Michelle Cashen, Brooklyn Grange Design/Build

It’s safe to say your team has singlehandedly proven how urban agriculture is more than just a novelty amenity. What planted the seed for Brooklyn Grange to grow out a Design/Build team and foray into residential projects? Was it always part of the vision, or more of an organic process? (All puns most certainly intended).

This is the right way to start a Q+A with an urban landscaping and farming company! Brooklyn Grange started as a rooftop farming business with the intention of hosting a dinner here and there, but because of demand ended up significantly expanding our services into landscaping, green roofing, and events. After building our first two rooftop farms, we began receiving commercial and residential inquiries from people who wanted a slice of Brooklyn Grange in their own backyard or on their own rooftop. The first big client installation was a green roof edible garden at Rosemary's in the West Village, and the second was a green roof meadow/lawn/edibles space for Vice's headquarters in Williamsburg. From there, we've been taking on landscaping installations that span from street trees to 30,000-square-foot sedum green roofs, and everything in between.

"I don't think there are many channels that would've embraced the concept in the same way"

How do developers—and residents—benefit by investing in urban/micro-farm infrastructure? Aside from the obvious advantages like herb gardens for the cooking and craft cocktail-making Brooklynites love, what are some of the lesser-known perks people might not immediately think about?

There are many environmental benefits to adding green space, whether agricultural or ornamental. Green roofs in particular help combat combined sewage overflow by managing stormwater, decreasing urban heat island effect, and providing habitat and forage for local wildlife. We've seen bees pollinating flowers in a garden as high as 30 stories. For developers, the benefit is a unique amenity space for urban dwellers who are desperately craving greenery. By building green space into the original design, as Tankhouse is doing at 450 Warren, they’re able to set their properties apart from ordinary developments.

More than a decade since sprouting atop Building 3 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, NYC's pioneering band of rooftop farmers is planting a new harvest: private commissions. We spoke with Michelle Cashen, head of the firm's Design/Build arm, about her team’s mission, their journey so far, and how their innovative landscapes are giving modern city living a green-thumb's up.

Speaking of 450 Warren—Gowanus is a neighborhood that isn’t, historically speaking, known for its greenery. Tell us about that assignment, your process, and how your shared vision with SO-IL came into focus.

This was one of our first projects where the building was designed around the landscaping and not the reverse. SO-IL and Tankhouse had a beautiful landscape concept that we were able to build from.

We love collaborating with architects and designers to find creative solutions that help align their vision with budgets, and this project was an example of a coalition of like-minded firms working together to create a space that harmonizes ecological benefits, tenant amenities, and aesthetics.

“To build a truly resilient and livable city, we need plants everywhere.”

Other than water and sunlight, what critical factors come into play in building out a successful urban farm environment? What common challenges do you face? What technologies play a role in overcoming them?

For a rooftop farm, the roof needs to be able to support the additional weight of deep soil. We like to see a minimum of 100 pounds per square foot of live load available, but preferably more. And then—it may sound silly—a reliable elevator or freight elevator that opens to the roof is a game changer. For smaller, non-agricultural projects, we can make do without a lot of these factors. The structural capacity can even be as low as 30 pounds per square foot. Not every roof needs to be a farm, and we're happy to design green spaces that fit existing conditions.

You recently worked with SO-IL on 450 Warren, developed by Tankhouse in a neighborhood that, historically speaking, wasn’t exactly known for its greenery. Tell us about that collaboration, the process, and how your shared vision came into focus.

This is one of our first projects where the building was designed around the landscaping, and not the reverse. SO-IL and Tankhouse had a beautiful landscape concept that we were able to build off of. We love collaborating with architects and designers to find creative solutions that help align their vision with budgets, and this project was an example of a coalition of like-minded firms working together to create a space that harmonizes ecological benefits, tenant amenities, and aesthetics.

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In a city that’s always building, we know a view that’s here today can be gone tomorrow. What happens when a new tower sprouts in front of the site’s sunniest exposure? What sort of considerations can you, as a designer, take to plan for long-term resiliency in the unique landscape that is New York City?

There are a lot of beautiful, resilient plants that can tolerate shady conditions. You may not be able to grow tomatoes in that spot anymore, but there are plenty of herbs, salad greens, and ornamental options that will look stunning and provide similar gratification.

Some argue sustainability is expensive, and that change doesn’t come cheap. How would you respond to skeptics who question how green infrastructure translates financially?

Sadly, if we aren't paying for it now, we'll certainly be paying for it in the future–and not just financially. Building green infrastructure with climate resiliency in mind must be a priority, and should be marketed as an amenity to not only the building's tenants, but the greater NYC community.

What’s the wildest project inquiry you’ve ever received?

Impermanent installations are usually the most fun/wacky. A few years ago we were commissioned by the artist Andrea Reynoso to build a temporary clover patch installation in Dumbo, after which a herd of goats were brought in to "mow" down the clover.

What current projects are in the works at Design/Build? What would you say was/were the most fulfilling to date?

Lots of green roofs, container gardens, and green walls! I'm particularly excited about a rooftop dye garden we're designing and building with a textile artist at a Chelsea art gallery. But the most fulfilling work to date has definitely been our partnership with League Education and Treatment Center and Smile Farms. These organizations offer garden programming and employment opportunities to adults and children with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and bring us in to help their gardeners grow peppers for hot sauce production. The sale of the hot sauce contributes to the program's funding.

Urban farms, linear parks—what’s next for the urban green movement? Will we ever see vertical gardens under the BQE, like Mexico City’s Via Verde?

To build a truly resilient and livable city, we need plants everywhere, and yes, this means under bridges and highways, along roadsides, and even in industrial areas. The paved surfaces of highway overpasses typically drain off into our sewer system, and contribute to our Combined Sewer Overflow problems, so having shaded woodland-style parks and tree pits under these structures would help enormously. Highways are also a huge source of carbon - they’ve been referred to as “rivers of pollution,” so counter-balancing that with nearby plants to filter and clean the air would be a boon for New Yorkers. We’re so used to having “ugly areas” in cities, but we can make every corner of this city more beautiful, resilient, and healthier simply by adding more plants.

Design/Build recently planted the outdoor spaces at 450 Warren, a collection of 18 condominiums developed by Tankhouse in Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood. Photo: Dan Chen

The central atrium and two courtyard gardens at 450 Warren were designed in partnership with the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, which helped select native plant species that thrive in the area. Photo: Circular City Week

Rooftop farm photography courtesy of Brooklyn Grange.

// IN DESIGN

INHABIT

Brooklyn Grange maintains the 1,000 square feet rooftop vegetable garden above Rosemary's restaurant in the West Village. Designed and installed by their Design/Build team in 2012, this garden offers guests of the restaurant a roof-to-table dining experience.

Brooklyn Grange's 3.2-acre Sunset Park farm manages 2.6 million gallons of stormwater each year.

Brooklyn Grange works with the culinary team at Rosemary's to prepare a crop plan for the restaurant's rooftop vegetable garden. From calabrian chilis to heirloom tomatoes, everything grown on this rooftop goes directly into the dishes prepared in the restaurant below.

Brooklyn Grange's 3.2-acre Sunset Park farm manages 2.6 million gallons of stormwater each year.