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The brick front of the three-story house over a basement, with an arched doorway, kept as it was

Pine Street Conversion

Center City, Philadelphia · Completed

Five apartments behind a preserved historic facade, with new roof decks tucked above the rear of the building.

Location
Center City, Philadelphia
Status
Completed
Project
Rowhouse, Conversion, Roof deck, Zoning approval
Our role
Architect — existing conditions, design, zoning and permit drawings
An apartment’s living room and kitchen island against painted brickStaged
An apartment against the original brick.

The challenge

The project fit five apartments into one long, narrow house on a block where the facade could not change. The conversion needed a zoning permit as well as a building permit, and the Historical Commission reviewed the new windows, doors and masonry.

What we did

From the street, the house looks as it always has: the old window frames stayed, with new sashes set into them. Inside, a new shared stair serves the five apartments, with fire separation between them and light from both ends of the house. The lowest apartment has an egress window and a light well, and two roof decks over the rear wing give residents outdoor space.

A new roof deck over the rear wing, the mansard roofs of the neighbors beyond
One of the two new roof decks.
A unit kitchen: graphite cabinets, a stone counter and white tile
Furnished 3D floor plan of one of the apartments: living room and kitchen at the front, bedroom and bath behind, with a deck at the rear
One apartment in 3D: living room and kitchen at the front, bedroom and bath behind.
A freestanding tub under a window onto the brick of the block
The rear courtyard between the brick walls of the block
The courtyard behind the house.
A kitchen island in dark stone, the living area and windows beyond
A living room with a linen sofa and a walnut coffee table, the kitchen at the back
Walnut stools at a stone waterfall island, dark cabinets behind
A bathroom with a freestanding tub, a glass shower and a white vanity
The roof deck toward the rooftops of Center City
A roof deck at sunset, over the rooftops of the block.
A bath with a black-framed glass shower door, a white vanity and a mirrored cabinet
The rowhouse at its corner in late-afternoon light
The house at its corner, its front unchanged.

Project facts

Zoning district
RM-1
Apartments
Five, in a three-story house over a basement
Approvals
Zoning and building permits, with Historical Commission review
Built
2020

Services behind this project

Related work

All projects

Next step

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