Finger Apt

8/14/2019 Finger Apt

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Project: Finger-Kennedy Apartment

Architect: noroof architects

Location: New York, New York

Living small is par forthe course in New YorkCity, but accommodat-ing a family of four inunder 700 square feetrarely looks as effort-less as in this storage-smart renovation.

Story by Sarah Rich

Photos by Raimund Koch

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From the living room

(opposite), the narrow

apartment stretches

back into the sleeping

quarters by way of

a compact kitchen that

packs all the needs of

a home chef against one

wall. From the street

(left), the building

has the classic look of

a lower Manhattan

residence, but inside,the exposed original

brick (below) is one of

the few reminders of the

apartments old bones.

For a nine-year-old who loves pirates and science

ction, Jonah Finger thinks o his amilys apart-

ment as make-believe come true. His parents, Michae

Finger and Joanne Kennedy, completed the renova-

tion o their 64-square-oot walk-up in Manhattans

East Village in May o 8, just a week beore

the birth o Jonahs baby sister, Esther. And while

changing houses and getting a new sibling can be

a turbulent transition or a kid, moving into the new

place provided a thrilling amount o entertainment

or Jonah. He has secret compartments under the

oor to ll with toys and his own Murphy bed hid-

ing in the wall behind his dads desk. For Finger and

Kennedy, these eatures are critical space-savers

that allow them to live peaceully in the postage

stampsize apartment, but the inventive design is

also a reminder that livability isnt just about organi

zation and tidiness; its about the joy o interacting

with a space.

The day I visited the amily, Hurricane Ike was

rumbling across the Atlantic and the humidity in

New York City was nearly 1 percent. Climbing the

our ights to their door let me slightly drenched,

but the apartment was a cool reuge. With ice waterin hand, we took a spin around the tiny place, Jonah

playing docent while his ather and Scott Oliver, one

o two architects or the project, lled in the blanks.

Olivers partner, Margarita McGrath, was away that

day at Virginia Tech, where she teaches architecture

courses part-time.

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Oliver and McGrath run the rm noroo archi-

tects, a collaboration that began in 14. Their initial

renovation plans pivoted around three existing

conditions: the placement o the buildings plumb-

ing, two skylights Finger had installed prior to the

design phase, and a request rom Jonah that the

apartment be turned into a pirate ship. He gave

us a brie with very specic design ideas, including

where lighting rigs should go, Oliver remembers,

adding that a boat was actually a logical source o

inspiration in terms o designing creative solutions

or compact living.

Upon entering the apartment one would never

guess its total size. The ront door opens onto an

11.5-by-16-oot living rooman open space that

belies the density o the remaining 36 square eet.

Between two tall south-acing windows, a table

olds down rom the wall, revealing a built-in book-

case. Its a utility surace most o the time, but it lits

up easily on its hinge and hides away at to make

room or company. It eels surprisingly spacious,

Finger remarks. For Joannes 4th we had a party

with 16 peopleonly three o them were children!

Friends and kids are high on the amilys prioritylist, and their renovation goals revolved more around

accommodating amily and visitors than stashing

a lot o stu. Aside rom Jonahs impressive collection

o toys, they keep possessions to a minimum. When

the couple met, Finger was backpacking through

the U.S. on a visitrom hisnative Australia and

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In the living room

(below), a sizable table

disappears into vert-

ical space to make room

for parties or playtime

with the kids. The

tables base, which

itself is an additional

storage container,

rolls easily into place

to support the surface.

When its time to eat

or do homework, the

adults lower the table-

top, revealing a dozen

book cubbies.

Having a home office

in an apartment of this

size might seem impos-

sible, but flexible

furniture transforms

one room into two. Jonah

and his dad can work

at the desk during the

day, and all it takes

is gentle downward

pressure to lower the

desk to the floor,

bringing the kid-size

mattress into position

for bedtime (above).

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Kennedy was living in a small employee room at

a Catholic Worker house o hospitality or the home-

less where she has worked since 13. When the

couple bought their apartment in 4, they had no

trouble adjusting to its size, but they knew it had

potential to be more unctional and roomy. We

elt like, or Manhattan, it was big enough, Finger

recalls. It was just a bad layout.

