Studio Geiger Architecture & Design

1,100 sq. ft. space - Renovation of existing boutique

Liesl acted as the Architect of Record for this space, and a consultant for the design.

4,700 sq.ft. Main House, with 400 sq.ft. Garage - Renovation & Addition to Garden Level

Upon finding this immensely beautiful three story redwood house which had not been updated since the turn of last century, this family simultaneously planned a renovation and a move across country to the Bay area with their two young girls. After decades of living in New York, what they valued most would be a strong connection to nature. The bond with nature became a guiding design principle. When the Structural Engineer advised re-building the foundation to better withstand future earthquakes, it was an invitation to open the entire floor to the landscape - a Garden Room, Wine Cellar, Library, and crafts Studio. The focus on nature would also include modernizing for environmental efficiency - a living roof on the Garage, on-demand hot water and solar hot water systems, a zinc roof which allows pure rainwater run off into the gardens, and sustainable materials such as wood, stone, ceramic, steel and natural rubber.

Wherever possible, Studio Geiger chose artisan-made or handmade items in keeping with a reinvented modern spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement - an idea which translated into hand painted tiles in the Kitchen, handmade Heath tiles in the Bathrooms, hand-blocked wallpapers, and all cabinetry made by a local cabinetmaker or manufacturers whose products embody an attention to craft. The deep redwood tones inside and out provided a rich backdrop against which all other color and material choices followed.

The design received an Honor from the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.

Landscape: Elysian Landscapes

Interiors: Commune Design

Landscape Design:

Farm Landscape Design 

3,350 sq.ft. Main House, with 2,500 sq.ft. Guesthouse / Garage

Whenever on Shelter Island, the client uses his motorboat much as one might normally drive a car: he picks up guests at the ferry, eats lunch in town, and takes architectural tours of the island with it. In fact, the idea of being on Shelter Island for him is to be constantly near the water, and the design of his house allows for this effortlessly. The back of the house which faces Dering Harbor and the client's motorboat dock actually acts as a second front of the house, with large openings and strong symmetric forms inviting guests from the yard, terraces and pool, where all of the daily activities take place. While on the property or in the house, one is always at most only a few steps away from experiencing the harbor. Even from the Motor Court, the placement of glazed windows and doors allow transparency through to the sailboats and water beyond.

To come upon these two structures under the towering Oak trees is to recognize the familiar island vernacular architecture and its minimal material palette of white shingles, deep red clay brick, and dark green shutters and evergreen plantings. To spend time in this house is to understand that the organization is about experiencing the landscape, light, views and connections between and within the structures. The idea behind the simple sometimes classical detailing is to dress up the house, while allowing it to be the casual, All-American summer house that it wants to be.

Construction: Delamere Building

Interior Decoration: Bierly-Drake

This 2,150 sq. ft. apartment in the mid-century Butterfield House complex has views of a courtyard garden on the south side and West 12th Street on the other. We made minimal but high-impact architectural moves to emphasize the spatial strengths of this apartment with open, flowing spaces and large, billowing glass and steel windows. Rooms that had been closed off were opened up to one another and unneeded construction was removed. Every surface is orchestrated, from paint and wall paper, to details of cased openings, backpainted glass, poured concrete countertops, walnut flooring, marble slab walls, teak, and metallic lacquer surfaces on cabinetry, to the crafted walnut slab sliding door and heating enclosure, as well as architectural and decorative lighting and a custom armoire. The clients desired what they termed a "happy" environment, and they are pleased.

Photographer: Mikiko Kikuyama

1,710 sq.ft.

Studio Geiger Architecture was awarded an Honorable Mention for its entry in the Building Trust International competition entitled PLAYscapes. As prompted by the competition brief, our aim was to propose a playful public landscape for a neglected, forgotten part of a city – in this case New York City. Our proposal, STAIRSCAPE, is an active extension of the city bench. Located on a narrow vacant lot on the Bowery in the Lower East Side, the project maximizes the vertical space of the lot to create a multi-purpose, dynamic space for play, rest, motion, people watching, eating, and contemplating. Through material continuity and adaptation of the stair module, STAIRSCAPE provides a space that is accessible and engages all age groups. Stairs of two different sizes create steps for seating, as well as for movement through the tiered vertical garden space. Terraces provide areas to gather and rest, while the slide, monkey bars, and tethered balls add colorful playfulness to the vertical pocket park. STAIRSCAPE redefines the concepts of the city bench and the pocket park to make them accessible to a broader public, as well as providing a whimsical space of play and respite for the Lower East Side of Manhattan. For more information, see here.

For the first phase of this Greenwich Village landmarked townhouse renovation, Studio Geiger is excavating the existing garden terrace to bring it to the level of the Kitchen and Family Room area - where the family spends much of its time. In addition, we are building a two-story glass and metal extension to open the Ground and Parlor Floor interiors to the garden and plantings that will grow there. In the Kitchen and Family Area renovation, we are unearthing the natural textures of the townhouse - the brick walls and wood ceiling joists - preserving the antique floor and re-making simple traditional wooden windows to create a warm, simple and inviting atmosphere. The second phase of the renovation which includes modifications to the the Master Bedroom Suite and a Green Roof Garden is in progress.

