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).
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
GOVERNMENT SECTOR GIANTS: Public sector spending even more cautiously on buildings
AEC firms that do government work say their public-sector clients have been going smaller to save money on construction projects, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015
GREEN BUILDING GIANTS: Green building movement hits a new plateau, but the underlying problems remain
Today, the green building movement is all about eliminating toxic substances in building materials and systems and, for manufacturers, issuing environmental and health product declarations. Whether these efforts will lead to healthier products and building environments remains an open question.
Codes and Standards | Aug 6, 2015
Difference in male-female thermal comfort is due to clothing, ASHRAE says
Women wear lighter clothing in the summer, so they tend to be cooler in air-conditioned rooms, according to the group.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 85 Office Sector Construction Firms
Turner, Structure Tone, and Gilbane top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office sector contractors and construction management firms.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 75 Office Sector Engineering Firms
AECOM, Jacobs, and Burns & McDonnell head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 135 Office Sector Architecture Firms
Gensler, HOK, and Perkins+Will top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
OFFICE SECTOR GIANTS: Today’s workplace design must appeal to Millennials’ ‘activity-based’ lifestyle
Office market AEC Giants discuss the latest trends workplace design, and the state of the office construction sector.
Office Buildings | Jul 31, 2015
Design unveiled for Apple HQ visitor center
A glass-walled single-story building alongside the main office building in Cupertino, Calif., will be used as a visitor center.
Office Buildings | Jul 29, 2015
Design plans for Fannie Mae’s new HQ revealed
The developer/owner, Carr Properties, envisions a 1-million-sf plus mixed-use center with a large retail pavilion.
Contractors | Jul 29, 2015
Consensus Construction Forecast: Double-digit growth expected for commercial sector in 2015, 2016
Despite the adverse weather conditions that curtailed design and construction activity in the first quarter of the year, the overall construction market has performed extremely well to date, according to AIA's latest Consensus Construction Forecast.