Anagram Gowanus

Rising along the Gowanus Canal, Anagram Gowanus is a 20-story mixed-use development designed to bring housing, retail and community space to a former industrial site while addressing the realities of a flood-prone waterfront location.

Located at 450 Union Street, the 203,000-square-foot building includes 158 residential units above multiple levels of commercial space and parking. The project is part of a broader effort to transform the canal’s edge into an active, resilient urban neighborhood. 

Thornton Tomasetti is supporting the design team and client throughout planning and execution, providing structural engineering and flood-resilience design services. 

Engineering a Sculpted Concrete Structure 

The building’s form features rotated floor plates that open the building to light, air and views of Downtown Brooklyn, Manhattan and the waterfront, while squarely anchoring public space at grade. 

The reinforced-concrete structure consists of shear walls, a flat-plate slab system and transfer girders that accommodate the irregular column grids needed for its mixed-use program. Deep pile foundations provide structural stability while responding to site constraints along the canal. 

Designing for Flood Risk 

Located within a FEMA AE flood zone, flood resilience was a central design driver from the outset. Thornton Tomasetti worked closely with the project team to develop a flood-mitigation strategy that meets New York City Building Code and FEMA requirements. 

Key measures include: 

• Elevating critical residential systems above the design flood elevation 
• Dry floodproofing non-residential areas 
• Wet floodproofing residential entry vestibules in accordance with ASCE 24 
• Deployable flood barriers, reinforced concrete flood curbs and pressure slabs Backflow prevention and elevator service limits
• A flood emergency action plan to guide building operations during storm events