Winner of the 2009 Building Brooklyn Award

Atlantic Gardens, located at 525-541 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, NY, was developed as a mixed use, European-style retail hub.  Five newly renovated ground-level retail spaces are connected by an expansive 6,000 sf garden oasis. There is a mix of retail on the ground level; a restaurant, a chocolate shop, and a spa, with residences on the floors above.  The design goals were to create a large open space for gathering, provide the opportunity for privacy corridors and to allocate space to specific retailers.

A long rectangular paving court unifies the space and creates a tranquil zone, similar to a reflecting pool. Linear hedges perpendicular to the space provide a secondary level of organization that defines the garden views of the ground floor retail. The deck for the restaurant sits at the far end of the garden offering diners a full-length view of the garden.  Stone dust paving, reminiscent of a French park, is permeable, allowing water to drain into dry wells that hold it and allow it to filter back into the aquifer.