Brooklyn Navy Yard Building 77
Name of Building
Brooklyn Navy Yard Building 77
Town or City, Country where the building was originally established
Brooklyn, New York
Date the building was designed and/or first built
Original Construction – 1941–1942 (WWII-era). Redevelopment – 2014–2017 (major adaptive reuse completed in 2017)
Name of Architect, Builder, or Primary Patron Responsible
Founder(s): Original Architect – U.S. Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks. Redevelopment Architects – Beyer Blinder Belle and Marvel Architects
Builder - Builder (Original): U.S. Navy / U.S. Government wartime construction contractors
Builder - Builder (Original): U.S. Navy / U.S. Government wartime construction contractors
Culturally Specific Time Period
World War II–Era Military Industrial Architecture
Geo-Location
40.69865901876408, -73.9708066516675
Materials
Brick, concrete, and steal
Size and/or Scale of Building
Height: 16 stories (one of the tallest structures in the Brooklyn Navy Yard)
Architectural Type
Public
Formal Style
Exterior: Wartime Industrial / Modernist Utilitarian (original). Contemporary Industrial (redevelopment)
Building Description
Building 77 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard stands as one of the most significant adaptive-reuse transformations in New York City’s industrial landscape. Constructed during World War II as a secure, 16-story reinforced-concrete storage and supply building, it embodied the functional rigor and engineering logic of wartime design: massive floor plates, rigid structural grids, and minimal exterior ornament. Its original envelope, composed of heavy concrete panels and utilitarian windows, conveyed a sense of defense, efficiency, and durability a hallmark of U.S. Navy construction during this era.
The 2017 redevelopment reimagined this once-closed military facility into a vibrant mixed-use center. Large sections of the façade were replaced by a sweeping glass curtain wall, opening the interior to daylight and views while signaling its new civic presence within the Navy Yard campus. The lobby was transformed into a public-access food hall and marketplace, establishing the building as a social anchor in the rapidly revitalizing district. Offices, creative studios, fabrication workshops, and light-industrial tenants now fill floors that once stored wartime materials.
Over time, building 77 has evolved from a fortified military warehouse to a key component of a broader mixed-use innovation district that includes restaurants, shops, galleries, light manufacturing, and tech-focused workplaces. Its renewal reactivated historic industrial spaces, repaired the original concrete frame, improved circulation, and restored the Navy Yard’s role as a center of production now oriented toward 21st-century urban industry. Today, building 77 stands as a testament to the power of adaptive reuse, connecting Brooklyn’s manufacturing past to its innovation-centered future.
The 2017 redevelopment reimagined this once-closed military facility into a vibrant mixed-use center. Large sections of the façade were replaced by a sweeping glass curtain wall, opening the interior to daylight and views while signaling its new civic presence within the Navy Yard campus. The lobby was transformed into a public-access food hall and marketplace, establishing the building as a social anchor in the rapidly revitalizing district. Offices, creative studios, fabrication workshops, and light-industrial tenants now fill floors that once stored wartime materials.
Over time, building 77 has evolved from a fortified military warehouse to a key component of a broader mixed-use innovation district that includes restaurants, shops, galleries, light manufacturing, and tech-focused workplaces. Its renewal reactivated historic industrial spaces, repaired the original concrete frame, improved circulation, and restored the Navy Yard’s role as a center of production now oriented toward 21st-century urban industry. Today, building 77 stands as a testament to the power of adaptive reuse, connecting Brooklyn’s manufacturing past to its innovation-centered future.
Names(s) and location(s) of the museum holding the object(s)
Originally a Late 19th–early 20th-century brick warehouse district (50 acres). Now revised for Mixed-use district: restaurants, shops, galleries, offices, hotels, residential lofts
Image source
Source 24
https://marveldesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/1508_1706_Building-77-Brooklyn-Navy-Yard_N52-scaled.jpg
Source 25
https://marveldesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/1508_1706_B77_JoshuaSimpson_N22-768x568.jpg
Source 26
https://marveldesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/1508_1706_Building-77-at-The-Brooklyn-Navy-Yard_Daniel-Byrne_N16.jpg
Source 27
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1464174372/vector/antique-photograph-of-new-york-brooklyn-navy-yard-east-river.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=TRYHt22sA6dlnWttaIiG3J74BR4Bi7hW48yN63sZrPI=
Source 28
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/2171218003/photo/brooklyn-navy-yard-building-77-building-exterior-at-night-brooklyn-new-york-city-new-york-usa.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=9MJ3I1LqJXBhDhRUCpRCrlZFRxOvedAHvFqBbAHg6sQ=
Source 29
https://www.nycrc.com/images/uploads/previousprojects/8-200123105926.jpg
https://marveldesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/1508_1706_Building-77-Brooklyn-Navy-Yard_N52-scaled.jpg
Source 25
https://marveldesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/1508_1706_B77_JoshuaSimpson_N22-768x568.jpg
Source 26
https://marveldesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/1508_1706_Building-77-at-The-Brooklyn-Navy-Yard_Daniel-Byrne_N16.jpg
Source 27
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1464174372/vector/antique-photograph-of-new-york-brooklyn-navy-yard-east-river.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=TRYHt22sA6dlnWttaIiG3J74BR4Bi7hW48yN63sZrPI=
Source 28
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/2171218003/photo/brooklyn-navy-yard-building-77-building-exterior-at-night-brooklyn-new-york-city-new-york-usa.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=9MJ3I1LqJXBhDhRUCpRCrlZFRxOvedAHvFqBbAHg6sQ=
Source 29
https://www.nycrc.com/images/uploads/previousprojects/8-200123105926.jpg
Creative Commons or other copyright information
Images 1-6: Creative Commons
Student First and Last Name
Justin Forster
Bibliographic references for the item
Source 26
- Marvel (2025) Building 77, Brooklyn Navy Yard | Marvel. https://marveldesigns.com/project/building-77-brooklyn-navy-yard-arch/.
Source 27
- Colista, J. et al. (1942) Premium opportunities in the yard’s recently renovated, Multi-Tenant flagship property. report. https://www.brooklynnavyyard.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/BNY-BLDG-77_2023-Flyer-Final-507-Flyer.pdf.
Source 28
- Impressive Click, Inc. (no date) Brooklyn Navy Yard Redevelopment Project IV :: NYCRC. https://www.nycrc.com/project.html?id=22.
- Marvel (2025) Building 77, Brooklyn Navy Yard | Marvel. https://marveldesigns.com/project/building-77-brooklyn-navy-yard-arch/.
Source 27
- Colista, J. et al. (1942) Premium opportunities in the yard’s recently renovated, Multi-Tenant flagship property. report. https://www.brooklynnavyyard.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/BNY-BLDG-77_2023-Flyer-Final-507-Flyer.pdf.
Source 28
- Impressive Click, Inc. (no date) Brooklyn Navy Yard Redevelopment Project IV :: NYCRC. https://www.nycrc.com/project.html?id=22.
Citation
Founder(s): Original Architect – U.S. Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks. Redevelopment Architects – Beyer Blinder Belle and Marvel Architects
Builder - Builder (Original): U.S. Navy / U.S. Government wartime construction contractors, “Brooklyn Navy Yard Building 77,” World Architecture, accessed June 28, 2026, https://worldarchitecture.artinterp2.org/items/show/203.
Embed
Copy the code below into your web page