Ply Loft

New York, USA

Photo © Frank Oudeman

Picture © nARCHITECTS

Architects: nARCHITECTS

Location: New York, USA
Year: 2005

Ply Loft is an artists’ live/work space that responds to the familiar New York predicament of too much program and too little space. A sinuous surface of bendable plywood separates private and storage spaces from the living area, balancing a sense of openness with enclosure. Flush sliding doors of the same ply material double as dimmers for light fixtures concealed in the door pockets: Opening a door diminishes the intensity of artificial light and raises that of daylight, whereas sliding the door shut increases artificial light levels and lowers the amount of daylight. A wall of sliding sheer screens in front of the south-facing windows also modulates daylight. Via the active sliding elements of the sinuous ply surface and the translucent window screens, both artificial and natural light are dynamically modulated according to the artists’ daily activities.