Previous pages: Dating back to the 1900s, this New
York industrial loft had already been converted
to an apartment when its current owners
bought it. Architect Alexander Gorlin says the
existing apartment was a rabbit warren of small
rooms, whereas his new configuration creates
a large open and flexible space that suits both
comfortable daily living as well as entertaining.
Above: The existing apartment was totally gutted
apart from the structural columns, and everything
peeled back to reveal the original brick walls. The
seating niche was created by removing smaller
rooms that were in front of it.
search | save | share at
One of the general rules to follow when
planning the layout of a home is to arrange
the space so public living areas are sepa-
rated from the more private areas such as
bedrooms and bathrooms.
But architect Alexander Gorlin took a
different tack when renovating this indus-
trial loft in New York’s Chelsea district
– installing a large pivoting mirrored panel
that creates a flexible connection between
the new open living area and main bath-
room and bedroom.
Although the space in the original
1900s building had already been con-
verted to residential, Gorlin says the
existing interior didn’t suit its new owners
or their lifestyle.
“It had been chopped up into a rabbit
warren of rooms,” he says. “We started by
totally gutting and reconfiguring it so you
could experience it as a single space.”
With all the partitioning gone, Gorlin
was left with a 250m 2 shell, with just the
support columns intact.
The existing small-paned windows
were replaced with large single panes to