NPCA: A Precast “Confection”

Via the  National Precast Concrete Association:

A new 42-story commercial and residential tower along the East River waterfront in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn is more than initially meets the eye. Thanks to an innovative collaboration involving large-scale 3D-printed molds, the tower pays homage to the recently restored Domino Sugar Factory building just down the street. The mixed-use structure at One South First opened for business fall 2019 and features a precast alabaster facade that glistens in the light like the sugar crystals once produced in the historic adjacent refinery.

Two Trees Management selected New York-based COOKFOX Architects, DPC, to help design the project. According to COOKFOX Senior Associate Arno Adkins, the firm sought to create a site-specific design that is referential to the history of the area while also focusing on sustainability. COOKFOX conducted research on the Domino Sugar Factory waterfront and decided to incorporate sugar’s crystalline molecular structure into a contemporary facade to connect the new building with its past.

“We were able to design a performative facade and fine-tune solar exposure,” Adkins explained. “As you walk around the building today, it’s subtle, but the shape of the facade changes due to solar orientation.”

Read the full piece here: A Precast “Confection”