very community so the project has a special resonance. <\/p>\n We love the challenge of sorting through layered history and contributing to the evolution of distinct buildings. The exterior changes we proposed were guided by the intent to make the original massing legible. We did this by removing a deck which blurred the boundary between the Henken design and a 60\u2019s addition and adjusting fenestration to reinforce this. The same spirit guided the interior renovation which reinforces the original footprint by exposing its entire roof pitch and allowing finishes to change as one steps from the 50\u2019s to the 60\u2019s as it were. While we respect the layers of history there were some unfortunate additions in later years including curved projecting bays and casually placed HVAC equipment. With engineers we undertook a comprehensive survey of the home\u2019s three independent heating systems to find efficiency and target upgrades. <\/p>\n The project was presented to the local Architectural Review Board who complimented its sensitive approach.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/24x24x24","url":"\/projects\/24x24x24","title":"24x24x24","year":"2018","type":"Exhibitions & Collaborations, Furniture & Products, Cultural","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/9f052e1a6a-1594593315\/24x24x24-landscape-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/9f052e1a6a-1594593315\/24x24x24-landscape-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/9f052e1a6a-1594593315\/24x24x24-landscape-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/9f052e1a6a-1594593315\/24x24x24-landscape-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/9f052e1a6a-1594593315\/24x24x24-landscape-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/9f052e1a6a-1594593315\/24x24x24-landscape-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/cf5945f407-1594386302\/24x24x24-circle-logo-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/cf5945f407-1594386302\/24x24x24-circle-logo-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/cf5945f407-1594386302\/24x24x24-circle-logo-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/cf5945f407-1594386302\/24x24x24-circle-logo-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/cf5945f407-1594386302\/24x24x24-circle-logo-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/24x24x24\/cf5945f407-1594386302\/24x24x24-circle-logo-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT was invited to participate in 24x24x24 an exhibit at Storefront for Art and Architecture<\/a> which brought together 24 designers who created 24 stools and 24 hours of programming. Each designer was asked to spend no more than $200 on materials and size their work to fit inside an imaginary 24 inch cube. Programming was intended to compliment the physical artifact and would run concurrently for the duration of the 2018 Summer Solstice. <\/p>\n GRT responded with Flutes on Flutes on Flutes<\/em>: an hour of music by Flautist Andrew Rehrig, sparkling drinks in plastic flutes and stool clad in hand-made fluted ceramic tile. Rehrig visited our studio and we discussed the history of architecture-musical crossover. Greek Polymath and Le Corbusier collaborator Iannis Xenakis came up immediately and we were thrilled to have his music accompany our work. We used the opportunity to develop two threads we\u2019d been pulling at: research into fluting as a classical surface embellishment and hand made ceramics. We 3D printed a die to fit the clay extruder at a ceramics studio of which we are members. In a low-fidelity version of how high-tech building facades are produced, we extruded a continuously curved profile that was wire cut into tiles, glazed, and fired in the kiln. Without the process control of a factory our extrusions developed variation based on their position in the kiln, speed of extrusion, and moisture of the clay. These irregularities were further celebrated by the hand-applied glazes that highlight the imperfections. <\/p>\n The exhibition was organized by New York-based architects Studio Cadena, Leong Leong, B\u00fcro Koray Duman, Peterson Rich Office, and Kalos Eidos with help from Alexandra Cunningham Cameron and PIN\u2013UP\u2019s Felix Burrichter.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/leonti","url":"\/projects\/leonti","title":"Leonti","year":"2018","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/leonti\/8821848e19-1594386629\/190211-ep-leonti-053-web-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" After stints in Philadelphia, Berlin, and Bergamo, Chef Adam Leonti approached GRT Architects to help plan his highly anticipated return to the New York food scene. We immediately understood we were speaking to a client who knew what he wanted. What will you cook? North Italian classics, perfected not reinvented. What should the room feel like? Stepping into a Slim Aarons photograph. And what will it be called? Leonti. Quite clear, we can work with this. Oh, and it needs to be completed in four months. With this charge we set to work, quickly.<\/p>\n The space is within a residential building in the landmarked Upper West Side Historic District. It did not immediately seem a natural fit for a restaurant. Directly inside an arched front door is a modest landing followed by a half flight of stairs. This entry forms one leg of a Y-shaped floorplan, with the only possible location for the bar in the other leg. The spaces\u2019 remoteness from each other contravenes an instinct to lead with the liveliest space in the house. The impossibility of doing so led us to pause and consider the sequence of arrival. A well-timed trip to Milan and Turin proved to be the right place for consideration. We went seeking inspiration from bars and restaurants but were most taken by the entrances to residential buildings. Native to northern Italy, the deeply considered ingressi gesture to the street in a manner that is both generous and imposing, with a density of design and material exuberance that is undeniable.