Children's Library Discovery Center
| Children's Library Discovery Center | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | 89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, Queens, NY, U.S. 11432 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | 1100 Architect |
The Children's Library Discovery Center, in Jamaica, Queens, New York, is an addition to the Queens Central Library building.[1] It was commissioned by the New York City Department of Design & Construction and completed in 2011 under the New York City Design and Construction Excellence program.[2]
The center is the Queens Borough Public Library system's largest facility.[3] With a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the center recruited specialists from the Exploratorium in San Francisco to design hands-on "discovery stations".[3] The stations, geared toward children ages 3–12, introduce them to diverse topics such as weather, music, and nanotechnology.[4] According to Queens Library CEO Thomas Galante, the embedding of museum-like exhibits into a reading space as exemplified by the center is unique among public libraries in the United States.[3]
The 22,000-square-foot, two-story building was designed by 1100 Architect, with graphics and wayfinding designed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture & Design Partnership. The exterior is a conspicuous glass façade scaled to match the existing mix of low-rises in the neighborhood.[5]
Contents
History
The adjacent 275,000-square-foot (25,500 m2) Queens Central Library building was designed by York & Sawyer in 1966.[6] As the first major branch of an urban library to place all public services on one floor, its design was representative of a new building trend towards functional library design.[6] The new addition to the existing library was proposed under New York's Design and Construction Excellence program—a federal plan started in the mid-1990s that sought to bring better design to government buildings.[5] The program, led by Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David J. Burney, guarantees market-rate fees to architects with the intent to encourage fresh young talent in the city.[7]
Awards
In 2011, the building received two awards: the Queens Library Foundation, Award for Excellence in Design; and the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Building Award: New Construction/Public Building.[2] In 2012 it won the The Municipal Art Society of New York, MASterworks Award: Best Neighborhood Catalyst,[2] and in 2013, the NYLA-PLA Award.[8]
References
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External links
- Children's Library Discovery Center - Queens Library
