{"id":533598,"date":"2026-03-19T22:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T22:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/533598\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T22:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T22:28:16","slug":"architects-rebuild-a-sinking-brownstone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/533598\/","title":{"rendered":"Architects Rebuild a Sinking Brownstone"},"content":{"rendered":"

This turn-of-the-20th-century brownstone had such serious structural issues it needed a down-to-the-shell gut.<\/p>\n

One thing Douglas Segulja has learned from years of architectural practice is this: \u201cNever take the initial call at face value. The project often grows into something entirely different.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what happened with this turn-of-the-20th-century brownstone, which had such serious structural issues it needed a down-to-the-shell gut. A pair of longtime homeowners who\u2019d been living on the two lower floors of their building called on Segulja and Margot Otten, his partner in Brooklyn- and Hoboken-based OSSO Architecture<\/a>, to expand their living space when the birth of twins grew their family from three members to five.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had rental units on the two floors above and had always talked about expanding up,\u201d Otten said. The floors in the owners\u2019 duplex been leveled, but \u201cthe slope of the floors in the rental units was incredible\u2013you felt like you were on a boat.\u201d The architects knew they\u2019d have to at least replace all the upper floor joists, but the clients were also interested in adding a story, with the additional load that entails. \u201cThat\u2019s when we looked into the foundation, found out the building had settled, and what our options were for stabilizing it,\u201d Otten said.<\/p>\n

Turns out the house had been built on a 25-foot-deep pit of coal ash and was sinking significantly from front to back, requiring substantial structural intervention. Step one was driving 32 helical piles, or metal columns, forty feet into the ground beneath existing foundation walls to reach a solid base. Then interior demolition proceeded until only the front facade and party walls were left standing.<\/p>\n

OSSO Architecture reimagined the interior with an emphasis on wood, mostly oak, per the clients\u2019 request. The floors are oak, with radiant heating beneath. The all-new central staircase is wood, with hand-carved oak handrails. Windows and sills are wood as well. There is extensive custom millwork throughout by KF Restoration, the general contractor.<\/p>\n

The now five-story townhouse has guest space and storage on the garden level, a sitting room, dining and kitchen on the main floor, a primary suite and family room on the second, kids\u2019 bedrooms and a home office on the third. Atop it all is a spectacular new rooftop penthouse for family living and entertaining, with landscaped terraces on each side.<\/p>\n

OSSO Architecture replaced a crumbling brick stoop that was not original to the house with bluestone treads, open risers, and a steel railing. They cleaned up the exterior facade, installed new Pella windows, and restored the original front doors, now boldly painted Exotic Purple by Benjamin Moore.<\/p>\n

\"ENTRY<\/a><\/p>\n

The architects added a small vestibule with an oak door for another layer of weather protection. They introduced wide curved openings between rooms \u201cto go along with the curves of the new stairs,\u201d Otten said.<\/p>\n

\"VIEW<\/a><\/p>\n

Stairs on the lower levels have solid oak risers and treads. \u201cWe wanted them to feel grounded, like a townhouse stair,\u201d said Otten. \u201cIt transitions to more of a floating stair at the top, very open so light comes through.\u201d Oak spindles downstairs change to steel on the upper levels, but the hand-carved oak rail is \u201cone long sinuous line,\u201d as Otten put it, from top to bottom.<\/p>\n

\"POWDER<\/a><\/p>\n

Hidden in the kitchen\u2019s wall of cabinetry is a powder room with a custom sink of Calacatta lilac marble.<\/p>\n

\"KITCHEN<\/a><\/p>\n

\"KITCHEN<\/a><\/p>\n

Planes of fixed glass, with two doors, make up the new back wall on the parlor level.<\/p>\n

The Blue Star range was ordered early on in the process. The kitchen millwork, all custom, includes a marble-topped island with storage on one side and seating on the other. Glass pendant lights by Pablo Glass, out of Woodstock, hang above.<\/p>\n

\"UPSTAIRS<\/a><\/p>\n

Positioning the new staircase in the middle of the building, with large skylights above, brings light deep into the house.<\/p>\n

\"BEDROOM<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BUILT<\/a><\/p>\n

Vertical grain oak uniformly clads new closets and other built-ins in the primary bedroom. The exceptionally deep window sills are the result of a thickened back wall, one of the ways OSSO Architecture addressed the slanting site condition.<\/p>\n

\"PRIMARY<\/a><\/p>\n

\"PRIMARY<\/a><\/p>\n

The primary bath has a spa-like feel, with six-foot cedar panels wrapping the walls and a slate floor from Cl\u00e9. A semi-transparent piece of glass in the ceiling above the Spoon tub from Agape brings light into the windowless space from the skylight two floors above. The floating vanity has a custom cast-concrete sink and custom medicine cabinets.<\/p>\n

\"STAIRS<\/a><\/p>\n

The last light-flooded flight of stairs before the roof, with open risers and steel balusters, \u201cfeels like you\u2019re popping up to this more contemporary, brand new element,\u201d Otten said.<\/p>\n

\"ROOFTOP<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CORNER<\/a><\/p>\n

The new penthouse, approximately 400 square feet, is flexible space for entertaining, working from home, and just hanging out. It contains a beverage fridge and small sink and dishwasher to enable easy clean-up.<\/p>\n

The penthouse is pulled back from the facades, per zoning regulations, at both front and back. Tile-paved terraces on either side is the happy result, with plantings by Brooklyn-based Hannah Edmunds Gardens.<\/p>\n

\"EXTERIOR<\/a><\/p>\n

A cantilevered steel and glass awning on the Manhattan-facing side allows outdoor seating even when it rains.<\/p>\n

\"NEW<\/a><\/p>\n

The entire rear facade is new, with a stucco finish and Alu-clad windows from Pella. Aluminum spandrel panels between the windows cover the structural steel. \u201cIt makes the windows feel more continuous, instead of punched out,\u201d Otten said.<\/p>\n

[Photos by Erik Bernstein<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Got a project to propose for\u00a0The Insider?\u00a0Contact Cara at caramia447 [at] gmail [dot] com<\/p>\n

The Insider\u00a0is Brownstoner\u2019s weekly in-depth look at a notable interior design\/renovation project, by design journalist\u00a0Cara Greenberg<\/a>. Find it here every Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

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