Originally a box and packaging manufacturing company in the Warehouse District of New Orleans, the Lengsfield Building has experienced several modifications over its lifetime. The newest occupants are New Orleans residents who take advantage of the minimal design aesthetic of an existing building fitted with a new, contemporary architecture: Open, mutable space as a living environment is rare in the heart of an established urban landscape, but the loft units at Lengsfield were envisioned with just this quality in mind.
Masonry walls, bare concrete floors, exposed pipes and historic steel frame windows contrast with the modern materials in the minimalist kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping quarters of twenty lofts, five penthouse units, and four artist live/work studios. Oversized moveable panels of translucent polycarbonate add to the distinction between existing architecture and new elements, reinforcing connections between zones via open space. The new construction penthouse features expansive glass, showcasing views of the city. The stepped massing distinguishes public from private space, and the industrial feel of the building is carried through with metal components on the exterior. Artist live/work spaces are located on the ground floor along Tchoupitoulas Street, and mirror the penthouse metal cladding exterior. This cladding, along with the unit entry doors, initiate a proportional engagement between the large masonry Lengsfield building and the pedestrian level of the street.
