Developing Brooklyn: Brooklyn
Navy Yard STEAM Center Expansion

Brooklyn, NY Continuing its longstanding collaboration with the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the architecture and design firm Spacesmith’s expansion of the Brooklyn STEAM Center in Building 77 creates diverse spaces for learning, socializing and administration.

The existing school occupies half of the third floor, serving six pathways: culinary arts and hospitality management, cybersecurity, film and media, design and engineering, construction technology, and full-stack development. Spacesmith’s project expands into the remaining 27,000 s/f, creating classrooms, shops, lounge areas, and administrative spaces for the latter three pathways.

To honor the STEAM Center’s mission of empowering students for their futures, Spacesmith’s design team prioritized student involvement, observing and surveying students to inform initial layouts, and then bringing them into design charrettes to understand how they envisioned the final space.

The final design integrates diverse spaces, including classrooms, meeting rooms, offices, and technical facilities. Visitors are greeted by a security desk and a feature wall displaying the school’s logo and tool-inspired abstract forms, a design motif from the original space.

Recessed classroom entry areas display student work, and glazed entrances enhance visibility, with colored films on the glass representing each pathway, aiding wayfinding. Positioning classrooms along the perimeter maximizes daylight, as glazing draws natural light into interior spaces.

Custom wallcoverings celebrate the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s history, a student-driven design. The design team also incorporated soft seating and acoustic panels that help mitigate ambient noise, balancing the industrial aesthetic. Flexible furniture placements allow for adaptable layouts, with strategically placed television sets ensuring an optimized learning environment. 

Project Team

Architect: Spacesmith

Developer: Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

MEP Contractor: Loring Consulting Engineers

Acoustical Engineer: Longman Lindsey 

General Contractor: Hunter Roberts Construction Group

Cost: ELLANA, Inc.

Code: JAM Consultants, Inc.

Graphics: afreeman