Project Description
25 Washington Street (also known as the “Gair-2 Building)” is one of the manufacturing facilities built in the late 1800s by Robert Gair, the largest paper box manufacturer in the United States at the time. The building is located in DUMBO, on the waterfront between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges; it is part of the designated Brooklyn Historic District.
WASA/Studio A converted the current structure (consisting of six-story exposed interior timber framing and exterior load-bearing masonry walls) into a residential building, including a two-story addition at the top of the building. The overall bulk of this building conversion amounts for a 100,000-sf residential floor area (110 apartments) 5,000-sf commercial/retail area, 4,500-sf rooftop recreation area, private terraces, an indoor fitness center, residential/bike storage and other amenities.
Among the unusual features of this residential design are the apartments’ ceiling heights—between 11 and 13 feet—with massive timber columns, beams and wood planking ceilings all exposed. In order to meet the “light & air” requirements for the residential use, three inner courts have been carved-out at the back of the building.
WASA/Studio A worked with the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to develop a design mutually acceptable to both the Commission and the developer.