WILLIAMSBURG —Two Trees Management, the developer and manager of Domino Park, has announced the opening of Domino Square. This one-acre public plaza and events space serves as an extension of the park, which is a waterfront esplanade at the Domino Sugar redevelopment site.
Nestled between Two Trees’ new residential waterfront development One Domino Square and its new office building The Refinery at Domino, Domino Square is a programmable public plaza and flexible outdoor space designed to enhance the lives of the Domino Park community.
Domino Square was designed by landscape architecture firm Field Operations — the team responsible for the original Domino Park site and the High Line in Manhattan — in collaboration with Brooklyn-based architecture firm Studio Cadena. It will host large-scale community activities such as farmer’s markets, graduations for neighborhood schools, salsa nights and more.
An aerial rendering of Domino Square, with The Refinery at Domino in the background. Courtesy of Two Trees Management
The square will also serve as a hub for seasonal community activities year-round, including the debut of Williamsburg’s first waterfront ice skating rink, slated to open this November for the winter season. With the addition of the ice rink, Domino Square will become a wintertime destination for skaters of all ages.
“From the moment we bought Domino, we have been focused on creating one of the most highly utilized and diverse open spaces in all of Brooklyn,” said Jed Walentas, principal at Two Trees Management. “We have obviously been thrilled with how the community has responded to and adopted Domino Park. Now, with the opening of the Square, we will be able to accommodate a broader array of activities that will attract neighbors from all walks of life. Domino Square will enhance everyone’s life in South Williamsburg.”
Surrounded by attractive mixed-use buildings on three sides, Domino Square is conceived as a civic space that both complements Domino Park and serves as its own distinct place. Comprising a full city block, or 33,300 square feet, Domino Square was designed to have a “bowl-like” interior, with a lifted edge comprised of distinctive and lush planting beds, and tiered seating that creates a “theater-in-the-round” effect.
A rendering of Domino Square in the winter, showing the new ice skating rink that is slated to open in November. Courtesy of Two Trees Management
Circulation through and within the Square is open and inviting, and the Square features views of the landmarked Refinery building, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the iconic former syrup tanks within Domino Park.
The Square has a strong relationship with the Refinery building, providing a space for public uses envisioned at the ground floor to spill out into the Square. Given its location on Kent Avenue, the Square extends Domino Park further into the neighborhood, inviting more people to come and enjoy the park.
A retail arcade designed by Studio Cadena has been created from a series of cast-in-place concrete piers along the street perimeter. This forms a loggia that frames retail spaces and entry points for the park.
A rendering of a summertime view of Domino Square. Courtesy of Two Trees Management
Material choices are purposefully rugged and utilitarian, reflecting the building’s placement near the East River, the need for storm resilience, and continuing a narrative through-line of the Domino site as a formerly industrial, adaptive reuse project.
The concrete piers are sandblasted to reveal the bluestone aggregate and to add tone and texture to the facade. Rather than hiding smokestacks from the water treatment facility below, these tubular ducts penetrate the building and prominently appear above the landscaped roof.
The tiered seating in the Square is surrounded by a mixture of conifer and deciduous trees within sculptural planting beds enclosed by Corten steel, providing shade and a sense of enclosure for events throughout all seasons.
A more passive park-like setting in the southwest corner includes intimate seating nooks and places for respite, shaped by a series of raised planting beds that create a lush and shaded environment. These further insulate the interior of the Square and create a buffer for the adjacent residential tower. A new seating overlook at the southwest corner faces out towards Domino Park and the Williamsburg Bridge.
The seating area at Domino Square. Courtesy of Two Trees Management
“Domino Square completes the public open space promise to the community, enhances access to the neighborhood and waterfront, and offers a distinctive view of the Refinery building,” said Lisa Tziona Switkin, partner, Field Operations.
Domino Square is part of Two Trees’ broader effort to redevelop the 11-acre Domino Sugar Factory Site just north of the Williamsburg Bridge into a dynamic mixed-use neighborhood complete with world-class office and residential space, a public open space, popular food and beverage offerings and retail stores.
Domino Square is the latest addition to the historic site, following the opening of the One Domino Square residential tower earlier this year; the Class A office building Refinery at Domino in 2023; the fully-leased 10 Grand Street office building in 2020; the One South First residential building in 2019, the award-winning 6-acre public Domino Park in June 2018; and the 325 Kent residential building in 2017.
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