In the Kies loft, designed by our New York studio, the family knew they’d have a lot to deal with when
they walked through the door, like strollers, mail, and groceries. So we created a glass and steel
vestibule that formalized the entry and provided separation from the living space, while maintaining the
open feel through transparency and natural light. That’s the immediately liberating aspect of working
with lofts—we don’t have to think in terms of “walls” as the foundation for interior architecture. Another
device we’ve used here is creating space by dividing it with cabinetry. Most of our clients are accus-
tomed to shoving storage and cabinetry to the periphery of a space, but in a loft we can use cabinetry
to help define a sense of spatial enclosure or navigation while retaining the open feel we all want from a
loft. Mid-century modern architects, such as Schindler and Neutra, were masters of this in their resi-
dential work—built-in furniture was a crucial part of their interior architecture. At our Iacono Residence
we collaborated with a muralist to create a hand painted scribble mural on a floating storage partition to
anchor the large open space.
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