Domino Square
Brooklyn, New York
The Hardscapes & Water Features Issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News saw many firms submit their projects for feature consideration. Domino Square is one of several great projects we are excited to showcase on LandscapeArchitect.com.
Framed by distinctive buildings on three sides, Domino Square is a civic room that has become an outdoor living room for Williamsburg. The Square's location beside the landmarked Refinery building creates a thoughtful dialogue between old and new, with the Refinery's historic brick masonry providing a stunning backdrop that enhances the quality of the Square. Additionally, the Square allows visitors to experience the Refinery building from all sides in three dimensions, rather than just viewing it as a flat façade.
The Square's distinctive bowl-like shape and tiered seating create a natural "theater-in-the-round" effect, surrounded by a mix of conifer and deciduous trees in sculptural weathered steel planters, providing shade and a sense of enclosure. This design transforms a city block into an intimate outdoor amphitheater that enables year-round public programming-from farmer's markets and local graduations to outdoor movies, salsa nights, and ice skating-successfully balancing an open and flexible interior with welcoming, lush, and porous edges.
The Square's design responds to pedestrian flows and sightlines, creating a sense of openness with multiple entry points, and moments of compression and expansion. Neighborhood retail spaces along Kent Avenue activate the street with a dramatic portal that leads into the Square's center. Once inside, visitors are treated to expansive views of the Williamsburg Bridge, East River, and the Manhattan skyline, with upper tiers offering a perfectly framed view of the Statue of Liberty. Domino Square has become a gateway to the waterfront and a vibrant community heart for Williamsburg.
Special Factors & Additional Information:
Sustainability: A new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant and reuse facility located beneath the Square will soon serve the entire Domino development. Treated water will be distributed to the buildings for non-potable needs, and the excess treated water will be discharged to the East River, mitigating combined sewer overflows and improving river quality.
Identity: Domino Square establishes its own distinct identity through its tall, weathered steel retaining walls that frame the space and support its multilevel design and lush vegetation. An iconic canopy of 120 removable fabric panels provides ample shade and creates dynamic shadow patterns throughout the day.
To see more Hardscapes & Water Feature projects, go to: https://landscapearchitect.com/landscape-articles/lasns-hardscapes-water-features-issue
For more information about submitting a project, go to: https://landscapearchitect.com/research/editorial/editorial-submissions.php
