Back to profile
1100 Architect

The New York Public Library, Battery Park City

Photographs: Michael Moran/ OTTO
Photographs: Michael Moran/ OTTO
City
New York
completion
2010
New York, NY
2010

Battery Park City is built on a 92-acre landfill on the southwestern tip of Manhattan. It was conceived in the 1960s as a vision of an urban future. Today it is a commercial and residential neighborhood with a strong presence of public art, parks, and memorials. This library, anchoring of one of the city’s greenest residential high-rises, is an accessible and inviting public resource for the neighborhood’s 9,000 residents. As a new branch without an ingrained pattern of community use, it was critical for the design to establish a presence that would attract visitors. Open, bright spaces create a welcoming environment for the public, and the user-friendly layout is easy to navigate. The folded planes of the ceiling guide the visitor’s eye through the library, and physically and visually unify the entire space. The most eco-friendly of the New York Public Library branches, the project utilizes numerous sustainable design strategies and is LEED Gold certified.

Photographs: @ Michael Moran/ OTTO