Bergen Unveils Landscape Design Turning Stormwater Into Art

At Bergen, one of Brooklyn’s most talked about condominium projects, the landscaping was never an afterthought bolted on at the end. It was the starting point. The Boerum Hill building has unveiled a landscape design from Patrick Cullina, the designer behind the High Line Flyover and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, working alongside Jordan Rogove of DXA Studio and Taller Frida Escobedo Studio, and the result treats stormwater management, usually hidden underground, as the building’s signature feature.

The design unfolds across a lush Dean Street garden courtyard and two rooftop parks that link Bergen’s two residential wings, giving residents a genuine sense of retreat in the middle of the neighborhood. Rather than burying the required drainage infrastructure, the team built a visible network of runnels, waterfalls, pools, and planted terraces that collect, slow, and reuse rainwater on site, turning a functional necessity into something residents actually experience day to day. The gardens draw on references including the Ford Foundation Atrium, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the High Line Flyover, Chanticleer Garden, and Boston’s Monks Garden, layering a dense tree canopy that gradually opens up to reveal the architecture behind it.

The planting is native and pollinator-friendly, chosen so the landscape visibly shifts from week to week and season to season, and the whole scheme is organized around four elements, with water doing most of the talking through the cascading waterways, while a fire pit, terrain carved into seating, and a planned kinetic sculpture stand in for fire, earth, and air. It adds up to real access, not just green views. Seventy five percent of residences at Bergen come with their own outdoor space, whether that is a terrace, balcony, yard, or covered gallery, making the case that in Brooklyn’s crowded condo market, landscape design has become as much of a selling point as square footage.

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