New York City-based architects Worrell Yeung have renovated and redesigned a six-story, 38,000-square-foot former masonry factory situated near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The project updates an existing brick and timber building from the 1920s as well as a collection of four ancillary structures to crate a "mutable, multi-use workspace that can flexibly accommodate an array of tenants."

“The existing buildings were so rich with history and layered with texture that we wanted our design to highlight these found conditions while also updating to accommodate new uses and new programs,” explains co-principal Max Worrell in a statement.

The architects worked largely to peel away and reveal the buildings' historic materials and spaces, removing an existing roof that had previously covered an interior courtyard to make it an outdoor one, for example. 

In addition, the design adds new features, like finely detailed entry into a loft space that is marked by wood shelving and glass blocks, to create "thoughtful juxtapositions between old and new—where minimal contemporary detailing contrasts with the patina of the existing materials—highlight the complex’s history throughout," the architects explain.

The project's verdant landscaping elements were designed by Michael van Valkenburgh Associates. In addition to the other work, the architects restored the original storefront openings of an existing single-story structure containing artist and photography studios. On top of that, substantial timber elements were deployed across the project, including in the garden, where three solid oak logs were salvaged from across the Northeast region were repurposed as a singular bench. Inside the office spaces, other wood beams were turned into a sculptural conference table. 

Describing these and other referential materials, co-principal Jejon Yeung explains, “These interventions are a nod to the aesthetics of storied factory buildings and Navy Yard warehouses, which historically featured grids in their sash windows, fencing, and ship docks.”