During the renovation of Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal, interior design firm Alexandra Champalimaud & Associates Inc. (ACA, New York) sought to create a retail complex that would be as memorable to New Yorkers and visitors as many of the city’s great monuments.

The terminal building — host to nearly 40 million bus, subway and commuter rail passengers each year — already has a rich history. In 1956, the complex’s 24-acre parcel was supposed to become the home of the Dodgers’ new Ebbets Field, in a failed attempt to keep the team in Brooklyn. Today, the site is part of an urban renewal project that includes retail and housing developments. Among its retail tenants are Target, Payless Shoesource, Bath & Body Works and Starbucks Coffee.

“We envisioned creating a public space that borrowed from the great architectural tradition of Grand Central and the New York Public Library,” said Bill Rooney, ACA’s principal architect and managing director. “Our interpretation is decidedly more up-to-date, relying on modern materials to satisfy a more contemporary palette and meet our budget.”

So, while Grand Central’s vaulted ceilings have a painted evening sky, Atlantic Terminal’s ceilings use backlit acrylic screens to feature local photography and Sanborne map images of Brooklyn. Light glows through the screens, illuminating the images as it lights the terminal.

New terra cotta-clad columns and porcelain floor tile were also added, completing the commerce center’s modern look.

Design: Alexandra Champalimaud & Associates Inc., New York

Photography: Marco Ricca, New York