Learning Spaces Booklet Winter 2019 FINAL fix

LEARNING SPACES
Integrating Interactivity
1

LEARNING SPACES
Integrating Interactivity
6 APPROACH
10 Robin Hood Library
16 Horticultural Society Headquarters
26 Elmhurst Library
38 Children’s Museum Environmental Structures
48 Eibs Pond Park Outdoor Classroom
56 Stone Avenue Library Learning Garden
62 ‘Kidspace’ Children’s Walk
64 24 PROJECTS
68 STUDIO

Approach
MPA is committed to architecture’s role as integrator and catalyst. Our holistic approach
includes planning, design, and implementation of environments, structures, and places
that support 21st-century communities, with flexibility for organizations to evolve. Our
multi-scale analysis of site, program, and operations allows for design of responsive and
stimulating environments that support physical health and wellbeing, environmental performance,
and social resilience. Early and sustained design attention to maintenance and
operations contributes to spaces that work better, last longer, cost less to maintain, and
adapt to changing needs.
The close relationship between an institution and the city is a fundamental concept for
MPA. Our projects for institutional buildings and spaces leverage the role of the physical
environment in support of how children and adults develop identity in relation to a place.
Our designs enhance learning and social processes, through fine-grained attention to natural
and built conditions.
MPA designs open and accessible environments that foster engagement and exploration, in
support of learning and creative processes for children, youth, and adults. An MPA project
is a place that senses what is happening outside, from weather to seasonal changes, from
time of day to rhythms of the neighborhood.
MPA designs environments that lend themselves to manipulation and transformation by
adults and children. Spaces are designed to be open to transformation over time to respond
to social and operational shifts. Such transformability includes the potential for physical
modification, to enable the project to be constructed over time by successive refinements
and adjustments.
Our projects feature integrated outdoor environments that contribute to sustainability,
enhance interior spaces, and provide meaningful opportunities for learning and play for a
broad range of users. MPA understands and advocates for outdoor program spaces as a
means of ‘expanding the envelope.’
4
Approach

Holiday Season in the Garden.
5

Values
MPA’s integrated design approach
builds collaborative processes with
clients and consultants; keeping in
mind the big picture and visualizing
the details of a project to produce
collaborative agreement on goals,
strategies, and priorities.
Relationships
MPA projects acknowledge and
support diversity, giving positive
value and equal dignity to all spaces
and elements, large or small, in
which each individual is an active
participant.
MPA provides complete
architectural design services
from concept through
construction, and beyond —
fully engaging our clients in
each step of the process.
Inside - Outside
MPA projects have strong insideoutside
relationships, providing a
sense of openness within the dense
urban environment of New York
City.
6
Approach

Processes
We build models to enable visualization by clients, so that
they can not only discover what they want, but be empowered
to explore what else is possible. We believe that
architecture can fulfill a theoretically unlimited number of
desires and needs.
Excellence
MPA’s award-winning projects in the
United States and elsewhere receive
acclaim for the skill with which they
redefine their context at multiple scales,
integrate interior and exterior spaces,
and enhance use, program, and circulation
flows.
“MPA are wizards with
space”
- Rebecca Smith, David Smith Estate
Engagment
MPA’s studio is visited by children and
adults from near and far.
Identity
MPA’s inclusive creative approach generates
realistic and achievable designs
that support an institution’s mission,
enhance its identity, and enrich its environment.
MPA engages in collaborative
processes that establish design criteria in
early phases of a project in support of an
architectural language and environmental
atmosphere with its own specific identity.
7

Robin Hood Library
P.S. 1 / Bergen School
Sunset Park, BK
Creating Flexible Learning Spaces
The PS1 Bergen School Library Project was part of the Robin Hood Foundation Library
Initiative, a program whose long-term mission was to have all NYC children reading at
grade level or above. The aim of the project was to transform two classrooms into a
library that could accommodate 10,000 new books, house an instructional area with
tables and seating for up to 30 second to fifth graders, and a reading-aloud space for 30
younger children.
MPA created an integrated assembly of custom designed Work Tables, a reading
“Stage” with a kid-friendly floor, and, in collaboration with Pentagram, a set of largescale
graphic identity elements, including a frieze of children’s drawings, the LIBRARY
bench, the WELCOME door, and a colorful multi-layered ceiling. Through MPA’s
advocacy, elements of the library extend outward into the corridor and stairwell,
maximizing the project’s contribution to the overall identity and atmosphere of the
school.
Above: Section drawing through library “Stage” showing accomodations for
books, children’s art frieze, natural and artificial light, and seating
Right: Library “Stage” in use
8 Robin Hood Library
Learning Spaces

Marpillero Pollak Architects 9

“I believe this facility could
serve as a prototype for
future school library design”
– Nuala Pacheo
Librarian, Bergen School
Above: Library in use as a learning workspace
Bottom: An array of moveable desks and fixed “anchors” allows flexibility in the
school’s use of their space
10
Robin Hood Library

Top Left: Librarian Nuala Pacheco reading to
young children
Top Right: Two students haved moved one
of the Library’s floating sitting mounds to
a raised corner in order to look at a book
together
Bottom: Two students enjoy the Library’s
threshold bench
11

12 Robin Hood Library

Opposite: Detail of ceiling at public corridor;
MPA used shapes and colors to support a
sense of identity and place.
Top: Students enjoy their moveable multiuse
bookshelves with foam rubber seats.
Middle: Ceiling and Floor plan; use of color
and material helps define zones within the
space which allow for multiple simultaneous
activities without breaking up the
space.
Bottom: The flexibility provided by the
Library’s moving components allows for a
multiplication of types of use that the space
can offer the school.
13

Horticultural Society Headquarters
New York, NY
Building Institutional Identity
MPA worked with the Horticultural Society to create a new space for their Headquarters,
one that could support all of their various endeavors, and that could ground and convey
the institution’s sense of identity and place. The design of the new space on the 13th
floor of a commercial building on West 138th Street builds upon the Horticultural
Society’s 106-year historic legacy, and contributes to its ongoing mission of education
and outreach.
The facility provides a dynamic full-length Library and Gallery space that acts as
an interior courtyard, and maximizes daylight to all spaces. Movable panels allow
transformation of the space to create additional display surfaces or a venue for lectures
and events. Conference room, offices, and workstations all have direct light and views
to the outside, and are accessible from the courtyard-like main hall. Simple, cost
effective, design strategies with a small but focused amount of custom furniture and
integration of natural elements promote a clear institutional identity. The new space is a
vibrant and beautiful home in which the society will enjoy much history and growth.
Above: Perspective drawing exploring the engagement the Green Wall could offer between the Headquarter’s interior,
and the architecture of the surrounding city and nature
Opposite: Green Wall detail
14 Horticultural Society Headquarters
Learning Spaces

Marpillero Pollak Architects 15

Fine-tuned Flexibility
MPA and the Horticultural Society worked
together to understand all of the activities
that might happen at the headquarters. MPA
designed spaces that could transform to
support each of these uses. Outfitted with
moveable millwork and walls, spaces were
designed to be able to host special lectures
and events, as well as the everyday functioning
of the institution, including meeting,
studying, and working. Within each programbased
spatial configuration, MPA worked to
maintain an aesthetic continuity to support
legibility of the Society’s identity.
On lecture nights, seating stored adjacent
to the main hall can be quickly deployed into
the space and the screen and sound system
activated. When the space is used as a gallery,
white panels for hanging artwork extend
the length of the room, and custom glass
display tables are rolled out in support of a
straightforward installation process and an
elegant display space. On most days, study
tables occupy the space of the main hall,
flanked by the library, housed in glass-front
book cases salvaged from the Society’s previous
home. The Green Wall -- historic windows
retrofitted with an array of demountable
planters -- anchors the identity of the space
through all of its uses, cleaning the air, filtering
light, and softening sounds.
16
Horticultural Society Headquarters

