Top Job
Architect Craig Buttner's renovated East Boston town house is a three-dimensional portfolio of his work.
`"ONE STEP ON THE ROOF WAS ALL IT TOOK," SAYS Craig Buttner, recalling how he came to buy his East Boston town house seven years ago. The ink on his architecture degree barely dry, Buttner was seeking a property that would provide a bit of income as well as a home for him and his fiancee, Caroline Andersen. If what he not-so-secretly wanted was an architectural challenge, he found it.
Priced out of most neighborhoods in Boston, he had expanded his search, and one rainy night he found himself on Webster Street, where a real estate agent was showing a "waterfront property" (technically two streets from the water) to another potential buyer. Buttner was only allowed a quick look at the stair- way and roof of the tall, skinny building, but that was enough to whet his creative appetite.
It was more than 60 steps to the roof, "a ladder to the Boston skyline," says Buttner. "The view was incredible. I was standing on a four-story pile of bricks, and I just knew it was the place." He committed to the property without seeing any of the four apartments in the building (and Andersen married him anyway). Like so many architects before him, Buttner had caught a glimpse of something that might be and felt sure he could make it a reality.
The four-story building had been carved into apartments in the 1970s, unoccupied for years in the 1980s, and reinhabited in the 1990s. "It was in terrible shape," says Buttner.
However, the view is a 180-degree stunner of downtown Boston. The neighborhood, Jeffries Point, sits on a bluff near Piers Park (close to the Maverick MBTA station). The view from the building's roof extends from the new Convention and Exhibition Center to the Tobin Bridge, with Boston's waterfront in between.
Not only did Buttner take on the redesign of the building, he and Andersen did most of the construction themselves, with the help of two carpenters, brothers Kevin and Michael McGrath of Milton. "They would give me a handful of days here and there to push the project forward, often in the worst of weather conditions," says Buttner. "If it weren't for them, we still might not be moved in."
At first, Buttner and Andersen lived in the fourth-floor apartment and worked on the third floor. Then they moved to the first floor and rehabbed the fourth. It wasn't until 2003 that they moved into the two-bedroom, 11/2-bath apartment that comprises the top two floors. Now Buttner plans to convert the second floor into two bedrooms and a small art studio for Andersen, a painter, and incorporate it into their living space. The couple has made cosmetic changes to the 750-square-foot ground-floor apartment and rents it out.
In addition to taking advantage of the view, Buttner, who started his own architectural practice in 2002, set out to bring sunlight deep inside the building. "The natural light in East Boston is truly something special," he says.
As Buttner stripped the place down to the floor joists and planking, he was inspired not just to reveal the building's bones, which had been buried in layers of plaster, but also to make them central to the renewed space. Calling it a "tell-the-truth" approach to design, he left the wood framing, water pipes, and electrical conduits exposed. The mechanics of large pocket doors that Buttner was able to salvage are also exposed. Buttner acknowledges that where he sees straightforward honesty, others may see unfinished work.
The building's small footprint, just 985 square feet, suggested a simple approach. "The big idea here," Buttner says, "is to draw people up to the roof."
Visitors enter at street level, then climb a flight of stairs to a 10-foot-tall front door made of mahogany. Behind it, a light well soars 40 feet, piercing the third and fourth floors and then popping up above roof level. A steel-and-wood staircase leads to the living quarters on the floors above. This architectural spine unifies the dwelling and makes its 10-foot ceilings feel higher, its 1,580 square feet more spacious.
The main floor consists of a kitchen, living/dining room, small bedroom - which Buttner calls "the toy box" - for the couple's 4-year-old son, Khai, and a bathroom. Up one flight to the building's fourth floor are the master bedroom and bathroom and a sitting area.
From there, a spiral staircase winds to the top of the light well and the "headhouse," a 160-square-foot rooftop office.
Throughout, Buttner sought ways to trim costs. At Kidder Wrecking, a salvage yard in Plaistow, New Hampshire, he and Andersen found industrial cabinets for the kitchen, a gym locker that serves as a front-hall closet, and the entry's mahogany door, which had been salvaged from a church.
Buttner says that now that he and Andersen have two children - Khai and a daughter, Soojin, 2 - the open environment presents unforeseen challenges. For example, not only does light travel between rooms and levels, so does sound - too much of it.
The family is already itching for more space (and the acoustical privacy that will come with it), and the second floor awaits his designing mind and a swinging sledgehammer. Such is the home of an architect. Sometimes, there is no such thing as finished.
Homework Tips
Out of Sight: It's no fun to have to clean your desk every time your in-laws come to dinner. If space dictates that your office has to be in the living room or kitchen, use furniture that can do double duty: a coffee table that has storage inside, a desk chair so comfortable that your guests will want to sit in it, a built-in banquette with file drawers or bookshelves below. Even in a small apartment, consider setting up your work space in a corner that can be easily hidden by a room divider or screen.
No Laptops in Bed: While working at home might tempt you to take snack breaks and naps, the opposite can be true, too. If your home office is set up in your bedroom, it is easy to work until midnight, then start again before breakfast. This isn't good for your sleep habits - or anything else bedroom related. Make sure your bedroom is where you go to leave your work behind.
Invest in Technology: Whether you are toiling in your Duxbury kitchen or on your Somerville sun porch, technology can help you work fast, smart, and professionally. It may seem obvious, but a broadband or DSL connection to the Internet is a must. A wireless network will help you be more efficient and fl exible, since you can work anywhere in your house, or even outdoors.
Kira L. Gould is a freelance writer. She can be reached at Kira.Gould@GouldEvans.com. 