Frits, Fins and Curves for Medical and Office Building in Fort Greene

Architect Francis Cauffman’s design for the Hotel Workers Healthcare Center and Office Building at 620 Fulton Street in Fort Greene departs from the usual glassy cube or tower. It is “teardrop shaped,” according to the architect, with a textured glass facade. (We assume the teardrop shape refers to the footprint of the building, which sits on a triangular lot.) The curved shape and design of the facade give it a “sculptural,” “dynamic” quality — we agree, the striations on the facade make the building appear to be moving.

The facade is a unitized curtain wall system — aka it’s a non structural facade made of pieces joined together — and the materials are fritted glass and 10-inch glass fins that project from the building, according to New York YIMBY, which first published the renderings. (Fritted glass is porous; there is such a thing as fritted glass whose pattern can change from opaque to transparent to control light and heat, although we don’t know if that’s the case here.)

Or, in the architect’s words: “These architectural features will appear to dissolve the edges of the building and create a dynamic, sculptural form that gives a different impression to passersby from different vantage points.”

It does give the impression of motion or ripples.

The office and medical center will be 12 stories, as already reported. More than half of the office space will be leased out, and there will shops on the ground floor. Construction is slated to start this spring, with move-in set for fall 2016. The building replaces a parking lot.

Click through to see more. What do you think of the design?

Revealed: 620 Fulton Street, Office Building in Downtown Brooklyn [NYY] GMAP
Renderings by Francis Cauffman