Together, More or Less in Line, Just Keep Truckin' On

As an historic preservationist, I really appreciate adaptive re-use projects. As I'm sure I have said before, historic preservation does not just mean restoring a an old house to a museum quality, it can also be about updating a house for the future, while retaining many original features such as scale and materials. This house shown above in the East Village, was featured in Dwell Magazine. The Weiners took their unassuming row house and turned it into an industrial masterpiece. The bay windows on the front are made from truck beds! 

Talk about reusing materials! Here the Weiners sit in one of their truck bed bay windows--really an awesome way to recycle. 

The whole house takes on a very industrial feeling. 

To warm up the space, the Weiners used bright colors on ceilings and floors--this is in the rooftop penthouse. In their bedroom they painted the ceiling lavender! 

Here is the rooftop penthouse from the rear. The penthouse itself was entirely constructed from truck bodies (notice the break lights?). The penthouse also acts as a base for the solar panels. Additionally, the Weiner's installed a green roof seen here. 

Finally, here is the rear of the row house, a far cry from the front. The back wall is in fact not glass, it is made from Kallwall translucent panels, which give the space such a beautiful glow. Although the Weiner's industrial house may not be your taste, this is a lesson in how far out "preservation" can really go. It is all about sustainability and continuing to use those buildings that were built 200, 100, or even 50 years ago. You don't have to live in a museum to be a preservationist. 

The most important part is that the row house retains many of its historic qualities from the street. Walking by, you might not even notice how different or modern it is, however, upon closer inspection you realize that it is a bit different from its flanking neighbors. The Weiners maintained the home's brick exterior and scale that fits in with the other homes on the block, and one would never know about the uber modern industrial qualities that lay right on the other side of those truck bed bay windows--that is, until you notice the truck beds. 

photos courtesy of Dwell Magazine