The Proteus Gowanus Gallery in Brooklyn describes itself as an interdisciplinary gallery and reading room that “acts as an interpreter of culture and place, deepening the community’s sense of context and connection.” When an adjacent single-story industrial building along Union Street became available, we used that definition as our design brief in adapting the existing structure for an expansion

Our approach was one of strategic intervention in changing the relationship of interior and exterior spaces while preserving the character and patina of the building and the block.

Though the existing structure measures only 13’ wide it has tremendous potential at the urban scale. By developing a public event space here, the gallery is opened up to a major thoroughfare and the neighborhood, creating a loop of activity within the block