A New Bookstore for Architects

Bookstores have had a hard time recently, but now we have a bit of good news. Monday was the grand opening of Van Alen Books, a new architecture and design bookstore and public reading room located at the Van Alen Institute’s headquarters at 30 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. Van Alen Institute is an independent non-profit organization that "fosters dialogue about the evolving role of architecture in the public realm". The storefront space will be New York’s only bookshop and gathering place devoted to architecture and design publications — and is sure to become a destination for professionals, students, and other fans of architecture in print. The bookstore’s new space, designed by architectural firm LOT-EK, features a 14’ tall seating area crafted from a stack of 70 recycled doors sourced from Build It Green! NYC, a nonprofit supplier of salvaged building materials. For more images of the space visit the Val Alen Books facebook page.

Editors Note: This story was updated on 5/5/2011. Plan and section have been added below the photos.