35 Commercial Street is the fourth 100% affordable residential building to be built at Greenpoint Landing, a 22-acre waterfront site in Brooklyn that has transformed this formerly industrial area into a new thriving neighborhood. The project contains 374 residences, bicycle parking, a fitness room, children’s play area, storage room, and retail. 57 units have been set-aside for formerly homeless applicants, and those units include assistance with furnishings, as well as ongoing social services provided via a partnership with non-profit social service organization Breaking Ground.

The building is composed of two connecting volumes, one horizontal and one vertical. The 22-story vertical component is L-shaped, maximizing windows and creating a residents’ garden at the ground level. The U-shaped lower volume wraps three sides of the site, creating a central open courtyard within the project that serves as the building’s front door.

The brick and metal exterior honors and reinterprets the traditional industrial nature of Greenpoint’s waterfront. The design approach eschews a standard grid in favor of one punctuated by directional shifts and material contrasts. Recessed glass ribbons cut through the brick horizontally and vertically, breaking down the overall massing of the building. The shapes defined by these cuts are composed of red brick with punched windows; black accent brick defines the window locations and creates a sense of rhythm to the facade.