Designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning, the Sunset Park Library in Brooklyn will be a 21,000-sf facility topped with 50 affordable residences for qualified low-income occupants.
The eight-story, mixed-use building will replace the old Sunset Park library branch. Two and a half floors of the building will be reserved for library space, which is more than double the square footage of the current library branch. A glass front will welcome visitors and large windows will bring natural light into the library’s reading and learning spaces.
See Also: New library branch in San Diego opens with its community’s learning and working traits in mind
Above the library floors, a brick exterior is meant to echo the neighborhood’s surrounding brick buildings. Masonry gives way to paneling at the seventh floor setback and insets on the facade. Solar panels on the roof will help with energy cost reductions. Residential amenities will include a community room that opens onto a landscaped outdoor deck at the second floor. The project is slated for completion in December 2020.
Related Stories
Libraries | Apr 7, 2017
Eight recipients selected for the 2017 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards
Columbus Metropolitan Library, National Library of Latvia, and Varina Area Library were all honored by the AIA and ALA.
Libraries | Mar 16, 2017
Libraries: Design for evolution
Libraries fulfill a new vision—community kitchens for experimentation with new ideas, problem solving and entrepreneurship, and creating experiences that turn consumers into producers, passions into careers, and voices into actions.
Libraries | Feb 22, 2017
Transparency a key in Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library renovation
Great Halls, an auditorium, a fabrication lab, and a roof garden will all be added to the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe building.
Libraries | Jan 9, 2017
After winning international competition, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects will design the new Shanghai Library
The 110,000-sm library will be built in Pudong District and sit next to Century Park, Shanghai’s largest park.
Libraries | Dec 14, 2016
The future of libraries
The arrival of programs that support student and faculty success such as math emporiums, writing centers, academic enrichment programs, and excellence-in-teaching centers within the library, heralds the emergence of the third generation of academic library design.
Libraries | Jul 1, 2016
Sasaki library survey gauges librarian happiness
Libraries are changing from dull book boxes into vibrant hubs for academic institutions. Sasaki surveyed more than 400 librarians to learn how library staffs interact with and respond to their workspaces.
Cultural Facilities | Jun 30, 2016
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects selected to design Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
With experience designing cultural and academic facilities, Williams and Tsien got the nod over other search finalists like Renzo Piano, SHoP, and Adjaye Associates.
Building Team Awards | May 19, 2016
Chinatown library unites and serves two emerging Chicago neighborhoods
The 16,000-sf, pebble-shaped Chinatown Branch Library was built at the intersection of new and old Chinatown neighborhoods. The goal is for the building to unite the communities and serve as a catalyst for the developing area.
Libraries | Apr 21, 2016
New renderings released for Herzog & de Meuron’s National Library of Israel
The library is based around the light well in the center of a concave roof, a feature that will illuminate the spacious second story and the ground level.
Libraries | Apr 18, 2016
Best in Library Design: AIA names seven projects 2016 Library Building Awards winners
Snøhetta’s Ryerson University student center and the Billings (Mont.) Public Library by Will Bruder+Partners highlight the seven winning projects.