Future Green Studio designed and installed this public plaza outside the Carroll Street Subway Station in 2010. The design for the plaza draws its inspiration from the infrastructural constraints of the site- the movement of trains underneath the plaza, the flow of pedestrian traffic across its surface and the subterranean chamber of the station itself. With the intention to reveal the site’s sense of history, the design process tried to uncover the latent conditions of the site to reveal the eidetic, social and spatial processes at play.
A series of stacked corten planter boxes outside the subway entrance brand the neighborhood with an identity of transformation and help to negotiate the boundary between public and private space. The fractured arrangement of the planter boxes are a visual analog to the sound and vibration generated by the trains. The planter boxes also function to raise the plantings above grade so as not to encroach directly on the underground station.
The plaza is paved with locally sourced bluestone and is highlighted by black granite inserts which attempt to physically translate the infrastructure lurking below. The accent granite pavers are arranged in a gradient pattern emanating from the corten boxes – evoking an old graphic sound recording visualization.
Drought tolerant and resilient plantings were employed to be able to withstand the harsh conditions of the urban plaza while reinforcing the new sense of Brooklyn as wild, rustic, and sustainable. The geometric planting design of the garden includes large swathes of grasses and perennials which are orchestrated to provide a year-round display of light, color, and texture
With a 3 million annual ridership flowing in and out of the Carroll Street subway stop, the public plaza has become a new iconic corner - mediating between a historic Brooklyn neighborhood and the post-industrial nature of Gowanus.
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