The Insider: Glass Block, Arches Distinguish Bed Stuy Reno

"Our first step was coming up with a floor plan based on our clients' lifestyle. We saw that we could create a guest room/den in the front and a generous primary suite and nursery in the back, with two full bathrooms in the middle within the same footprint where there had been one large central bath."

"There's an open access drive to the lot behind, so there's no adjacent home on one side. To maintain that light but comply with code, Dunham Robinson used a special fire-rated glass block in the existing openings on both floors. It's considered part of the facade, and works so nicely, we actually added a couple of glass block openings."

Architects Rachel Robinson and Michael Dunham of Dunham Robinson redesigned the lower duplex of a three-story Brooklyn townhouse for a young family. They reorganized the compartmentalized layout by moving living, dining, and kitchen to the garden level while placing three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the parlor floor. This reconfiguration created a guest room, generous primary suite, and nursery within the existing footprint. The architects maximized natural light by installing fire-rated glass blocks in openings along an adjacent lot line, complying with building codes while maintaining brightness. They incorporated unexpected design elements, including curved walls, and removed layers of outdated modifications to create a cohesive, personalized interior.

Read at Brownstoner