ODA transforms a brick factory into a creative hub, replacing the main facade with a permeable glass and steel structure.

Overlooking the East River, a stone’s throw from Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn shows its new landmark. An industrial building dating from 1898 has been renovated by New York-based studio ODA, which has entirely cut out the brick facade facing the waterfront and replaced it with a glass and metal faceted structure.

The interior of the ten-storey block, however, has not been touched. ODA has decided to leave it in its raw state and awaiting the colonisation of the local community.

Following the change in the American – and generally Western - economy, the old sugar factory has been transformed into an incubator for creative workers. But the contemporary intervention does not erase the industrial soul of the building, which like the rest of the Brooklyn district proudly preserves its productive and worker character.