Reimagining the first community development enterprise in downtown Brooklyn
Reimagining the first community development enterprise in downtown Brooklyn,
Sir David Adjaye has unveiled plans for a new Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration in downtown Brooklyn.
This center is the first community development institution in the country and was established in 1967.
The blueprint envisions an area that will accelerate wealth creation and close the racial wealth gap that has affected the United States.
The 840,000-square-foot design scheme, located on historic Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn, includes:
On a major expansion of the Cultural Center, Billie Holiday Theater and many more.
These two programs will provide access to resources for the next generation of cultural leaders in Central Brooklyn.
The campus design in the heart of Brooklyn seeks to centralize all economic and developmental opportunities for residents.
Design features
This world class center was designed by Sir David Adjaye and derived from the visionary process he created with the community in 2019.
This participatory process, led by Adjaye, was a great success,
and the feedback from the community was summarized in four focal points.
increase the visibility of arts programmes; expanding employment and education opportunities;
Optimize open space and bring in mission-compliant retail.
As a result of this engagement process and community focus groups,
the campus has been designed as a mixed-use residential and commercial space.
This includes new offices for financial inclusion programs, on-campus retail space, the Billie Holiday Theatre,
A new Cultural Restoration Center, a publicly accessible rooftop, and a walkable public plaza connect these activities.
The program’s diversity provides economic mobility, a place to develop skill sets,
and the ability to host a wealth of resources for the more than 60,000 residents of Central Brooklyn.
The space will also focus on expanding various programs,
such as the Restoration Software Engineering Fellowship, along with the Marcy Lab School.
The architect, Sir David Adjaye, was chosen to complete this project by the restoration firm directly because of his work at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Both leaders and residents of this community wanted to ensure that the campus design reflected the values and mission of the Restoration.
With a similar focus on building community, Adjaye Associates also designed the Ruby City Center for Contemporary Art.
In a 2020 similar case study, Marble Fairbanks Architects recently built the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center,
It is another one of the essential functions and services of the Brooklyn community.
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