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Home > Lab

What are we thinking?......What were we thinking!

Every project has a (back)story: BKSK LAB is a forum to share these stories of process, research, innovation, and engagement.

Adaptive Reuse
Gansevoort Row

The Redevelopment of Gansevoort Row

APRIL 7, 2022 | The mini-documentary explores BKSK’s redevelopment of the city-block long set of buildings on Gansevoort Row in the MeatPacking District and the Gansevoort Market Historic District. This 7 minute film was shot and edited by Daniel Blanc, an architectural designer and former student of BKSK Partner Julie Nelson at CCNY. Daniel was hired to conduct interviews […]

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Collaboration
Lambaye Learning Center

Lambaye Learning Center’s Positive Impact

JANUARY 7, 2022 | Lambaye Learning Center and its positive effects on the community was highlighted during a segment on a Senegalese news show. The 4,000-sf community Library and Learning Center has radically changed the lives of the village residents; it has given the locals access to education, technology, and training. Center programs include robotics classes, computer coding, fabric […]

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Resiliency
Battery Playscape

A Sense of Place and Environmental Stewardship

NOVEMBER 10, 2020 | The Battery PlayScape is quietly emerging in lower Manhattan.  Nestled in New York’s birthplace, the Playscape is sited where the land meets the sea, where locals meet tourists, where the bustle of the city is tempered by the presence of nature.

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Adaptive Reuse
Tammany Hall

Tammany Hall’s New High-Tech Glass Dome Honors New York’s Original People

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 | An articulated dome of glass and steel now rises from the historic Tammany Hall, honoring the building’s namesake on the northeast corner of Union Square in Manhattan. The new iconic rooftop addition is the visible top of a new 6-story building rising from within the restored century-old street walls of the individual NYC landmark.

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Preservation+
Tammany Hall, New York NY, Architect: BKSK

Buildings Don’t Have Captions

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 | BKSK has a portfolio of approvals by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), ranging from new buildings to storefront restorations. In many of these projects, we have worked to establish a meaningful dialogue between contemporary and historic elements.

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Passive House
CUWS Building Facade

Passive House for a Multi-Family Condominium

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 | We enthusiastically await Charlotte of the Upper West Side’s arrival at 470 Columbus Avenue in Manhattan. The building is poised to become an integral part of a landmarked historic district while looking decidedly toward the future.

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Four Brilliant Ideas
Full Plan of the Center for Fiction COVID Adaptation

COVID Reopening Plan: A Post-Occupancy (RE) Evaluation

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 | In assisting our client, The Center for Fiction, in creating a re-opening plan, BKSK was given the opportunity to revisit our design – from the architecture to the furniture selections, to assess its flexibility, adaptability and ability to serve an Institution’s mission within a changing context.

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Collaboration
Lambaye Learning Center Group of Kids

Collaborative Design Across Borders: An Interview with Partner George Schieferdecker and Alexandra Hutchison

AUGUST 21, 2018 | The Lambaye Learning Center will provide a library, skill training area, women’s center, and other communal spaces for the village of Lambaye in Senegal. The project was made possible by the hard work from a diverse cohort, including BKSK, an enthusiastic chemistry teacher originally from Lambaye, Students for Senegal, a world-renowned furniture designer, local builders and craftsmen, and the villagers of Lambaye.

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In Response
Out with the New, In with the Old

Out with the New, In with the Old

JULY 11, 2018 | Over 90% of New York City's building stock in the year 2050 already exists today. Buildings in New York City account for almost three-quarters of the city’s current greenhouse gas emissions. These two simple statements outline the challenge before us: to meet the New York City's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, an aggressive approach to energy reducing retrofits is essential.

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Four Brilliant Ideas
Nourishment

[Nourishment]

DECEMBER 30, 2015 | We come across a lot of brilliant ideas through our design and research, including the many ways that the concept of nourishment translates beyond the dinner plate.

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Four Brilliant Ideas
Embodied Learning

[Embodied Learning]

AUGUST 13, 2015 | We come across a lot of brilliant ideas through our design and research, including the many lenses available for considering the body's role in learning.

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Four Brilliant Ideas
4BI Drawing

[Drawing]

JULY 10, 2015 | We come across a lot of brilliant ideas through our design and research, including how drawing enables exploration, both of worlds as they exist and worlds as we might make them.

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NYC Strategy Field

The NYC Strategy Field

APRIL 27, 2015 | Developed by the BKSK LAB, the field is an interactive database reflecting the existing stock of multi-family buildings in our city that have been marketed as “green" and highlighting the specific strategies that designers and developers have used to attract tenants and buyers.

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Four Brilliant Ideas
4BI Ethnography

[Ethnography]

MARCH 30, 2015 | We come across a lot of brilliant ideas through our design and research, including the variety of approaches to ethnography and its application to architecture.

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Ground Source Heat

Washington Square Park House: A Model for Low Carbon Design

MARCH 13, 2015 | On February 27th, BKSK went before members of the New York City Council to present design solutions that work toward a carbon-balanced future and, specifically, support the achievement of an 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

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In Response
Active Design Guidelines

Active Design Guidelines

JANUARY 20, 2015 | The publication of the Active Design Guidelines was a critical milestone in New York’s commitment to building a healthy, living city. Here, we reflect on how the guidelines could grow.

