Book excerpt: Brooklyn Modern is the first book to explore the connection between Brooklyn’s astounding rebirth and its emerging architecture. As the new cultural heart of New York, Brooklyn has recently attracted many young people interested in creating their own sense of space, as well as in renovating brownstones and townhouses. The results are homes that express the optimism, resourcefulness, and experimentation of many of Brooklyn’s bohemian residents. Cutting-edge new public buildings have also enhanced the area’s cachet.Working with spatial and financial restraints, architects in Brooklyn have demonstrated deft solutions to urban living everywhere. Likewise, the architects working in Brooklyn are no longer just local firms, but "star-chitects" such as Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, and David Adjaye, among others. Essays by two very popular bloggers, Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge and Jonathan Butler of Brownstoner, give perspective on new ways of living as aesthetics and landscape change.