The New York Public Library commissioned this branch library of 12,000 square feet. We restored the existing 1907 Carrere and Hastings Carnegie Library and designed a new 7,000 square foot building to be located alongside. The library is conceived as a modern public institution that will contribute to the revitalization of the Stapleton neighborhood. 

The facility is an assemblage of old and new. The existing Carnegie Library was converted into the Childrens’ Reading Room. The new building, constructed of glue laminated Douglas fir posts, beams, joists and roof decking, houses books and media. The structurally glazed facade invites the public and supplies natural light. The exposed wood structure provides a sense of rhythm, scale and material richness unexpected in contemporary public buildings.