Lecture Hall
Gallery
Library
17

Space to Grow
A year after the opening of the
new Headquarters, the American
Society of Landscape Architects
joined the Horticultural Society
in the space - a testament to
the quality and flexibility of the
design.
Top Left: Two students consider paintings on display, following
a workshop on botanical illustration for children.
Top Right: Small Lecture in Conference Room
Bottom Left: The new space houses the Society’s offices,
which, like the Headquarters’ public spaces are characterized
by an abundance of bright color, plants, and natural light.
Bottom Right: Main hall used as gallery space
18
Horticultural Society Headquarters

Top: Horticultural Society event as a platform for local entrepreneurs
to connect with and educate their communities
Bottom Left: Corner of main hall transformed into a recital
space
Bottom Right: Green Wall photosynthesizing an afternoon
sunbeam
19

Elmhurst Library
Queens Public Library
Queens, NY
Connecting Communities and Environments
The new Elmhurst Library is designed to serve, represent, and elevate the profoundly
diverse, growing, and evolving community of Elmhurst, Queens. The Library is a
carefully calibrated instrument for the neighborhood’s learning, meeting, gathering,
and organizing. The building orients itself to enable continuities of sight and movement
between the neighborhood and its interior. The Library is a part of Elmhurst’s public
space, a continuation of the neighborhood’s vibrant, multicultural streets.
In addition to responding to its urban context, the Library responds to its location in
history, recognizing, through the reclamation and celebration of certain key architectural
moments, the legacy of the small Carnegie Library that preceded it.
Within the Library, the activation of thresholds and natural light through the use of
material and color produces an array of spaces that cater to different constituencies,
allowing for different demographic groups’ sense of belonging while constructing the
potential for interactivity.
MPA’s Elmhurst Library is a bold new community space for Queens that is exemplary
in its dynamic urban presence, in its service to multiple user-groups, and in its triple
bottom line sustainability.
Above: Plan drawing of the Library’s ground floor, inside and out
Opposite: Library reading room, “Park Cube,” looking west, showing the Library interior’s layered relationship
with its surroundings
20 Elmhurst Library
Learning Spaces

Marpillero Pollak Architects 21

Library Entry
Inside-Outside
MPA’s design restores the library’s historical presence on Broadway,
presenting it to the street with transparency and openness, visible
from afar, day and night. From the welcoming 24/7 Entry Plaza on
Broadway, the streetscape enters the building as an active route
that extends along the length of the site, engaging multiple “events,”
encountering the open center of building and site, and culminating in
unexpected views of an interior-block landscape of mature trees.
22
Elmhurst Library

Opposite: Library Entrance. “Broadway
Cube” hovers a story above the sidewalk,
giving pedestrians and readers a sense that
they are occupying the same public zone.
Top: Perspective collage of the spine,
exploring the idea of the building spine,
including the sidewalk extending into the
library
Bottom: Main stair meeting the spine, lifting
visitors into the upper level of the library.
The spine continues to the right, to access
the News Stand and the Carnegie room.
23

Broadway Cube
Library Neighborhood City
The library has two special reading
rooms, called the “Cubes.”
These rooms which are in scale
with adjacent historical structures,
are radically transparent,
constructed with suspended
structural glass. Their transparency
is designed to situate
library patrons simultaneously
within the building and the city.
According to their positioning
within the Library and the views
they provide, they offer different
modes of integration between
inside and outside. One Cube
faces the historic Community
Park, thus, “Park Cube.” The
other, “Broadway Cube,” faces
and hovers above the street,
visible from afar, engaging the
scale, history, and character of
its urban neighborhood.
“The Elmhurst Community Library ... is a
busy beauty, humming and glowing on a
corner two blocks from Queens Boulevard.
Neighborhood residents of all ages and
multiple languages converge on the four-story
L-shaped building designed by Marpillero
Pollak, then fan out inside. ... Frugal in
materials and lovingly efficient in design....”
--Justin Davidson, New York Magazine
Top: Perspective collage of Broadway Cube and the visual connection it
allows between the activity and architecture on Broadway and the activity,
art, and architecture within the Library
Bottom: Exterior view of Broadway Cube showing the layering of civic
program onto the street
Opposite: Reading room in use, allowing readers an experience of tranquility
within Elmhurst’s public sphere
24
Elmhurst Library

25

Park Cube
Library Meets Park
“... the Elmhurst Branch Library
... is an important civic space that
caters to the highly diverse community....
a bustling space that
uses color to orient patrons, landscape
to further social interaction,
and transparency to connect
the library to the surrounding
neighborhood.
--John Hill, World Architects
Top: Park Cube seen from above
Bottom: Park Cube seen from the Community Park, one of the Library’s public outdoor
spaces, showing resonance between activities occurring inside and outside
Opposite: Interior of Park Cube, showing connections to adjacent spaces while
maintaining its singularity as a place
26
Elmhurst Library

27

Portals
Activating Circulation for Health and Identity
Above: The spine continues on the second floor, activated by color,
material, places to sit, places to browse for a book and views into other
spaces inside and outside the library. The transparency of the design
allows for the possibility of looking from one space into another.
Opposite: Drawing of activities arrayed along the Library’s horizontal and
vertical circulation, showing how thresholds situate the spaces beyond,
while activating the pathways they meet.
28
Elmhurst Library

Community Room
Children
Teens
Media Center
Adult Learning
Adult Learning Center
Elmhurst Library was a test-case for the
development of New York City’s Active
Design Guidelines. These guidelines
are the product of a collaboration
between NYC Department of Design and
Construction, NYC Department of Health,
and the NYC Chapter of the American
Institute of Architects. They are designed
to empower Architects to support physical
activity for the users of their buildings.
The guidelines are based on the idea that
environmental sustainability and human
health are interconnected.
MPA’s approach to Active Design was to
strategically position an array of activities,
places, and views along the Library’s
circulation in order to energize movement.
The objective was to transform moving
through the building into an experience
and activity in and of itself, full of interest
and excitement, comparable to moving
along a city street.
One strategy to activate the Library’s
circulation was to animate the thresholds
of the various program spaces within the
building. Each entry to a program space
is a “Portal,” -- a moment of identification
and engagement. The 3D spatial system of
spines, open stairs, and portals supports
the formation of relationships by fostering
encounters and interactions. Accessible
through the after-hours entry, Elmhurst
Library’s Community Space and Adult
Learning Center are equipped for use
outside library hours for a wide range of
activities.
MPA has received Honor Awards for
Elmhurst Library and Queens Library from
the Center for Active Design.
29

Teen Space and Technology Center
The library’s Teen Space functions as an
important resource for the Elmhurst neighborhood
at large. Through its enclosure,
brightness, and openness to reconfiguration,
it offers a safe, positive place that teens can
make their own as they build confidence and
curiosity in their relationship with books,
technology, and their peers. The Teen Space
offers a panoramic street view, enhanced
by a mirrored soffit, as well as a carefully
calibrated visual opening to the larger library
to maintain a sense of connectedness and
integration. MPA’s sensitivity to the volumetric
character of different spaces fosters
engagement and opportunities for learning.
Bottom: Teen space in use for after-school studying
Opposite Top: Relationship between Teen Space, Technology Center, and
outdoors
Opposite Bottom: Relationship between Technology Center and circulation spine
30
Elmhurst Library

