Construction has commenced on Steven Holl Architects' Hunters Point Community Library in Queens, New York. Rising along the shoreline on the city's East River near a cluster of newly built high-rise condominiums, the 22,000 square-foot (6,705 meter) library aims to provide a community-centric public space and park to the increasingly privatized Long Island City waterfront.
From the architects: The concrete structure of the building is exposed and aluminum painted, giving the exterior a subtle sparkle. A golden-section upturned rectangle is carved out according to the browsing circuit of movement within the interior of library. Glazed cuts in the façade grant users views toward the city as they move up a series of bookshelf flanked stairs. The main Manhattan view, perpendicular to the internal movement of the library, gives visitors to this small space a dramatic experience.
The program's separation into children's area, teen area and adult area can be read in the sculpted cuts of the east face of the building, one façade opening for each area; yet the programmatic divisions are fluid. While the plan is compact, the building section of the new library is open and flowing allowing for the most energy-efficient design and the greatest amount of public green space on the site.
On the east entrance side, the library faces a reading garden bordered by a low park office pavilion with a bosque of ginko trees. Ascending the stair inside visitors can reach the rooftop reading garden with panoramic views of the city.
At night the glowing presence of the new library along the waterfront joins the Pepsi sign and the "Long Island" sign at the old Gantry to become a beacon for this new community place.
The library will be completed in 2017.
In celebration of the groundbreaking, an exhibition chronicling the design process of this new civic building and public park has opened at Sculpture Center in Long Island City, Queens and online at www.stevenholl.com/online-
Architects
Location
Queens, NY, United StatesDesign Architects
Steven Holl, Chris McVoySenior Partner In Charge
Chris McVoyAssociate in Charge
Olaf SchmidtProject Architect
Filipe TaboadaProject Team
Bell Ying Yi Cai, Rychiee Espinosa, JongSeo Lee, Maki Matsubayashi, Michael Rusch, Dominik Sigg, Yasmin Vobis, Jeanne WellingerClient
New York City Department of Design and Construction, Queens LibraryLandscape Architects
Michael Van Valkenburgh and AssociatesStructural Engineer
Robert Silman AssociatesMEP Engineer
ICOR AssociatesLighting Design
L'Observatoire InternationalLEED Consultant
ADS EngineersCode Consultant
Irene Joyce Berzak-SchoenCivil Engineer
Langan Engineering & Environmental ServicesFire Technical Consultant
Rolf Jensen & Assoc.Cost Estimator
Davis LangdonSpecifications
Construction Specifications Inc.Climate Engineers
TranssolarArea
22000.0 ft2Project Year
2017Photographs
Steven Holl ArchitectsLocation
Queens, NY, USAProject Year
2017Photographs
Area
22000.0 ft2
