The Max Family Garden transforms part of a nineteenth-century architectural relic into an intimate, verdant refuge on the Brooklyn waterfront.

Commissioned by the innovative St. Ann’s Warehouse theater company, the garden occupies an 8,000-square-foot triangular brick shell, part of a historic tobacco warehouse. Adjoining that open-air triangle is the bulk of the warehouse building, transformed into the home of St. Ann’s Warehouse by Marvel Architects.

Owned and operated by Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Max Family Garden is both a complement to the theater and a publicly accessible place of gathering and contemplation.

The path and plant layouts are fluid and curvaceous, a counterpoint to the massive brick walls. Slabs of New York bluestone, abandoned nearby, were repurposed as paving and stacked as places to sit.

Arched openings in the brick walls frame broad views of Brooklyn Bridge Park and the East River; meanwhile, the Brooklyn Bridge itself soars nearly overhead.

Its dramatic setting and unusual combination of found materials have made the Max Family Garden a favorite venue for impromptu photo shoots and family celebrations.

Project Data

Landscape Architecture: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

LOCATION Brooklyn, New York

YEAR 2016

SIZE 8,000 SF

CLIENT St. Ann’s Warehouse

COLLABORATORS

Domingo Gonzalez (Exterior Architectural Lighting)
F2 Environmental Design (Soil Science)
JM Zoning (Expediting)
Marvel Design (Architecture)
Nitsch Engineering (Civil Engineering)
Northern Designs (Irrigation Design)