NISHIEL PATEL

Rear brick facade of a Bedford Stuyvesant brownstone with a reflective perforated metal stair rising above a frothy, endless garden and a white dog on the limestone path

Overhead view of the intergenerational garden with family and friends gathered along winding limestone paths and a dog on the green below the metal stair

Generation House

Brooklyn, NY

A garden for intergenerational living (shared by a designer / architect and many families)in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. This garden was designed to be a a backbone for constant change and stewardship by the owners over time. A garden meant to feel endless with spaces to discover. The light of a frothy palette (anemone, fennel, meadow rue, hibiscus, rose, with shade tolerant sedges and bugloss) dances on reflective metal. The serrated edges of the limestone pavers disappear over time.

Photo: Mary Kang & Michael Vahrenwald

Completed in 2021
Architecture by soft-firm

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Limestone paver path with serrated edges winding through lush, shade-tolerant planting toward a reflective metal fence in Brooklyn

Frothy palette of pink anemone, fennel, and climbing hydrangea spilling over a reflective corrugated metal fence

Creeping groundcover spreading across serrated limestone pavers beneath a reflective perforated metal stair

Frothy border of white hydrangea, pink anemone, and fennel against a reflective corrugated metal fence beneath a fig tree

Dappled light falling across serrated-edge limestone pavers softened by encroaching bugloss and shade-tolerant sedges

Installation in progress with a galvanized stair, freshly laid limestone paving, and staged nursery pots behind the brick brownstone

Overhead installation shot of the perforated metal stair with limestone paving mid-lay and construction materials staged across the Bedford Stuyvesant yard

Young, newly planted garden along a limestone path beside a reflective corrugated metal fence with wire chairs and a table