{"id":179205,"date":"2026-03-29T23:37:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T23:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/179205\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T23:37:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T23:37:36","slug":"elizabeth-roberts-highlights-modest-presence-of-brooklyn-office-conversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/179205\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Roberts highlights “modest presence” of Brooklyn office conversion"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York studio Elizabeth Roberts Architects has restored a historic commercial space for a creative agency in Brooklyn<\/a>, retaining original features while adding contemporary touches.<\/p>\n

Sandwiched between blocks of red-brick rowhouses, the Degraw Street Office is located in the borough’s Cobble Hill neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

\"AA lounge area with tan-hued furniture greets guests entering the Arts & Sciences offices in Brooklyn<\/p>\n

The single-storey structure sits on a lot that Elizabeth Roberts Architects<\/a> traced back to 1855 using historic maps.<\/p>\n

While residential development on the site was present in the 1870s, the first clear record of an active storefront shows up in a 1940 tax photograph, when the structure was used as a barbershop.<\/p>\n

\"OfficeExposed wooden ceiling beams and picture rails are among the interior’s characterful features<\/p>\n

“Over the decades, the space likely supported a series of modest commercial uses, each leaving subtle traces of its past,” said the studio. “This layered history shaped a preservation-minded approach to the renovation.”<\/p>\n

The building is now home to production company Arts & Sciences<\/a>, which also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and London.<\/p>\n

\"OfficeThe storefront windows are screened with cafe curtains and plants<\/p>\n

The new office is designed to support a variety of functions, from focused writing and editing to collaborative sessions and client meetings.<\/p>\n

During the renovation, the studio restored the black front facade, which includes a trio of set-back doorways and large windows.<\/p>\n

\"AA curated art collection and patterned rugs add colour to the compact spaces<\/p>\n

“Much of the storefront’s original character had been lost through successive alterations, so the renovation sought to restore a sense of clarity and modest presence,” said Elizabeth Roberts Architects.<\/p>\n

“The preserved black facade maintains the understated rhythm of the block and keeps the building visually connected to its historic neighbours.”<\/p>\n

\"TexturedTextured carpets are layered to create a cosy atmosphere<\/p>\n

Inside, the expanses of glass fill the spaces with natural light, showcasing the exposed wooden ceiling beams and other characterful elements such as picture rails and panelling.<\/p>\n

The central reception room includes tan-hued lounge furniture \u2013 arranged atop layered, textured carpets \u2013 and a disco ball above the doorway.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Mouthwash<\/p>\n

Persian rugs add “element of surreal” to MW.S offices by Charlap Hyman & Herrero\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

An office featuring a wood-topped desk and black leather chairs occupies the room to the left, while a meeting area furnished with a large table and green seats is housed in the space on the right.<\/p>\n

Deep window ledges are utilised for storing books and displaying plants, which, together with beige cafe curtains help to create privacy for the occupants.<\/p>\n

\"RestoredThe building’s black facade was restored<\/p>\n

A curated collection of artworks and patterned rugs also adds colour and personality to the compact offices.<\/p>\n

“This complete gut renovation transforms the once-humble commercial room into a warm, inviting environment suited to today’s creative practice, carrying forward the modest and welcoming character of Cobble Hill through a contemporary lens,” said Elizabeth Roberts Architects.<\/p>\n

\"AnThe office sits between red-brick rowhouses in the Cobble Hill neighbourhood<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn and Bellport-based studio has previously completed a cedar alpine house in the Catskills Mountains<\/a> that connects two gabled forms underground.<\/p>\n

Other New York offices we’ve featured recently include a space designed by Charlap Hyman & Herrero for Mouthwash Studio<\/a>, in which antique Persian rugs are blended with modern furniture.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Chris Mottalini<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York studio Elizabeth Roberts Architects has restored a historic commercial space for a creative agency in Brooklyn,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[46151,98,100,99,9,24,61292,63,49291,6338,822,823,820],"class_list":{"0":"post-179205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-adaptive-reuse","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","11":"tag-brooklyn-news","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-new-york-offices","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-offices","17":"tag-renovations","18":"tag-sectionall","19":"tag-sectioninteriors","20":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}