The Children's Library Discovery Center, in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, is an addition to the Queens Central Library building. It was commissioned by the New York City Department of Design & Construction and completed in 2011 under the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Design and Construction Excellence program. The center is the Queens Borough Public Library system's largest facility. With a $1.8 million grant from the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, the center recruited specialists from the

Exploratorium The Exploratorium is a museum of science museum, science, technology museum, technology, and art museum, arts in San Francisco, California. Founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the museum was originally located in the ...

in San Francisco to design hands-on "discovery stations". The stations, geared toward children ages 3–12, introduce them to diverse topics such as weather, music, and nanotechnology. 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. The 22,000-square-foot, two-story building was designed by

1100 Architect 1100 Architect is an architecture firm based in New York City and Frankfurt founded by principals David Piscuskas and Juergen Riehm. It provides architectural design, programming, space analysis, interior design, and master planning services to ...

, 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.

History

The library opened in 2011. The addition of the Children's Library Discovery Center is significant to the community of

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It has a popular large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis, St Albans, and Cambria Heights to the ea ...

, as it serves a diverse and marginalized population of

. The services provided by the center are not easily available to

residents. The adjacent Queens Central Library building was designed by York & Sawyer in 1966. 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. 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. 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.

Awards

In 2011, the building received two awards: the Queens Library Foundation, Award for Excellence in Design; and the

Chamber of Commerce, Building Award: New Construction/Public Building. In 2012 it won the Municipal Art Society of New York, MASterworks Award: Best Neighborhood Catalyst, and in 2013, the NYLA-PLA Award.

References

External links

Children's Library Discovery Center
- Queens Library {{Libraries in New York City Children's libraries Jamaica, Queens Queens Public Library