TEN Arquitectos - Visual & Performing Arts Library (VPA)

TEN Arquitectos
Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos
Visual & Performing Arts Library (VPA)
Brooklyn, New York

Image courtesy TEN Arquitectos

The site for the new Visual & Performing Arts Library (VPA) is a triangular wedge bordered by Flatbush Avenue, Lafayette Street and Ashland Place, located at the heart of Brooklyn’s emerging mixed-use Cultural District.
The VPA will be the first library in New York City devoted to both the visual and performing arts, providing Brooklyn's growing arts community and the general public with free access to arts resources within a sharing and cultivating environment.

Photo courtesy TEN Arquitectos

The library’s permeable, transparent structure and V-shaped plan is a response to the complexities of its site and its adjacencies, which include other cultural institutions like the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Mark Morris Dance Center and a new performing arts theater. The facade, a key component of the project's "permeability," is formed of two or three layers of sandwiched glass, depending on the program it shelters and its orientation.

Image courtesy TEN Arquitectos

The building will house reading rooms, archives, galleries, media labs, an auditorium, a theater and a round-the-clock media lounge.
The different programmatic areas, distinguished by bright colors, are visible through the glass facade that envelopes the entire project.

Image courtesy TEN Arquitectos

The library’s round-the-clock media lounge is located behind a wall of double glass, which has horizontal louvers sandwiched between its glass panels that control the amount of light that reaches the interior. This glazing will be constantly and spontaneously changing, transforming the interior into a collage of space, form, people, and movement.

Image courtesy TEN Arquitectos

A courtyard formed by the V-shaped plan will have stairs that cascade to a plaza, which frames views of the Brooklyn Academy of Music beyond. The steps can also serve as an outdoor amphitheater. Floors five and upwards form an overhang that shelters the public space at street level.

Model photo courtesy TEN Arquitectos

The public will enter through the courtyard, scholars and staff through a separate entrance at the V's rounded tip.

Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos
Plan Entrance Level (01)

Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos
Plan Library level (02)

Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos
Plan Library Level (03)

Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos
Longitudinal Section

Total area: 110,000 square feet
Design: 2002
Groundbreaking: 2006
Estimated completion: 2008

Client: Brooklyn Public Library
Architect: Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos, SC (TEN Arquitectos)

Project Team:
Enrique Norten
Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta
Jorge Luis Pérez
Tim Dumbleton
Fernanda Chandler
Cristina Keller
Samael Barrios
Marisa Benabib
Andrés Flores
Jennifer Lemasters
Jens Letzel
Luis Enrique Mendoza
Cynthia Morales
Miguel Ríos
Olivia Rojas, Jana Schulz
Elzbieta Szczepanska.

Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos, SC (TEN Arquitectos) arcspace features

October 24, 2005





				Features
		TEN Arquitectos Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos Visual & Performing Arts Library (VPA) Brooklyn, New York Image courtesy TEN Arquitectos The site for the new Visual & Performing Arts Library (VPA) is a triangular wedge bordered by Flatbush Avenue, Lafayette Street and Ashland Place, located at the heart of Brooklyn’s emerging mixed-use Cultural District. The VPA will be the first library in New York City devoted to both the visual and performing arts, providing Brooklyn's growing arts community and the general public with free access to arts resources within a sharing and cultivating environment. Photo courtesy TEN Arquitectos The library’s permeable, transparent structure and V-shaped plan is a response to the complexities of its site and its adjacencies, which include other cultural institutions like the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Mark Morris Dance Center and a new performing arts theater. The facade, a key component of the project's "permeability," is formed of two or three layers of sandwiched glass, depending on the program it shelters and its orientation. Image courtesy TEN Arquitectos The building will house reading rooms, archives, galleries, media labs, an auditorium, a theater and a round-the-clock media lounge. The different programmatic areas, distinguished by bright colors, are visible through the glass facade that envelopes the entire project. Image courtesy TEN Arquitectos The library’s round-the-clock media lounge is located behind a wall of double glass, which has horizontal louvers sandwiched between its glass panels that control the amount of light that reaches the interior. This glazing will be constantly and spontaneously changing, transforming the interior into a collage of space, form, people, and movement. Image courtesy TEN Arquitectos A courtyard formed by the V-shaped plan will have stairs that cascade to a plaza, which frames views of the Brooklyn Academy of Music beyond. The steps can also serve as an outdoor amphitheater. Floors five and upwards form an overhang that shelters the public space at street level. Model photo courtesy TEN Arquitectos The public will enter through the courtyard, scholars and staff through a separate entrance at the V's rounded tip. Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Plan Entrance Level (01) Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Plan Library level (02) Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Plan Library Level (03) Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Longitudinal Section Total area: 110,000 square feet Design: 2002 Groundbreaking: 2006 Estimated completion: 2008 Client: Brooklyn Public Library Architect: Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos, SC (TEN Arquitectos) Project Team: Enrique Norten Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta Jorge Luis Pérez Tim Dumbleton Fernanda Chandler Cristina Keller Samael Barrios Marisa Benabib Andrés Flores Jennifer Lemasters Jens Letzel Luis Enrique Mendoza Cynthia Morales Miguel Ríos Olivia Rojas, Jana Schulz Elzbieta Szczepanska. Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos, SC (TEN Arquitectos) arcspace features October 24, 2005