Retreat House

retreat house
red hook, Brooklyn, NY 

Madsen Engineering converted an existing three-story Red Hook commercial building abandoned in the late stages of construction around 2010 into a stunning single family residence.

The architectural firm, Thread Collective, designed the residence with twenty-foot-high ceilings, open floor plans and generously sized lift & slide windows that allow interior spaces that flow inside and out. A gallery like appearance reflects the client’s extensive art collection. A mid-century modern aesthetic is displayed by polished concrete floors, wood ceilings, steel lattice screens, a sunken seating area, and lap pool in the side yard. 

The existing structure – composite concrete on metal deck floors supported by steel beams and columns – was analyzed and modified as needed for the new loads and loading conditions, new building code, as well as for wet-proofing and buoyancy due to flooding. The lateral system of the building had to be upgraded as well as some of the steel to steel connections.  

(Photos and renderings from Madsen archive and Thread Collective - used by permission)