OMA's greenpoint landing towers seek to activate 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.‘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.’

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.

‘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.’

‘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.’

‘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.’ construction is expected to begin in summer 2019.