One Willoughby Square
One Willoughby Square is a 34-story mixed-use tower in Downtown Brooklyn, home to Class-A office space, a Pre-K through Grade 5 public school, and ground-floor retail. The first major office development completed in the area after a 2004 rezoning, it remains the tallest commercial building in the borough.
The structure occupies a narrow, T-shaped site, with its elevator and stair core forming the stem of the T tucked between neighboring properties—an unusual site constraint that shaped both the architectural layout and structural design.
As structural engineer for this concrete tower, we helped realize our client’s vision for spacious, light-filled interiors with minimal visual clutter. Each office floor features large, column-free layouts up to 8,000 SF, made possible by exposed concrete beams—some of which are expressed on the façade as a defining architectural feature—that support the building while keeping mechanical systems and ductwork tucked away.
| Client | JEMB Realty |
|---|---|
| Architect: | FXCollaborative |
| Size | 34 Stories | 471,000 SF (43,758 SM) |
| Sustainability | Passive daylighting and flexible interior layouts |
| Office: | New York |
| Completion: | 2021 |
Because the elevator and stair core sits outside the building’s main footprint, our design for this concrete structure included additional framing to stabilize the impact of wind forces. Moreover, a system of perimeter beams and hidden slab ensure continuity between the offset core and the main tower structure. We thoughtfully engineered a thick concrete foundation that could support the tower above, while minimizing construction-related impacts to adjacent buildings, such as vibration or settlement.
Designed to provide both work and learning environments, One Willoughby Square combines bold architecture with a structural system tailored to the unusual constraints of its site.
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