<\/p>\n In this spirit we conceived the entrance to Leonti as a place to slow down and celebrate the transition from the street to another world. A tall velvet curtain in rhythmic olive and umber bands sets a chromatic theme, carried forward by a floor striped in polished Verdi Alpi and Rosso Verona. The predominantly rectilinear floor pattern curves to embrace the stanchions of an expressive railing executed in thin bands of polished stainless steel.<\/p>\n At the top of the stair a host in a navy suit receives guests at a rounded stand clad in American walnut. A nine foot disc of Portoro marble forms a knuckle between the restaurant\u2019s three rooms and moods \u2013 entry, dining room and bar. The bar was conceived as an amenity to the dining room, an antechamber for an aperetivo or a retreat for an amaro. This space blends motifs from its neighbors, featuring the contrasting marble floor from the entry and the low hung lighting and rich upholstery from the dining room.<\/p>\n Stepping from the marble medallion into the dining room is to enter an altogether more intimate space marked by a haptic and acoustic softening. A warm grey carpet was chosen for its shimmer and luxurious feel underfoot. Chef Leonti selected exquisite and colorful table service from Richard Ginori, so we aimed to keep the room simple, to focus on quality without being stiff. Vico Magistretti\u2019s 1964 Chair 901 in walnut and red saddle leather was used throughout. Banquettes are upholstered in a similar red leather, backed in patterned fabric by American modernist Alexander Girard. Pendants in polished nickel and smoked glass by Roll & Hill create an elegant atmosphere, complemented by Baccarat crystal candle holders. Generous round tables were laid out to keep conversations private and facilitate the chef\u2019s table-craft. Thick linen table cloths, velvet curtains and the dense pile carpet all contribute to the perceived and actual softness of the room. All told, eighty can be served in the twelve hundred square foot dining room.<\/p>\n The greatest luxury in Manhattan may be space and quiet.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse","url":"\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse","title":"Prospect Lefferts Townhouse","year":"2018","type":"Residential","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/prospect-lefferts-townhouse\/66196f9bf9-1649945801\/grt_midwood_kitchen_004@2x-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" GRT Architects was asked to renovate a four story townhouse in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historical District. This twelve-block residential neighborhood was Landmarked in 1979 and the appearance of buildings within were often governed by covenants set in place by the Lefferts family that controlled heights, setbacks and fa\u00e7ade materials. The earliest buildings in the area show the influence of then popular H.H. Richardson in the classic Romanesque styles, but the 1893 World\u2019s Columbian Exposition brought Neo-Classical Beaux Arts to the fore.<\/p>\n The townhouse in question was designed in 1898 by Architect William M. Miller who used an eclectic mix of Romanesque and Neo Renaissance motifs. The building meets the ground with a rusticated base in Indiana limestone which is also used on the parlor level to create three identical Romanesque arches. Above, limestone is used for lintels and keystones but is primarily composed of an elegant Roman-proportion brick. Windows are unique on every level, showing semicircular transoms at the parlor, a single large projecting bay supported by limestone colonettes on the second level, and asymmetrical single-hung openings with limestone spandrels at the top. The building is topped by a bracketed and festooned cornice. At some point a two-story addition was built in the rear, and in 1940, the ground floor was turned into a doctor\u2019s office. Both modifications conspired against a way of living in the home that suited our clients\u2019 needs. GRT was therefore hired to reconsider not just the aesthetics but the organization of the building.<\/p>\n When working on historical buildings we begin by establishing an attitude of new to old. As landmarked buildings require a literal approach to facade preservation, we set a gradient from invisible improvements facing the street to obviously new elements towards the rear. To blend the two we created framed views through the building on every level. Detailed consideration was given to the way in which portals are marked. <\/p>\n Starting at the exterior, all of the building\u2019s unique windows were replaced with insulated replicas, custom-made to be visually indistinguishable from the originals. At the front of the building we used a lighter touch, leaving many stained wood elements such as door casings and wall cladding in place. Views from the preserved living room to the entirely redesigned kitchen and dining room are framed with a newly enlarged opening trimmed on all sides in unlaquered brass. The wide plate brass threshold on the floor echoes the thick decorative borders on the parquet floors which were left untouched. The dining room is a transitional space between the old and new \u2014 in this space we simplified the material palate, painting all decorative woodwork matte white to