Overhead view of living, dining and kitchen spaces in a Boston loft renovation (Copy)

Modern living room furniture arranged in an open plan Boston loft. (Copy)

A kitchen in modern loft renovation featuring an island with an integrated table. (Copy)

A Boston loft renovation featuring a contemporary kitchen beneath a large skylight (Copy)

Interior spaces in a modern loft featuring interior design by Walker Architects. (Copy)

Interior of a custom wine storage room in a renovated Boston loft (Copy)

Modern interior design in a loft dining room (Copy)

Modern interior stair detail in a Boston loft renovation (Copy)

A custom residential stair with metal screens and curved plaster wall in a renovated Boston Loft (Copy)

A modern bedroom suite in a Boston loft (Copy)

A bedroom in a large Boston loft with modern interior design (Copy)

A modern primary bathroom in a renovated Boston loft (Copy)

First floor plan for a large Boston loft renovation (Copy)

Mezzanine level floor plan for a Boston loft renovation (Copy)

Boston Extra Large Loft Renovation

After acquiring a half-finished loft in the SoWa district of Boston, the owners cleared out the remains of a previous renovation and set out to build out an entirely new interior. With nearly 5,000 square-feet of floor area and 18-foot-high ceilings, there was ample opportunity and more than a few challenges to constructing a new family home in this converted warehouse unit. The renovation needed to achieve a warm, modern house large enough to accommodate a growing family.

The organizing feature of the floorplan is an immense central living space–perhaps the largest in the city–off of which the private areas and back of house spaces are quietly tucked away. Two monolithic walls are used to define this large room and orient the occupant without disturbing the loft’s vastness or disrupting sightlines. These walls–one of matched Koto wood panels and the other a billowing sail of polished plaster– also form a “stage set” into which key functional areas are of the central living room are embedded. A large, social kitchen sits at center stage, with back kitchen and wine cellar concealed just behind. Gaps between the walls, along with fissures in their surfaces, offer glimpses into these second spaces, including bedrooms, an office, and den. Because the organizing planes never touch the building enclosure, the resultant open corners allow the eye to travel and take in adjacent spaces, a move which intensifies the experience of vast unbroken space and encourages the user to wander and discover its edges.

Light is always at a premium, even in a loft with this many windows. Access to skylights and clever lighting techniques also drove the floor plan's layout. At the entry, a stair is veiled in expanded stainless steel mesh lit from above as well as washed with programmable LED lighting for an evening effect. Kitchens and bathrooms are located to take advantage of the building’s existing skylights, bathing these interior spaces in daylight. In the primary bedroom, a wall of windows opens to a large outdoor space overlooking the Boston Skyline.

AWARDS
Interior Architecture / Interior Design Citation
Boston Society of Architects, 2012

Housing Design Award
Boston Society of Architects / New York AIA, 2010

PRESS
Custom Home
January / February 2010
K + B Studio

Residential Architect,
January / February 2010

Boston Home Magazine
Fall 2009
A Grand Production

Esplanade
September / October 2009
XXL

Dwell Editor’s Pick

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