Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), based in New York City, is being featured by Archinect as part of its “Meet Your Next Employer” series, with the outlet noting the firm is hiring a Director of Business Development & Mission Fulfillment.
For mason contractors, one of the clearest masonry touchpoints in PAU’s recent work is The Refinery at Domino in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The project overhauled the office component of the former Domino Sugar Factory site, keeping the building’s old brick masonry shell while constructing a new 15-story glass commercial structure inside it. Archinect reports the finished space totals 460,000 square feet of Class A offices, with biophilic elements integrated into the design. A 12-foot gap between the new and old structures creates room for a 17-count in-house arboretum by Field Operations.
That “building within a building” approach puts existing masonry front and center. It also highlights the value of early scope clarity around cleaning, repairs, protection, and access when historic brick walls remain in place while new construction moves forward inside the footprint.
Archinect also points to three other high-profile efforts led by PAU: a proposal for New York Penn Station redevelopment aimed at improving circulation and accessibility for more than 600,000 daily commuters, the multi-phase Niagara Falls Heritage Gateways project with four canopied gateway structures and connected promenades, and an expansion of the I.M. Pei-designed Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. That museum project adds a triangular structure with a new entrance lobby, education center, offices, and a 6,000-square-foot multipurpose space, increasing the overall footprint by 33%.
Read the full, original article from Archinect here.