25 Kent is a new tech campus in Brooklyn designed as a social campus for innovators, startup founders, and tech leaders. The project is Williamsburg’s first speculative office space in over 50 years.
The 500,000-sf building, which occupies a full city block, has staggered floors to create a ziggurat-shaped building that juts in and out as it rises. The short ends of the facade are capped in floor-to-ceiling windows that bring natural light into the building and provide views of the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn. The building’s exterior takes its cues from the neighborhood’s industrial character as it stacks a series of brick forms that are an homage to the materials and proportions of nearby warehouses.
25 Kent’s H-shaped plan creates advantages over a generic donut office building. Instead of a typical 45-foot span between the core and the walls, 25 Kent achieves 70-foot spans with three-sided window exposure. Mechanical and circulation cores, of which each wing of the building has its own, were distributed throughout to create flexible floor plates that can be used by single tenants, two tenants, or adapted for a large quantity of multi-tenant configurations. A shared central space connects the two wings and acts as a space for tenants to socialize and collaborate informally.
See Also: River Rock mixed-use community breaks ground in Chattanooga
The interior features highly flexible floor plates designed to support a wide variety of tenants. Several types of workspaces, such as fully-equipped maker spaces, open plan office floors with shared coworking spaces, collaborative lounges, and glass-enclosed conference rooms, offer tailored environments to each tenant’s particular needs.
Related Stories
| Dec 27, 2014
'Core-first' construction technique cuts costs, saves time on NYC high-rise project
When Plaza Construction first introduced the concept of "core first" in managing the construction of a major office building, the procedure of pouring concrete prior to erecting a steel frame had never been done in New York City.
| Dec 19, 2014
Zaha Hadid unveils dune-shaped HQ for Emirati environmental management company
Zaha Hadid Architects released designs for the new headquarters of Emirati environmental management company Bee’ah, revealing a structure that references the shape and motion of a sand dune.
| Dec 18, 2014
In response to ultra-open and uber-collaborative office environments
Susan Cain’s bestselling 2012 book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking" has made an impact on how we understand our current workforce, recognizing that at least one-third of the people we work with are introverts, writes SRG Partnership's Susan Gust.
| Dec 12, 2014
COBE's striking 'concrete finned' scheme wins competition for Adidas' flagship building in Germany
Danish firm COBE has been announced the winner in a contest to design a new Adidas flagship building in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It beat out 29 other teams, including REX and Zaha Hadid.
| Dec 10, 2014
International Olympic Committee releases first images of new HQ in Switzerland
Designed by 3XN, the new headquarters is located within a park on the shores of Lake Geneva and adjacent to historic Château de Vidy, which has been the iconic home of the IOC.
| Dec 6, 2014
Future workplace designs shouldn’t need to favor one generation over another, says CBRE report
A new CBRE survey finds that what Millennials expect and need from offices doesn’t vary drastically from tenured employees.
| Dec 2, 2014
Nonresidential construction spending rebounds in October
This month's increase in nonresidential construction spending is far more consistent with the anecdotal information floating around the industry, says ABC's Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
| Nov 29, 2014
20 tallest towers that were never completed
Remember the Chicago Spire? What about Russia Tower? These are two of the tallest building projects that were started, but never completed, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The CTBUH Research team offers a roundup of the top 20 stalled skyscrapers across the globe.
| Nov 26, 2014
U.S. Steel decides to stay in Pittsburgh, plans new HQ near Penguins arena
The giant steelmaker has agreed to move into a new headquarters that is slated to be part of a major redevelopment.
| Nov 25, 2014
Behnisch Architekten unveils design for energy-positive building in Boston
The multi-use building for Artists For Humanity that is slated to be the largest energy positive commercial building in New England.