Eduardo Castro was project engineer for a new visitor center at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
The architect carefully crafted two sinuous pavilions (one for events and exhibitions and the other for a gift shop), stitched together by a ribbon of shaded breezeway. Three planted gardens that flank the building help capture rainwater runoff. At the end of the exhibition hall is a leaf-shaped event space whose garden side is clad in floor-to-ceiling glass. The stretched elliptical event space is sandwiched between two discrete outdoor areas. Along the glass wall, a terrace provides space for visitors to congregate and for BBG to host outdoor events. On the other, stepped terraces are accessed by an exterior stair that wraps the event space.
