![]() ![]() At night the glowing presence of the Hunters Point 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. On the east entrance side, the library faces a reading garden bordered by a low park office pavilion with a bosque of ginkgo trees. While the plan is compact, the building section of the new library is open and flowing to allow for the most energy-efficient design and the greatest amount of public green space on the site. The stairs switch back from the mezzanine to the mezzanine, connecting reading areas and concluding in a rooftop reading terrace with views of the city and the river. A ground-level auditorium under the main section provides public meeting and events space. The digital and the book are merged through the bookshelves and adjacent digital workstations that flow upward along with a series of open stairs. Measuring 22,000 square feet (2,044 square metres), Hunters Point Library is located on a waterfront site along the East River in the New York City borough of Queens. The opening ceremony held this afternoon featured students from PS/IS 78 greeting guests in several languages plus the Hunters Point Community Middle School band entertaining guests inside. It is the first new branch since the completion of Long Island City Library in 2007, and New York City’s 217th branch library. Natural light enters through the large windows from all sides, animating the space. Located at 47-40 Center Boulevard and designed by Steven Holl Architects, the 41.5 million library brings to 66 the total number of QPL locations across the borough. 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 facade opening for each area yet the programmatic divisions are fluid. Inside, warm bamboo creates an inviting social space, open to the community and offering engaging spaces for all ages. Sculpted cuts are carved out of the facade, showing the movement of people within and framing expansive views of the Manhattan skyline. The vertical structure reimagines the traditional library model, providing a diversity of spaces from intimate reading areas to active gathering spaces. The building’s aluminum-painted concrete shell is not just a facade but a load-bearing structure, which omits curtain walls and columns. Resisting recent trends of incorporating public libraries and much-needed social space within high- end residential towers, the Hunters Point Library stands independently, rising with a minimal footprint on its 32,000 square foot site to offer maximum surrounding green space to the local community and becoming an integrated part of the vibrant public park that lines the river’s edge. There was most assuredly some initial equity put up by the joint venture, in tandem with a loan from the big private equity. By my count, that means they spent 149 million in total (104 + 45), and borrowed 150 million, netting a cool 1 million Obviously this oversimplifies things a bit. ![]() At night the glowing presence of the Hunters Point 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.Located on a prominent site along the East River, against the backdrop of rapidly built skyscraper condominiums, the 22,000 square foot Queens Public Library at Hunters Point stands as a public building and public park, bringing community-devoted space to the Long Island City waterfront. The debt on the buildings adds up to about 150M. The Queens Library is deeply rooted in and connected to the neighborhood thus, the library is not only a space for reading and studying, but also a new community hub that will bring people together and provide spaces for engagement. Resisting recent trends of incorporating public libraries and much-needed social space within high-end residential towers, the Hunters Point Library stands independently, rising with a minimal footprint on its 32,000 square foot site. In response, the design rises vertically on a small footprint, standing in juxtaposition to the buildings around it. The building is sited within a rapidly changing urban condition along the East River in Long Island City, surrounded by high-rise residential buildings. The map depicts part of what is today Long Island City from Pier Street north as far as. It is part of the Queens West Development, which was created to remediate and redevelop 74 acres of vacant former industrial waterfront along the East River into a vibrant new community. Beers 1873 map of Hunters Point (Long Island City), Queens, New York. ![]() The library was needed to serve the rapidly growing Hunters Point Development. ![]()
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