Brooklyn Botanic Garden
A visitors’ building at Brooklyn Botanic Garden welcomes guests and reactivates the Flatbush Avenue entrance.
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Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden is home to 10,000 plant species and contains several historic structures. An ambitious renovation to the south end of the 52-acre landscape led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates includes a series of buildings and spaces we designed.
Our gateway building attenuates sound with a facade of handcrafted brick and a distinctive zinc sculpted roof. With admissions and comfort station facilities, the building’s long parallelogram form holds the street corner alongside the arch to promote the Garden’s presence.
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A McKim, Mead, and White-designed arch marks the former entrance at Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard on the far south side of the Garden.
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Other parts of the project support an expanded existing program within the center of the Garden: a new dining kiosk modernizes a cafeteria plaza between existing greenhouses, and the renovation of a former bookstore creates a new event space.
2012 New York City Public Design Commission, Design Award