St. Ann's Warehouse
TYLin provided structural engineering services to create a permanent home for a performing arts organization within the walls of an 1860s tobacco warehouse.
The old structure was a focal point in the revitalization of the DUMBO area, which has since been turned over to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation. The design includes a versatile theater space for 300 to 700 people, a multi-purpose community room, and a public open-air garden. The project team also preserved the scenic archways and original red brick walls and added a clerestory ribbon of clear glass bricks atop the latter, forming a translucent bridge between the walls and roof.
Prior to this, TYLin worked with the Landmarks Conservancy and the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to save the waterfront warehouse, which had nearly collapsed and consisted of only remnant walls and floors. Rather than razing the structure, TYLin determined that the 20-inch-thick brick walls were relatively sound and only in need of isolated repairs and restoration. Lost and failed arches were reconstructed or restored from salvaged masonry, and joist pockets were infilled.