orange – Loftenberg https://www.loftenberg.com Stunning interiors Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:02:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.1 Living Large in this Loft https://www.loftenberg.com/living-large-loft/ https://www.loftenberg.com/living-large-loft/#respond Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:01:58 +0000 https://www.loftenberg.com/?p=8277 A loft large enough to ride your bike in sounds like the paragon of city living. Problem is: how do you actually live in over 4,000-square-feet of raw space? This was the challenge for New York-based photographer Alexander Deutsch when he bought a reconverted industrial loft space in lower Manhattan.

Deutsch felt strongly that the integrity of his new space depended on retaining the original industrial elements, so changing such things as exposed brick and wooden archways wasn’t an option. However, living without the option of privacy wasn’t acceptable, either.

“I wanted the flexibility to separate the loft into a series of rooms,” he explains. It was the space’s abundance of natural light that originally attracted him, so he wanted to make sure that when he divided it, each “room” would still have ready access to windows. To create the rooms, he chose to install movable walls—but not just any movable walls.

“I went through sliding glass to steel doors, but they were all too permanent and interfered with the ‘flow’,” Deutsch says. After more research and thought, he decided to utilize a Swiss K1 meshed-steel door from an overseas freighting company. When the door is “closed,” the master bedroom is separated from the kitchen and work area, delineating Deutsch’s personal space from his business space.

Deutsch devoted as much consideration to every other detail when he set about creating the sleek, modern, minimal look he desired. When styling his loft he looked to Blade Runner, which features Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Ennis-Brown House,” deliberately chosen by director Ridley Scott to give the film its timeless quality. “I looked for materials that had an industrial, almost sci-fi feel,” Deutsch says. The influence is evident, from the overall geometric layout to the steel mesh doors to the color palate: a mix of burnt orange and polished nickel, overlaid with warm, earthy tones.

 He also wanted to avoid creating an environment that would be all form and no function. For Deutsch, “everything in the space has a specific function.” For instance, Deutsch installed a “commercial kitchen to end all culinary quarrels.”

Equally impressive is the professional pool table from New York City’s Blatt Billiards. The bathrooms and much of the furnishings, including the orange Italian sofa, were also custom-made. “Turns out it costs even more money to do minimal right,” jokes Deutsch.

One thing’s for sure: he got it right. Vast, yet intimate, conducive to both working and living, the space provides a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere sorely lacking in most 4,000-square-foot spaces.

  

 Photography by Tom Ackerman
]]> https://www.loftenberg.com/living-large-loft/feed/ 0 Gleimstrasse Loft https://www.loftenberg.com/gleimstrasse-loft/ https://www.loftenberg.com/gleimstrasse-loft/#respond Mon, 14 Mar 2011 22:56:24 +0000 https://www.loftenberg.com/?p=2752 Designed by Graft Architects, this ultra modern loft Gleimstrasse is located in Berlin, Germany. The loft was transformed from a traditional 19th century structure into “unfolded cocoon for an open mind”. This is because most rooms, such as modern livingroom space, kitchen area are designed with openess in mind while storage areas, beds, sofas, closets and staircases are hidden in a sculptural wall construction.

This modern loft has some ideas in common with most houses, old and new, though – the kitchen is the heart of the home. It is finished in high-quality concrete plaster, appearing as though it was carved from a single block. Folding windows and doors open onto two 13-meter balconies, bringing the outdoors in. Folding windows and doors are used on the northern and southern facades which can be completely opened to extend the space with two 13-meters balconies. The whole loft design is the balance between the gallery and the studio. Graft Architects

“Living and Working, Openness and Intimacy; Flexibility has become the keyword in contemporary Loft Design. Unless the private areas are opened to the “public” or to private guests, the owner of a Loft lives in a hidden private world. Openness and fluid continuums integrating bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen become possible. Individuality today only depends on the dreams and the courage of the owners.”

Beds, benches, sofas, walk in closets, shelves and library are integrated in the wall construction, inviting people to inhabit the forms that usually only surround us.

The loft was designed as a flexible open space, with the entrance, staircase, bathrooms and storage rooms, hidden in a sculptural mega-form.

In order to integrate the central “sculpture,” and connect to the activities of daily life, the architects carved it out, and cut it apart. This generated a playground for numerous possible combinations of protecting, “cave-like,” and open, “stage-like,” atmospheres.

A number of sliding walls allowed for subdivisions of the flow around the core, with the kitchen acting as the heart of the house. Bedrooms and adjacent bathrooms can be combined to suites.

All surfaces in the kitchen, including furniture, walls, floor and ceiling, as well as all surfaces of the core, are covered with a high quality concrete plaster. All other surfaces by a sophisticated drywall technology.

The north and south facades are closed by a foldable window/door system. Both can be completely opened, extending the space to include the two exterior balconies.

Living in this environment is a balance between an extroverted Gallery atmosphere, and an introverted Studio atmosphere.

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