“This handsome new library takes full advantage
of its site with its richness in textures and colors,
and provides a welcoming cultural and educational
resource for this Queens community.”
—Irene Sunwoo, Director of Exhibitions, GSAPP (Juror,
The Architects Newspaper Design Awards)
31

Children’s Library
Above: Perspective collage imagining
an active, bright space for children.
Each “Portal” is a filter zone: a place of
passage that supports orientation and
communication.
Right: Young library patron
Opposite Top: Children’s Library reading
area beside outdoor Learning Terrace. MPA
integrates tools for communication, including
extensive pin up surfaces.
Opposite Bottom: Elmhurst’s Early
Childhood space, bright and open with
moveable boxes for board books and resilient
floor covering to support exploration
and play
32
Elmhurst Library

Early Childhood
Elmhurst’s Children’s Library offers accommodations for
different modes of learning in a vibrant and inclusive environment.
Bright color, natural materials, and copious amounts of
daylight make for an engaging environment in which children
can begin to develop their love of reading and learning.
Elmhurst is the first library in the Queens system to have
a dedicated Early Childhood space. Spaces for infants,
toddlers, and young children are part of an integrated environment,
in which there is a democracy of functions.
33

Percent for Art
“we are supporting and
creating new opportunities
for public art that are aesthetically
sophisticated, add
social and civic value, and
reflect an understanding of
multiple publics.”
-Xenia Diente, Deputy
Director of Public Art and
Design Initiatives at DDC
The new Elmhurst Library was eligible
for participation in the New York City
Department of Design and Construction
Percent for Art Program. This program
mandates that one percent of all eligible
public buildings’ budgets be allocated
towards the installation of a work of public
art. MPA is proud to have participated in
this program that has been a major ally
to arts in the city since its launch in 1982
under Mayor Ed Koch, and which has
funded over 300 works across the five
Boroughs.
MPA worked closely with New York Artist
Allan McCollum to permanently integrate
an installment of his ongoing “shapes”
project in the Broadway Cube. The artwork
is a fitting companion for the building as
it addresses and celebrates simultaneous
unity and diversity within a community.
Artist and Architect collaborated to design
a fabrication and installation process
that was in line with the artist’s creative
direction, and also resonated with the
materiality and spirit of the architecture
around it. A technique for cutting, finishing,
and installing the components of the
artwork on the wall was invented through
a cross-disciplinary conversation between
the architects and artists. The result is a
beautiful, durable, and thought-provoking
permanent installation for Library visitors.
34

Opposite: Detail of“Shapes” wall at southwest corner of Broadway Cube.
Top: Art installation in progress. The hanging technique was invented for installation onto this frosted mirror glass wall.
Bottom: Detail view of “Shapes,” CNC milled from Elm wood (right), and acoustic terracotta panels (left).
35

Staten Island Children’s Museum
Environmental Structures
Staten Island, NY
Engaging Children and their Families
This project is a multifaceted set of interventions into the Staten Island Children’s
Museum. Three new environmental installations make visible the behavior of physical
forces of wind, water, and light. The structures were designed and implemented by
MPA with the Museum to invite learning, exploration, and play -- all in the context of
protecting and celebrating the earth.
The first stage of the project consisted of transforming the museum’s ill-maintained
cupola skylights into dynamic Wind Devices. The new devices function on several
registers; regulating the museum’s climate, generating renewable energy, providing
iconic features inside and outside the 1930s building, and educating visitors about the
behavior and properties of wind.
The next stage saw the introduction of a Solar Canopy to the grounds of the Children’s
Museum. Like the Wind Devices, the Canopy performs in several ways. It captures
solar energy for the museum, provides a platform for learning about solar energy and
stormwater management, and makes an exciting space for outdoor programs.
An important temporary component of the Children’s Museum project was the
Construction Fence which provided a means of engaging the community in the
construction process.
Above: Mock-up of installation of photovoltaic film panels onto Meadow Canopy tensile fabric
Opposite: Meadow Canopy seen from below with photovoltaic panels silhouetted
36 Staten Island Children’s Museum
Learning Spaces

Marpillero Pollak Architects 37

Two Wind Devices, each with
its own character and function,
replaced the failing cupola
skylights at the Museum’s Main
Building. Above the elevator
shaft, a vertical axis Wind Turbine
transforms the force of the wind
into electrical power. Above the
main stairwell, a Wind Scoop
points to fluctuations in wind
direction, while passively cooling
and ventilating the stairwell.
These two Wind Devices and
the solar cells integrated into
the Meadow Structure Canopy
strengthen and interact with each
other via an interactive display,
demonstrating environmental
principles.
38
Staten Island Children’s Museum

Opposite Top: Installation of Wind Devices
Opposite Bottom: Diagrams of assembly of Wind Devices
Top: Section drawing exploring modes of interaction between Wind Devices,
Interactive Display, and museum visitors
Bottom: The Wind Scoop’s presence in the museum
39

Process
Drawing of historic main building
of the museum, showing
the two skylight-cupolas that
the Wind Devices replaced.
In order to craft the unique
shape of the Wind Scoop, custom
plywood formwork was
constructed by hand.
Using the formwork, the
fabrication team shaped the
body of the Wind Scoop out
of super-light, strong, smooth
fiberglass.
Steel bases for the Wind
Devices were manufactured
and powder coated in a metal
shop, then shipped to the
museum.
40
Staten Island Children’s Museum

Turbine Installation
MPA made measured drawings of
the Wind Devices from a computer
model.
Sketch from MPA’s collaborator
Eric Goetz, a boatbuilder
operating out of Rhode Island,
shows the initial idea for the
form of the Wind Scoop.
41

Above: Meadow Canopy as outdoor gathering
space for children in the summer
Right: Meadow Canopy just after completion,
capturing some of its first Solar Energy
Opposite Top: Diagram of Meadow Canopy
using rain as dynamic play element
Opposite Bottom: Meadow Canopy as summer
picnic destination of choice
42 Staten Island Children’s Museum

The Meadow Canopy’s translucent
tensile fabric membrane integrates
photovoltaic fabric, which provides
power for lighting the structure
while creating a variable pattern of
shade below. The structure is set
against a stand of existing mature
trees, thickening the existing zone
of shelter and repose. The Meadow
Canopy faces the museum building
across the lawn, acting as an anchor
for outdoor play.
The valleys of the canopy funnel
stormwater into integrated scuppers
that direct it to dry wells.
43

Construction Fence
Staten Island Children’s Museum
Staten Island, NY
Leveraging Construction Processes
With construction underway at the Staten Island Children’s Museum, MPA devised
an installation to introduce the museum’s young visitors to the three “Environmental
Structures” soon to be in place, meanwhile giving them a window into the construction
process.
MPA worked with Museum and community to paint icons of the environmental
structures onto the construction fence that surrounded the Meadow Canopy as it was
being built. Painted on a grey background in matte white with shiny black outlines, full
scale icons of the Wind Turbine, Windscoop, and Meadow Structure enter the children’s’
world at eye level, turning the construction fence into a canvas for a series of painting
workshops run by the Museum. Windows cut into the fence provided a view to the
Meadow Structure under construction, while mirror panels revealed the new Wind
Turbine and Windscoop as they were raised into place on the Museum roof behind.
Complementing the fence-painting workshops, a series of postcards – also to be colored
– introduced the project elements in miniature, enabling the excitement and dynamism
of the construction process to endure even after the project was completed.
Above: Postcards from construction fence, colored in by
patrons of the Museum
Opposite Top: Picnic in front of construction fence, with
in-progress Meadow Canopy beyond
Opposite Bottom: Construction Fence painting event,
community engaged in the process of making
44 Staten Island Children’s Museum
Learning Spaces

