Weeksville Heritage Center – Museum
158 Buffalo Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 23,000sf (building); 41,000sf (landscape), new education and museum building construction. Found within the structure, are all of the public facilities -which include classrooms, workshops, a 700sf sky-lit gallery, in addition to a 200-seat performance space on the ground floor. Generous passages with fully glazed walls and roofs offer continuous views of skies and landscape. Offices and a conference room are on the second floor of the main block. At the far western end of the building, a secluded library mezzanine offers elevated views back over the complex. The building achieved LEED Gold, as careful consideration was given to systems and materials. Geothermal wells provide sources for heating and cooling. All of the glazing is insulated, and most is low-E-coated to reduce heat gain and glare. The architects specified sustainably harvested wood, such as the Ipe wood siding and the Douglas Fir in the exposed roof decking over upper-floor spaces. Much of the steel in the framing and ceiling systems has recycled content.