Workstead Brings Tactile Precision to an Understated Brooklyn Penthouse  

In Brooklyn’s tony Boerum Hill neighborhood, a new condominium is showing how architectural ingenuity can extend beyond the facade to shape every interior detail. Bergen, a seven-story multiunit building envisioned by Taller Frida Escobedo, features a salmony precast concrete brick exterior rhythmically zigzagging down a tree-lined block dotted with red-brick brownstones. While the angular building clearly differs from its neighbors, it also doesn’t impose itself.  

One of the newly finished penthouses, a five-bedroom stunner devised by the local studio Workstead, upholds those principles through disciplined material choices, consistent details, and a deliberately measured approach, embodying the type of smart restraint that has become synonymous with the firm. Their overarching goal was to conjure calming interiors that replicate the muted architectural language while affording what co-founder Ryan Mahoney describes as a “grounded and serene” experience imbued with restorative, lived-in touches. “Through careful choices in texture, tone, and scale, we sought to evoke a feeling of quiet luxury—one that invites reflection and ease as you move through the space.”  

Earth-tone finishes and natural materials that will patina over time underscore this atmosphere. The kitchen’s white oak cabinetry and honed quartzite countertop and backsplash establish a calm base without demanding too much attention through excessive ornament or contrast. True to the firm’s signature precision in craft, no detail is spared—they even devised a nearby custom wet bar down to its sleek bronze hardware. Baths, meanwhile, feature creamy honed marble, brushed nickel hardware, oak millwork, and matte tatami wall tiles. “We emphasized restraint and balance,” Mahoney says. “Horizontal lines in the bath and rhythmic repetition in the kitchen create quiet moments of visual order to support a calming daily rhythm.”  

Unfussy furnishings selected by Ash Staging, such as rough-hewn Olive Ateliers ceramics, a clean-lined daybed by Sundays Furniture, and side chairs by Kelly Wearstler, introduce texture and detail that supports the material language without disrupting flow. And it wouldn’t be a Workstead project without stellar lighting—the firm maintains a Charleston product studio that creates heirloom-quality fixtures beloved by the design cognoscenti, including the newly introduced Lantern collection fashioned from fine Dupioni raw silk. At Bergen, lighting serves as a specific marker. “We designed a custom sconce for each unit entry that not only welcomes residents with warmth, but subtly reinforces the material language of the building,” Mahoney says. “It’s a small gesture with symbolic weight, marking the threshold between public and private, city and sanctuary.”  

Not that the city completely disappears. The penthouse offers picturesque views of the Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn skylines, which can be enjoyed alfresco from large terraces equipped with built-in gas grills and temperature-controlled plunge pools. Amenities, accessible via a cylindrical totem stairwell, anchor the Glass House, an airy architectural atrium linking the building’s east and west wings. A wellness lounge provides private meditation rooms, a fitness suite offers studios for pilates, yoga, and boxing, and a ceramic studio curated by local favorite BKLYN Clay comes with pottery wheels and a kiln.  

Bergen also afforded Workstead another opportunity to apply its craft-focused approach to a larger residential scale after recent outings at Olympia Dumbo and One Prospect Park West, an 11-story Beaux-Arts building conversion. Mahoney calls it “a significant moment” for the studio, noting how the collaboration with Escobedo and Avdoo, the developers, maintains a coherent and unified design vision. “The experience deepened our collaborative practice and together, we shaped something that feels both expansive and deeply personal.”