Urban Living XXL in Boston, Massachusetts in Ruhl Walker Architects

Article source: Ruhl Walker Architects

This Boston loft – nearly 5,000 SF with 18-foot high ceilings – presented a number of amazing opportunities and more than a few challenges.  Chief among the opportunities was amplifying the immensity of the central living space – one of the largest in the city – while making an understandable and livable family house.  Two monolithic organizing walls and a floating ceiling plane anchor the space and orient the occupant without disturbing its vastness or disrupting sightlines.

Main living space viewed from entry (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

• Architect and Interior Design: Ruhl Walker Architects
• Name of Project: Urban Living XXL
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Interior Design, Furnishings: Meichi Peng Design Studio
• General Contractor: Sleeping Dog Properties
• Photography: John Horner Photography
• Software used: AutoCAD

These walls – one of matched Koto wood panels and the other a billowing sail of polished plaster – define and enclose the central living area, creating a ‘stage set’ on which life’s daily activities are played out.  Gaps between the walls, along with fissures in their surfaces offer glimpses into ‘back of house’ spaces, including bedrooms, an office and a wine cellar.  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 unbroken space and encourages the user to wander and discover its edges.

Entry with cantilevered steel stair and stainless steel mesh screen (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Light is always at a premium even in a loft with this many windows.  At the entry, a stair is veiled in expanded stainless steel mesh lit from above as well as washed with programmable LED colored light for an evening effect.  Both sources also back-light an acrylic and steel panel which pushes just slightly through a curved plaster wall, punctuating the dining room.

Kitchen with entry to wine room to the left (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Kitchen with Koto wood paneled wall and Soapstone island (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Main living space, dining in foreground and kitchen beyond (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Main living space viewed from mezzanine level A/V room (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Master bath with translucent glass partition at shower and WC, and floating bathtub (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Master bedroom with cabinetry extending into master bath (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Master bathroom with cast resin translucent basin (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Main living space, translucent stair opening and entry beyond (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Wine room hidden within Koto wood paneled wall (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Guest bathroom (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Guest bathroom (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Master bedroom view to Boston skyline (Images Courtesy John Horner Photography)

Plan 01

Plan 02

Tags: Boston, Massachusetts

Categories: Autocad, House, Urban Design

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