New York, New York, USA
Located between a heliport and the Whitehall Staten Island Ferry Terminal at the southeastern tip of Manhattan, The Battery Maritime Building (BMB) redevelopment by Jonathan Marvel of Marvel Architects and The Office of Thierry W. Despont saved a unique architectural landmark through creative adaptive reuse and a collaborative public-private partnership.
The revitalization of the Battery Maritime Building project has recently been awarded a 2023 International Architecture Award and a 2022 American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The BMB is the last remaining historic working Ferry terminal in New York City, located at Manhattan’s most prominent site, the foot of Broadway.
By the late 1990s, the building was literally falling into the water and forgotten by most New Yorkers.
The design team worked closely with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, owner/developer Midtown Equities, and owner/operator Cipriani to breathe new life into this historic structure, orchestrating all efforts to preserve the legacy of the BMB while satisfying modern safety and infrastructure requirements.
The redevelopment of the BMB tells the story of the New York City waterfront, and its long transition from a working waterway, to neglect, to recreation.
Through creative adaptive reuse, they have introduced a multi-use hospitality venue including an events facility with the dramatic Great Hall at its heart, a Boutique Hotel, Spa, Gym, and club/Restaurant.
This diversified program activates the building with a strong economic engine and brings a renewed interest to this critical hinge point on Manhattan’s waterfront.
The redevelopment of the BMB is a cornerstone of the city’s broad-based goals of transforming Lower Manhattan into a vibrant mixed-use community and revitalizing the waterfront for the 21st century.
Project: Battery Maritime Building–Casa Cipriani (BMB)
Architects: Marvel Architects PLLC.
Lead Architect: Jonathan J. Marvel
Interior Architects: The Office of Thierry W. Despont
Original Architects: Walker & Morris (1909)
General Contractor: MJM Associates Construction
Client: Midtown Equities LLC.
Photographers: David Sundberg/ESTO