Library Buildings around the World

Overland Partners Architects, San Antonio, TX – USA
http://www.overlandpartners.com
see: Good Fulton and Farrell
Atelier Pagnamenta Torriani Architects, New York, NY – USA
Lorenzo Pagnamenta, Anna Torriani
http://www.atelier-pt.com
Libraries:
Mariners Harbor, New Branch Library, Staten Island, NY – USA 2013/14
Client: Department of Design & Construction and the New York Public Library
Awards:
2009: Award for Excellence in Design from the New York City Design Commission
Literature:
Mariners Harbor Branch Library featured on NY1 News, July 2011
Mariners Harbor Branch Library published in "Sustainable New York", p.78-81, Design+Construction Excellence, DDC
Publications, 2011
Mariners Harbor Branch Library Published in the article "Spatial Relation", gb&d Magazine, Dec 2010
Mariners Harbor Branch Library Published in the article "Check it Out", The Architect's Newspaper, 22 Sep 2010
Lecture about Mariners Harbor Branch Library at the BIS Congress at the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. September 2010
Mariners Harbor Branch Library featured in the exhibiton "New New York". The Architectural League New York, May 2010
"Bibliotheken machen Schlagzeilen", SAB/CLP, 02/09
" Mike's Angels", The Architect's Newspaper, November 2009
"Working for the city" by A. Seward, The Architect's Newspaper, October 2009
"Goundbreaking", The New York Public Library Press Releases, September 2009
New York City Web site, July 2009
The New York Public Library, July 2009 Neue Zürcher Zeitung, July 2009
Staten Island Advance, Summer 2008
Bookmark Magazine, Fall 2008
The project is a one-story branch library for the local community and is situated on a 16,000 SF plot in the Mariner’s Harbor
neighborhood of Staten Island. The design concept is of a cracked open shell, rougher on the outside and smooth and mother of pearl
like inside. The main environmental objectives are daylight and views, energy efficiency and preserving the existing mature trees in
the back garden. “Since the 1930s, residents of this former oystering community have been harboring a dream of producing a pearl
of their own – a community library. In a few years, that dream will become reality with the completion of a gem of a building
inspired by the neighborhood’s rich maritime history. The end result, unveiled a few weeks ago during a Community Board 1
meeting, is receiving praise from residents and board members alike. .The branch will have another unique feature: it will be the
first NYPL branch to have a ground-level outdoor terrace.” -Staten Island Advance, Summer 2008. “In the single story, 10, 000 SF
building, transparent glass walls and skylights will draw an abundance of natural light, minimizing the need for overhead lighting
during the day. The luminous new Mariner’s Harbor library will engage the surrounding community-promoting the library as a
freely accessible public gathering space for information and ideas, and serving as a true beacon for the residents of Mariner’s
Harbor.” - Bookmark magazine, Fall 2008. (Pagnamenta)
Public School 158 Library, Manhattan, New York, NY – USA 2011
Atelier Pagnamenta Torriani has completed renovations of school libraries throughout several boroughs of the city. With the aim of
spending energy where it matters, the firm has put a good deal of time into public schools in order to provide quality for those who
can benefit the most.
The libraries are conceived as friendly oases within these institutional buildings, specific to each school. Once built, they soon become
a living room used by the whole school.
The library at this primary school is equipped with a story-telling area, comfortable seating and specially-designed low shelving
accessible to the children. The space is designed as a sequence of different functions articulated by the undulating high ceiling and
stimulating lighting pattern above. (Pagnamenta)
M 13 Central Park East Library, Manhattan, New York, NY – USA 2010
Atelier Pagnamenta Torriani has completed renovations of school libraries throughout several boroughs of the city. With the aim of
spending energy where it matters, the firm has put a good deal of time into public schools in order to provide quality for those who
can benefit the most.
The libraries are conceived as friendly oases within these institutional buildings, specific to each school. Once built, they soon become
a living room used by the whole school.
The Central Park East library serves both High School and Middle School students. The reading area can morph into a classroom
with an interactive whiteboard. Furnished with ergonomic seating and modular light tables, the space can be organized to fit
multiple configurations for parent or teacher meetings. The media area is defined as a bright ribbon with motivational signage,
drawing students. (http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/36060_m13_central_park_east_library/11/indexAll)
A. E. Smith High School, Library, Bronx, New York, NY – USA 2010
Literature:
A. E. Smith High School Library. Architonic Website, May 2010
Atelier Pagnamenta Torriani has completed renovations of school libraries for the New York City School Construction Authority
throughout several boroughs of the city. With the aim of spending energy where it matters, the firm has put a good deal of time into
public schools in order to provide quality for those who can benefit the most. At the Alfred E. Smith vocational high school, the
suspended soffit facing the open library space is designed as a geometrical progression, a double helix repeating modules of 12
triangular facets. This element, while serving as a sound attenuator, highlights the arts and crafts, vocational aspect of this high
school, such as the automobile mechanical workshops and building construction workshops. The classroom, the lounge, and the open
computer area are separated by low open shelving, creating discreet areas and leaving clear sightlines for the librarian, who has a
desk adjacent to her private office space. (Pagnamenta)
Wagner Middle School Library, Manhattan, New York NY – USA 2007
The Wagner Middle School is a large school building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for junior high school students. The
project is the reconstruction and enlargement of a library space. The goal is to transform this space into the school’s living room.
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