Marpillero Pollak Architects 45

Outdoor Classrooms
Eibs Pond Park Classroom
Staten Island, NY
Designing Environments for Learning
MPA designed two outdoor classrooms, one located in Eibs Pond Park, on the threshold
between land and water, and one in Roy Wilkins Park, on the edge of an oak wood.
The classroom at Eib’s Pond bridges across fragile wetland vegetation, engaging and
protecting flora, fauna, and hydrological change. A destination and threshold towards
new experiences, the classroom is used by science classes from the nearby public
elementary school, and by people of all ages as a place to be together in a natural
setting.
Above: Plan of classroom, diagramming layers of activity,
material, and transparency between path and pond
Opposite: Students gather around classroom’s Water
Table to study pond samples they have collected
46 Eibs Outdoor Classroom
Learning Spaces

Marpillero Pollak Architects 47

The classroom is a giant collector. The Water Table holds containers
for sampling pond life. A Nesting Wall supports feeders, a bath, and
homes for native bird species. A deck planter holds native plants.
Fisherman and others appreciate the pier extending into Eib’s Pond.
MPA collaborated with the Fox Hill community to design and
implement an accessible six-foot wide trail leading from the main
entry to the Classroom.
“MPA felt there were several benefits
to an open-frame structure . The
appearance of transparency might
provide users with both a sense of
safety and a measure of privacy. A
flexible layout was also considered
important since the classroom space
needed to be usable by several
groups at the same time without
creating conflicts.”
--Places Journal
Above: Three locals return to Eibs Pond for the first
time in more than 70 years for classroom opening. They
notice a lot has changed since they knew the site in their
youth.
Opposite Top: Community members take a break to
enjoy the site and their togetherness
Opposite Bottom: Butterfly Hunt
48
Eibs Outdoor Classroom

The Classroom was a
participatory project. MPA
worked with elementary
school students and
neighborhood youth to
construct a space for
them. There was a lot of
appropriate involvement
of the community, and it
was very sensitive to the
environment.
--Juror, Environmental
Design Research Award
49

Raised Walkway with Seating
Eibs Pond Park
Squeezed between a railway line,
expressway, and low-income housing
blocks, the 17-acre freshwater
wetland that is now Eib’s Pond Park
survived decades of deforestation,
erosion, and dumping. This multiphase
project realizes the site’s
extraordinary potential as wildlife
refuge, environmental education
center, and neighborhood gathering
place. It reconnects surrounding
communities to each other and to
the park, by identifying two sets of
thresholds: one between city and
park, another between land and
water. A raised walkway with seating
crosses the narrow between
two ponds, providing a moment of
rest and enjoyment.
Vanderbuilt
Ave
Railroad
Gated Communities
Low Income
Housing
to Verrazano Narrows
Bridge
Railroad
50
Site Context

South Pond
North Pond
Opposite Top: Urban plan showing all the components
of the Eibs project: Classroom, Bench,
Threshold, and Paths
Opposite Bottom: Photo and urban plan of existing
conditions, before work began
High Water Level
Low Water Level
Top: A group of kids enjoying the Raised
Walkway
Middle: Views from the Benches
Bottom: Section drawing of Bench-Walkway as
pond water levels rise and fall
51

Process
MPA led AmeriCorps youth in the
construction of the classroom,
using a combination of sustainably
forested redwood and recycled
plastic lumber. The Parks Council
funded the $25,000 cost of materials
for the classroom and coordinated
the AmeriCorps program.
In order to accommodate
untrained
workers, MPA
designed the assembly
of the classroom
to be composed of
small-dimension
lumber.
MPA built detailed framing
models to share with
the build-team, so that the
team could understand how
to construct the classroom.
52
Eibs Outdoor Classroom

Students using the
classroom witness
firsthand these
migration patterns by
seasonal encounters
with birds.
Eib’s Pond is on a migration path
along the East Coast of the United
States. The birch tree that anchors
the classroom is also a place for
the nesting of the various birds
that can be spotted in and around
the park.
Reclaiming Eibs Pond and
constructing the Bridge and
Classroom allows a sense
of ownership and place
for the community in their
outdoor space.
53

Stone Avenue Library Garden
Greenbranches Learning Gardens
Horticultural Society of New York
Brooklyn, NY
Integrating Art, Nature, and History in Library Outdoor Spaces
The Stone Avenue Learning Garden transformed an under-utilized lot into a community
space. The garden’s quilt-like arrangement of planter beds was inspired by a quilt from
the underground railroad on display inside the library. In support of the garden serving
as a diverse and vibrant community space, the garden beds are built to varying heights
enable people of different ages and abilities to work together. A small shade structure
allows for reading aloud and other activities. Use of salvaged bricks and donated plants
allowed the garden to be realized within a minimal budget of $25,000.
Library
Above: Plan drawing of the Stone Avenue Branch Library
and Learning Garden. Color indicates that which was
included in the scope of the project.
Opposite: Learning Garden as a place in which young
people can feel comfortable outside, one for them to
make their own through planting, reading, playing.
54 Green Branches Stone Ave
Learning Spaces

Marpillero Pollak Architects 55

56 Green Branches Stone Ave

Opposite: Garden Bench doubles as
art surface
Above: Children’s art inspired by the
garden
Bottom: Garden fully planted, activated
as a gathering space for the
community
57

Process
The Stone Avenue Branch Learning
Garden was constructed by the
Horticultural Society’s Green Team,
a program for people recently
released from incarceration. The program
aims to allow people back into
their communities and build useful
practical and social skills.
Despite the simplicity of the “quilt”
pattern planters, a relatively wide
range of building techniques was
required to lay the winding path, set
the planter walls at angles, construct
the trellis, and vary the height
of the beds. This made MPA’s
design well suited for the educational
aspirations of the Garden’s
collaborative construction process.
58
Green Branches Stone Ave

The garden is for the
community.
Some trees had to be removed
during construction so that the garden
would receive adequate light.
Neighborhood youth helped convert
the trunks left behind into art for the
garden, in a program sponsored by
the Rush Foundation.
59

‘Kidspace’ Children’s Walk
House of Ruth
Washington, D.C.
Integrating Access, Movement, and Play
‘Kidspace’ is sited on the land between what were once two residential properties,
which have been converted into a shelter for homeless women, including a daycare
center for their children. MPA planned and developed the ‘Children’s Walk’ in order to
activate this interstitial space, building vibrance and interconnectivity in between the
buildings. The project consists of strategically deployed landscaping, play areas, ramps,
and paths to support access, movement, and play for different age groups. Ramps,
shading structures, and contoured earth forms lead to a planned entry addition for one
of the existing buildings. Implementation in phases was planned to coordinate with a
fund-raising media campaign, based on ‘kidbricks.’
Top: Plan diagram of the Children’s Walk connecting and
making places
Bottom: Collage of kids playing in ‘kidspace,’ occupying
and energizing the space between daycare and shelter
Opposite: Collage of the space in between as a space
for play
60 Kidspace Children’s Walk
Learning Spaces

