The Green Box

The apartment uses strong colors, natural materials, precise planning, contrasts of cool and warm — and a few surprises. By locating a single but complex green millwork box at the center of the long apartment, circulation can flow around all sides and the design makes the most of existing material conditions. The palette of rich colors and materials contrasts with neutral raw concrete walls and ceilings to harmonize cool and warm. Before transformation, the top-floor apartment had floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides and exposed concrete walls on the other sides. It was raw, cool, and open — qualities the design sought to preserve. Rather than creating conventional rooms that would diminish this openness, the architects positioned a freestanding millwork box away from the walls, forming rooms in the spaces between. Lacquered in a deep green, the central box pairs with warm golds, violets, and browns to contrast the coolness of the exposed concrete ceiling and walls. Through contrasting materials, colors, and crafted details, the apartment becomes a home that is simultaneously cool and cozy.