HWKN unveils Bushwick Generator office campus

HWKN has unveiled Bushwick Generator, a new office campus meant to embody the Brooklyn neighborhood’s energy and tradition of disruptive entrepreneurship.

As part of the campus’ design, the light-industrial buildings that existed on site were reimagined as part of the new building’s foundation. Atop this base, HWKN designed a brick-clad, sculptural, gem-like volume that introduces a vertical focal point in the neighborhood and comprises 400,000-sf of workspace.

In order to create working environments that reflect the lively, unique exterior form, the design invites the surrounding neighborhood’s energy inside with areas for public programming. These spaces can be used for exhibitions, performances, and social events, bringing together office tenants with community members in a bustling center that offers something to tenants and Bushwick locals alike. 

To further open the building to the street, a corner of the existing light-industrial structures is sliced off at the base, creating a triangular entrance that continues the faceted geometry to the ground plane and carves out space for a sidewalk plaza. Above this, a landscaped outdoor terrace activates the area where the rectangular base meets the vertical gem. This unique amenity can serve as a breakout space, an informal meeting area, or a venue for public events.

The octagonal floor-plates can be flexibly subdivided, allowing the building to host businesses ranging from start-ups and growth-phase companies to established industry leaders. The building’s form creates distinctive interior work environments with 270-degrees of exposure, flooding each floor with natural daylight and panoramic views of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The campus is slated for completion in 2023. The build team includes HWKN (design architect), Land Collective (landscape design), Salamon Engineering Group (MEP), Philip Habib & Associates (civil engineer), and Titan Engineers (structural engineer).