emphasize its geometry over its materiality. Previously the kitchen was located in a modest, rear addition, separated from the dining room by a narrow door. As the kitchen sits in dialog with unrestored portions of the 19th century interior we sought to avoid an \u2018over-renovated\u2019 appearance. To us this meant keeping storage and appliances from view, limiting hard surfaces, and celebrating unusual material combinations such as brass plate and linoleum on the island, and stainless steel with plywood and laminate cabinets. To foreground the untouched decorative parquet, we designed an island that touches down lightly on the floor. We look at each project as an opportunity to make something, actually by hand, and did so with the custom triangular brass pulls. These were prototyped in our shop by brake-forming different alloys of brass to find the right form and color. They were then affordably mass-produced by a local metal shop. <\/p>\n White space was preserved in the kitchen by creating a pantry in the addition. Here the language of kitchen cabinets is extended and also conceals a refrigerator. A custom spiral stair in perforated and plate steel was added to connect the parlor floor to the garden below and provide convenient access to a new powder room, something most townhouses lack. We secured approval from the Landmarks Preservation Committee to enlarge several openings at the rear, and did so using simple picture windows that clearly identify themselves as modifications rather than restoration.<\/p>\n Similar themes play out on upper levels where the master bedroom was connected to an office through a thick portal that also serves as a walk-thru closet. Again we sought to explore materiality by lightly staining closet doors green, continuing a chromatic theme in a different register and highlighting the grain of the wood doors. This exploration continues in the recladding of a damaged fireplace in hand-glazed green tile and the petrol blue-green cement tile in the master bathroom, also selected to compliment a unique enameled bathtub that was preserved. All bathrooms were renovated reusing their existing layout to preserve their stamped tin ceilings and balance cost. This highly choreographed play between new and old, contemporary and historical, led to a result that celebrates both and satisfies the demands of our modern clients.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/flutes-reeds","url":"\/projects\/flutes-reeds","title":"Flutes & Reeds","year":"2018","type":"Furniture & Products","location":"","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/74d93fdcd4-1594386672\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_1-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/74d93fdcd4-1594386672\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_1-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/74d93fdcd4-1594386672\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_1-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/74d93fdcd4-1594386672\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_1-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/74d93fdcd4-1594386672\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_1-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/74d93fdcd4-1594386672\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_1-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/9f1b4a6eaa-1594386659\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_10-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/9f1b4a6eaa-1594386659\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_10-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/9f1b4a6eaa-1594386659\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_10-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/9f1b4a6eaa-1594386659\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_10-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/9f1b4a6eaa-1594386659\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_10-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/flutes-reeds\/9f1b4a6eaa-1594386659\/kazaconcrete_flutes-and-reeds-by-grt-architects_10-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":" Fluting and reeding are among architecture\u2019s oldest surface embellishments. The Greeks, and most who followed, treated these motifs as linear elements applied to columns, pilasters and walls. GRT Architects had occasion to rethink this relationship when asked to design a family of cast concrete tiles with unique deep-relief capabilities for Kaza Concrete<\/a>.<\/p>\n We proposed a triangular tile for the design possibilities afforded by \u2018clocking\u2019 tiles in one hundred twenty degree increments and for the different grid arrangements they produce. Each triangle is in effect a slice of a \u2018normal\u2019 fluted or reeded column. When arranged in a well-behaved fashion they form a surface that would look familiar to the Greeks, overlaid with a subtle, triangular matrix. However, a number of unique patterns emerge when tiles are rotated. We are excited by the balance of visual complexity and familiarity and by knowing there are surely combinations we have yet to discover.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/don-angie","url":"\/projects\/don-angie","title":"Don Angie","year":"2017","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":["Restaurant","Hospitality Design","Italian-American","Brass","Bar Design","Custom Light Fixtures","Blue","Leather","Banquettes"],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":""},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/don-angie\/bb95c573ea-1594386208\/nfranzen_don_angie_bar_007-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":""},"text":"
