Christopher Russell, “Bees for Sunset Park”, a permanent sculpture installation commissioned by MTA Arts & Design, 2009

New York Magazine‘s Wendy Goodman, on a tip from gallerist Julie Saul, just shot Christopher Russell‘s rooftop escape, just one flight up from their Meatpacking District loft. A ceramic sculptor, Christopher and his wife, Gina, bought their apartment when there was still meat in the area.

“It was around 1990 and the neighborhood was very different, very quiet and out of the way.”

The old interior was, as Russell describes, “high tech” with “lots of gray and Formica.” After years of changes and renovations, the 70-square-foot rooftop room designed by sculptor-woodworker, Jeff Benjamin, has built-ins and rift white-oak-veneer plywood paneling, and feels much like a ship’s cabin. Russell says about the space;

“We talked to Jeff about what we imagined doing there. We wanted it to be the country house you didn’t have to drive to or keep snow-plowed. We fantasized a lot about long winter afternoons watching mystery shows together.”

The tiny structure was already on the roof when the Russells bought the space, but it was a standard Home Depot affair surrounded by a tar roof. It has since been transformed, as has the garden just outside the new door and windows.

(Photos & reporting, Wendy Goodman; via New York)