To find intimacy in an environment as bold as the Bushwick Inlet of Brooklyn, one must create an architectural tapestry by which to cloak and privatize his visitors and inhabitants. Through the creation of courtyards and private spaces in his design, Bernardo aims to allow visitors the chance to experience these voids as transitional environments by which to converge between the programmatic elements of the site. By emphasizing the intersection of Franklin Street and Quay Street through the creation of a central structure, and then by subsequently creating pavilion-like structures that branch off of this central convergence, Bernardo hopes to accomplish this task. The most unique, and perhaps most important, element of Bernardo’s design is that of the installation of a four-story firefighter training tower which is to be situated south of the fire station and east of the Monitor Museum. Ultimately, Bernardo sees his design as a space where the entire community can be served, from the firefighters to the general public and/or visitors to the Bushwick Inlet.

Peer Review…

By reviewing Bernardo’s project in conjunction with my review of the NAAB requirements, I believe that he had a successful Schematic Design. With that in mind, I do recommend that Bernardo step back and reanalyze several significant portions of his design. To begin, it is imperative that he improves the clarity of his diagrams and strengthens the message that he is trying to convey through them. I felt as though Bernardo would often reference his diagrams as a means of helping to explain integral aspects of the design. That being said, there appeared to be a significant disconnect between that of the four diagrams and through that of their relationship to the schematic design of the site. While two images of precedents appeared on Bernardo’s board, he made no mention of them nor did he mention their relationship to his project. Perhaps an explanation of how he arrived at precedents and their subsequent impact on his design would have helped to bridge the gap between his diagrams and his design of the site. Conversely, a revisit to these precedents might help to clarify his design intent. Bernardo also spent time discussing how his design originated from the intersection of Franklin Street and Quay Street, yet there exists little evidence of this intersectional conception. Neither the fire station nor the museum lines up to Franklin Street (the only structure that does is the commercial building located on the southern portion of the site) and only the Monitor Museum lines up to Quay Street. A slight readjustment of the position of the program might go a long way in accentuating the views of the site from these two streets that Bernardo is trying to convey. Conversely, it seems as though much of Bernardo’s design revolves around bringing people to exterior portions of the site. Further designing the waterfront regions of the site might help to create the communal exterior spaces that lie at the heart of Bernardo’s design intent. From here, Bernardo could choose to privatize or publicize these portions of the program. In regards to presentation techniques, Bernardo presented a wonderfully crafted and detailed model and I enjoyed the visual aesthetics of his board. Bernardo’s design exhibits a simple and refined quality, so the monochromatic hues of the board and the careful gestures of his drawings were appealing to me as an audience member.

Review of the Critique…

While all three of the reviewers gave Bernardo constructive feedback, by far the most involved of them was Reggie Aviles. In fact, Reggie was standing next to Bernardo’s board for nearly the entire duration of the presentation. One of the first things that Reggie pointed out was that there was this gesture motioning toward the waterfront, yet there existed no development for which to draw you into that region of the site. The creation of a boardwalk was a quickly decided universal solution to this problem. This, along with a slight rearrangement of the program would help to emphasize the exterior portions of the site, which the reviewers felt was key to the continuation and further enhancement of the project. The lack of clarity with the diagrams was also heavily criticized. One reviewer went as far as saying that they, “fell apart quickly.” Reggie pointed out that strengthening these diagrams was one of the first things that Bernardo should do, and that—once strengthened—the diagrams would also help to shine new light on directions in which to take to further the design of the project. The notion that the design of the fire station and Monitor Museum stemmed from the intersection of Franklin Street and Quay Street was also heavily criticized. The reviewers understood what Bernardo was trying to convey, but felt that his design did not live up to his explanation. Reggie suggested that he look to try and redesign his site so that it better engaged with the personality that each street was “bringing to the table.” Each street brings about a variety of special qualities and characteristics and the design needs to convey those essences. This can be achieved by creating conditions that help to continue the fabric of the grid. The reviewers pointed out that Franklin Street and Quay Street should be the edges that make up this grid and that the courtyards found within the site should seek to break up these grid-like qualities. By doing so, the reviewers felt that Bernardo would be able to create more intimate spaces by which to further develop the programmatic elements of the space.

Other design comments included redesigning the public airlock and the public lobby of the firehouse (as the reviewers felt that they were excessively large), fireproofing the staircases, redesigning the entrance into the public education space (as the only entrance into this space is through the airlock), relocating the terrace that currently resides atop of the public lobby into the waterfront “region” of the site (so as to capture the views of the site), and re-adjusting the four-story training tower so that the public can enjoy the structure when it is not in use by the firefighters. All in all, they centered on a great deal of “schematic design” issues, the majority of which can be quickly solved. It is our first time dealing with fire codes, so the reviewers asking Bernardo to correct that issue is not surprising. The same can be said with the airlock, as that is the first time that an airlock has been a requirement of our program.

I really enjoyed Bernardo’s project. He has a strong concept and I think that his inclusion of such aspects into the program as the commercial development and the fire tower are wonderful gestures. There is room for improvement, but nothing that is out of the ordinary for a project that is in the stages of schematic design.

Suggestions…

I would first recommend that you strengthen your diagrams so that they can be easily understood without any verbal explanation. Next, you should analyze your structures’ positioning on the edges of Franklin Street and Quay Street and see if there is any room for improvement that would better tie into your concept. You should also redesign all of the jagged edges/pointed corners that are created by the added portions of your program (fire tower and commercial development), as they seem to be visually disjointing from the rest of the site. You should ensure that all aspects of your design from here on out are up to and comply by code. Finally, work on further developing the waterfront region of your design as that will either “make” or “break” your project.

Photo: Site Plan by Bernardo Almeida Barra