Alloy on John Street

Last week Mayor Bloomberg "Announce[d] Approval of Development That Will Allow for Expansion and Funding of Brooklyn Bridge Park." Specifically this headline is referring to a 47-unit, 100,000-sf development at 1 John Street in DUMBO. The development team is comprised of Alloy Development and Monadnock Construction, though the press release linked above does not indicate the architect responsible for the design.

John Street_1_Credit Alloy
[All photos via nycmayorsoffice Flickr account | Image: Alloy Development]

A hint at who is responsible for the building design can be found in Alloy Development, which has Jared Della Valle (formerly of Della Valle Bernheimer Architecture) as its President. DVB undertook projects as both architect and developer, a situation that seems to have precipitated the split into Alloy and Bernheimer Architecture—the former focused on development and the latter on architecture. So is 1 John Street's boxy and glassy design the product of Alloy Development itself? I'd wager it is (a sentiment echoed by Crains).

John Street_2_Credit Alloy
[Image: Alloy Development]

Alloy certainly isn't alone in developing and designing substantial residential developments. DDG comes to mind as one developer/architect making its stamp on New York City, with projects in NoHo and the Meatpacking District in particular. Naturally, with Alloy's location in Brooklyn they are focusing on developments in that borough; one standout is the nearby Dumbo Townhouses.

John Street_3_Credit Alloy
[Image: Alloy Development]

It's worth comparing Alloy's design for 1 John Street with the other 10 developer entries in the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation's RFP for the site, which can be seen at Curbed. Alloy's winning entry is Team 11. In addition to the 47 residential units, the proposal includes ground floor retail and a branch of the Brooklyn Children's Museum.

Comments

  1. Awful. Not the design so much, but that the 'river wall' of the old warehouses will now be dominated by yet another glass box.

    The second rendering shows exactly this.

    ReplyDelete

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