They hired Oliver and McGrath ater hearing

o the pairs skill with small spaces. One o the

rst steps was to eliminate several inches o dry-

wall along the eastern side, increasing the oor

area slightly. Finger restored the remaining exposed

brick himsel, leaving a groove in the rear o the

apartment between the reclaimed pine oor and

wall that enables a convenient cleaning strategy

simply sweep dust into the channel, then run a

vacuum hose through it. A pretty thorough clean-

ing only takes an hour, he says. With a job that

demands requent travel, he values saving time

as much as space, maximizing weekend hours or

amily and his avorite pastime: cooking.

The new kitchen sits along one wall o the connec-

tive passage between the living room and the rearo the apartment. Finger had initially envisioned

an all-black, showroom-style kitchen, but ulti-

mately they went with CaesarStone and a gray color

scheme, which kept the kitchen rom dominating.

Though the area is narrow, theres still enough

room or Jonah to set up a battleground or several

Finger-Kennedy Apartment

Floor Plan

A Living/Dining Area

B Kitchen

C Bathroom

D Bedroom

E Master Bedroom

A

B

C

D E

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Although the apartments

only windows are on

the far ends of the

space, skylights keep

things bright. Recessed

lighting along the brick

wall supplements the

daylight. The sliding

pantry cabinet (opposite

left) doubles as a

room divider when fully

extended, separating

the kitchen (oppositeright)its colorful

cookware accenting the

white surfacesfrom

the bedrooms.

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brigades o army gurines near his athers collec-

tion o lime green Le Creuset pots. Pantry goods are

stored in a narrow sliding shelving unit that doubles

as a screen when extended ully, providing some

peace and quiet in the bedrooms i the kids need to

go to sleep while the parents entertain.

The oor slopes up at the bathroom, where exist-

ing plumbing necessitated some extra elevation.

In the ound space above the original oor, recessed

lighting provides a subtle night-light, partially l-

tered by a mahogany grill over the top. The pillbox

lavatory was strategically placed so that the shower

could share one o the kitchen skylights. We believe

that natural light is important in a shower, Oliver

explains. It can transorm a standard bathroom

into a spa-like space. Birch plywood and jade green

stone mosaic oor tiles add to the Japanese eel.

The end o the corridor becomes a slender ofce/

bedroom, with a tall north-acing window that looks

out onto a tree and oers glimpses o Manhattans

minimally varied wildlie. We have a squirrel and

a nesting pigeon, Finger tells me, but o course

New Yorkers dont like pigeons. Jonah quickly

interjects: Excuse me, its a turtle dove, and therewere two eggs, and two doves mean good luck.

Clearly Jonah considers himsel lucky to have

had his pirate ship aspirations honored. He demon-

strates the easy transormation o his sleeping berth

rom desk into bed, which he can do by himsel. The

oor hatches are also kid-riendly, he readily proves,

with each section o mahogany oor liting up to

reveal cavities approximately eight inches deep or

storing electronics, clothes, and toys.

The storage units were designed and built by

a young rm called STRand, whom McGrath rst

encountered when the partners were students at

Virginia Tech. She and Oliver invited STRand tocollaborate on many o the wood elements in the

apartment. They designed the kitchen cabinets,

living room bookshelves, and even milled the

pine oor planks or the ront rooms, which they

salvaged rom a Virginia hay barn.

In the master bedroom, the couple now shares

their 7 square eet with baby Esther. Through their

window, the spire o the Empire State Building can

be vaguely made outa vista Finger relishes despite

its reliance on clear skies and sharp eyes. The bed

occupies most o the room, but its not wasted space.

The mattress rests on large rolling bins and the

ooring at the oot o the bed lits, too, though ornow the babys crib limits access.

The oursome can live harmoniously in their mod-

est domain, but Finger and Kennedy oresee a time

when Esthers toys will tip the balance and theyll

need more room. They oten talk about moving to

Australia, where Fingers amily still lives. We are

committed to raising our children to be comort-

able living outside the United States, says Kennedy.

When we do leave, it wont be or somewhere else

in the city. This is our home in New York. Until

the wind blows them in a new direction, theyre all

hoping Esther develops a penchant or pirates.

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The bed takes up nearly

the entire master

bedroom, but it doesnt

make the space feel

cramped. The wide window

keeps the tiny box

light, while storage

under the bed and floor

hides clutter (opposite

top). A skylight in the

compact bathroom opens

the space, and green

tiles give the room aspa-like feel (opposite

bottom).

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Finger Apt