In the mid-2010s, developer Macro Sea and Marvel Architects undertook an ambitious restoration: they stripped the exterior back to its original steel frame and reclad it with insulated metal panels and historically accurate windows, restoring the building’s industrial character while improving performance and resilience. Inside, New Lab’s design leverages the building’s generous 70-foot-high roof structure and its original steel trusses and overhead gantry cranes, which remain visually exposed as a kind of “cathedral” structure. A long central circulation spine runs the full 350-foot length of the hall, with daylight filtering in from clerestory windows above and perimeter glazing. New mezzanines were inserted on both sides, suspended from the existing gantries, linked by grated steel catwalks, and supported by some 370 tons of new steel. The mezzanine accommodates private offices, studios, meeting rooms, and event spaces; below, on the ground floor, are open work areas, a fabrication lab (with wood and metal shops), 3D-printing facilities, communal gathering plazas, and lounge areas that encourage collaboration.
The lab was founded by David Belt and Scott Cohen. They co-founded the tech hub in June 2016. Conceptual and Interior Design: Macro Sea. construction managed by DBI Projects.
The building was completed in 2016 and began operations in the fall of that year. The project involved repurposing the historic 1899 hangar into a modern research and manufacturing center, according to ArchDaily and Urban Design Forum.
High-Tech Modernism, a style that pays homage to the building's industrial past while creating a modern, collaborative workspace.
The New Lab building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard was originally a U.S. Navy machine shop built in 1899 and 1902 for shipbuilding and manufacturing warships. It was later converted into a high-tech design and prototyping center for advanced technologies and innovation.