Marpillero Pollak Architects 61

MATERIALS / FINISHES
Floor
Walls
Acoustical
Treatment
Glazing
Lighting
Electrical
A/C
-Sealed and polished concrete.
-Painted Gyp.
-Applied to ceiling and
perimeter walls above 8’-0”.
-Aluminum storefront windows.
-Hanging 8’-0” long LED luminaires.
-Ceiling runners and pipe drops at
each row of desks.
-New A/C unit and exposed ducts as
required.
OUTDOOR GARDEN
NEW 8’-0”h
WD FENCE
TRASH
A/C
STOR
CONFERENCE
BREAK-OUT
8’-0”h STOREFRONT GLAZING
& CLERESTORY
RETRACTABLE STOREFRONT GLAZING
(8’-0”h), WITH CLERESTORY ABOVE
CONFERENCE
KITCHENETTE
PHONE
(8’-0” h)
PHONE
(8’-0” h)
STOR
SECURE
STORAGE
MAIL
I.T. CLOSET
FEMALE WC
GWB PARTITION (6’-3”h), TYP.
08.26.2015 DDPS_DEMOCRACY PREP OFFICES
MARPILLERO POLLAK ARCHITECTS
0’ 4’ 8’
N
PRELIMINARY LAYOUT PLAN
MEP
ACCESS
OFFICE
CLEANING
CLOSET
MALE WC
CONFERENCE
COATS
ADDITIONAL DESKS TO
REPLACE CONFERENCE
TABLE AND CABINET IF
REQ’D
CABINET
RECEPTION
VESTIBULE
CREDENZA
CONFERENCE
CABINET
24 Projects
NEW A/C UNIT
NEW WINDOWS (29 Linear Feet, 9’- 0” h)
DESKS (7 EACH ROW; 68 TOTAL)
STANDING DESKS (6)
CLOSET
STOREFRONT GLAZING
(FROSTED)
Roy Wilkins Park Classroom
DPPS Headquarters Casal Monastero School Toledo Art Net Gateway
Outdoor Classroom
Democracy Prep Public Schools
International Competition
First Prize Winner
The Parks Council
Feasibility Study
(Project)
Toledo Ohio
Queens, NY
New York, NY
Rome, Italy
Highline Sublime Ecole Bilingue West Water View Terrace
Great Schools by Design
Ideas Competition
Feasibility Study
New York, NY
Kauffman Foundation Charrette
New York, NY
Boston, MA
American Architecture
Foundation
Kansas City, KS
Queens Plaza Play Pod Salt Playground
Whitestone Library Garden
Bicycle and Pedestrian
Improvements
Healthy Main Street
(Project)
Movement on Main
Invited Competition
Green Branches Learning
Gardens
Long Island City, Queens
Syracuse, NY
Syracuse, NY
Queens, NY
62 Projects
Learning Spaces

