Interior Design Best of Year 2008 Eco-Residential WinnerAIA NY State Award of Excellence 2009 AIA Westchester/Mid-Hudson Chapter Honor AwardPushing green

design beyond the familiar incorporation of a list of sustainable materials;

this Broadway penthouse renovation rethinks the notion of an urban garden by

literally bringing the outside in. Exterior wood decking and vegetation flow

into the heart of the loft forming a planted core, a living green veil that

screens the public living/dining room from the private master bedroom. The

stair bulkhead doubles as a skylight and provides access to a roof terrace

planted with sedum and grasses.

This green core is

tactile as well as a visual: the owner can bathe surrounded by lush vegetation

visible through a glass wall that separates the bathroom from this planted

zone. The rear of the bathroom is clad with modular plant panels. Surmounted by

a skylight, this living wall is yet another element that vertically links roof

and interior.

An eco-friendly

palette of natural and synthetic materials confound traditional distinctions

between natural and artificial. When seen from entry, the planted core merges

with the living lounge: the upholstered floor and seating evoke a textile

garden, the interior counterpart to the roof terrace, where a bed of sedum

defines a walk-able planted surface.