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ArchDC Summer 2018.qxp_Summer 2018 5/29/18 2:43 PM Page 54

Fireplace and translucent glass panels Photo © Eric Laignel
with the staircase visible beyond.
and the creation of serene residential environments.
“When there’s order in your personal environment,
where things know where they want to go and can be
put away, that gives some people a great sense of comfort
and peace,” said Denison.
To start, Denison and his team completely gutted
the existing 2,200-square-foot, two-story apartment that
occupies the sixth and seventh floors of a seven-story
building. Using a material palette of wood, stone, and
glass in subtle earth-tone finishes and textures, the new
apartment has an open and airy feel, while providing a
clear definition of space for each of the distinct functions
of living and working.
Natural light helps give shape to the apartment. In
fact, light is fundamental to how Denison approaches
architecture. “It’s essential to my thinking about space,”
he said. “The line of light coming through the windows
and the way it marches across the floor during the day,
for me, is a very important active component of
[design] thinking.”
One layer of light in the apartment comes from the
wall of west-facing windows. However, Denison wanted
to open the space vertically as well as horizontally, so he
located the residence’s main staircase at the apartment
entry and directly below an existing skylight. This served
as the project starting point for Denison and allowed him
to set up a series of “cross axes of views” so that “you
really understand the full dimension of the space.”
The apartment’s public areas—kitchen, living room
and dining room—occupy the lower level, and the more
private areas—master suite, office, and guest room—are
located on the upper floor. To connect these two zones,
Denison played with the stair volume so that it reads as
a sculptural mass, rather than an object floating in space.
The quarter-sawn oak stairs incorporate a riser detail
Denison first observed as an architecture student in
Rome. Cut into each stair is a toe kick, as if each step has
literally been carved out of a block of wood. A perimeter
ceiling cove, illuminated with linear LED fixtures, helps
define the two-story space, and the combination of electric
light and natural light from the skylight above gives the
space an ethereal glow. The stair also serves as a visual
transition point bringing the illuminated glow from View from the master bedroom toward the
conference room and studio/guest room.
54 DOMESTIC ORDER