Sharon Davis Design Studio

New York City, NY

Sharon Davis Design Studio

New York City, NY

Designed and constructed in 2012, the Sharon Davis Design studio embodies the firm’s thought process, in addition to serving as its home base. The renovation particularly applies high functionality and a clean, professional aesthetic to a vintage setting. In this case the historic context is an unusually expansive West Village townhouse that began life in the early 20th century as a fresh-produce warehouse serving the historic Gansevoort Market, and the top floor of which Sharon Davis’s team adapted into a 10-person office.

An open conference room is located immediately behind the front elevation, to improve daylight penetration in the adjoining interior, and two existing skylights were installed with motorized shading to control solar thermal gain and glare from the sunshine. The rear of the floor is devoted to versatile workspace that encourages interaction between colleagues. Between front and back, bookshelves line one wall to hold project binders and product information, while the opposite wall’s magnetic marker board allows teammates to display and discuss current work; together the walls multiply usage and dispel clutter. A vintage stair, originally designed by Roger Tallon and retrofitted with a custom handrail and stainless-steel trim, punctuates this middle space and leads to a model shop. A bathroom and storage closet stand near the stair, and wallpapering helps identify this whole area as a service core.

In addition to illustrating principles of daylighting, flexibility, productivity, and minimalism, the project boasts several green features. Air-conditioning is delivered via split system, high-performance windows are sympathetic to the historic building’s appearance, LED lighting is recessed within dropped ceilings, and flooring was obtained from ethical sources.