About 40 years ago, bedrock and dirt were excavated to build the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. That soil established the foundation for a 92-acre swath of land where the mixed-use neighborhood of Battery Park City was built. Landfill reuse is a fitting beginning for a planned community that today has become one of the greenest in America, due to stringent environmental guidelines developed in 1999 and implemented by the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA). It is appropriate that the most eco-friendly branch of the 89 public libraries of the New York system would be built here. While the residents in this surprisingly leafy neighborhood have their share of parks, offices, restaurants, and water views, they sorely needed a library.

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Designed by 1100 Architect and completed in 2010, the Battery Park City Library occupies the bottom two floors of the northeast corner of a 32-story residential tower called Riverhouse, completed the same year by Polshek Partnership (recently renamed Ennead Architects). In addition to the library, two other nonprofits — Poets House and Mercy Corps — occupy portions of the ground floor of the horseshoe-shaped building. As part of an “amenity program,” the BPCA leases space to nonprofits for $1 a year, a bargain by any measure. Still, the nonprofits have to raise money for construction. “Commitments by councilmen and City Hall, and a substantial donation from Goldman Sachs, were the tipping points that allowed the library to move forward,” says Juergen Riehm, who, along with David Piscuskas, is a partner at the 37-person, 28-year-old 1100 Architect.

Fortunately, the design of Riverhouse was still underway when the library project began. “We were able to convince the developer to modify the facade design to have the library’s frontage wrap around the corner as a double-height glass element, making it really visible and maximizing light coming in and views going out,” says Riehm. This vaulted space became the defining feature of the 10,500-square-foot library, soaring above the street corner to establish a distinctive and inviting presence.

Once inside, visitors discover how the library wraps around an outdoor courtyard, an extension of Michael Van Valkenburgh’s Teardrop Park, which opened a few years before. Windows that overlook the landscape create a link to the outdoors, while the curved plan establishes two main areas on the library’s first floor. The area to the left of the entry accommodates the adult and young adult collections, multimedia, and computer stations, tucked behind a welcoming information and checkout area. To the right, the children’s section occupies the brightly lit double-height street frontage.

A dramatic winding stair serves as a modern sculptural element in the main library space and connects the ground floor to the mezzanine level, where the architects located an event space and reading rooms. Under the sweeping belly of the stair, an intimate seating area covered in orange fabric defines the edge of the children’s library and introduces a touch of color that is picked up in other spaces. Color and navigational cues establish easy-to-follow circulation patterns for people visiting the library for the first time. “The architecture intuitively suggests wayfinding systems through visual connections,” says Riehm.

Since the apartments above the library required space for plumbing lines, 1100 Architect devised an irregularly vaulted ceiling over the two wings of the library that radiate out from the central core like an asymmetrical umbrella.

“To accentuate this dynamic we designed a ceiling with a topography that becomes a unifying element throughout the space,” explains Riehm. “We inserted off-the-shelf fluorescent fixtures into ‘slash cuts’ in the triangulated ceiling, turning a design element into a functional one.”

Today’s libraries cannot simply contain stacks and reading rooms. They must also address the vastly different ways people receive and view information. The Battery Park City Library provides automated checkout, Wi-Fi, computer workstations, an area fit out for multimedia presentations, and a digital dashboard that monitors and displays the facility’s real-time energy performance. The architects employed a number of sustainable design elements including energy-efficient lighting, low- and non-VOC finishes, dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, and numerous recycled materials. They also specified floors made from gray-stained reclaimed fir end-grain discarded from window manufacturers and carpet made from recycled tires. When Riverhouse completes the paperwork, both the library and building will be on track to receive LEED Gold certification.

An area of contrasts, Lower Manhattan serves as home to numerous financial institutions, a mixed-use residential community, and a place where tourists come to pay respects to Ground Zero, the former site of the World Trade Center. This indelible reminder of the fragility of buildings — and the people who occupy them — is an apt juxtaposition to the optimism and resilience evident in Battery Park City’s new community library.

 

Completion Date: June 2010

Gross square footage: 10,500 sq.ft.

Total construction cost: $4.4 million


Credits

Architect:

Robert Young Architects
526 W 26 St, Suite 616
New York, NY 10001

p: 212-687-6940
f: 212-924-9865

 

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:

Principal in Charge:

Robert Young, AIA, RA

Project Staff:
Satoi Akimoto, RA
Justin Blejer, RA
John Buckley, RA
Robert Deacon
Viktoria Rauter

Interior Designer:

Sophie Girard

 

Architect of record:

Robert Young, AIA, RA

 

Interior designer:

Robert Young Architects

 

Engineers:

Becker Engineering, PC - Electrical and Plumbing
D.B. Bennett P.E., PC - Civil
Zero Energy Design - HVAC and Energy

 

Consultants:

Audio Interiors, Inc. - Audio Visual Systems
LaGuardia Design Group - Landscape Architecture
Lighthouse Land Planning LLC - Environmental Consultant
Tirschwell & Co., Inc. - Lighting Design

 

General contractor:

Men at Work Construction Corp

 

Photographer:

Michael Moran, 718-237-8830

Specifications

Structural System

wood and steel

Manufacturer of any structural components unique to this project: Murus Structural Insulated Panels - roof

 

Exterior Cladding

Rainscreen: rough sawn western red cedar planks
smooth sawn western red cedar tongue and groove, stained black

Moisture barrier: Solitex Mento Black Weather Barrier

 

