Domino Square represents the latest chapter in an ambitious effort to redevelop the 11-acre Domino Sugar Factory Site into a dynamic mixed-use neighborhood complete with world-class office and residential space, public space, food and beverage offerings, and retail. For the past decade, over a quarter of a mile of Williamsburg’s waterfront has been transformed from an industrial enclave into one of Brooklyn’s most vibrant neighborhoods. Building on the success of Domino Park, Domino Square is a 1-acre public plaza that completes the site’s open space vision and enhances access to the neighborhood and waterfront.

Framed by distinctive buildings on three sides, Domino Square is a civic room that has become an outdoor living room for Williamsburg. The Square’s location beside the landmarked Refinery building creates a thoughtful dialogue between old and new, with the Refinery’s historic brick masonry providing a stunning backdrop that enhances the quality of the Square. Additionally, the Square allows visitors to experience the Refinery building from all sides in three dimensions, rather than just viewing it as a flat façade.

The Square’s distinctive bowl-like shape and tiered seating create a natural “theater-in-the-round” effect, surrounded by a mix of conifer and deciduous trees in sculptural weathered steel planters, providing shade and a sense of enclosure. This design transforms a city block into an intimate outdoor amphitheater that enables year-round public programming–from farmer’s markets and local graduations to outdoor movies, salsa nights, and ice skating–successfully balancing an open and flexible interior with welcoming, lush, and porous edges.

The Square’s design responds to pedestrian flows and sightlines, creating a sense of openness with multiple entry points, and moments of compression and expansion. Neighborhood retail spaces along Kent Avenue activate the street with a dramatic portal that leads into the Square’s center. Once inside, visitors are treated to expansive views of the Williamsburg Bridge, East River, and the Manhattan skyline, with upper tiers offering a perfectly framed view of the Statue of Liberty. Domino Square has become a gateway to the waterfront and a vibrant community heart for Williamsburg.