We renovated seven entrances and lobbies for Sedgwick Houses, a 1950s NYCHA supportive housing development. The main challenge was providing Sedgwick Houses with ADA access to an upper elevator lobby which was 28 inches above the front entry. To maintain NYCHA’s strict requirements for visibility and security, we provided an interior ramp with a freestanding mailbox enclosure. The ramp afforded a bay window, which maximizes visibility into and out of the lobby, demarcates the entry of each building, and provides a location for a part-time, tenant patrol desk. The finishes echo the restrained character of the existing buildings. These include stainless steel for the storefronts, doors, railings, and mailbox enclosures, and tinted concrete with reflective aggregate for the floors, ramps, stairs, and mailbox plinth. The two central columns are accentuated with brightly colored tile.

Client: New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
Program: residential (rehabilitation and addition).
Size: 7 building entrances and lobbies.
Team: Structural: Dunne & Markis Consulting Structural Engineers. Mechanical: P.A. Collins. General Contractor: AJET Enterprises.
Photography: David Sundberg / ESTO. ESKW/Architects.
Awards: AIA New York State Citation Design Award for Interior Architecture, 2006.