Uncommon Goods Headquarters
Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn, New York
Some clients hand you a brief. Uncommon Goods handed Andrés Cortés a culture. The Brooklyn-based online retailer has built its identity around thoughtfulness, creativity, and a deliberate rejection of the ordinary — and when it came time to design their new headquarters, that identity was the only brief that mattered.
DATE
2019
TYPE
Hospitality & Retail
SERVICES
Architecture
The location set the tone immediately. The historic Brooklyn Army Terminal, built in 1918 and repurposed from its role as the largest military supply base in the United States during World War II, offered something most office spaces cannot: genuine character.
The location set the tone immediately. The historic Brooklyn Army Terminal, built in 1918 and repurposed from its role as the largest military supply base in the United States during World War II, offered something most office spaces cannot: genuine character.
Its imposing concrete structure, largely intact, gave the design a backbone worth honoring.
Its imposing concrete structure, largely intact, gave the design a backbone worth honoring.
The challenge was not to decorate it but to activate it — to find the places where a brand as alive as Uncommon Goods could take root inside a building with that much history.
The challenge was not to decorate it but to activate it — to find the places where a brand as alive as Uncommon Goods could take root inside a building with that much history.
The answer came through wood. Custom millwork fabrications run throughout the 20,000-square-foot space, each piece designed to let the material speak on its own terms.
The answer came through wood. Custom millwork fabrications run throughout the 20,000-square-foot space, each piece designed to let the material speak on its own terms.
Within that quiet restraint, one Bold natural grain patterns push confidently against soft blue walls and grounded polished concrete floors — surprising on first encounter and completely inevitable a moment later. was given license to be extraordinary.
Within that quiet restraint, one Bold natural grain patterns push confidently against soft blue walls and grounded polished concrete floors — surprising on first encounter and completely inevitable a moment later. was given license to be extraordinary.
Acoustic panels of plant fiber and wood manage sound without sacrificing coherence. Sustainable materials carry the commitment through to every detail.
Acoustic panels of plant fiber and wood manage sound without sacrificing coherence. Sustainable materials carry the commitment through to every detail.
The spatial strategy was equally deliberate — open areas, tucked corners, and communal zones creating the conditions for conversation and collaboration, while accommodating a core team of twenty and up to 180 seasonal staff within the same floorplate.
The spatial strategy was equally deliberate — open areas, tucked corners, and communal zones creating the conditions for conversation and collaboration, while accommodating a core team of twenty and up to 180 seasonal staff within the same floorplate.
The Brooklyn Army Terminal now lives and breathes the culture of the company within it — and that, for Project Assembly, is what workplace placemaking is for.
The Brooklyn Army Terminal now lives and breathes the culture of the company within it — and that, for Project Assembly, is what workplace placemaking is for.
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Position, Design, Realize.
Andrés Cortés Architecture Office, PC + Agencie Group LLC
©2026 Project Assembly
Position, Design, Realize.
Andrés Cortés Architecture Office, PC
Agencie Group LLC
©2026 Project Assembly
Position, Design, Realize.
Andrés Cortés Architecture Office, PC + Agencie Group LLC
©2026 Project Assembly