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“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” Buckminster Fuller
Strategies In Practice
BKSK Strategy - Blue Roof

Blue Roof

OCTOBER 20, 2014 | A blue roof captures and slowly releases rainwater in order to slow the rate of runoff and reduce the potential for related flooding, which can be especially helpful for buildings in urban settings.

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Strategies In Practice
BKSK Strategy - Solar Hot Water

Solar Hot Water

AUGUST 28, 2014 | Solar hot water systems use solar radiation to heat water year-round for domestic use, a process that results in zero emissions and uses no nonrenewable energy.

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Four Brilliant Ideas
Curated Inspiration

[Empathy]

AUGUST 28, 2014 | We come across a lot of brilliant ideas through our design and research, including a growing body of critical thought about compassion and empathy.

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Strategies In Practice
BKSK Strategy - floodproofing

Floodproofing

AUGUST 26, 2014 | Floodproofing is any combination of structural and non-structural adjustments to a building, which collectively reduce or eliminate damage from flooding, and increase a building's safety and resiliency.

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BKSK Strategy - Geothermal

Ground Source Heat

AUGUST 22, 2014 | Ground source heat, an approach that harnesses the stable temperatures of the earth, is highly efficient and highly cost-effective relative to other common heating and cooling systems.

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Queens Botanical Garden Visitor & Administration Center

The story behind our human-centered research

AUGUST 21, 2014 | The LAB at BKSK exists to instigate and propel meaningful research and discourse. We invite you to learn more about our people, our approach, and our ongoing commitment to advancing the building industry. And we encourage you to join our open dialogue.

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“Can we design buildings to be future-proof? Can we again make buildings that mature and improve with age?” The LAB Asks
“How can we act as effective collaborators across disciplinary fields? How should we define integrative practices and processes?” The LAB Asks
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Understanding The Syntax
Long Life + Loose Fit graphic

Long Life + Loose Fit

AUGUST 18, 2014 | For a building to be and remain relevant, it must welcome the shifts of its occupants and contexts, while also supporting the immediate goals of a project. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with long life and loose fit in mind.

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Understanding The Syntax
Health + People graphic

Health + People

AUGUST 18, 2014 | As design studios begin to adopt elements of a chemistry lab, wherein the intricate properties of building materials become more clearly understood, architects can better understand a building's impact on human health. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with health and people in mind.

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Understanding The Syntax
Ecology + Resources graphic

Ecology + Resources

AUGUST 18, 2014 | We believe in architecture's potential to inspire an attitude of conscious consumption, and to extend ecologically restorative benefits beyond the site and into society. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with ecology + resources in mind.

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Understanding The Syntax
Context + Stewardship graphic

Context + Stewardship

AUGUST 18, 2014 | By viewing the environment as a set of interwoven relationships, we can more effectively celebrate place and protect what is vulnerable. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with context and stewardship in mind.

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Understanding The Syntax
Comfort + Delight graphic

Comfort + Delight

AUGUST 18, 2014 | Comfort is a mercurial friend. Delight, a subjective goal. Yet to fully nurture the human condition, the provision of both is essential. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with comfort and delight in mind.

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Understanding The Syntax
Measure + Time graphic

Measure + Time

AUGUST 14, 2014 | The information we measure today, and the methods we use for accumulating a building's stories over time, set the framework for what we manage tomorrow. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with measure and time in mind.

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Understanding The Syntax
Skin + Climate graphic

Skin + Climate

AUGUST 14, 2014 | The envelope of a building provides shelter against the elements, but it also serves as the interface through which interior and exterior climates communicate. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with skin and climate in mind.

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Four Brilliant Ideas
Curated Inspiration libraries

[Libraries]

AUGUST 14, 2014 | We come across a lot of brilliant ideas through our design and research, including the histories and latest developments in the rich world of libraries.

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Understanding The Syntax
Light + Heat graphic

Light + Heat

AUGUST 1, 2014 | The correlation between light and heat, and the techniques for balancing them, directly influence our ability to create more comfortable, energy efficient, and contextual spaces. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with light and heat in mind.

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Understanding The Syntax
Water + Conservation graphic

Water + Conservation

JULY 25, 2014 | Too often, our buildings are dissociated from site hydrology, particularly in urban settings. By demonstrating water’s inherent qualities, a building can encourage the conservation of water and of other natural resources. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of designing with water and conservation in mind.

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In Response
Sustainable Cities

The Features of a Sustainable City

JULY 16, 2014 | Sustainable Cities Collective started a list of features that "make cities truly sustainable." Here, we offer a few more.

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Four Brilliant Ideas
Curated Inspiration pools

[Pools]

JULY 3, 2014 | We come across a lot of brilliant ideas through our design and research, including insights into the social and environmental impacts of swimming pools.

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“Humans are nature. We do not live in straight lines.” Living Future unConference
“Architecture has to be greater than just architecture. It has to address social values, as well as technical and aesthetic values.” Samuel Mockbee

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