LOT-EK builds a penthouse made from shipping containers

LOT-EK has completed the design of the ‘irving place carriage house’, a single family residence for an artist, a gallerist, and their daughter. located in brooklyn, new york, the project uses shipping containers to remodel an existing two-storey 1930s carriage house. the architecture is organized around the insertion of a single volume that extends from the ground floor to the roof terrace.

all images by danny bright

LOT-EK’s redesign is crowned with a bright orange penthouse, which has been retrofitted using four stacked shipping containers. this part of the house also provides access to an external rooftop patio. the same color continues throughout the home, both intersecting and connecting the building, and helping organize the various internal programs. the ground floor includes a ‘mud room’ entrance alongside a kitchen and a living room.

the ground floor includes a ‘mud room’ entryway

above, the master bedroom is separated from the child’s playroom/bedroom by the orange containers, while stairs continue to the home’s uppermost storey — the penthouse. from here, the family are able to enjoy a completely private external area. from street level, the rooftop shipping containers remain out of sight, hidden behind a matte black façade that subtly references the diagonal voids that define the scheme’s interior.

primary living accommodation is found at ground level

the project uses shipping containers to remodel an existing two-storey 1930s house

the ground floor also includes a kitchen

the containers both intersect and connect the building

the child’s playroom / bedroom at the home’s intermediate level

the master bedroom remains completely separate

the penthouse provides access to the external rooftop patio

from street level, the rooftop shipping containers remain out of sight

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LOT-EK irving place carriage house brooklyn new york designboom

project info:

name: 91 irving
building type: single family residence
design: LOT-EK, ada tolla + giuseppe lignano, principals, francesco breganze, project architect
client: markus linnenbrink + cindy rucker
location: brooklyn, new york
size: 2,500 sqf (26,910 sqm) interior + 1,200 sqf (12,917 sqm) outdoor
completed: fall, 2015
structural engineer: RSA, eytan solomonoff
MEP engineer: kevin gallen
photography: danny bright