HWKN, a New York City-based architecture and innovation collective led by German-born architect and author Matthias Hollwich, has shared a first look and more information for Bushwick Generator, a vertical office campus planned, naturally, for the project’s namesake Brooklyn neighborhood. Described by HWKN as the “antithesis of the sterile Silicon Valley office park,” Bushwick Generator will rise 200 feet above the largely low-slung and industrial northern Brooklyn landscape while bringing 400,000 square feet of new workspace to the area.
Originally developed by Heritage Equity Partners, the project, which has since been thrown into receivership, has been in the works for a while now, as first noted by New York YIMBY over a year ago in October 2019. As far as Bushwick real estate goes, the location at 215 Moore Street is a prime one, located just two blocks from the L Train-serviced Morgan Avenue subway station. As also reported by New York YIMBY, Heritage was also behind plans for an adjacent hotel, which is also depicted in renderings of Bushwick Generator, as well as the renovations of two existing light-industrial buildings at the site.
Comprised of a gem-like brick volume perched atop a rectangular three-story base that incorporates existing light-industrial buildings at the site as a new foundation, Bushwick Generator is no doubt a conspicuous addition to the neighborhood—a new “vertical focal point” per the firm—but also one that will have precedent in western Brooklyn, once Studio Libeskind’s faceted affordable senior housing complex in Bed-Stuy is complete.
“By maintaining and building atop the existing urban fabric, The Generator injects new life into the context while preserving the distinctive grit that lends the area its character and edge,” explained HWKN in a press statement. “The result is a new icon for Bushwick that reimagines the neighborhood’s traditional forms and materials in forward-looking geometries, embracing the area’s heritage while paving the way for its future.”
To that end, Bushwick Generator—an amalgam of “community, novelty, and authenticity”—will function as a sort of quasi-open office campus with its lower levels hosting both retail space and dedicated areas for public programming including performances, exhibitions, and more. The exhibition venues will be geared to draw in neighborhood residents and allow Bushwick Generator to evolve beyond the typical office campus in which tenant needs are paramount and community-facing amenities an afterthought. A planted rooftop terrace located on the front edge of the base structure could also potentially serve as a backdrop for public events in addition to tenant use and Philadelphia-based Land Collective is serving as the landscape designer for the project.
Further opening itself up to street-level activity, a corner of the base has also been shaved off to allow for a soaring triangular glass entrance portal that complements the ten-story multifaceted “vertical gem” above.
As for the workspace itself, it will be spread across flexible octagonal floor-plates that can easily be subdivided to accommodate a range of tenants including young startups that are still gaining their footing and will likely need a bit of room to expand. This versatility, per HWKN, “fosters a diverse commercial ecosystem where companies can collaborate creatively and inspire one another.”
Bushwick Generator is slated for completion in 2023.
