
Void House by Light and Air
A typical New York City brownstone is characterised by its iconic stoop, narrow facade and warm-hued sandstone exterior, often punctuated by tall windows and classic 19th-century details. Many also feature a narrow period staircase perpendicular to the length of the building – a feature that New York City–based studio Light and Air considered more limiting than liberating, restricting how the space could be used. In designing Void House, a 300-square-metre brownstone in Manhattan’s Carnegie Hill neighbourhood, the practice rotated the rowhouse staircase ninety degrees, transforming it from a mere functional thoroughfare into the home’s pièce de résistance.