No doors, no Windows, no problem: Unless you’re on the LES

One of my favorite ways of staying connected to the Lower East Side is by completely disconnecting. Sometimes it requires a literal journey, and sometimes a more imaginative one.

A July article by Tim McKeough in The New York Times took me far away to the Greek island of Corfu, where I met architect Piers Taylor, founder of Invisible Studio. Rejecting conventional housing norms, Taylor designed a 2,700-square-foot house with no glass windows or doors, built mostly from board-formed concrete and perched in a terraced olive grove.

The structure’s living spaces are open-air, shaded by a corrugated metal roof, while the bedrooms are partially enclosed with mesh screens and plastic curtains. By skipping traditional finishes and closures, Taylor kept the entire project to about $175,000—a fraction of what most homes of similar size would cost. Inspired by his long history with Corfu and the Australian architects Glenn Murcutt and Richard Leplastrier, Taylor embraced a design that is as raw as it is elemental.

Of course, while beautiful, this approach is not exactly a blueprint for Manhattan living:

Cost realities: Taylor’s budget wouldn’t come close in New York. Here on the Lower East Side, a gut renovation alone can start around $200 per square foot, well before any design flourishes.

Security concerns: On Corfu, the family fends off the occasional mountain goat. On the LES, with no doors or windows? Let’s just say you’d be lucky if goats were your only uninvited guests.

Climate mismatch: Corfu enjoys a Mediterranean climate. New York’s mix of humid summers and frigid winters makes living “open to the elements” impractical at best—not to mention some of the material choices, which must be more resilient for our seasons.

Still, there’s something to be gained from looking afar. Even if we can’t throw away our doors and windows, we can think about how to bring more openness into our apartments—through larger windows, Juliet balconies, glass enclosures, or clever transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces.

And in a poetic sense, Corfu and the Lower East Side share a thread: both are melting pots, shaped by waves of different cultures, rulers, and communities. So perhaps some island inspiration from far away has a place here on our own little island of Manhattan.