Selldorf Architects completes porcelain-clad Brooklyn skyscrapers


Local studio Selldorf Architects has clad a pair of skyscrapers on the waterfront of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neghbourhood with iridescent porcelain tiles

Following images released of the project under construction last year, One Domino Square was recently completed, encompassing a 55-storey and 39-storey residential tower located adjacent to the Williamsburg Bridge and the recently opened Domino Sugar Refinery.

Tall white towers along Williamsburg
Selldorf Architects has completed two skyscrapers along the Williamsburg waterfront

The two skyscrapers sit on top of a six-storey triangular podium located in a furthermost lot along Domino Park, an outdoor park designed by Field Operations.

Condominium units are located in the shorter of the two towers, while rental units are located in the taller south tower.

Tall white towers along Williamsburg
The skyscrapers are linked by a triangular podium that contains amenity spaces

The building’s amenities are located in the fourth, fifth and sixth floor and include an indoor pool, sauna, cold plunge and an outdoor pool deck which overlooks the Williamsburg Bridge.

According to Selldorf Architects, the skyscrapers’ overall massing was determined as part of a masterplan by SHoP Architects and developer Two Trees Management before the studio began work on the project.

Tall white towers along Williamsburg
The site is located next to the Williamsburg Bridge and the Refinery at Domino

“By the time Selldorf Architects started the project, the idea of the two towers on the podium were was already pre-established, so the heights and the dimensions were more or less in place,” Selldorf Architects partner Oliver Link told Dezeen.

The studio’s scope included cladding the towers in its distinctive “pearl-like” porcelain tiles, designing the amenities and designing the buildings’ interiors along with New York studios Dencityworks and Bonetti Kozerski.

Pearl cladding
The towers are clad in “pearl-like” tile

The studio chose to clad the skyscrapers in porcelain tile for its reflective qualities, contrasting the effect with light grey cladding on the base.

“We used this material with a pearl-like finish that has a real, beautiful shimmer, and also changes during not only the course of the day, but also seasonally,” said Link.

Willamsburg bridge
A pool deck overlooks the bridge. The photo is by Chris Cooper | ArchExplorer

“There is something very light about the two towers that appealed to us. The podium in contrast, which is a six-story triangular podium, we clad that a light grey granite.”

Sustainable efforts in the building include a reduction in the use of concrete, as well as raising the building’s lower levels to be above the flood zone of the nearby East River.

“The building doesn’t actually have a cellar, so it’s essentially a slab-on-grade building, obviously with foundations, but we didn’t excavate, and we didn’t pour tons and tons of concrete into the earth and that alone is a sustainable element,” said Link.

Other elements are more about the use and lifestyle. The way you have the amenities being indoor, outdoor, open to the elements, encourage wellness.

People sitting on pillows
The building is part of a wider development by Two Trees Management. The photo is by Chris Cooper | ArchExplorer

The building also contains bike parking and uses grey water for irrigation.

Link noted that the studio found the siting of the building “fascinating” as well as the surrounding development, which includes the park and a skyscraper designed by CookFox.

Indoor pool
An indoor pool and sauna area looks out over the water. The photo is by Chris Cooper | ArchExplorer

“The two towers open up towards the bridge at a diagonal, and the proximity to the bridge is fascinating,” said Link.

“Part of what’s exciting about this development is how the riverfront has been formalized. There were various pockets along the way from Greenpoint that worked their way down, but some of them were informal. I think this is all tying itself together very nicely as a riverfront.”

Selldorf Architects is behind the redesign of the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing, for which the firm has been criticised.

Other projects by the studio include an art gallery in Ontario.

The photography is by Evan Joseph unless otherwise noted


Project credits:
Design architect: Selldorf Architects
Architect of record: dencityworks Architecture
Landscape architect: James Corner Field Operations
Interior design: Selldorf Architects, Dencityworks and Bonetti Kozerski
Structural engineering: Rosenwasser / Grossman Consulting Engineers
Electrical engineering: Cosentini Associates
Civil engineering: Langan
General Contractor: Two trees Management
Glazing Contractor/Façade Installer: Skyline/ELICC Install



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