EPDM- FARB PAL E TT E
EPDM COLOR PAL E TT E
PAL E TT E DE COULE URS EPDM
EPDM- STAN DAR DFARB E N
EPDM STAN DAR D COLORS
EPDM COUL E URS STAN DAR D
EPDM- SON DE R FARB E N
EPDM S PEC IAL COLORS
EPDM COUL E URS S P É CIAL E S
EGGSHELL
EGGSHELL
COQUILLE D‘OEUF
CÀSCARA DE HUEVO
RAL 1015
LEUCHTGRÜN
BRIGHT GREEN
VERT ILLUMINANT
VERDE BRILLANTE
RAL 6017
LEUCHTGELB
BRIGHT YELLOW
JAUNE ILLUMINANT
AMARILLO BRILLANTE
RAL 1012
EPDM- FARB PAL E TT E
EPDM COLOR PAL E TT E
PAL E TT E DE COULE URS EPDM
BEIGE
BEIGE
BEIGE
BEIGE
RAL 1014
DUNKELGRÜN
DARK GREEN
VERT FONCÉ
VERDE OSCURO
RAL 6005
LEUCHTROT
BRIGHT RED
ROUGE ILLUMINANT
ROJO BRILLANTE
RAL 3017
EPDM- FARB PAL E TT E
EPDM COLOR PAL E TT E
PAL E TT E DE COULE URS EPDM
GELB
YELLOW
JAUNE
AMARILLO
RAL 1002
LEUCHTBLAU
BRIGHT BLUE
BLEU ILLUMINANT
AZUL BRILLANTE
RAL 5012
BEIGEBRAUN
BEIGE BROWN
MARRON MOYEN
MARRÓN CLARO
RAL 8024
EPDM- STAN DAR DFARB E N
EPDM STAN DAR D COLORS
EPDM COUL E URS STAN DAR D
EPDM- SON DE R FARB E N
EPDM S PEC IAL COLORS
EPDM COUL E URS S P É CIAL E S
GRÜN
GREEN
VERT
VERDE
RAL 6021
DUNKELBLAU
DARK BLUE
BLEU FONCÉ
AZUL OSCURO
RAL 5010
BRAUN
BROWN
MARRON
MARRÓN
RAL 8025
EPDM- STAN DAR DFARB E N
EPDM STAN DAR D COLORS
EPDM COUL E URS STAN DAR D
EGGSHELL
EGGSHELL
COQUILLE D‘OEUF
CÀSCARA DE HUEVO
RAL 1015
LEUCHTGRÜN
EPDM- SON DE RBRIGHT FARBGREEN
E N
EPDM S PEC IAL VERT COLORS ILLUMINANT
EPDM COUL E URS VERDE S P É CIAL BRILLANTE E S
RAL 6017
LEUCHTGELB
BRIGHT YELLOW
JAUNE ILLUMINANT
AMARILLO BRILLANTE
RAL 1012
ROT
RED
ROUGE
ROJO
RAL 3016
PINK
PINK
ROSE
ROSA
RAL 4003
MITTELGRAU
MIDDLE GREY
GRIS MOYEN
GRIS MEDIANO
RAL 7037
EGGSHELL
EGGSHELL
COQUILLE D‘OEUF
CÀSCARA DE HUEVO
RAL 1015
BEIGE
BEIGE
BEIGE
BEIGE
RAL 1014
LEUCHTGRÜN
BRIGHT GREEN
VERT ILLUMINANT
VERDE BRILLANTE
RAL 6017
DUNKELGRÜN
DARK GREEN
VERT FONCÉ
VERDE OSCURO
RAL 6005
LEUCHTGELB
LEUCHTROT
BRIGHT YELLOW
BRIGHT RED
JAUNE ILLUMINANT ROUGE ILLUMINANT
AMARILLO BRILLANTE ROJO BRILLANTE
RAL 1012
RAL 3017
BLAU
BLUE
BLEU
AZUL
RAL 5015
LILA
LILAC
LILAS
LILA
RAL 4005
DUNKELGRAU
DARK GREY
GRIS FONCÉ
GRIS OSCURO
RAL 7011
BEIGE
Die abgebildeten Fa rben sind nicht
100% farbverbindlich.
GELB
BEIGE
YELLOW
DARK GREEN
BRIGHT BLUE
BRIGHT RED
GREY
BRIGHT ORANGE
BLACK
BEIGE
JAUNE
VERT FONCÉ
BLEU ILLUMINANT
ROUGE ILLUMINANT MARRON MOYEN GRIS
ORANGE ILLUMINANT
NOIR
BEIGE
AMARILLO
VERDE OSCURO
AZUL BRILLANTE
ROJO BRILLANTE
MARRÓN CLARO
GRIS
NARANJA BRILLANTE
NEGRO
RAL 1014
RAL 1002
RAL 6005
RAL 5012
RAL 3017
RAL 8024
RAL 7038
RAL 2008
RAL 9004
Edmund Burke School 25 Broad Children’s Space Harlem RBI Youth Ballpark
GELB
YELLOW
GRÜN
GREEN
JAUNE
VERT
BLEU ILLUMINANT BLEU FONCÉ
AMARILLO
VERDE
AZUL BRILLANTE
AZUL OSCURO
RAL 1002
RAL 6021
RAL 5012
RAL 5010
High School Addition
GRÜN
GREEN
VERT
VERDE
RAL 6021
ROT
RED
ROUGE
ROJO
RAL 3016
ROT
BLAU
(Project)
RED
BLUE
ROUGE
ROJO
RAL 3016
za and Canopy
Museum, Brooklyn NY
BLEU
AZUL
RAL 5015
BLAU
GRAU
LILA
BLUE
GREY
LILAC
BLEU
GRIS
LILAS
AZUL
GRIS
LILA
Washington
RAL 5015
D.C.
RAL 7038
RAL 4005
Die GRAU abgebildeten Fa rben sind nicht
100% GREY farbverbindlich.
GRIS
GRIS
RAL 7038
The shown colours do not match
100% the real colou r.
DUNKELGRÜN
LEUCHTBLAU
BRIGHT BLUE
DUNKELBLAU
DARK BLUE
BLEU FONCÉ
AZUL OSCURO
RAL 5010
PINK
PINK
ROSE
ROSA
RAL 4003
The shown colours LEUCHTORANGE
do not match
100% the real colou BRIGHT r. ORANGE
ORANGE ILLUMINANT
NARANJA BRILLANTE
RAL 2008
Les couleurs présen
pas à 100 % à la vrai
LEUCHTBLAU
DUNKELBLAU
DARK BLUE
PINK
PINK
ROSE
ROSA
RAL 4003
LILA
LILAC
LILAS
LILA
RAL 4005
LEUCHTORANGE
BRIGHT ORANGE
ORANGE ILLUMINANT
NARANJA BRILLANTE
RAL 2008
Les couleurs présen
pas à 100 % à la vrai
tées ne corresponde nt
e couleur.
LEUCHTROT
BEIGEBRAUN
BEIGE BROWN
MARRON MOYEN
MARRÓN CLARO
RAL 8024
BRAUN
BROWN
MARRON
MARRÓN
RAL 8025
MITTELGRAU
MIDDLE GREY
GRIS MOYEN
GRIS MEDIANO
RAL 7037
DUNKELGRAU
DARK GREY
GRIS FONCÉ
GRIS OSCURO
RAL 7011
tées SCHWARZ ne corresponde nt
e couleur. BLACK
NOIR
NEGRO
RAL 9004
BEIGEBRAUN
BEIGE BROWN
GRAU
BRAUN
Die BROWN abgebildeten Fa rben sind nicht
100% MARRON farbverbindlich.
MARRÓN
RAL 8025
MITTELGRAU
MIDDLE GREY
GRIS MOYEN
GRIS MEDIANO
RAL 7037
DUNKELGRAU
DARK GREY
GRIS FONCÉ
GRIS OSCURO
RAL 7011
SCHWARZ
BLACK
NOIR
NEGRO
RAL 9004
The shown colours do not match
100% the real colou r.
(Project)
LEUCHTORANGE
Les couleurs présen
pas à 100 % à la vrai
New York, NY
tées ne corresponde nt
e couleur.
SCHWARZ
Revitalizing Baseball in Inner
Cities
(Project)
New York, NY
Backyard Studio
Studio/Workshop Building
Boulder, CO
TY RESOURCES
IBRARY AND
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it vel dipit il il
sto consequam,
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eril el il duisi.
del endre
ullaore velese
utpatisim ipit,
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ellence Program,
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Rooftop
Play/Performance/Green Space
(Project)
Brooklyn, NY
New Stapleton Waterfront
Park
NYC Economic Development
Corporation
Staten Island
Henry Street Parklet
NYC DOT
New York, NY
Blue Marble Ice Cream Shop
Renovation of Flagship Location
Prospect Heights, BK
ts
James Baldwin Outdoor
Learning Center
www.mparchitectsnyc.com
Community Spaces
In Progress (NEA Grant)
DeWitt Clinton High School
Langston Hughes Library
Courtyard
Queens Library Connecting
Spaces
Queens, NY
Pre-K Outdoor Spaces
NYC Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene
Partnerships to Improve
Community Health
Jacob Riis Houses
Community Center
(Project)
New York, NY
Bronx, NY
Marpillero Pollak Architects
63

Principals
Sandro Marpillero, FAIA, OdF
In more than thirty years of realizing projects in NYC, Sandro’s
fine-grained focus on processes of production has contributed
to successful implementation of transformative projects for
institutions and public agencies, as well as commercial and
residential clients. His embrace of collaborative processes
engages and strengthens relationships between consultants,
clients, and contractors. His expertise in working with natural
and artificial light complements his precise attention to the
tectonic development of a project, contributing to potent spatial
and sculptural qualities. In his collaboration with artists, he
deploys architecture to integrate and maximize the impact of
art in everyday spaces.
Sandro is a Registered Architect in the United States and Italy,
and a Founding Partner of Marpillero Pollak Architects. His
most recent completed building is the Elmhurst Community
Library, a new 30,500 square foot facility, the largest project
realized through the NYC Small Firms Design + Construction
Excellence Program. He is currently working on two small
buildings for Department of Parks and Recreation at New
Stapleton Waterfront, in a Design Team headed by Arup
Engineers.
After receiving his Master of Architecture degree from the
University of Venice/IUAV, Sandro practiced in Udine and
Venice, where he completed commercial, educational, and
residential projects, including the rehabilitation of a public
housing complex damaged in the 1976 earthquake. He first
came to New York from Italy as a Fulbright Scholar to study at
Columbia University, where he received a Master of Science in
Architecture and Building Design.
Sandro’s projects have been recognized with numerous
awards, including more than ten from the American Institute of
Architects, including the AIA/Housing and Urban Development
Community by Design Award, as well as awards by Architizer,
American Architecture Prize, the Center for Active Design, The
Architects’ Newspaper, the American Society of Landscape
Architects, NYC X Design, Environmental Design Research
Association, Public Art Network, and the Wood Design
Institute.
His projects have been published in many books, as well as
in periodicals, including the New York Times, Architectural
Record, Lotus International, Daidalos, A+U, Casabella,
Interior Design, Architectural Digest, Elle Décor Italia, The
Architects Newspaper, New York Magazine, and others.
Sandro is author of Environmental Refractions, a monograph on
the work of James Carpenter. His numerous essays on architecture,
art, and city have appeared in international books and
journals about art, architecture, and urban design.
Sandro’s work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale,
the Bronx Museum, the National Museum for 21st Century
Arts (“MAXXI”, Rome), the Canadian Center for Architecture,
Storefront for Art & Architecture, the Milan Triennale, and most
galleries of the academic institutions where he has taught. His
2016 project for the MAXXI featured a multimedia installation
about MPA’s conversion of sculptor David Smith’s modernist
studio in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. The installation
included concrete and glass blocks from the construction site
and foliage from the surrounding woods.
Sandro is Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University
Graduate School of Architecture (GSAPP), where he has taught
since 1984. He has also taught at Harvard, Yale, Princeton,
University of Virginia, Parsons School of Design, Washington
University in St Louis, and the University of Venice (IUAV),
where he is currently teaching studio this fall, alongside his
Columbia seminar.
Sandro is a recipient of grants and fellowships from the New
York Foundation for the Arts, the Design Trust for Public Space,
the Fulbright Scholar Program, the Urban Design Forum, and
the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2010 he was inducted
in the American Institute of Architecture College of Fellows.
64
Profiles

