sugar hill branch library


First Floor Plan        
       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Roof  Plan 



    The sugar hill branch library proposes a shared resource in the interior space of a Harlem block. The interstitial space between two residential buildings and an elementary school boasts a heavily trafficked pedestrianized 156th St, an underutilized parking lot, and a canopy of old growth oak and London plane trees. The single-story mass timber structure opens the ground plane for a branch library and grants access to the foliage and sky with a green roof park.

     The building is designed around courtyard light wells where the trees grow. The arrangement of the columns mimic the emergent organic patterns of the forest. Curved glued laminated beams, bookshelves, and seating trace ripples from the trees, creating flows through the clearing and eddies for reading.
Concept Model
Site Plan
Structural Concept Sketch - Existing Old Growth Trees





Longitudinal Section
        Section Detail







3/16” = 1’ Scale Model  (Wood and Rockite)