Diller Scofidio +  Renfro have designed ‘Nolita Townhouse’ located in New York City.

The following information is from the architects:

‘The seven story silver building bridges the last remaining gap between twin tenements in the neighborhood.

The 10 000 square foot construction contains two duplex apartments, a simplex and two levels of retail at the street.

In order to bring natural light into the narrow and deep building lot, the east – facing street facade is floor-to-ceiling glass.

To satisfy local restrictions, the curtain wall is veiled by a system of operable, glass masonry screens. Custom made glass bricks in a running bond pattern with staggered voids are threaded on rods like beads and suspended from tracks in front of the glass wall at every floor slab. These hefty textile screens can be drawn mechanically by tenants like grand mineral curtains.

Light and view can be regulated by overlapping the brick curtains to various degrees of porosity.

The open floor apartments utilize built in furniture and transformable wall elements to maximize the use and perceptual space of the units.’

For further information visit the architects’ website.