Linda Pollak, AIA, ASLA Affiliate
Linda collaborates with clients and communities to transform
existing spaces and structures in ways that enrich cultural
and social life and support environmental and human health.
Her background in landscape architecture as well as architecture
is complemented by her fine-grained approach to
program and operations.
As practitioner, citizen, educator, and artist, Linda’s design
approach is driven by three interwoven goals: enhancing children
and adults’ urban environmental experience; enabling
diverse constituencies to participate in design processes;
and expanding conceptual frameworks of art and design to
integrate triple-bottom-line sustainability. Each element in
a project operates at multiple scales, as a means of engaging
and supporting diversity. One of her specialties is
integration of indoor and outdoor spaces, including rooftop
environments, to create engaging and sustainable spaces.
Linda has been engaged in architecture and landscape
design practices for more than 30 years, and has been a
Registered Architect since 1989. She is a member of the
AIA Committee on Education and the American Society
of Landscape Architects’ Committee on Outdoor Learning
Environments. In 2011, she participated as one of four design
professionals in the American Architecture Foundation and
Kaufmann Foundation’s Great Schools by Design Charrette,
for the nation’s first public school operated by a private
foundation—an independent, cross-sector prototype for new
approaches to learning indoors and outdoors.
Linda’s projects are notable due to the specificity and
invention with which they enrich experience of everyday
environments, and enhance ecological, urban, and human
performance. Her intellectual leadership serves to expand
the boundaries of architectural practice in writing, research,
teaching, and service.
Linda’s practice integrates service with design through
involvement with civic initiatives including NYC Active Design
Guidelines, NYC High Performance Landscape Guidelines,
and NYC Green Infrastructure Guidelines: using projects as
a means through which practice and policy may inform each
other. Her pro bono work includes collaborations with The
Parks Council, Design Trust for Public Space, Robin Hood
Foundation, Harlem Community Board 11, House of Ruth
Women’s Shelter, the Horticultural Society of New York, and
the James Baldwin Memorial Outdoor Learning Center.
Linda has participated in four Fit City conferences, organized
by NYC AIA in partnership with NYC Department of
Mental Health and Hygiene (DoHMH) and NYC Department
of Design and Construction (DDC). She collaborated with
DDC and DoHMH in presenting the Active Design Guidelines
at the 2009 AIA Annual Meeting, and has participated/presented
in two Active Design Workshops at the Center for
Architecture. She has also worked as a consultant to DoHMH
on Pre-K Outdoor Spaces.
Linda is currently an Adjunct Professor at The Cooper Union.
Her recent teaching also includes Cornell University (NYC),
Harvard Graduate School of Design, and University of
Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Architecture faculty
at Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1992 to 2004,
and the Rhode Island School of Design faculty from 1988 to
1992. Linda’s studio teaching has focused on school design,
including relationships between pedagogy and physical
environments.
Linda has received grants for research about architecture and
urban landscape from the New York Foundation for the Arts,
National Endowment for the Arts, the Graham Foundation
for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, the Harvard University
Milton Fund, the Burden Fund, and other organizations. She
is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, the Design
Trust for Public Space, and the Institute for Urban Design,
among others, and a recipient of the Wheelwright Traveling
Fellowship. She serves on the Board of Directors of the
Storefront for Art and Architecture.
Linda’s essays on urban landscape have appeared in journals,
including Praxis, Daidalos, Lotus International, Public
Art Issues, Appendx, and 30 60 90, and in books, including
Case: Downsview, Landscape Urbanism Reader, Michael Van
Valkenburgh Associates: Reconstructing Urban Landscapes,
Large Parks, and Imperfect Health: the Medicalisation of
Architecture. She is co-author, with Anita Berrizbeitia, of the
award-winning Inside Outside: Between Architecture and
Landscape.
65

66 MPA Team
Learning Spaces

132 Duane St #1
New York, NY 10013
212 – 619– 5560
www.mparchitectsnyc.com
Current MPA Team
Sandro Marpillero
Linda Pollak
Claudette Buelow
Matthew Saacke
Jose Mateluna
Julia DiPietro
Karl Larsen
Sonal Beri
Past Team Members
Peter Elsbeck
Ayelet Karmon
Cheng-Yi Lin
Anne-Rachel Schiffmann
(Alphabetical order)
Valeria Erasmo
Kyungen Kim
Jeremy Linzee
Lindsay Selin
Gregory Aranda
Matthew Fooks
Kara Koirtyohann
Xinru Liu
Gabriel Stadecker
Deborah Balters
Stefie Gan
Andrew Kossow
Donghee Ma
Lisa Switkin
Mark Blumberg
Alejandro Guerrero
Katharina Kriener
Joseph Maurer
Karen Tamir
Lesley Chang
Shai Gross
Karl-Erik Larson
Christine McMahon
Paul Teng
Josephine Chang
Ann Ha
Renee Lee
Geraldine Monier
Peter Thompson
Jung-Ahn Choi
Kristy Haag
Ines Lejarraga
Ellen Neises
Dan Windsor
Hyun Chung
Trevor Hollyn Taub
Kim Letven
Dwayne Oyler
Shelley Yang
Alison Crawshaw
Hanna Huang
Jessica Levin
Nico Pallotto
Saki Yoshimura
Natasha Cunningham
Taigo Itadani
Christi Lewis
Nicole Portieri
Becky Yurek
Patrick Curry
Ekachai Jiaravanont
Michael Lewis
Daniel Rafique
Nita Yuvaboon
Christopher Eidt
Claire Johnson
Amy Lin
Kimberlae Saul
Booklet design based on “MPA Living Spaces” by Karin Kunori
Marpillero Pollak Architects
67

MPA Awards, Exhibitions & Publications
Awards
2017 The Architects Newspaper Best of Design Award
2015 Architizer A+ Awards
Best of Design for Civic Educational Building
Special Mention Award for Elmhurst Library
Elmhurst Library
2015 United States Green Building Council
2017 American Architects Building of the Week
LEED Silver Certification for Elmhurst Library
Elmhurst Library
2015 Center for Active Design Excellence
2017 The Architecture Center Building of the Day
Honor Award for Queens Plaza
Elmhurst Library
2014 Movement on Main International Design
2017 Brooklyn Queens AIA Design Awards
Competition
BQDA Design of the Year
Special Recognition Award
BQDA Best of Queens
BQDA Award of Excellence for Institution
2014 International Landscape Biennial/Rosa Barba Prize
People’s Choice Award for Institution
Queens Plaza, Finalist
Elmhurst Library
2013 Architizer Awards
2017 American Architecture Prize
Special Mention Award for Queens Plaza
Merit Award
Elmhurst Library
2012 AIA/Boston Society of Architects
Urban Design/Transformation Award for
2017 Center for Active Design Excellence
Queens Plaza
Honor Award for Elmhurst Library
2012 Staten Island Chamber of Commerce
2016 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
Excellence Award for Exterior and Green Building
Project of the Week for April 18, 2016
Staten Island Children’s Museum
West Village Penthouse Terrace
68 Honors and Awards
Learning Spaces

