TYPE: Mixed-Use
STATUS: Built
Located on cobblestone-lined historic Trenton Ave. in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, NYLON LOFTS is an adaptive reuse of a former garment manufacturing building. With varying floor levels and an irregular property shape, the original structure was not an obvious candidate for reuse as residential loft units. The solution was to remove and rebuild the front portion of the building, and then connect to the remaining rear portion to form a two-winged structure with a new central stair facing an original exterior masonry wall. The building features a marriage of old and new: brand new living spaces contrast with existing whitewashed brick, stained and polished columns and beams, and suspended hoist equipment. The reuse of a difficult and oddly configured structure resulted in one-of-a-kind details, and saved a historic building from the wrecking ball.