Snøhetta Announces Design for Westchester Square Library in The Bronx
A 12,000-square-foot energy-efficient library inspired by New York City’s Greenest Borough
Snøhetta, the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), and the New York Public Library (NYPL) have unveiled designs for a new 12,000-square-foot branch library in the Westchester Square neighborhood of the Bronx. The two-story structure, wrapped in pastoral print fritted glass, features two classrooms, a pair of reading rooms, a multi-use community space, restrooms, and additional public spaces dedicated to physical and online research. Developed as a critical node within the neighborhood, the new Westchester Square Library will deliver an important economic and educational resource to a vibrant and diverse section of the borough. Located beside the historic Huntington Free Library, a non-circulating library that predates NYPL by four years, the new Westchester Square branch will extend the site’s legacy as a place where knowledge is acquired and shared for generations to come.
“Snøhetta is proud to have worked with DDC on a collection of transformative projects across New York City, from the reconstruction of Times Square to the creation of new branch libraries in Far Rockaway, and now, Westchester Square in the Bronx,” said Craig Dykers, Snøhetta Founding Partner. “Over the last 12 years, our team of architects, landscape architects, and interior architects have worked with DDC to enrich the social vitality of local communities through thoughtful designs that will stand the test of time.”
Designed as a prismatic reading room lifted on a board-formed concrete base, the Library’s fritted glass facades are inspired by The Bronx’s status as the “greenest Borough of New York City” and depict abstract views of the borough’s tree canopies. Aside from visually relating to the greenery of The Bronx, the frit pattern is calibrated to frame vistas of the surrounding blocks and to filter incoming light from the sun as part of a holistic effort to reduce the Library’s energy use. At night, the Library will shine as a glowing beacon for the neighborhood and the city.
Targeting LEED Platinum certification, the new Library will feature a high-performance envelope design and a solar array allowing the building to lessen electric demand on the area’s critical energy infrastructure during peak events. Additionally, the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) has contributed funding to position the Library as a pilot project for DCAS’s 80x50 initiative, which seeks to reduce the city's carbon emissions 80% by 2050. As a result, the Library will feature extensive energy conservation measures (ECM), including a high-efficiency energy recovery ventilator (EVR). These elements go above and beyond current energy code requirements.
With interior spaces organized according to their need for light and views, the Library’s most social and active components, including new children- and young adult-centered areas, will be on full display from both the sidewalk and the elevated 6 train. The classroom and community room spaces look out over a new Viewing Garden located at street level that doubles as a water retention and filtration installation. Filled with shade-loving perennial groundcovers and flowering ornamental trees, the Library Viewing Garden offers a sense of visual delight connecting the abstract façade patterning with the Library’s environmental performance.
“The Viewing Garden provides an understated counterpoint to the surrounding urban landscape,” said Michelle Delk, Snøhetta Partner and Landscape Architecture Discipline Director. “As an extension of the library, the Garden absorbs rainwater into a verdant landscape while also bringing light and visual interest to the indoor experience."
Inside the library, a comprehensive art program created through the Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art program will bring a dynamic assembly of sculptures depicting flocks of local birds created by Austin, Texas-based artist Shawn Smith to the Library’s upper floor.
The new Westchester Square Library is the latest library designed by Snøhetta in New York City and follows the construction of the new Far Rockaway Writer’s Library in Queens, slated to open in 2023. As an on-call architect with New York City’s Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Project Excellence Program, Snøhetta is providing design services across a range of projects throughout the city. The DDC Project Excellence program establishes expectations and goals for quality and innovation in architecture, engineering, and project delivery and utilizes strategies and practices that balance aesthetics, functionality, cost, constructability, and durability to bring form and meaning to public space. Snøhetta’s participation in the program allows our practice to bring high-quality, public-oriented design to a greater number of New York City residents and visitors.
Construction on the new Library is anticipated to start during mid- to late-2023.
