Lower East Side Photo Studio and Residence
New York, NY
2005
2,000 square feet

The client, a photographer living and working in Europe and the United States, retained SAS for the design of her New York photo studio and residence in Lower Manhattan. She requested a very economical but generous space and a way of taking advantage of the light qualities inherent to the existing site.

Our scheme proposed the addition of a poured-in-place concrete subterranean photo studio, lit naturally from above by a glass roof, with direct access to an artificially illuminated archive space. The existing upper floor serves as an editing studio and residence. The project is rendered in a combination of only three materials: white paint, Brazilian hardwood, and stainless steel. Detailing has been kept minimal and seamless with doors, walls, painted steel panels, mirrors, and tiles aligning flush throughout the project. The custom kitchen is fabricated to specification by a restaurant supplier, while closet shelving and lighting fixtures are of the most generic variety. Access to a decked backyard with gentle lighting extends the living and working spaces to the outdoors.