In a quiet pocket of Tribeca, where the echoes of the neighbourhood’s industrial past still hum through cast-iron facades and timber-beamed lofts, one apartment tells a story of both preservation and reinvention. The building itself is a curious architectural patchwork – four historic structures linked together by artists in the 1960s, resulting in apartments of idiosyncratic shape and charm. Reimagined by Studio Officina, the 1,600-square-foot loft combines a generous, open-plan living space with a long, narrow corridor leading to the bathroom – an unusual layout that perfectly reflects the building’s artistic origins.

When the owner discovered the apartment, it had been left virtually untouched for decades. Its cast-iron columns, timber beams, painted white floors and large industrial skylights all remained intact. The design team’s challenge was to preserve the loft’s raw, industrial beauty while reworking it as a comfortable home. New windows, air conditioning, and electrical systems were introduced to meet modern standards, but every intervention was handled with restraint.

At the room’s centre sits a vintage copper bath, lovingly kept from the client’s mother’s home and finally given pride of place. Around it, antique furnishings, a chandelier and a softly draped curtain enclosing the WC lend intimacy and individuality. Drummonds’ fittings in unlacquered brass add a subtle glow that complements the warm palette and the natural patina of the copper.

The powder room, by contrast, channels a touch of playful English eccentricity. Schumacher’s floral wallpaper sets a joyful tone, offset by a bright yellow vintage mirror and a small portrait that once hung in the client’s mother’s home. The focal point is Drummonds’ Syre vanity basin. “The Syre hand basin is possibly the most beautiful plumbing fixture I have ever seen,” says Studio Officina. “I would install one in every powder room if I could.”

Throughout, craftsmanship and continuity are key. Painted wood floors run underfoot, baseboards and casings echo traditional millwork, and the palette of soft whites, warm brass and faded colour gives the loft a gentle sense of nostalgia. The kitchen, by DeVOL, reinforces the English sensibility, its handmade cabinetry complementing the rest of the space.

The resulting home captures something rare: a dialogue between industrial and decorative, old and new, New York and England. What was once a raw artist’s studio is now a home layered with memory, craft and grace – a modern loft with the soul of another era, where every object tells a story and every finish has been chosen to last.

General contractor: Sync Construction 

Photographer: Hanna Grankvist 

Architect: Studio Officina