Schematic Design
Dumbo, Brooklyn, often regarded as an up-and-coming, urban hot-spot, prides itself on its trendiness, youthful vibes, and industrial chic culture. Over the past eight years, Dumbo has undergone tremendous renovations, repair, and an influx of artists and youth alike. To the east of this booming neighborhood, Vinegar Hill has not thrived and prospered quite to the same degree as Dumbo, despite similarities in demographics.In an effort to integrate Vinegar Hill into Dumbo, our design takes advantage of the site’s unique placement on the border between these two neighborhoods. Our project creates pedestrian malls that branch out from Jay Street—a heavily pedestrian and commercial street—and Bridge Street, a residential street of Vinegar Hill. The pedestrian streets ease the transition between the different conditions at the East and West side.
The architecture calls for a condition where people from each neighborhood funnel into pedestrian malls and congregate with their neighbors, integrating the two groups of people. By providing entertainment, dining, retail, and residential options, all logically sequenced throughout the site, the two groups come together in unison, bridging the cultural gap between the two neighborhoods.
Because of the emphasis on social interaction, the site operates on a few levels of circulation To accentuate the stratification of program, various levels of circulation exist. The ground floor level exists for the everyday citizen, a means to explore the retail and entertainment available at the site and as a means of compelling the resident of Dumbo and Vinegar Hill to stroll through the plaza space in an effort to connect the two neighborhoods more.
Design Development
The market, and its immediate context (the office tower and parking garage), has become the focus of the design development phase. The “levels of stratification” in the market, has taken a new meaning and form since the schematic design phase. Whereas at schematic design, the buildings (market) and the levels of circulation (generally platforms on stilts), were two separate entities, this time around, the market has become the means of circulation in two axes: the first axis between the parking garage and office tower, and the second axis between the plaza and street level. The market, as a shell, has essentially become a series of ramps, “strung taut” (think a rubber band between two solid masses) between the office and parking garage. The result is a series of alternating ramps with program on and underneath the inclines. An industrial style market, with linear circulation (a la Chelsea Market) exists on the ground floor. The second floor, a series of cafes and dining options, and market stalls on the exterior. The top floor, bars and green spaces to appreciate the view of the plaza and the remainder of Dumbo. Such a strategy has facilitated access to the market (and its subcomponents), from every point including the plaza, parking garage, the office tower, and the street level. Now a businessman on lunch break need not have to venture more than a few floors down to get lunch.
In accordance with the concrete shell of the theater (across the plaza), to maintain consistency and legibility between the gestural connection of both buildings, the market is composed of concrete slabs, and glazing to indicate internal program. Depending on the program’s function, the glass has varying degrees of permeability such as accordion doors, solid glass, traditional doors, and revolving doors to adapt to seasonal changes. Structure, as a result, is relatively straightforward, a concrete column grid supporting concrete slabs.