In downtown Brooklyn, within the expanding Brooklyn Tech Triangle, the City Tech Pearl Building demonstrates how adaptive reuse can unlock dormant spatial potential. Designed by Shakespeare Gordon Studio for the New York City College of Technology, the 17,000-square-foot renovation reimagines the third floor of a six-storey structure built in 1922. Once a munitions factory and later an academic facility, the building now supports a renewed administrative presence across Jay Street from City Tech’s New Academic Complex.
OFFICES
The broader campus context shaped the project’s urgency. Following the completion of the New Academic Complex in 2019, older facilities within the Pearl Building became vacant and required comprehensive upgrades. Years of overuse had left dated infrastructure and fragmented layouts ill-suited for contemporary academic operations. SGS approached the building through a master plan that assessed existing conditions, tested layout options, and defined cost parameters. The third floor emerged as a focused intervention, converting a previously mixed-use area of labs and offices into four distinct administrative suites linked by shared amenities.
Rediscovering Industrial DNA
The Pearl Building’s industrial origins guided the architectural strategy. Its expansive floorplate, high ceilings, and robust concrete frame provided a structural logic that SGS chose to reveal rather than conceal. As aging systems were removed, original structural columns and generous window openings regained presence. The design leverages these elements as defining features rather than constraints.
Visitors arrive on the third floor through an elevator lobby wrapped in a saturated yellow tone that extends across walls, ceilings, and newly exposed columns. The color amplifies a previously dim threshold and establishes a visual language carried throughout the floor. Lighting fixtures complement the chromatic treatment, transforming a once-overlooked corner into a welcoming entry point.
Beyond the lobby, a long central spine organizes the entire floor. This corridor stretches the building’s length and introduces a clear circulation framework. Along its axis, bold colors, green, blue, orange, and purple, identify each administrative suite. These hues extend from interiors into the corridor flooring, forming a subtle wayfinding system that animates the rectilinear plan.
Flexible Suites Within
a Concrete Frame
Inside the four administrative units, the layout maximizes the open industrial plate while maintaining proximity to natural light. Large windows, embedded within the concrete curtain walls inherited from the factory era, bring daylight deep into each suite. The plan integrates private offices with open workstations, allowing departments to adapt as programming evolves.
A grid of concrete columns punctuates the interior. Rather than masking these structural elements, SGS uses them as spatial anchors that reinforce the building’s identity. Overhead, color-coded acoustic panels improve sound performance and visually tie each suite to its assigned palette. The combination of exposed structure, bright surfaces, and updated systems produces a contemporary work environment rooted in the building’s original character.
At the end of the central corridor, a shared conference room anchors the collective dimension of the floor. Expanded ADA-accessible restrooms support inclusive access. The renovation also addressed significant technical upgrades, including hazardous material abatement from former laboratory use, installation of new mechanical systems, updated AV/IT infrastructure, and a complete reconfiguration of the layout. SGS provided architectural, furniture, lighting, and graphic design services, ensuring cohesion across spatial and visual layers.
Adaptive Reuse
in the Tech Triangle
The Pearl Building stands within a district defined by rapid technological and academic growth. As the Brooklyn Tech Triangle continues to attract companies and institutions, the renovation underscores the value embedded in historic building stock. The former factory’s structural capacity accommodates contemporary needs without erasing its past. Large floorplates support flexible planning, concrete frames enable generous spans, and curtain walls deliver abundant daylight.
City Tech Pearl Building demonstrates how targeted intervention can recalibrate an aging academic facility for present demands. By exposing structure, introducing a clear circulation spine, and embedding color as identity and orientation, SGS transforms a once crowded and compartmentalized floor into an organized, luminous environment.
