Thank you to Two Trees Managing Director of External Affairs, Mr. David Lombino, for the historical and design insights and the inside look at The Refinery.
Amina Clyde, Class of 2025
What was once known as a prominent sugar factory housing many workers during the 1900s, Domino Sugar Factory debuted in 1856 and was operated by Fredrick C. Havemayer Jr. After a fire and several industrial failures, the factory was rebuilt in 1882 by Theodore A. Havemeyer, Thomas Winslow, and J. E. Its revival was short lived as the factory inevitably closed, leaving many without work. The shut down of the factory also left a good portion of the area closed off from the public, leaving a large unused space. For many years, the building remained dormant, being made a landmark in 2007.
The state of the factory and the area surrounding it were envisioned by a company called Two Trees, which seized the rights to the area. Slowly, the area was in progress of being used again. While Two Trees have designed many amazing residential structures, one of their most impactful works to the community was the designing of Domino Park. The park was the first time in decades that people in the community had access to the space, creating a place for kids to play and any age to lounge about near the water.
Students in the Summer Bridge program were granted a tour by a member of Two Trees, and were guided around the park and the one refinery turned office building. They even got a hint to Two Tree’s latest project: Domino Square, yet another public area for the community.
Below are some narratives and photos from some of the incoming freshmen who are participating in this summer’s bridge program.
Lennon Regalado Beltre
To summarize the trip today we were able to see different buildings that are being worked on, and we were able to see inside a building that used to be a sugar refinery for Domino Sugar. The designers kept the facade and used parts from the factory in the park to keep memories of the factory for the residents. Mr. Lombino of Two Trees said the building has been around since the 1880s and continued to function as a sugar refinery until 2005.
Some things I found interesting about this site visit is how fancy the inside of the sugar refinery looked. It looked like a completely different building. Not only was there really high quality technology but there was also a lot of mother nature and plants and even on the playground and park the designers kept a lot of old stuff that gives the building a cool and modern look.
Mahkaylla Joliboisgantt
Something I have observed on this trip is the amazing buildings that are being built and the amazing views those buildings had to offer. Something I have learned on this trip is that you don’t have to tear down a building for the building to be new, you could always just change the interior of a building, not necessarily the whole building, for something to feel new. The image I have chosen represents the amazing building that had a great view to offer which was the old Domino Sugar factory.
D’mir Brown
During the Domino Park tour, I learned about the park’s architectural structure of the buildings there. I also learned that in some instances they reuse materials from past structures to build recent ones. For example, the interior of the refinery was used to make an elevated walkway that we crossed while on the tour of the park. To me, the most interesting feature of the park was when they used the design of the old refinery to make a playground based off of it. This also serves the community by creating a place so kids can play. While on this topic, another way they serve the community is by creating apartment buildings at affordable prices.
Xiomara Louis
During the Domino Park tour I learned that there are many improvements to the community now and to come in the future. In my opinion the most interesting feature about Domino Park was how many apartment buildings there were made by the same company and how much the buildings cost. The park serves the community by providing public spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy the waterfront and the spectacular views of Manhattan.
Something I learned about these apartment buildings is materials used in the original sugar factory were reused. Building these types of apartments helps many because they have certain parts of the apartments that are affordable and the parts that are a lot more expensive. In my opinion I think that is a fair share to all.
Miriam Stojku
Today I learned that there are many different features to Domino Park, all of the features having a historical background. When we went to the Domino Sugar factory, the building legally could not have been demolished since it had historical value in the area, so the architectural crew that was assigned the job of fixing it demolished only the interior of the building then renovated it into an office/residential space. Designers repurposed many of the interior materials in the new concepts as a way to acknowledge the building’s history. Additionally, there are new projects being built in the park such as a multipurpose plaza space turning it into “Domino Plaza” to allow many more people to enter and enjoy the park.
Mrwa Naser
What I found most interesting is how they built the building inside the Domino Sugar building. Since it was illegal to break down the building the designers found an alternative. They hollowed out the inside of the building and built the building inside the hollowed building of the old domino company sugar . They found a way to not break the law and create the building that we have today.
Luna Castillo
During the Domino Park Tour, I saw lots of things that show the park’s history, like the sugar factory and the big cranes. I think the most interesting feature of Domino Park is the sugar factory because I like how they kept the old building and made another inside of it. Something I learned about the park was how the big cranes would take the sugar from the boats and pass it to the factory. Domino Park serves the community by giving them a place to relax in, like the field, and somewhere to walk their dog, and let their kids play in the playground. The photo I chose is interesting because it shows the future of Domino park, and I think that’s very cool.