SERVICES:	Expansion
	Restoration & Rehabilitation
	Planning

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In a city hungry for outdoor space, this home needed to include a unique outdoor experience to attract the largest possible audience of potential tenants. Capitalizing on a well-established relationship with NanaWall Systems,—a Germany-based company creating bifold doors and folding glass wall systems—the Projects team decided to try something new: a three-tiered rear extension with multiple terraces that would each feature their own custom NanaWall.

These amazing, fully-opening glass doors not only allow light to flood the space they’re in, they also create a luxurious indoor/outdoor experience. In order to correctly waterproof the NanaWalls and ensure they’d successfully fit into the rear stucco masonry, each system needed to be meticulously incorporated into the elevation design as well as the parlor level’s kitchen countertop layout, making this the most challenging task of the renovation.

Diligent Planning

Through diligent planning and thoughtful schematic design, the team beautifully executed this challenging feat. The result is a striking set of cascading terraces at the rear of the home. At the top, a massive NanaWall leads to a private terrace off the master bedroom. At the middle tier, an ingenious idea to use multiple sizes of glass panes allows this NanaWall to run the full width of the kitchen. Where the counter would typically be closed off or feature a window, the team instead utilized half-sized panes to cut through the kitchen counter creating an external breakfast bar. Along the rest of the space, the team used floor-to-ceiling panels to create a fully-opening glass wall, which now leads to the outdoor terrace. Finally at the garden level, another NanaWall opens onto the manicured backyard, adding yet another opportunity for sunlight to flood the once dark space.

While this home’s interior is bursting with modern amenities, it’s concealed by an unassuming façade. To keep the home’s historic integrity intact, the team gave the original front doors a small facelift to begin the transition from a traditional brownstone exterior to a modernized interior. Upon entry, an open floor plan greets guests with clean views, including high ceilings, tall windows and endless natural light. A focal point at each level, the staircase features glass handrails to further open up the space. At the rear of the parlor level, a bright white kitchen boasts stainless steel appliances, an enormous center island and a bold, patterned backsplash to add character to this floor’s sleek and minimal design. Seizing yet another opportunity to maximize outdoor space, the team crowned this contemporary home with a rooftop terrace.

The Projects team rewrote the ending for this small home by breathing new life into its broken-down beginnings. What began as an unimpressive Brooklyn brownstone is now a Park Slope paradise full of contemporary character, luxurious amenities and enviable outdoor space.