OMA's greenpoint landing towers top out on the brooklyn waterfront

OMA has designed a pair of residential towers in greenpoint, brooklyn that simultaneously lean into and away from one another. the two towers, in conjunction with a lower seven-story building, will bring 745 units of housing — 30% of which will be deemed ‘affordable’ — and more than an acre of new public open space to the neighborhood. the project, led by OMA partner jason long, seeks to serve as a catalyst in the transformation of the waterfront from a post-industrial edge to an accessible and vibrant part of the neighborhood. first unveiled in march, 2019, the greenpoint landing project broke ground in november 2019.

UPDATE 05/04/2021: the two towers have reached the highest point of construction, with the north tower at 300 feet (91 meters) and the south tower at 400 feet (122 meters). ‘these towers, our first in brooklyn, have reached an important milestone made possible by the perseverance of brookfield, park tower group, BBB and the entire construction and design team during an unprecedented time,’ said jason long, OMA partner. ‘it’s exciting to see our collective efforts take shape on greenpoint’s dynamic skyline.’ see the latest construction images below.

image by bloomimages, all images courtesy of OMA

‘brookfield and park tower group have been working together to connect greenpoint with its waterfront, and we are thrilled to be collaborating with them on our first project in brooklyn,’ explains OMA partner jason long. ‘we have designed two towers — a ziggurat and its inverse — carefully calibrated to one another. defined by the space between them, they frame a new view of greenpoint and new vista from the neighborhood to manhattan.’

image by nuur.nu

the scheme was unveiled by brookfield properties and park tower group, the development team behind the project. by extending eagle street and dupont street, the towers will expand the existing public waterfront esplanade, creating a total of 2.5-acres of continuous public open space along the shoreline, and will add 8,600 square feet of ground-floor retail to the neighborhood.

image by bloomimages

‘the taller tower widens toward the east as it rises, maximizing views and creating a dramatic face to the neighborhood and beyond,’ says OMA. ‘its partner steps back from the waterfront to create a series of large terraces, widening toward the ground and the new waterfront park to the north. the towers are framed by two lower volumes on the opposite corners of the site, creating a continuous edge around the block. along this edge, subtle folds and shifts mark entries and define a smaller grain reminiscent of the often-variegated street edge conditions within greenpoint.’

image by elevated angles LLC, courtesy of highbury concrete

image by nuur.nu

‘park tower group and brookfield are bringing dynamic, cutting-edge architecture to the brooklyn waterfront while delivering significant benefits for the greenpoint community,’ says ric clark, senior managing partner and chairman, brookfield property group and brookfield property partners. ‘the addition of much-needed housing and creation of new, accessible open space are transforming this underutilized stretch of waterfront into a new thriving, livable and sustainable addition to greenpoint.’

image by nuur.nu

‘these new developments with brookfield will expand our beautiful waterfront esplanade, providing even more public open space for greenpoint locals and visitors to enjoy, along with architecture that will define the brooklyn skyline,’ adds marian klein, president of park tower group. ‘with world-class landscape design by james corner field operations, we are beginning to realize our transformative vision for a stretch of uninterrupted access to the greenpoint shoreline.’

jason long is the project’s partner in charge | image by vincent dilio

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project info:

project: two residential towers and lower podium with ground floor retail
client: brookfield properties, park tower group
status: competition february 2017; construction start august 2019
site: greenpoint, brooklyn, new york, USA
site area: 122,929 sqf (11,420 sqm)
total area: 850,844 sqf (79,046 sqm)
program: 768,057 sqf (71,355 sqm) residential; 25,888 sqf (2,405 sqm), 8,616 sqf (800 sqm) retail; 48,283 sqf (4,486 sqm) parking
units: 745 units total; D1 335 units; D2 302 units; D3 108 units; 30% (224) affordable, 70% (521) market rate
distribution: studio (0BR) 25% (183); 1BR 46% (342); 2BR 26% (196); 3BR 3% (24)
height: north tower (D2) 300 ft (91 m); south tower (D1) 400 ft (122 m)

credits:
lead design architect: OMA
partner-in-charge: jason long
project architects: yusef ali dennis, christine yoon
team: remy bertin, jingyi bi, sam biroscak, titouan chapouly, ken chongsuwat, marie- claude fares, yashar ghasemkhani, anders grinde, wesley leforce, nathan petty, andres rabano, laylee salek, alan song, wo hong wu, soojung yoo, steven young, juan pablo zepeda

executive architect: beyer blinder belle architects & planners LLP
waterfront landscape architect: james corner field operations
interior and landscape architect: marmol radziner
structure: desimone consulting engineers
MEP and LEED: cosentini associates
façade: thornton tomasetti
lighting: focus lighting
acoustics: cerami associates
civil: langan engineering
wayfinding and signage: MTWTF
marine engineering: mclaren engineering group