The Brim & Crown project located at the East Norwalk train station, involves the adaptive reuse of the Hat Corporation of America factory constructed in 1929, into a mix of uses. The building contains 42 residential units, first floor offices & retail, a restaurant, and a coworking component. The raw industrial character of the factory’s concrete structure is celebrated with salvaged windows and exposed steel structures, used to define interior spaces. The look and feel of the interior takes inspiration from depictions of the basement of the chateau in France where the Rolling Stones recorded their Exile of Main Street album. The lounge, illuminated by crystal chandeliers, becomes a great hang out space by day and party space by night. Reclaimed wood floors, clad select elements and new materials maintain and enhance the industrial quality of the existing building, including sheets of raw steel and exposed OSB. Perimeter walls were covered in a graffiti mural by a well-known Bronx graffiti artist Duster UA, to provide color and vibrant contrast while remembering the building’s past lives.
For transit-oriented development to thrive, the streets must be walkable, pedestrian friendly and safe. This project dramatically improves the East Norwalk station by forging a vital new community from the industrial ruins of the abandoned factory.
Brim and Crown | Adaptive Reuse
Norwalk, CT
98,793 SF | 42 Residential units
Completed 06.2020
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