\nThe scene at San Sabino will always be lively but we took care to keep conversations audible by upholstering the entire ceiling. Naturally this was an excuse to play with pattern and texture, the dining room features a winking vermiculated print while the bar tips luxe with a woven jacquard. Don Angie diners may experience muscle memory sitting in the low slung ribbed banquettes which line the perimeter of San Sabino as they are identical in form but here upholstered in natural hides. <\/p>\n
\nBad Roman overlooks Central Park from the third floor of The Shops at Columbus Circle, a location it rebels from a little bit. Where The Shops are politely elegant, Bad Roman is a riot of rich and varied materials, textures, found objects, shapes and color. We have never worked in a shopping mall before (fine, once in Honolulu) and enjoyed the challenge. At first glance it may seem Bad Roman is the outright opposite of its context but in the details you will find some midtown-corporate classics. A gridded office-style dropped ceiling addresses acoustics but curved elements like the upholstered coffer and bar valence break the rigidity. The storefront is rendered in glass block whose deep relief flutes scatter red neon light to the interior. You will also find references to Italian visual culture across centuries, executed with no pretense of correctness. A big boar welcomes guests, nodding at the Uffizi\u2019s first-century Porcellino but in fact from Palm Beach. Viewed in silhouette, the banquettes recall sofas that graced the pages of Domus throughout the nineteen-fifties. We made a grotto that is every bit as absurd and playful as one would find in a renaissance garden, complete with a trompe l-oeil water spill on the floor. Every opportunity to do a little more was taken.
\nWe conceived the 6,500 square foot space as primarily open where all guests have views out to the park and in to a dramatic bar which centers the room. The bar is crowned with an exuberant light box clad in contrasting bands of marble and mirror. A marbled-paper diffuser creates an inviting glow beneath it. The bar\u2019s organic shape is one of several we used to create different moods within the primarily open space. Others include a suite of freeform banquette islands which accommodate parties of all sizes in formats that range from diner-style \u2018pullmans\u2019 to large round \u2018hollywoods\u2019. We clad these islands in plaster, textured in homage to the Roman strigil motif, topped them in travertine and decorated them with assemblages of found objects. We created unique spaces at either end of the one-hundred-sixty-foot-long restaurant including two private dining rooms to the west and a fully glazed room to the east, each with their own decorative language. Minimal it is not, but the design of Bad Roman is unified by a high level of handcraft and a say-yes-to-all-beautiful-materials attitude. Locally blown glass light fixtures, trompe l\u2019oeil mosaics, salvaged fragments, intricate tilework and a good measure of snakes all collude to create an exuberant home for Bad Roman\u2019s irreverent take on modern Italian.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/east-village-apartment","url":"\/projects\/east-village-apartment","title":"East Village Apartment","year":"2022","type":"Residential","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/east-village-apartment\/acefaded43-1650555435\/east-village_living-room_018-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":"
\nOur work also included infrastructural upgrades such as replacing all windows brick-to-brick, allowing for larger daylight openings. We also oversaw the addition of high efficiency air conditioning whose ductwork we carefully integrated so as not to break the mood. We engaged engineers to help us support equipment on the roof and oversee building-wide upgrades to electrical service.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/cucina-alba","url":"\/projects\/cucina-alba","title":"Cucina Alba","year":"2022","type":"Hospitality","location":"New York City","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/cucina-alba\/359a70a6ca-1667591506\/cucina-alba_nyc_dining-room_6_new_photo-peter-murdock-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":"
\nThis little building is part of a long term plan for the land and was designed to appear as an abstraction or folly when viewed from a distance. It is clad in blackened cedar and copper, which will age to a similar color to contribute to its simple look and it will be maintenance free.<\/p>","orientation":"projects__image-view__image--landscape"},{"id":"projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware","url":"\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware","title":"Triangle Pulls","year":"2020","type":"Furniture & Products","location":"Worldwide","tags":[],"image":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-372x274-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":372,"height":274,"alt":null},"mobileimage":{"thumb":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-1x.jpg","src":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-800x600-crop-q85.jpg","srcset":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-480x.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-768x.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-1080x.jpg 1080w","srchires":"https:\/\/www.grtarchitects.com\/media\/pages\/projects\/custom-cabinet-hardware\/d41fce2fca-1594386767\/20200316_ize118401-e-internet-800x600-crop-q90.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"alt":null},"text":"