This project is for a client who wanted a space that would be suitably grand for large-scale entertaining, yet also functional and intimate enough for daily life. An existing duplex penthouse, comprised of a large main floor and a rooftop pavilion, provided the raw material for achieving these ends.

The penthouse is located in a through-block SoHo building that has had several incarnations - the original structure, a 1870s tobacco factory, was replaced in 1929 by a steel-framed industrial parking garage which, in turn, was converted to residential use in 2004. In the conversion, a courtyard was carved out in the middle of the structure to meet residential light and air requirements, and rooftop pavilions opening onto large terraces were added to the two penthouse units.

Our project was designed to open up the main level along the street façade and to fully integrate it with the rooftop pavilion and terrace. To accomplish this, we re-created a two-story void where the old garage car lift used to be, and inserted a dramatic skylit stair into this void. Ancillary public spaces are set off the main living room. Private spaces, organized along their own, secondary circulation, are grouped around the central courtyard. The rooftop pavilion contains a music room / lounge and a bar that opens onto a roof garden.

The generous entrance gallery also serves as a setting for works from the client’s extensive art collection.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The main living space is treated as a loft with the various functions defined by furniture, lighting and art. It had previously been subdivided in two, with the stair to the rooftop pavilion located in the middle. We opened up the space and relocated the stair to the northern end, creating a grand living and entertaining space that runs the full width of the building. The space is anchored by two dramatic elements - at one end, a sky-lit stair with a raw steel plate guardrail; at the other, an over-scaled fireplace with a surround made of the same material. The newly exposed massive structural steel beams and the five original steel windows provide a muscular architectural definition to the space and evoke its industrial history. An open kitchen, a custom wine display wall, and a home office are positioned off the main space, allowing for a natural flow between these functions while giving each a distinct architectural identity.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The main living space is treated as a loft with the various functions defined by furniture, lighting and art. It had previously been subdivided in two, with the stair to the rooftop pavilion located in the middle. We opened up the space and relocated the stair to the northern end, creating a grand living and entertaining space that runs the full width of the building. The space is anchored by two dramatic elements - at one end, a sky-lit stair with a raw steel plate guardrail; at the other, an over-scaled fireplace with a surround made of the same material. The newly exposed massive structural steel beams and the five original steel windows provide a muscular architectural definition to the space and evoke its industrial history. An open kitchen, a custom wine display wall, and a home office are positioned off the main space, allowing for a natural flow between these functions while giving each a distinct architectural identity.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The northern end of the living space is defined by the massive raw steel plate of the stair guardrail, with the graphic shape of its double run exploited for dramatic effect.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The bedroom hall, designed to link the private functions of the apartment, leads to a skylit exercise room and provides another opportunity for art display.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The exercise room is treated as a garden, with a shallow water pool above the skylight providing natural light filtered through the rippling reflections.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The stair rises through the double-height volume to the rooftop pavilion. A continuous skylight slot over the stair illuminates the space; a pattern of shadows that’s cast on the tall north wall reflect the movement of the sun over the course of the day. The home office is designed as a library that is set off the stair volume and provides a secondary link to the private quarters.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The stair rises through the double-height volume to the rooftop pavilion. A continuous skylight slot over the stair illuminates the space; a pattern of shadows cast on the tall north wall reflects the movement of the sun over the course of the day. The home office is designed as a library set off the stair volume; it also provides a secondary link to the private quarters.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The floating stair treads cantilever from the wall; they are made of white oak to help link the two levels by bringing the floor material of the main level up to the roof.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The upper zone of the stair hall is a setting for large-scale art works. A pulley-operated pendant light is suspended over the base of the stair, exploiting the double-height space. Two interior windows overlook the volume from the upstairs lounge, animating the space and emphasizing the interrelationship between the two levels.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

The thermochromatic glass wall of the upstairs bar folds away completely, opening up the interior to a lushly landscaped terrace equipped with an outdoor kitchen and a reflecting pool atop the exercise room skylight. The terrace is private and discrete, yet engaged with its dense urban context that still bears visible traces of its industrial past.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

A steel beam projects over the dining table, echoing the existing exposed structure; it houses lighting and heat lamps that make the outdoor space usable in the shoulder seasons.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

With the glass wall of the bar fully open, the terrace and the interior become one continuous space. Exterior materials are brought into the bar area, and the rear wall of the bar itself is made of glass and theatrically illuminated, further linking all spaces – downstairs, upstairs, and outdoors.

Interiors and Landscape Design by Rios Clemente Hale Studios

photo by Michael Moran

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