World-renowned architecture firm Snøhetta is at it again with a new architectural project in The Bronx.
The firm just revealed their design for The Bronx’s Westchester Square Library, a 12,000-square-foot building developed alongside the city’s Department of Design and Construction and the New York Public Library.
The design features a gorgeous, futuristic-looking green facade, paying homage to the Bronx’s status as the city’s “greenest borough.” It’s wrapped in a graphic print inspired by the verdant tree canopies of The Bronx, made to frame views of the surrounding blocks.
Not only is the facade visually appealing, it’s also environmentally friendly. The library is designed in a way to filter incoming light from the sun as part of a holistic effort to reduce the library’s energy use, and at night it will shine bright, serving as a glowing beacon for the neighborhood.
The interior of the space will be divided into new children, teen, and young adult-centered areas which can be seen from both the side walk and the passing 6 train.
Classroom and community spaces will look out over a street-level viewing garden that doubles as a water retention and filtration system which will offer “a sense of visual delight connecting the abstract façade patterning with the Library’s environmental performance.” The garden will be filled with perennials and flowering trees.
The library will also take part in a pilot project for DCAS’s 80×50 initiative, which seeks to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
The Westchester Square Library will sit next to the historic Huntington Free Library on Glebe Avenue. Construction will begin in 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2025.
Some other NYC projects Snøhetta has under their belt include Midtown’s 21,300-square-foot public garden oasis, and the UWS’s new 127-condo tower.