Diana Kellogg Rebuilds Her Tribeca Home From Its Own Freight Elevator

New York architect Diana Kellogg has completed a comprehensive renovation of her historic Tribeca residence at 4 Staple Street, building the kitchen, bookcases and a four-level steel staircase largely from the salvage of the building's own freight elevator.

Kellogg and her family have lived in the house for 25 years, near the studio she shares with her filmmaker husband. She renovated gradually over that time. When her children moved out, she undertook the full overhaul.

The building carries three past lives. It began as cold storage for neighbouring produce distribution facilities, became a plumber's supply storefront, and finally turned into a residence roughly 50 years ago.

What did the salvage become?

The removal of the old freight elevator opened space for what Kellogg calls the Green Room: a glass-wrapped nook with cushioned seating, used for drinks with friends or private video calls.

Elsewhere, the repurposing ran through the house:

• Kitchen structures built from elevator salvage and other elements found around the building
• Bookcases formed from the same material
• A steel staircase connecting all four levels

"Throughout the house there were old glass and steel doors, and windows and stuff," Kellogg said. "I just moved them around and repurposed them."

The decor stays industrial and spare, in keeping with the architecture. It foregrounds the fireplace and the 25-foot chestnut beams spanning the ceiling. Kellogg is candid about the cost of that decision in labour, if not in money.

"It was a massive pain in the neck to strip those, but one of the best decisions we made, because they add so much warmth and character," she said.

How did the layout change?

The most recent works reconfigured the upstairs bedrooms with vaulted brick ceilings into neutrally decorated spaces separated by sliding mahogany doors.

On the ground floor, the children's former playroom, once fitted with climbing ropes and a swing, is now a TV room with a large L-shaped sofa and midcentury furniture pieces. Noguchi pendant lights hang from steel beams Kellogg added to suspend the old "jungle gym".

One trace of the playroom survives. "There's still one climbing rope down there that people think is an art piece, which I love," she said.

The actual artworks include a pair of photographs by Ljubodrag Andric, made to sit either side of the first-floor fireplace and, in Kellogg's words, "give the place so much depth and warmth". Downstairs, the walls carry images of the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl's School, which Kellogg completed in 2021 in India's Thar Desert.

What about the roof?

The roof terrace was relandscaped with planters and wooden outdoor furniture forming dining and seating areas, oriented toward a historic bridge between the adjacent buildings.

"I really wanted an oasis up there, and to have it be a second living room," said Kellogg. "And there's the fabulous bridge, which we have kind of great views of from our house – which is, in my opinion, better than actually being inside it."

What does this change for Tribeca? On its own, little; many of the neighbourhood's former industrial buildings already house lofts, penthouses, galleries and creative spaces, including a penthouse in the American Thread Building by Crina Arghirescu Rogard and a loft by Andrea Leung. But the project shows the district's conversion playbook at its most disciplined: reuse first, discard last.

The photography is by Andrew Brinka.