A crossover arts and manufacturing project from Herzog & de Meuron opened on May 19 following several years of construction that remade a former brownfield site into the new home of the non-profit Powerhouse Arts in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Coinciding with the ongoing cleanup of the Gowanus Canal, the project reused a Turbine Hall located at the site of Brooklyn's Rapid Power Transit Station from 1904 while adding new space in the shell of a reinstated Bolier House building that was semi-preserved in the process.

Nicknamed “The Batcave” by many of the city’s graffiti taggers after its decommissioning in the 1950s, the site was decontaminated as part of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup program prior to the firm winning the project's commission and then beginning its planning phase at the end of 2016.

Herzog & de Meuron says: “The industrial landscape and history of the site play a pivotal role in the design proposal. It reinterprets the historic Boiler House by reinstating its mass and re-establishing its relationship with the existing Turbine Hall [...] The Turbine Hall is preserved – stabilized and strategically repaired – and its historical layers are integrated into the new manufacturing facility.”

The “visual prominence” of the Turbine Hall is then paired against the new concrete facade of the Boiler House, providing “a durable and straightforward envelope for the addition.”

Inside, the program distributes the fabrication shops vertically by discipline with consideration for access to loading docks and the need for exhaust ventilation given to the metal, wood, print, textile, and ceramics portions, respectively. Further vertical elements, including the facility’s restrooms and circulation, are placed inside the service wall that stands between the existing Turbine Hall and the new building, creating flexibility within the latter’s ground floor while simultaneously stabilizing both structures. 

Finally, outside of the structures, another flexible space for outdoor work and on-site storage for the non-profit, which was founded in 2015 to provide employment opportunities and access to fabrication technologies for local artists. 

An opening into the masonry envelope of the Turbine Hall welcomes users from the east side approach that is connected to public transit. Overall the project cost about $180 million to complete, leaving in its place two contrasting spaces whose upper levels offer 32,700 square feet for exhibitions, events, staging, and other forms of public assembly.

The project adds to Herzog & de Meuron’s expanding portfolio in New York City area that includes 56 Leonard Street, 420 Leroy Street, and 40 Bond in Manhattan – in addition to the Parrish Art Museum on Long Island. New York-based PBDW Architects was also involved in the restoration. Additional information about Powerhouse Arts' mission and fabrication capabilities can be found here.