The New York Public Library has unveiled schematic designs by Foster + Partners for the library’s 42nd Street location, after announcing the $300 million Central Library Plan in February, 2012. The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, designed in 1911 by Carrère & Hastings, currently houses seven levels of library stacks, but the proposed renovations will restore the library’s original lending capacity. Within the historic building, a new 100,000-square-foot circulation library, comprising four levels of reading areas and bookshelves, will overlook Bryant Park through full-height windows. The reference collection, meanwhile, will be relocated to a humidity-controlled storage facility beneath Bryant Park, with room for 3.3 million volumes.
For more details and images of the New York Public Library – 42nd Street, visit ARCHITECT’s Project Gallery.
Below is an animation of the proposed renovations:
