31 in 31: #5

This is a series for August 2010 which documents my on-the-ground -- and on-the-webs -- research for my guidebook to contemporary NYC architecture (to be released next year by W. W. Norton). Archives can be found at the bottom of the post and via the 31 in 31 label.



Nearing completion about one block from the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn is The Pencil Factory. Designed by Daniel Goldner Architects, the condo project includes two new buildings on either side of a renovated 1872 warehouse from the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company. Some smaller factory buildings were demolished to make way for the additions.



The design is like a building-size brick sample case, composed of at least six different colors in a fairly random pattern. These panels, combined with the rooftop "lanterns," or dormers, give the project its primary expression. The lanterns help tie old and new together; without them the juxtaposition of single-color brick in regular openings and multiple shades of masonry between irregular openings would not congeal.



Previously:

#1 - Phyto Universe
#2 - One Bryant Park
#3 - Pier 62 Carousel
#4 - Bronx River Art Center