904 Pacific Street / Loadingdock5 Architecture

Architect: Loadingdock5 Architecture
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Project Team: Harry Knoll, Werner Morath and Sam Bargetz
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Marc Lins

We were first presented with this project in 2006 by Eli Karp at Supreme Builders and were immediately intrigued and excited by the possibilities it afforded. Having previously worked with the developer, we knew that we would be allowed to think outside the box and implement creative solutions to the challenges presented by the site. New York City has a complicated and extensive set of zoning rules and the site butted many of them against each other; we had to approach this project almost as if it were a puzzle.

ground floor plan

The site was challenging for multiple reasons:

• the site is somewhat L-shaped: 70′ deep on one side and 110′ on the other
• the site is irregularly divided into 2 zoning districts and is essentially bisected by a diagonal boundary
• each of the 2 zoning districts allows for different height and bulk
• the site has a theoretically large buildable area, which quickly became restricted by geometrical constraints and buildings codes

Our approach:

• we situated 2 buildings of different heights on either side of the zoning boundary, separated by a 4-story exterior entryway which leads to a 3rd building in the rear
• the rear building contains an interior lobby on the first floor which serves all 3 buildings; the gym is also located on the first floor, on the street side of the 5-story building
• the apartments are a mix of differently shaped 1-3 bedroom units; some of them are duplexes with a double high living room
• the cellar contains 11 parking spots and a swimming pool