Conrad B. Duberstein U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse

Brooklyn, NY

The Conrad B. Duberstein U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse consists of two buildings. The main façade of the original 1892 portion of the building facing Johnston Street was designed in the Romanesque Revival style and is clad entirely in Bodwell Blue granite from Vinalhaven, ME. The seven-story Romanesque Revival 1933 addition fills the rest of the city block bordered by Tillary Street to the north, Adams Street to the east and Cadman Plaza to the west. On the 1933 building, granite from Stonington, ME is used as cladding on the first floor, terra cotta with granite window surrounds is used on the second floor and the upper floors are clad entirely in terra cotta. The glazed terra cotta on the 1933 addition was manufactured by the Federal Seaboard Terra Cotta Corporation in Woodbridge, NJ to match the granite of the 1892 Building.

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Scope of work

  • Acted as exterior envelope consultant for the duration of the project.
  • Completed three separate investigations of the façade, documenting and quantifying conditions and, eventually, planned repairs.
  • Inspected and documented façade probes.
  • Completed two public safety inspections during the course of the design process.

Original architect of master plan

  • Mifflin Bell (1892 Building)
  • James A. Wetmore (1933 Building)

Building owner

  • General Services Administration

In collaboration with

Awards

  • Winner of a 2017 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award

  • General Services Administration 2016 Citation for Excellence in Federal Design

  • Winner of the 2013 Silver BD+C Reconstruction Awards