Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

A Punched-Up Brooklyn Townhouse Holds Three New Condos

A Punched-Up Brooklyn Townhouse Holds Three New Condos

Overlay Office turns an 1899 building in South Slope into bright, two-bedroom units that have plenty of graphic flair.

Walking along a row of turn-of-the-century townhouses on Seventh Avenue in South Slope, Brooklyn, you might think: One of these homes is not like the others.



The ground floor of 460 Seventh Avenue, previously altered by a past owner to make room for a restaurant, is clad in charred wood siding. On the upper two floors, painted arches reference the arched roofs of the nearby Park Slope Armory-and the building’s previous renovations.

Completed in 1899, the four-story building is a playful take on tradition. While the brick-clad residence is plainer than the nearby Italianate-style brownstones for which the borough is famous, its architecture is not without decorative touches-such as the carved stone corbels at the edge of its rooftop cornice.



Each of the three units comes with its own outdoor space, including this covered deck on the second floor.

The building at 460 Seventh Avenue has its masonry painted dark gray, and on the ground floor, its brick facade gives way to shou sugi ban timber cladding. The townhouse’s symmetrical trios of windows have also been interrupted: On the ground floor, there’s a larger expanse of storefront glass, and on the upper two floors, painted arches are deliberately offset from the grid-hence the project’s new name: House Offset.



The renovation retained the brick building's original character, but completely renovated the unit layouts and surfaces, including introducing new white oak floors and stair treads.

"I love to use a graphic sensibility in my work with thoughtful color choices and pure geometries," explains Abigail Coover, founder of Overlay Office, which both designed and developed the project.



The kitchen is finished with matte-black surfaces and a curve motif, with pops of color from its sink hardware.

Coover had never purchased a building before taking on this townhouse, but she was intrigued by the possibility of her firm combining design and development as part of its core mission. "It was a steep learning curve, and a huge challenge, but also very rewarding," she says. "It’s a way as a small firm in Brooklyn to have a totally different kind of revenue stream."



"It was a steep learning curve, and a huge challenge, but also very rewarding," says Overlay Office founder Abigail Coover.

Coover, who also teaches at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute School of Architecture, founded Overlay Office in 2019. The firm’s portfolio betrays an affinity for play and experimentation that often combines architecture and graphics, be it for a children’s playground or a pediatric therapy space.



The arch motif begun on the building’s exterior continues inside the units.

Researching the Seventh Avenue townhouse’s 120-year history, Coover and her Overlay Office team discovered it had been altered numerous times. The offset, painted arches on the facade not only reference the arched roofs of the nearby Park Slope Armory, but also the building’s previous iterations.



The most spacious of the three units includes a partially sunken lower floor for its bedrooms.

The arch motif continues inside in the form of arched mirrors and curved kitchen shelving. It’s coupled with a series of colorful, contemporary material choices for various surfaces, such as recycled plastic by Durat used in the bathroom wall, tub and sink surfaces that ape the look of terrazzo, and colorful sink fixtures from Watermark Brooklyn.



A small living area tucked under the stairs.

"We took the opportunity to use familiar details, objects, and materials in creative and unexpected ways," says Coover. "I was trying to do as high a quality as possible, while still being on a budget, with creative use of materials, like the colored faucets."



An overhead perspective drawing of the roof deck.

The building has been divided into three condominiums, each with two bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths, with the largest unit at 1,341 square feet occupying an exposed lower level and the ground floor. Each of the two upstairs units (743 and 812 square feet, respectively) occupies a whole floor, and all three units come with their own dedicated outdoor space, including a roof deck that’s part of the top-floor condo.



An overhead perspective of the building's first floor.

Its painted arches notwithstanding, perhaps the standout quality of 460 Seventh Avenue is that it offers design on a budget. "People keep telling the agent, ‘I didn’t know a project like this existed in Brooklyn,’" Coover says. "There’s a bit of a cookie-cutter kind of thing in Brooklyn. This doesn’t fit that mold."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×