BAM Weaver House
Weaving Layers of Culture, Craft, and Community in Brooklyn
Project Details
School: Spitzer School of Architecture
Location: BAM Cultural District, Brookyn, NY
Type: Mixed-Use (Affordable Housing, Cultural, Commercial)
Size: 100,000 SF
Year: 2014
BAM Weaver House was my 5th-year thesis project at the Spitzer School of Architecture. Developed over the course of a year, the project allowed me to explore the intersection of cultural programming, sustainable design, and modular construction in an urban context. My work involved research, concept development, architectural design, and technical detailing, culminating in a fully realized proposal. Extensive research into heavy timber construction informed the structural approach, shaping the integration of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam as primary materials. The project challenged me to integrate passive environmental strategies with community-driven spaces, reinforcing my interest in socially and environmentally responsible architecture.
View from Lafayette Ave
The BAM Weaver House weaves together people, place, and purpose in the heart of Brooklyn’s BAM Cultural District. Designed to meet the community’s cultural and residential needs, this mixed-use hub provides space for the Textile Arts Center (TAC), affordable housing, and community amenities, creating a vibrant intersection of culture, craft, and urban living. Inspired by Brooklyn’s architectural fabric, the design transitions seamlessly from historic brownstones to modern high-rise structures while prioritizing sustainability, wellness, and creativity.
Concept sketch of facade
View from Ashland Place
The BAM Weaver House emerges as a dialogue between Brooklyn’s storied past and its ambitious future. Its massing forms a tapestry of three volumes: the grounded Textile Arts Center with its tactile wood façade, a central timber tower offering mixed-income housing, and a northern volume featuring artist residences and a restaurant. These forms work together to connect the building to its urban context, reflecting the scale of the neighborhood while embracing modern, sustainable design.
Massing diagrams
Building section through atrium
At the heart of BAM Weaver House is the atrium, which serves as both a social and environmental center. It passively ventilates surrounding spaces through the stack effect and Bernoulli’s principle while bringing natural light deep into the building, reducing reliance on artificial lighting. In the spirit of connection, the atrium links key programs like the gallery, library, and fitness center via a central stair. This design encourages movement and offsets elevator use, fostering healthier living and interaction among residents and members of TAC.
Sustainable systems diagram
View of roof garden
The building’s commitment to the environment extends upward to the roof gardens that transform underutilized spaces into active centers of collaboration and sustainability. These green roofs reduce rainwater runoff, support urban agriculture, and create spaces for residents and artists to gather. By combining functionality with community-building, the gardens promote wellness, environmental stewardship, and interaction. They seamlessly extend the building’s sustainable design ethos to its uppermost levels, offering stunning views and shared experiences.
Wall section through tower
The double-skin façade of BAM Weaver House combines aesthetics and performance, embodying the project’s weaving metaphor. This layered system reduces solar gain, allows for passive ventilation, and mitigates noise from the bustling BAM Cultural District. The façade transitions from a beige base that echoes brownstone textures to a warm red at the tower’s peak, reflecting Brooklyn’s broader architectural fabric. Operable curtains within the façade give tenants control over shading, animating the building’s exterior throughout the day.
South elevation at Lafayette Ave
Structural systems diagram
The BAM Weaver House utilizes heavy timber construction, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, innovation, and environmental responsibility. As a renewable resource, timber sequesters and stores CO2 from the atmosphere, reduces embodied energy, and creates warm, inviting interior spaces that reflect the project’s environmental ethos.The shorter volumes housing the Textile Arts Center and artist residences are framed with glulam structural members and cross-laminated timber (CLT) floors, enabling flexible, open layouts. Above the atrium, steel trusses elevate the pre-fabricated CLT tower, achieving both structural efficiency and a streamlined construction process.
Pre-fabricated heavy timber module
View of production space
The Textile Arts Center (TAC) serves as the cultural and creative heart of BAM Weaver House. This dynamic facility hosts workshops, artist residencies, and a natural dye garden, fostering craft and collaboration within the community. Situated at the southern edge, TAC connects seamlessly with the public realm through its undulating wood façade and inviting street presence. Inside, open, flexible layouts are equipped with looms, sewing machines, and other tools for textile arts. Threads, fabrics, and dyes fill the space with vibrant colors, creating an atmosphere that inspires creativity and experimentation, weaving art into daily life in the BAM Cultural District.
View of TAC entrance
View of cafe
The public spaces at BAM Weaver House foster connection with the broader BAM Cultural District. A café, located at the corner of Lafayette Avenue and Ashland Place, offers a welcoming spot for visitors to gather before or after events at the Brooklyn Academy of Music across the street. On the northern end, the restaurant opens toward the Visual Arts Plaza, engaging the public with large, transparent windows and a lush green wall. Together, these spaces create inviting, inclusive environments that strengthen the relationship between the building and the surrounding cultural community.
View of restaurantt
Ground floor plan
View from Visual Arts Plaza
The BAM Weaver House brings culture, craft, and community together in Brooklyn’s BAM Cultural District, weaving people and programs into the neighborhood’s rich architectural and cultural fabric. With its commitment to sustainability and thoughtful integration of diverse programs, the project embraces environmental responsibility and urban connection. More than a building, the BAM Weaver House fosters community, creativity, and conservation, setting a precedent for how architecture can enrich both people and place.