BBP Pier Six, New York
Asymptote Architecture
The architecture, design and planning of PierSix by Asymptote is centred around the notion that any new, tall buildings along the Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront should take as their inspiration three key parameters:
The first being a contextual design sensitivity, to that of the neighbourhood, the park and the environment.
The second parameter is that any new construction should be an elegant and sophisticated response to contemporary architectural tropes and design, and thirdly, that the buildings project a forward-looking and enlightened approach to housing and lifestyle in line with local Brooklyn culture.
The second parameter is that any new construction should be an elegant and sophisticated response to contemporary architectural tropes and design, and thirdly, that the buildings project a forward-looking and enlightened approach to housing and lifestyle in line with local Brooklyn culture.
To achieve these three aspects, the design of the towers engages the issues of both scale and presence, taking inspiration from the architecture of lighthouses and other iconic markers historically found along waterfronts. The design is simultaneously a response to the building’s proximity to the lush and diverse landscape of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Contributed to the project during my internship in 2014.
Images: Asymptote Architecture
A dual strategy shaped the project’s distinctive identity and iconic presence within the park. First, the towers’ exterior expression is articulated through a carefully composed vertical choreography of colour and material variation. This layered façade, together with a reflective, painterly interplay of light and shadow, reinforces the buildings’ prominence on the skyline and lends the architecture a sense of stature and civic dignity. In this regard, the project is positioned not only against the Brooklyn skyline but also in deliberate dialogue with Manhattan across the East River.
At street level, the approach shifts towards continuity with landscape and public life. The base of the buildings is integrated into the park terrain to form new seasonally responsive public spaces, directly connected to a suite of public services and amenities. Decorative screening, drawing inspiration from the elegant yet powerful sculptural language of Harry Bertoia, operates as both a device of scale modulation and a permeable filter, mediating between built form, planting, and the wider landscape of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
