When the artist Tara Donovan purchased a mid-block auto body garage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2005, she hired Standard Architects to convert the structure into a three-story live/work residence. Over the two-year commission, Robbie Crawford collaborated on Donovan’s project as a designer at Standard Architects. Since Donovan and Crawford married in 2007, they have continually worked together on adapting the building’s spaces to their changing needs.
Standard Architecture’s design had retained the existing commercial ground floor full on the lot and placed a smaller volume atop it, creating a residential rear-yard setback at the second floor. The second floor interior comprised additional studio and office space, and a one-bedroom apartment and rooftop gardens crowned the house. The upper-story spaces were treated separately from the ground-floor studio, accessed by a ground-floor entrance that Standard Architects had expressed as a narrow atrium. All floors share a similar approach to fenestration, with narrow windows facing the street and rear walls of glass overlooking a city playground.
In 2009, while Donovan was expecting twins, Crawford Practice reconfigured the second-floor interior and terrace to accommodate the growing family. The design moved the open office from the front of the building to a space adjacent to the terrace, enclosed a bedroom behind the street elevation with a large sliding door, and placed a lounge area between the office and the new bedroom. When the sliding-door is retracted, the space feels undivided, maintaining the original quality of openness. The terrace was converted to an outdoor playroom by employing softer surfaces underfoot, a wall garden, and a metal paneled wall with movable magnetic silhouettes. The result is a family space where activity flows freely between indoors and out.