Brooklyn apartment block gets a skin of Danish brick
A new eight-storey apartment block on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, comes wrapped in Danish brick in red, beige and soft grey.
540 Atlantic Avenue was designed by Brooklyn-based NA Design Studio. The building holds 159 homes and 4,843 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, according to Dezeen. The project was developed with JCS Realty, as reported by New York YIMBY.
The colour does a lot of the work. The facade uses earth-toned bricks supplied by brick maker Glen-Gery, with red, beige and subtle grey tones and a sand finish that feels rough to the touch. They belong to Glen-Gery's Cushwa Series.
Look closer and the pattern shifts. The bricks are set in a vertical running bond, meaning upright bricks laid in offset rows, with a band of protruding bricks laid horizontally running through it. That second layer catches light and shadow as the day moves.
The construction is straightforward. The brick skin was laid on insulation boards fixed directly to the concrete frame of the building. No extra cavity wall. Just insulation, then brick.
Up to the fifth floor, brick frames floor-to-ceiling windows. Above that, the building steps back in symmetrical setbacks. Those steps form private outdoor terraces for residents higher up.
Inside, the offer is built for small households. The building lists studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats, with a rooftop terrace, co-working space and gym, according to the building's website. It sits a short walk from Atlantic Terminal, the transit and shopping hub in Brooklyn.
What makes this stand out is restraint. One material covers almost everything. The mix of warm tones keeps it soft, while the upright layout and the raised band stop it from looking flat.
