NEW ATLANTIC YARDS DESIGN BY FRANK GEHRY

Thursday, May 8, 2008

The $4 billion Atlantic Yards project is one of the most important public/private development initiatives in New York City today. This groundbreaking 22-acre, mixed-use project is the vision of Forest City Ratner Companies and world-renowned architect Frank Gehry. It will create a vibrant, sustainable 24/7 destination featuring a new home for the Nets, office space, a hotel, housing, open space and substantial community benefits. Situated in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn, at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, the project’s 17 buildings will span more than seven city blocks.

The Barclays Center, a state-of the-art, multi-purpose, 18,000-seat sports and entertainment venue designed by Gehry will bring the Nets and major professional sports back to Brooklyn. Building One—an innovative 650,000-square-foot office building also designed by Frank Gehry for today’s forward-looking businesses—will sit at the prow of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. And, to help meet the City’s need for housing, Atlantic Yards will create more than 6,400 mixed-income residential units; 2,250 of the rental units will be designated for low- and middle-income families. The plan also includes 247,000 square feet of retail and 8 acres of public open space.

Gehry’s colorful, undulating, asymmetrical mix of glass and steel will dramatically redefine the look and feel of the downtown Brooklyn landscape forever.

After a productive collaboration, our work for Atlantic Yards has come together in a way that makes me very pleased,” said Frank Gehry, winner of the 1989 Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in architecture. “The design for Miss Brooklyn, which we now call Building One, or B1, has become a very special work for me. It has evolved and has become slimmer, more elegant and more festive and is ideally suited for an office building. It fits in even better with the evolution of the arena design. As part of the master plan, we envisioned that the residential buildings would be more understated, more in keeping with the neighborhood and how the buildings will be used.”

info and images provided by Julie Hendricks & Ken Shane

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