We transformed this 10,700 square foot floor of a loft building in SoHo from a raw factory space into what would be the forerunning post-production film studio in Manhattan, with state-of-the-art equipment, high quality sound isolation, and other desirable amenities. The program required numerous on-line and off-line editing studios where clients could rent space, as well as open studios for the Edgeworx employees to use. As editors spend long hours, day and night on deadlines, an emphasis on communal living and comfort drove a number of decisions, such as the main circulation path, a large functional Kitchen, library and lounge, easily accessible cabinetry and storage, and individually monitored heating, cooling and air systems. Sustainable materials and surfaces are incorporated where possible.

"We would like this space to feel like a loft", said the clients who were living in a Tribeca loft at the time they decided to renovate two one-bedroom apartments into a 1,300 sq.ft., two-bedroom apartment in The Alden, a pre-war Emery Roth building on the Upper West Side. The ensuing design allows a simultaneous view out the nine windows to the treetops of Central Park when the doors are open, allowing the space to flow from the main Living and Dining spaces, through the Boudoir Hall, to the Master Bedroom Suite, then back around to the Study which doubles as a Second Bedroom. The materials chosen were to evoke those from India, where the client's families are from, even as the lines are kept simple and the palette restrained. Now a loft-like space exists within the rhythms and elegance of the pre-war boundaries.

Renovation & Addition

What the clients liked most about this 3,000 square foot townhouse when they purchased it was its history and potential as a home. At the time, the house itself was in complete disrepair, and any original details had been stripped away. We undertook a complete renovation from structural stabilization and digging out the Basement, to installing a full new mechanical system, electrical and plumbing, reconfiguration of rooms on the floors, new wood floors, and stairway, to the numerous custom wood and stone details throughout. The clients asked that the construction techniques be as true as possible to building methods of the time of original construction, including using solid wood and wood joinery with as little steel as possible. Simple Greek Revival detailing typical to late 19th Century New York townhouses is woven together with inspiration from colonial homes and Paris, France and integrated into a whole.

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When our studio began work on the design, this 2,050 square foot Crosby Street loft was a raw space with grand, classical details at the ceiling and baseboards and floors showing the patina from age and industrial wear. Sensitive to the existing space, we restored the original detailing along the exterior perimeter of the loft while adapting a two bedroom apartment to keep as much of the open space and impressive proportions as possible. Insertions, including a Wine Room, Kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms, insinuate themselves into the space adding drama of light, and subtle juxtapositions of materials and styles to create a comfortable, functional home.

A brand known for feminine clothing and footwear asked us to design the concept for their 1,200 sq.ft. flagship boutique on a prominent Nolita corner location. Drawing from Hollywood cinema, 1930s spatial design, vacation getaways and the brand color blue, we worked closely with the designer to refine the design which was accepted for development and construction.

A neutral palette, attention to textures, lines and materials add a layer of simplicity and focus to the interior of this 6,500 sq. ft. Queen Anne brownstone on the West Side of Manhattan. When we began work on this house, the clients had just purchased it, but had not yet moved in. The design had been renovated numerous times, and there was inconsistency from floor to floor, room to room. Additionally, the design was not to the clients liking. We jumped in to provide full design services, from choosing the paint palette for the entire house, to designing custom marble mantelpiece surrounds, providing carpeting, window treatments, upholstery fabrics and services, refinishing floors, re-placing architectural light fixtures, as well as custom furniture design and choosing furniture and fixtures such as sofas, antique sconces and chandeliers, floor lamps and art lighting. After the client moved in we undertook a renovation of the full Ground Floor, including the Kitchen, lighting, HVAC, cabinetry, stairs and storage to make it a comfortable center of their family life.

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Liesl Geiger-Kincade acted as Project Manager for the Interior Architecture of this Dormitory at the Taft School while working with Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

As Robert A.M. Stern’s website describes this project, the “new residence hall links with the existing Charles Phelps Taft Hall to allow the Taft School to complete the process of becoming a coeducational residential school. The new building provides the flexibility essential to improving the quality of both student and faculty housing in the School's existing dormitories. It includes three classrooms, forty-eight student rooms, four common rooms, and four faculty apartments.

In its design, the new residence hall reflects the high quality of the Taft School's architectural heritage. During major building campaigns in the early twentieth century, the School was designed in an almost seamless fashion by Bertram G. Goodhue and James Gamble Rogers, forming in effect one single building. The composition was unified by a common architectural vocabulary and use of materials designed to celebrate the institution as a whole. In the 1960s, the School unfortunately strayed from this language. Our building returns to the original architectural vocabulary of the campus, forming a single composition with the existing dormitory. It has been carefully sited so that it creates, along with existing buildings, a new courtyard.”

Liesl Geiger-Kincade acted as Project Manager for this house while working with Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

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