The New York office Perkins Eastman joins developer/builder Caro Enterprises in celebrating the completion of the unique 69-unit Wythe Confectionery apartments at 390 Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The conversion has restored the building’s original beauty, with plentiful exposed brick, original wooden beams, and wooden ceilings.
Principal in Charge Shawn Basler AIA says of the building’s transformation, “It has been very gratifying to be part of the effort to retain the architectural heritage in such a vibrant and diverse neighborhood.”
Originally built to house the Matchett Candy factory at the turn of the 19th century, the pine framed brick building was one of the few candy factories in Williamsburg. The building is a testament to the area’s flourishing industrial past, and as a physical example of the commitment to the preservation of the neighborhood character and our vital connections to its heritage. As a piece of Brooklyn history, Perkins Eastman and the developer went to great lengths to preserve and restore original architectural features, while reclaiming and reusing materials when possible in the studio, one- and two-bedroom loft apartments.
The team retained architectural features like the brick barrel-hinge corner, a corbelled brick cornice, arched windows, massively scaled ground floor openings, and decorative brickwork punctuated with unique decorative iron ties across the facade. Brick and timber columns have once again been exposed and highlighted, cast iron column straps and capitals have been brought back to life, and the original heavy-timbered plank flooring was restored and retained as ceilings--all combined with modern fixtures and finishes throughout. Other native materials, including extra timbers and slate flooring that were not used during the restoration, were reclaimed for reuse in the public and shared spaces of the building, designed by Visconti Architecture.
Related Stories
| Oct 11, 2010
Rhode Island is the first state to adopt IGCC
Rhode Island is the first state to adopt the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). The Rhode Island Green Buildings Act identifies the IGCC as an equivalent standard in compliance with requirements that all public agency major facility projects be designed and constructed as green buildings. The Rules and Regulations to implement the Act take effect in October 2010.
| Oct 8, 2010
Union Bank’S San Diego HQ awarded LEED Gold
Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building located at 530 B Street has been awarded LEED Gold certification from the Green Building Certification Institute under the standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold status was awarded to six buildings across the United States in the most recent certification and Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building is one of only two in California.
| Oct 6, 2010
Windows Keep Green Goals in View
The DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has almost 600 window openings, and yet it's targeting LEED Platinum, net-zero energy use, and 50% improvement over ASHRAE 90.1. How the window ‘problem’ is part of the solution.
| Oct 6, 2010
From grocery store to culinary school
A former West Philadelphia supermarket is moving up the food chain, transitioning from grocery store to the Center for Culinary Enterprise, a business culinary training school.
| Sep 30, 2010
Luxury hotels lead industry in green accommodations
Results from the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2010 Lodging Survey showed that luxury and upper-upscale hotels are most likely to feature green amenities and earn green certifications. Results were tallied from 8,800 respondents, for a very respectable 18% response rate. Questions focused on 14 green-related categories, including allergy-free rooms, water-saving programs, energy management systems, recycling programs, green certification, and green renovation.
| Sep 22, 2010
Michael Van Valkenburg Assoc. wins St. Louis Gateway Arch design competition
Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh and a multidisciplinary team of experts in “urban renewal, preservation, commemoration, social connections and ecological restoration” have been picked for the planning phase of The City+The Arch+The River 2015 International Design Competition.
| Sep 22, 2010
Satellier, Potential + Semac close investment deal
Satellier, a world leader in providing CAD and Building Information Modeling (BIM) outsourced services to the architecture, engineering and construction industry, announces a strategic minority investment from India-based top engineering firm Potential + Semac, ushering in the next evolution of the global architecture support industry.
