If you're thinking of a townhouse in Manhattan, we'd suggest consideration of this one, reimagined by New York-based Basil Walter Architects for a demanding client.
It's hard to decide what's most striking about this 4,000 square foot home. Is it the sweeping four-storey staircase, lit by a roof skylight? Or perhaps you're most moved by the rooftop den, with pivoting glass-and-steel wall, its mechanism exposed to admire?
Then again, the basement floor with its living/kitchen area is pretty impressive, featuring black steel and glass windows out on to that most luxurious of New York City features: a personal garden.
Greenwich Village has always been known as the hangout of literary New York, and the finished design suggests BW Architects took that as a given. Undoubted luxury is understated and respect for the 1840s Greek Revival design is evident.
BW Architects describe their work in general as "simple, elegant and timeless" and the sense of sustained, restrained beauty achieved in this townhouse illustrates the value of that approach.
There's nothing that's as crass as "of-the-moment" here.
What's more, say the architects, this project is the first townhouse in downtown Manhattan to achieve a "Gold" certification in the American LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ratings, making it a officially a high performance green building.
"Green" often means worthy, and that has echoes of dull. This recommissioned West Village townhouse is anything but. A hit, a very palpable hit.
