Manhattan Lofts [Paperback]

The lofts showcased in this book reveal a developing modernity, based on a flexible spatial content, which is not about fashion, but is concerned instead with a sense of rooted settlement and the restorative values of ordered space and light with in the basic structure of a personal retreat. At first sight, these lofts are all very different, but what is common throughout is that they have been conceived within the pluralistic framework of the modern architectural tradition.

This book presents a critical survey of the Manhattan loft, revealing a definitive architectural typology whose central discipline lies in the mutation of pure space and materiality as realised in the architectural landscape of the interior, the common theme of which is openness.

Assembling this work not only brings together some of the finest examples of loft architecture from over more than a decade, but also defines the distinguished output of ten New York architects, who collectively evidence the nature of a developing modernity in their projects. All the architects include are also engaged in the teaching of architecture or in the exhibition of their work, thereby extending the influence of their thought and conceptual process.

The extensive illustrations include original drawings, renderings and plans, some prepared specifically for this publication. The photographs are selected to reveal more than just impressions of the interior, conveying and encapsulating the dual sense of both space and materiality and the presence of fine detail.

Overall, what is established is a deep sense of rooted settlement and the restorative values of ordered space and light within the structure of a personal retreat - a peaceful sanctuary withdrawn from the external life of the city.

The ten New York architects and architectural teams included in this collection are: Thomas Hanrahan & Victoria Meyers; Frank Lupo & Daniel Rowen; Bernard Tschumi; Richard Gluckman; Henry Smith Miller & Laurie Hawkinson; Tod Williams & Billie Tsien; Gisue & Mojgan Hariri; Scott Marble & Karen Fairbanks; Sulan Kolatan and William McDonald; and George Ranalli.

Ivor Richards is Professor of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of Newcastle, UK, as well as a practising architect and member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He has written extensively on the work of American master architect Richard Meier, and on a series of other contemporary architects who have extended the modern tradition in architecture across the world.

Introduction

The New York City loft has become a tradition. At this point, in 1999, it is possible to look back at the evolution of the loft as an architectural type, its lineage and influence being of such strength that the traditional apartment in itself has been transcended by the nature of the loft, in particular by the general nature of its spatiality.

It is well understood in New York, especially in Soho and Tribeca and other related areas where this study is based, that as factories and other industrial uses moved out in the late 1950s, so the conversion and refurbishment that followed provided for a new generation in loft dwellers, occupying the generous space that once formed the cramped conditions, a generation earlier, for large numbers of industrial workers.

Large areas of the urban city-blocks near to the harbor and shipping facilities contain huge ranges of warehousing used originally to store commodities and foodstuffs. These buildings, with innovative design transformation, form the basis for the archetypal Manhattan Loft, where in Soho, for instance, population of artists first established the New York tradition of the urban atelier. The high floor to ceiling dimensions, typically 12 feet, often coupled with good end or side lightening from day-lit windows, stood in the tradition of the European artist's atelier, although not all the sites within any given warehouse or similar structure offer the ideal balance of daylight, space and views.

A typical loft condition could yield a cross-wall structure with a clear internal dimension of at least 24 feet and might be mixed with intermediate cast-iron columns with a heavy floor structure of close-centered timber beams, whose structural capacity determined the basic spans and internal dimensions limited by the industrial uses and resultant loadings. While the variety of structural types varies from large open frames of columns and beams to smaller cross-wall cases, in essence the starting point is an open universal space, with heavy industrial standard services.

It is not the central of this deliberately limited survey to present a history of the evolution of the loft. This has been, in any case, thoroughly presented in earlier publications, where there has also been an intention to demonstrate the almost boundless succession of designer intervention and interior-dicor options, framed under a series of headings, after the manner of interior journals and magazines, dealing with the modern. Equally, there have been monographic works dedicated to the output of certain designers whose contribution to the evolution of the loft as sites for the craft of interior design, has been an established reputation and recent history.

The purpose of this current survey is to present a critical view of the Manhattan Loft as a definitive architectural typology whose central discipline lies in the mutation of pure space and materiality, as realized in the architectural landscape of the interior, whose common theme is openness. And this critical assemblage is intended to reveal, as a function of the contemporary condition in New York architecture, the product of an emergent generation of architects and clients. It also collectively evidences the nature of a developing modernity, based on a flexible spatiality, which is not about fashion but a deeper sense of rooted settlement and the restorative values ordered space and light within the basic structure of a personal retreat. The examples presented are, at first sight, all very different, some are Minimalist - others are more opulent and sophisticated. What is common throughout the twelve sites considered is that these are all works of architecture, conceived within the pluralistic framework of the modern project as a whole group of ten architects who have generously revealed and showcased their exemplary work, for the purposes of this presentation. In certain cases, the architects' own notes are included.