Kirkman Lofts, 37 Bridge Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 37 Bridge Street by Carter Horsley

Kirkman Lofts, a residential conversion project at 37 Bridge Street in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, was an old soap factory and the developer has used its original “silos” as a centerpiece of its interior design.

The 7-story building was erected in 1915 and contains 45 apartments, many with sunken living rooms. The development includes three four-story townhouses with private entrances, elevators and roof decks.

The building was erected for the Kirkman & Son Soap Company and Robert M. Scarano Jr. was the architect for the 2011 conversion, which was undertaken by 37 Bridge Street LLC, of which Barry Singer is a partner.

Bottom Line

From the outside, this looks like a 7-story brick industrial building with a 3-story addition at its side.  Inside, however, this is a marvelous dungeon of curved metal forms – the former soap factory’s “silos” - into which doorways have been cut and corridors circumvent.

Description

The “silos” are large cylinders, and they run from the basement to the fifth floor of the building.

They have been sliced horizontally and exposed as much as possible, including in the corridors were each door is within a curved section of the silos.

The building has a dramatic, two-story-high glass entrance with a large marquee and an arc element that hints at the curves of the silos within.

Amenities

The building also has video doorman service, a roof deck and a 5^th floor terrace, bungalows, package and delivery storage, bicycle and private storage and a fitness center with a swimming pool.

Apartments

"Pieces of metal drums can also be seen as design accents within the apartments, and some were even used as walls," according to a NY1 article by Jill Urban, adding that "all the kitchen countertops are made from reclaimed wood from the original factory."

Apartment kitchens have locally sourced millwork by Avalon Woodworking with Baltic birch wood detailing, Bertrazzoni ranges and black LG or Kitchen-Aid refrigerators and matte gray counters.

Baths have Toto bathtub and dual-flush toilets.

The apartments also have large multi-paned windows and the penthouses and townhomes have skylights.

Ceilings are 9 to 10 feet high

Apartments have externally vented washers/dryers in each unit.

Townhouse A has a 15-foot-wide, double-height living room that opens onto a 14-foot-wide dining room that leads to a 15-foot-wide double-height den with an open kitchen on the first floor and the second floor has a a 12-foot-wide study and a 16-foot-long recreation room reached by stairs from the first floor.  There is a 15-foot-wide master suite on the third floor and two more bedrooms, one with a skylight, on the fourth floor and a 36-foot-long roof deck.  The unit has a private elevator servicing four levels.

Penthouse D is a four-bedroom unit that has a small angled foyer that opens into a 26-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen.

Apartment 6B is a three-bedroom unit that has a convex entry foyer that leads to a hall that passes an elliptical open, 11-foot-long dining room and a 19-foot-long living room with an open kitchen with an island.

Apartment 4D has a entry pasts a curved home office and an open, pass-through kitchen to a 24-foot-long living room with an 11-foot-long study.

Apartment 4B is a three-bedroom unit that has an large, curved entry foyer that leads past an open kitchen to a 21-foot-long living room.