Case study

Box Skylight Allows Seamless Access to This Roof Deck

Overview

A historic 19th-century townhouse in Manhattan was beautifully restored and modernized by Dixon Projects, crowned with a sleek three-wall box skylight that adds natural light, rooftop access, and panoramic city views.

Details

Architect

RMF Bryant

Products used

Three Wall Box Skylight

The Brief

Located in the Jumel Terrace Historic District of Washington Heights in north Manhattan, this late 19th century 3 storey apartment house on 432nd W 162nd Street has not only been returned to its former glory, but has been beautifully enhanced with a state-of-the-art kitchen and stunning contemporary bathrooms. The glazed three-wall box skylight supplied by Glazing Vision is a stunning 21st century addition to this property, helping to successfully unlock that all-important roof top space in this metropolitan city.

Dixon Projects, a real estate company with a substantial portfolio of property around New York and New Jersey, were keen to realize the huge potential of this attractive old colonial townhouse. Built in 1899, set on a plot of 1,911 sqft and offering almost 3600 sqft of internal space, it presented an eclectic mix of original features – very high ceilings complete with decorative moldings, huge windows, as well as a plethora of rich historical fittings and fixtures. This included dark hardwood floors and doors, elegant tiled fireplaces, wood paneling to the stairwell to complement the ornately carved balustrade, and exquisite cornices and architraves. The impressive front entrance, reached from the pavement by imposing stone stairs, looked out onto a wide avenue with established trees. The location itself was also superb: just around the corner from Manhattan’s oldest house, the Morris Jumel Mansion and a stone’s throw from the lush playgrounds of Highbridge Park on the River Harlem and Roger Morris Park.

The Solution

It is on the roof that Dixon Projects were especially ambitious and forward thinking. Keen to utilize the huge space on the flat roof top as well as to add further value to the property, Dixon were looking for an innovative and contemporary “glass box”. This needed to maximize the amount of natural daylight coming into the floor below whilst offering easy access to the terrace. A lack of suitable options from American glazing suppliers led Dixon Projects to look abroad. Following extensive research and an on-site meeting with Glazing Vision’s senior management, Dixon Projects decided upon Glazing Vision’s three-wall box skylight, which offered both the high quality and technical features that they were seeking.

Approval from the “Landmarks Preservation Committee (LPC)” had to be secured for the box skylight as the house was a listed property; a critical requirement to this was that it should not be visible from the sidewalk. Once approved, the box skylight was then precision-engineered to the size required by the client, manufactured entirely at Glazing Vision’s factory in Norfolk, England, pre-assembled, crated and finally shipped to Dixon Projects in NYC. In addition, the installation of the box skylight including pre-install surveys and remedial building work to ensure the surrounding walls on the roof top were straight were all supervised by Glazing Vision’s own office in the US.