The Dupont

The project is part of a revitalization of the Greenpoint neighborhood area, as part of the Greenpoint Landing master plan, which was once an industrial neighborhood of factories, lumber yards, and an active working waterfront, located in the northernmost section of Brooklyn.

The Dupont, a new 40-story residential tower is constructed in Architectural Concrete (known by the French term Béton Brut ), with etched granite columns contrasting with horizontal bronze banding. The building’s design includes a multi-story podium with gradual setbacks that guide the eye toward the central tower. This tower rises evenly to its roof, capped with a mechanical bulkhead. Its façade combines floor-to-ceiling glass and metal panels, featuring a diagrid pattern of slender beams that add dimension to the look. The pattern of the expressive architectural concrete facade is a nod to one of the most famous nineteenth-century cut-glass factories called the Greenpoint Glass Works, founded in 1852 by Christian Dorflinger, an immigrant from Alsace, France. To achieve a high-quality casting for the façade, the Architect chose to use Self Consolidating Concrete yielding façade features of an intricate pattern reminiscent of fine cut and engraved lead crystal. The Beton Brut aesthetic celebrates the cast-in-place system. Experimenting with design mixes and providing mock-ups was helpful during early stage casting to understand how long the forms must stay in place before they are released.