Roofing

Elastomeric: EPDM roofing by Grace

Metal: zinc standing seam by Rhinezinc

 

Windows

Wood frame: Dynamic

 

Doors

Sliding doors: Dynamic

 

Hardware

Locksets: Baldwin

Pulls: Sun Valley Bronze

 

Interior Finishes

Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore

Paneling: white pine, painted

Floor and wall tile: Walker Zanger - Arabescato marble countertop - kitchen
Caesar Stone - white engineered quartz stone countertop - pantry/kitchen, laundry room
Mosiac House - Lilas herringbone pattern Lilas mosaic tile - kitchen wall
Ann Sacks - Context wall ceramic tile - kitchen wall
Maiden Stone - Grisaille limestone floor - living room, powder room, laundry room, bathrooms
Ann Sacks - Savoy mosaic ceramic tile in herringbone pattern -
 bathroom wall
Stone Source - Glacier glass mosaic tile - bathroom wall
Royal Mosa - More than white collection - bathroom wall
 

Special interior finishes unique to this project: white oak floors from Madera Trade
pure zinc counters
 

Furnishings

Other furniture: 1ST DIBS (MORRISTOWN MODERN)
1ST DIBS BEDSIDE TABLE BY SVEN ENGSTROM
1STDIBS- Hans Wegner Black Side Tables
1STDIBS ROSEWOOD SLAT LOUNGE CHAIR
20TH CENTURY GALLERY / PAIR OF LUXUS TEAK AND GLASS PENDANT LIGHTS
ABC Carpet Blue Overdyed
ABC CARPET- Cream Nubby (6' x 9')
ABC Carpet Kilim
ABC CARPET- MR87 Drawing (geometric blk/wht)
ABC CARPET- Off white Nubby (11' x 7')
ABC HOME- LINEN BED
ABC Home Pillows
Anthropologie Canopy Bed
Avenue Road - Rua Ipanema
BOVER
Calico
COCO MAT MAT-ATLAS
COCO MAT MAT-NEFELI
COCO MAT TOP-IVISKOS
COCO MAT-MAT NEFELI
COMMUTE DESIGN L 69
Danish Design Store
Dash & Albert Samson Navy
DDC MINOTTI
DDC MINOTTI LOTO NINFEA
Dedon Mbrace Chairs - pepper
DEDON MBRACE LOUNGE (pepper)
DUC DUC
DWR- 1966 PORCELAIN DINING TABLE
DWR- MUTTO NERD CHAIR (grey)
DWR-VIPP XL
Espasso - Ipanema
FLEXFORM / GRANDMARE
FRAMA CL-1
GREAT PLAINS
HAPTIC LAB- CONSTELLATION & MONTAUK
HEMINGWAY GALLERY
HEMINGWAY GALLERY, WHITE BAMELEKI STOOL
JANUS ET CIE FIBONACCI
JANUS ET CIE LASZLO CHAISE
JANUS ET CIE PURE CHAIRS
JANUS ET CIE PURE SOFA
ONE KINGS LANE  7' FREE FORM BENCH
ONE KINGS LANE, AFRICAN MUD CLOTH PILLOWS
ONE KINGS LANE-AFRICAN MUD CLOTH
OPEN AIR MODERN
Paris
PARIS- 2 GREY & WHITE STRIPE
Paris Tables (9 italian glass tables, metal legs)
Paris Tables (9 italian glass tables, metal legs)
Patina NYC vintage fiberglass
PERENNIALS - RITZY SEA SALT
Perennials Ritzy Sea Salt (4 yds)
RH 72" Merida Sofa - Perennials Fabric, Charcoal
Rikumo
Rogers & Goffigon Linen
ROOM & BOARD
ROOST CHEDI BAMBOO  (2) round and (1) oblong
Rove Concepts- Tulip Table
SANTA & COLE M68 POLISHED ALUMINUM
SERENA & LILY ROWE NESTING TABLES
Shade Store
Skargaarden H55 (canvas)
SOM/416 HEMP POUF
Stone by Phillips Collection
Studio Tag - About a Chair w/ Gaslift
Suite NY - Simple Comfort
SUITE NY - SIMPLE HI
The Urban Electric Co.
THIN K TABLE (white) PROPERTY
TRNK- NANIMARQUINA TRES RUG 6'7" x 9'10"
Upholstery Services NY
WEST ELM  MODERN BED LINEN WEAVE
WEST ELM COTTON SHEETS
WEST ELM LINEN
WEST ELM MID CENTURY WHITE BED
White Danish Table Lamps (Paris)
Withers & Grain

Lighting

Interior ambient lighting: A&L Lighting
Bartco
B-K Lighting
David Weeks
Element Lighting
Flos
GM Lighting
LED Linear
Lucifer Lighting Company
MP Lighting
NULUX
RAB
Specialty Lighting
Vibia
Zaneen

Downlights: Architectural Lighting Works
B-K Lighting
Fabbian
XAL

Tasklighting: Brendan Ravenhill

Exterior: BEGA
B-K Lighting
Solavanti Lighting

Dimming system or other lighting controls: Lutron

 

Plumbing

American Standard
Blu Bathworks
Chicago Faucets
Duravit
Elkay
Julien Home Refinements
Hansgrohe
Kohler
KWC
Lacava
Speakman
Zurn

 

Energy

Energy management or building automation system: Zehnder Comfoair 550 ERV