5 Blue Slip is the third residential building to be built as part of the Greenpoint Landing development in Brooklyn. Located on 22-acres of waterfront in Brooklyn, Greenpoint Landing transformed a formerly industrial area into a new multi-building development. The plan re-established the neighborhood’s waterfront connection through the creation of new streets, new housing, new waterfront parks, and a new public school, all designed to integrate into Greenpoint’s already thriving, diverse community.

5 Blue Slip opens onto a newly energized Commercial Street, facing Greenpoint Playground, and abuts the Newtown Barge Park to the west. The 6-story building includes 103 designated affordable residential units, ground level retail, and landscaped areas in the form of a private garden. The U-shaped building was designed with contrasting volumes of brick, meant to address the park, street, and the adjacent building at 21 Commercial Street, which shares a brick color, tying the buildings together visually.

The red brick for the building has horizontal and vertical accent bands that provide articulation. The basic field brick was carefully selected to be in keeping with the character of the existing industrial buildings in the Brooklyn waterfront; it is a slightly irregular and hard fired in a carousel kiln. Given this process, each brick develops its own rich color tonality ranging from red through brown and some purple.