A landmark era of high-profile additions and architectural changes to the historic Brooklyn waterfront has ushered in a new chapter with today’s official public unveiling of the PAU-designed The Refinery at Domino office component at the 11-acre former Domino Sugar Factory site in Williamsburg.
The new, 15-story glass commercial space was constructed inside the building’s old brick masonry shell, offering tenants 460,000 square feet of Class A office space enhanced by carefully-inserted biophilic elements and marked by the firm’s attenuation to ascendant health and wellness considerations typical in modern workplace design.
A 12-foot gap left between the new and old structures provides space for Field Operations’s 17-count in-house arboretum while standardizing a misalignment with the floors and helping to flood the bonetti/kozerski-designed office interiors with natural light and expanded access to vegetation throughout the day.
A vaulted 27,000-square-foot glass penthouse that can double as a flexible events space sits prominently at the top of the structure, while on its ground floor, users are greeted by a concierge-serviced triple-height atrium. 60,000 square feet of retail space is also part of the design, and the new six-acre One Domino Park venue space will follow shortly to complete the project’s slate of activated public offerings.
In terms of its sustainability credentials, the completed project is one of just a few net-zero large buildings to grace the New York commercial market post-Covid. All wastewater is treated and reused at the site, while its plot along the East River is improved via the diversion of polluted city water outfalls.
The new building operation will be made all-electric, while preserved machinery relics are scattered throughout in a way that further emphasizes the presence of the 19th and 20th centuries among what will, perhaps in some minds cynically, live on as a hub for modern creative industries and tech businesses.
PAU’s Founder, Vishaan Chakrabarti, describes: "The transformation of The Refinery entailed three major design moves — inserting a contemporary building in the sleeve of the historic structure similar the machinery it once housed; creating a glass barrel vault form that pays homage to the American Round Arch style of the original; and opening the ground floor to the park and the surrounding Williamsburg neighborhood."
"This approach has created an iconic landmark for the 21st century, offering users natural light, luscious greenery, waterfront views, and a contemporary dialogue with history that most new commercial projects lack. Although conceived before the pandemic, The Refinery represents a future of work that offers a unique rootedness in place and community that is invaluable going forward," he continued.
Going on, the project for Brooklyn-based client Two Trees Management will look to cultivate 2,800 total apartments in the form of four new residential buildings. Another 600,000 square feet of commercial office space and 200,000 square feet of retail at the Domino site will round out the design. Costs for the Refinery project were reported at around $2.5 billion.
7 Comments
Like the photos, even if its just a regular glass box hiding behind the disembodied skin of the old sugar refinery.
Lo recuerdo como un sueño salas de masaje spas idromasaje sauna y abajo un salón para hacer sports.
Ive been by it a few times now; it looks like it was really well executed during construction. The overall effect is quite lovely up close. My only gripe is that it creates a significant canyon effect on the street (is it Kent?) - but this was always the case, not necessarily anything to do with the new work.
Yea, Kent is a mess right now and will be for the next decade as the waterfront construction boom continues. There's a sudden change in urban scale as the older Williamsburg blocks transition into towers at Kent.
Yeah, considering how many tall buildings are in the works along that stretch of waterfront, i imagine the amount of sunlight will be permanently impacted through that street. Ironically as soon as you go 1-2 blocks east up the hill they top out at the standard 4-5 stories again. Regardless, its really nice to see this whole stretch getting the full development across what once felt like endless barren lots.
This whole neighborhood used to be abandoned until the Scent of a Woman scene showed how incredibly picturesque it was. Nice to see it getting its day in the sun.
looks like you are in some kind of medical quarantine bubble looking out at a real building.
Strange. Nothing humane about the glass insert. No interesting interiors, it’s all about the zombie facade.
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