New York, New York, USA
The Van Cortlandt branch of The New York Public Library is situated near the Jerome Park Reservoir and historic Van Cortlandt Park. It houses a varied collection of books and audiobooks for all ages, as well as Russian and Spanish language titles.
The new building, located in the Bronx, is more than twice the size of the former library and provides 5,800 square feet of public space, including dedicated areas for teens and children, and programming rooms.
The New York Public Library asked the architects to evaluate the suitability of a 6,500 sq ft vacant building for conversion into a neighborhood branch library.
The building had been constructed in 2007 to serve as a group residence. It was never completed or occupied and was in need of significant repair and reconfiguration.
Its size and location, however, made it an ideal structure for a new branch library.
The architects worked with a fast track model to design a comprehensive conversion of this undistinguished building into a welcoming civic structure.
The spaces created include a Reading Room, a Community Room, a Teen Room, a Children’s Room and a Conference Room. Part of the original roof was raised in order to create a public scaled, light-filled Reading Room.
An entirely new entry façade was designed to present a welcoming and public presence to the neighborhood. A new publicly scaled entry plaza and a rear reading garden were designed to better situate the building in its site.
“The Van Cortlandt Library served its community well for over 50 years, but the much-loved institution has long needed a larger space to support its growing community,” said New York Public Library Chief Operating Officer Iris Weinshall.
“The Library so appreciates that its partners in government understood that need and how critical the Library is to the people of the area. With their support, we now have a brand new, much bigger, modern library that will allow us to expand our offerings and best serve this community.”
“This long-awaited project has been part of an unprecedented amount of capital investment in our branch libraries, which for over 100 years have strengthened communities across New York City.”
“The new Van Cortlandt Library looks forward to its next 50 years of service.”
Architects: Andrew Berman Architect
Client: The New York Public Library
Photographers: Michael Moran/OTTO
