How one of Brooklyn’s most expensive neighborhoods became home base for the creative class

When international architecture firm Snøhetta found its Manhattan lease was coming up last year, a search kicked off for a new workspace. The firm, which had been located in New York City for 21 years, scoured neighborhoods near and far, such as the Brooklyn Navy Yards.  But in the end, the choice was one many such firms had been making recently, according to partner and managing director Elaine Molinar. They wanted a building with character that was conducive to creative work, and...