Reimagining Industry City: The Brooklyn Dairy Project
The Brooklyn Dairy Project reimagines South Brooklyn’s historic Industry City as a vibrant and sustainable urban space. By integrating two primary programs—Brooklyn Dairy and Urban Farm—the project addresses segregation and accessibility challenges, while unlocking the potential of this vast industrial site.
Drawing inspiration from the nearby highway, the design extends linear infrastructure, aligning with existing railways to weave the site into the urban fabric. Roads fragment the site into modular, adaptable spaces, transforming the scale of the industrial landscape into a network of connectivity and unity.
The revitalized site features a productive, multi-layered landscape system enriched with nutrient-rich soil to support diverse crops and sustain dairy farming. Repurposed railways facilitate internal logistics and external transport, while warehouses are adapted for hay storage, forming a self-sustaining system. This regenerative design promotes biodiversity, remediates the land, and creates a thriving agricultural hub.
The building’s design emphasizes flexibility and sustainability, featuring movable upper sections that adapt to extreme weather and seasonal variations. Sliding panels and unfolding sheds create a dynamic environment that fosters crop growth and seamlessly integrates landscape elements. The ground floor accommodates sheltered cow gardens and public spaces for cultural and social gatherings, while the upper levels house aquaponic systems and greenhouse production areas, fostering a multi-layered ecosystem.
Transportation and distribution are strategically located along the building’s southern edge, contrasting with the tranquil farmland shared by animals and urban residents on the northern side. This juxtaposition embodies the project’s mission to harmonize urban vibrancy with rural serenity, creating a balanced and inclusive space.
The Brooklyn Dairy Project showcases a holistic vision for urban revitalization, blending industrial, agricultural, and urban systems into a sustainable loop. At its core, the movement of a single triangular module symbolizes evolution and interconnectedness, reflecting the project’s commitment to an adaptive and inclusive future.
