Sugar Coating Domino
New Domino plans unveiled to preservationists’ dismay
The new designs by Rafael Viñoly Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle incorporate the traditional redbrick of the Domino refinery with more modern glass. All images courtesy Rafael Viñoly Architects
In advance of today’s Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing, Rafael Viñoly Architects, Beyer Blinder, Belle, and the Community Preservation Corporation have unveiled their plans for the New Domino adjacent the Williamsburg Bridge, and the designs are impressive and imposing, to say the least.
As previously reported, the project contains nine new luxury towers, ranging in height from 40 to 20 stories and containing roughly 2,200 units. Of those units, 666 are designated as affordable and include a provision giving preference to local residents. In addition, the project will convert the 1890 Romanesque Revival factory—the only landmarked portion of the Domino complex—into a community center.
Preservationists were already unhappy about the proposed scale of the project, but a number have expressed additional horror at a proposed glass rooftop addition to the historic structure, which is the responsibility of preservation specialists Beyer Blinder Belle. “They’re messing with what little bit they landmarked,” said Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council. “It’s awful.”
As for the rest of the project, Bankoff was equally disgusted. “Shocking,” he said, “Shock-ing.” Bankoff added that he doubts the new buildings will age well and certainly not as well as the original Domino refinery has. He was also disappointed to see that the iconic neon yellow “Domino Sugar” sign had not been incorporated, something the Landmarks Preservation Commission urged but did not require.
The new designs first began to appear late last week when renderings leaked onto the Internet following a presentation to Brooklyn Community Board 1. The support was overwhelming in the comments on a number of websites, including the Daily News and the real estate gossip blog Curbed, though some skeptics wondered if the positive reviews were not simply a ploy by the public relations company—which tried to suppress the images—to drum up support.
Evan Thies, a member of the board’s Land Use Committee who is running for city council next year, said he was torn by the plan. “Even though the entire complex will be very, very large in context with the surrounding area, the affordable housing it will create is invaluable to the community, and must be the primary concern at the site,” he said in an email. “It is an impressive proposal design-wise, but I am concerned that the added glass portion to the top of the refinery will not pass muster with the landmarks commission.”
Today’s commission hearing only concerns the landmarked portion of the factory, which technically includes three structures known as the pan, filter, and finishing houses. The rest of the site, while not under the commission’s purvey, must be rezoned from manufacturing to residential use, a move that is currently under review by the City Planning Commission.
Find an update from today's hearing here.
MATT CHABAN
Day and night, the new project will vastly alter the charcter of the north Brooklyn waterfront.Enlarged image.
To encourage high-end buyers to consider the move to Brooklyn, the development will be accessible by water taxi, an approach this rendering is meant to evoke.
Preservationists are most concerned about additions proposed to the one landmark building remaining on the Domino site. The design by Beyer Blinder Belle adds a five-story glass addition to the 12-story structure.