Bjarke Ingels Proposes "Three-Dimensional Neighborhood" for Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal

Summary

• Bjarke Ingels Group has designed a 27-story building set to occupy 175 Third St on Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal, a reimagined concept from a 2023 proposal.
• Designed in collaboration with dencityworks | architecture and developers Charney Companies and Tavros, the development will comprise terraced concrete volumes and a public park designed by NYC Parks and Field Operations.

Bjarke Ingels Group has unveiled the renderings for a “three-dimensional neighborhood” as part of Brooklyn‘s Gowanus Canal redevelopment plans. In place of a now-scrapped proposal unveiled in 2023, the reimagined development spans over one million sq ft, anchored by a public park designed by Fieldo Operations in collaboration with NYC Parks, and an internal stepped courtyard offering panoramic views of the New York City Skyline.

BIG founder and architect Bjarke Ingels shared that the project at 175 Third Street is conceived as a “three-dimensional neighborhood of building blocks stacked to frame a central park cascading down towards the canal waterfront.” “The rational volumes are chiseled and chamfered, opening up the corners to create terraces, entrances, and outdoor spaces. The resultant architecture provides a plethora of niches for all forms of life – urban and intimate, public and private – within and around,” he added.

The tower, consisting of terraced concrete blocks, was designed in collaboration with dencityworks | architecture and developers Charney Companies and Tavros. Culminating at 27 stories, the building will offer more than 1,000 residential units, as well as roughly 250 affordable housing options.  According to Martin Voelkle of BIG the volumes are characterized by “a series of purposeful shifts and chamfered corners” designed according to “programmatic needs and the site’s contextual zoning constraints.” Cascading into a descending U-shape, the building opens to the waterfront park linking 2nd and 3rd Streets.

According to Brownstoner, the previous 2023 design, characterized by a more deconstructed, sculptural sensibility, was commissioned by previous owners RFR, who have since sold the property to the new developers for about $160 million USD in April. Part of the multi-acre “Gowanus Wharf” revitalization, the building will be the 4th Gowanus project by Charney and Tavros. The four properties consist of over 2 million sq ft of new development.

See the gallery above for a closer look at the proposed design.