Michael van valkenburgh biography sample

a new monograph documents the decades-long project

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), the landscape architecture practice behind New York’s Brooklyn Bridge Park, has published a new monograph documenting the transformation of the abandoned East River waterfront into a vibrant, award-winning public space. The colossal project began as a dream of local activists in the 1980s and was officially completed in 2021 to become one of the most important parks in New York. It brings picturesque rambles, meadows overgrown with native flowers, sloping lawns and places for play — all before dramatic views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, the lower Manhattan skyline, and even the Statue of Liberty beyond. With over 300 photographs and drawings, the book is a visual biography of the ambitious work of urban and landscape design in New York City. It illustrates ‘how one park was designed to be democratic at its core,’ and welcomes readers into ‘that wonderful space between the first expression of an idea and a living, everyday landscape.’ Brooklyn Bridge Park, has been published on January 31st, 2024 with Monacelli, a Phaidon company and is available for