Glen Oaks Branch Library

Glen Oaks Branch Library replaces an existing one story facility with a new 18,000sf high performance, LEED certified building located at the juncture of a low scale commercial/institutional area with a suburban residential neighborhood. The program includes reading rooms on all three levels, a cybercenter, and community meeting spaces. As the building area required is double that allowable by zoning, half of the interior spaces are placed below grade. A double-height space adjacent to the building entry and strip skylights in the plaza bring light through a contoured ceiling to define specific reading areas located below. The profile of the contoured ceiling is read at the double-height space, making a visual connection between the plaza and ceiling surfaces, accentuating the artificiality of the ground. The landscape strategy acknowledges the ground surface’s dual role as an outdoor public space and its inversion as the roof of the cellar below, exploring the relationship between artifice and nature. Above grade massing and material treatment respond to differing site conditions on each elevation. A large picture window along the front elevation provides views into and out of the second floor children’s area, while providing a civic identity to the community. Exterior materials merge the scale of the library to Union Turnpike and the residential context.