Pier 6, Stepped Housing, is a housing proposal for Brooklyn's waterfront. The building's dynamic shape works hard to return 73% of the total footprint back to general public use, some as programmed space and the rest as areas for passive recreation. The design also returns precious light and views through four large slices that are removed form the maximum buildable envelope. These slices, which produce buildings that taper toward both the land and the sky, achieve forms that sit lightly on the site. Terraces on the upper floors of the buildings catch southern light, and bay windows on the north side hang over the park lands to enable perspectives from multiple directions. Viewed from the piers, the western facades fill the site. From Brooklyn the buildings thin substantially and lean north, carving slender and shapely silhouettes against the harbor and sky. The form, which is a response to the unique conditions of the site, supports desirable homes for 244 mixed income households. Set within an extensive landscape of active and passive uses, the buildings provide interior and exterior spaces for cultural and educational programs that surround and support tenant areas, nearly all of which are above the ground level. The amenities peppered throughout the design are available to all residents, and anchor a strategy that thoroughly blends units set aside for affordable housing with market rate apartments.