2009 NYC Design + Construction Excellence Program
First Prize for “Glass City”
High Performance Pilot Project
Staten Island Children’s Museum
2005 Design Share / Excellence in Education Awards
Award for PS 1/Bergen School (Robin Hood) Library
2009 NYC Design Awards
Public Design Commission
2004 Friends of the High Line
Award for Allan McCollum’s Shapes Project at
Designing the High Line Competition
Elmhurst Library
Honorable Mention Award for High Line Sublime
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Award for High
2008 AIA New York City Chapter
Line Sublime
Merit Award for Queens Plaza
2003 Environmental Design Research Association
2008 AIA New York State
Honor Award for Outdoor Classrooms
Award for Duane Street Live Work Loft
2003 Wood Design & Building Association, United States
2008 Building Brooklyn Awards
and Canada
Award for Bergen School Library
Award for Outdoor Classrooms in New York City Parks
2008 Best Private Plots
2003 American Institute of Architects Staten Island
Award for Duane Street Loft Garden
Honor Award for Eib’s Pond Park Thresholds
2007 Queens Chamber of Commerce Awards
2002 American Institute of Architects Staten Island
Award for Whitestone Library Learning Garden
Honor Award for Outdoor Classroom at Eib’s
Pond Park
2004–06 Small Firms NYC Design + Construction Excellence
2002 American Society of Landscape Architects,
2006–09 Program
Professional Awards
Cohorts 1 and 2
Merit Award for Excellence in Landscape
Architecture for Outdoor Classroom
2006 Toledo ArtNET Gateway Competition
Marpillero Pollak Architects 69

2002 American Society of Landscape Architects
Merit Award for Excellence in Communications for
Map-Guide of Eib’s Pond Park
2002 AIA NYC Chapter
Honor Award in Architecture for Outdoor Classroom
at Eib’s Pond Park
2002 Fox Hill Community Development District
Award of Excellence for Outdoor Classroom at Eib’s
Pond Park
2002 National Art & Design Competition for Street Trees
First Prize, for Street Tree Protection
70 Honors and Awards
Learning Spaces

Exhibitions
2013 National Museum of the 21 st Century Arts
Eibs Pond Park Outdoor Classroom
(MAXXI)
Erasmus Effect: Italian Architects Abroad
2004 University of Virginia
David Smith Workshop Conversion
Eib’s Pond Park Thresholds
2013 American Society of Landscape Architects
2003 Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Station
Currents in Green Infrastructure: Designs for
Highline Design Competition, Selected Entries
a Sustainable New York City
Queens Plaza Bicycle and Pedestrian
2003 University of Pennsylvania
Improvements Project
Women in Design Exhibition
Eib’s Pond Park Thresholds
2011 Canadian Center for Architecture
Exhibition: Imperfect Health
2002 Vision and Ethics in City Building
Elmhurst Library
An international exhibition of significant
practices/2002 Olympic Winter Games
2010 The Center for Architecture
Salt Lake City
Selected Entries, Urban Shed Competition
1999 Storefront for Art & Architecture
2008 The Center for Architecture
“Urban Design Strategies for Hell’s Kitchen”
New York Now!
Elmhurst Library, Queens Plaza
1997 Graham Foundation, Chicago
Group exhibition: Landscape Urbanism
2007 The Architectural League
New New York: Fast Forward
1995 Municipal Art Society
Elmhurst Library, Staten Island Children’s Museum
Beyond the Box, Design Issues of Big Box Retail on
Industrially Zoned Sites in NYC
2006 Van Alen Institute Exhibition
The Good Life
Marpillero Pollak Architects Exhibitions
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Publications
2018 NYC Design For Equity, Elmhurst is
2014 The New York Times, “A major Renovation on the
one of two library Case Studies
Doorstep of Queens,” Terry Pristin
2018 Metals in Design and Construction, “Elmhurst
2014 Elle Decor, “Downtown Downstairs: Duane Street
Community Library”
Live/Work Loft”, Rosaria Zucconi, Francesca Benedette
2017 New York Behind Closed Doors, “Head over Heels,”
2014 Lotus International, “Queens Plaza Bicycle and
P. Devlin, A. Schlecter, Publisher Gibbs Smith
Pedestrian Improvement Project”
2016 NYC Design and Construction Excellence 2.0:
2014 The Science of Play, Susan G. Solomon, Univ Press
Guiding Principles, (Elmhurst Library, Queens
of New England (Movement on Main, Staten
Plaza, Childrens Museum, and Langston Hughes
Island Children’s Museum)
Library Courtyard)
2014 Wall Street Journal, “Lavish Gardens Sprout Up on
2016 Wild by Design, Margie Ruddick, Island Press
Luxury Penthouse Roofs,” Amy Gamerman
(Queens Plaza)
2013 a + t _Independent Magazine of Architecture and
2015 Under the Elevated: Reclaiming Space, Connecting
Technology, “Reclaim Reuse Recycle,” Javier Arpa
Communities, Design Trust (Queens Plaza)
(Queens Plaza)
2015 By the City For the City, Institute for Urban Design
2013 Crains Detroit, “Innovative design at the intersection
Four Projects
of complete streets and green infrastructure,” Mark Hieber
(Queens Plaza)
2015 Fit City 10_Promoting Physical Activity through
Design, “Urban Schoolyards: The Next Great Public
2013 Civil Engineering Journal, Staten Island
Space”
Children’s Museum
72 Publications
Learning Spaces

2012 Architecture Week People and Places, “Renewable
2012 The Architects Newspaper, “High Visibility Multimedia
Energies at Staten Island Children’s Museum”
at Queens Plaza?” Tyler Silvestro
2012 Staten Island Live “At Staten Island Children’s
2011 New York Rooftop Gardens, “West Village Penthouse
Museum, it’s Everybody Under the Big Green Tent,”
Garden,” Charles de Vaivre, teNeues
Kiawana Rich
2010 The Power of Pro Bono: 40 Stories About Design for the
2012 Inhabitat, “Children’s Museum Gets a Striking New
Public Good, “Outdoor Classroom”
Solar-Power Shade Structure,” Bridgette Meinhold
2010 New York City Active Design Guidelines
2012 Staten Island Advance, “Building Awards Honor
(Elmhurst Library, Eibs Pond Park Outdoor Classroom)
Excellence in Design and Construction”
2010 The Library Book, “PS1 Library,”
2012 World Architects, “Staten Island Children’s Museum
Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi, Princeton Architectural Press
Roofs and Tents”
2010 Un-volumetric Architecture, Aldo Aymonino
2012 Interior Design Magazine, “Green and Greener _ Staten
(Outdoor Classrooms), Skira
Island Children’s Museum,” Craig Kellogg
2009 Fresh Kills Park Blog, “Thoughts on Green
2012 Green Design and Building Magazine, “Staten Island
Infrastructure: Queens Plaza construction has begun”
Children’s Museum,” Julie Schaeffer
2009 Urban Omnibus, “Queens Plaza: Infrastructure
2012 Wall Street Journal, “In Queens, An Artistic
Reframed,” Cassim Shepard
Alteration,” Ralph Gardner
2009 Dictionary of Today’s Landscape Designers,
2012 NYC High Performance Landscape Guidelines,
“Linda Pollak”, Skira
“Streetscape Case Study: Queens Plaza”,
Design Trust for Public Space
Marpillero Pollak Architects 73

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