The Enclosed Forest

At a Glance

Crye Precision
1,000 SF
Brooklyn Navy Yard
2018

We were tasked with pushing the boundaries of what we knew was possible—so we defined an approach that addressed the “what ifs” of landscape design. The result is the award-winning The Enclosed Forest, a reimagined atrium that transforms one of the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s most prolific manufacturing spaces into an immersive botanical experience, living and breathing within a workspace headquarters.

The Enclosed Forest was designed in intimate collaboration with a recurring partner, the NYC-based architecture firm Modellus Novus, and the client Crye Precision. Our initial inspiration was drawn from the forests of the Northeast and the Navy Yard itself.

The interior landscape design reinterprets the experience of wandering through outdoor spaces, with features like variable topography, cascading light, and diverse leaf forms all adapted for livability inside an industrial facility. Concrete blocks, previously used as ship ballast, were recovered from the Navy Yard and incorporated into the landscape as seating. Boulders were hand-selected in western Massachusetts and installed through the building’s main bi-fold door, contributing to the landscape’s flow and sense of contained abundance.

Upon entering the building, The Enclosed Forest offers visitors the option to meander through a series of interconnecting gravel paths within the forest or proceed alongside it. The paths wind through a broad range of perennial and tropical ferns, which make up the planting palette of the forest floor. From the floor, a selection of tropical trees soar up to 25 feet tall, chosen for their ability to thrive in the interior space and for the aesthetic and botanical interplay of their leaf forms. Given the limited natural light in the space, we collaborated with commercial lighting manufacturers to develop and install custom LED fixtures that hang evenly above the atrium, emitting the ideal wavelength spectrum for the plants’ growing conditions.

The result is a dynamic, continuously evolving interior landscape: moss propagates on boulders throughout the space, temporal water pools fill and evaporate over time, and as the landscape matures, plants migrate across the mounds and concrete block seating, occupying areas where the soil was once bare. Seedlings have taken root. The dynamism of this lush oasis permeates the unassuming atrium, inevitably evoking a sense of wonder and calm.

With its integration of reclaimed materials, custom lighting innovations, and carefully selected flora, the Enclosed Forest not only revitalizes Crye’s manufacturing site but also fosters inspiration through its immediate invitation for visitors and employees alike to connect with nature—even in the most unexpected of spaces.

Collaborator

MODELLUS NOVUS
CAMBER STUDIO

BROOKLYN NAVY YARD.

We were tasked with pushing the boundaries of what we knew was possible—so we defined an approach that addressed the “what ifs” of landscape design. The result is the award-winning The Enclosed Forest, a reimagined atrium that transforms one of the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s most prolific manufacturing spaces into an immersive botanical experience, living and breathing within a workspace headquarters.

The Enclosed Forest was designed in intimate collaboration with a recurring partner, the NYC-based architecture firm Modellus Novus, and the client Crye Precision. Our initial inspiration was drawn from the forests of the Northeast and the Navy Yard itself. Features like variable topography, cascading light, and diverse leaf forms were all adapted for livability inside an industrial facility.

The result is a dynamic, evolving interior landscape: moss propagates on boulders throughout the space, water pools fill and evaporate over time, plants migrate across the mounds and seating, occupying previously bare soil. It is an invitation to connect with nature, even in the most unexpected of spaces.