Architects Propose Redesign of Clinton Hill Library

Libraries are already centers of community life and now, several architects have imagined them also serving as hubs for everything from retail and affordable housing to disaster relief.

Five Brooklyn library branches — Clinton Hill, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Macon, and Sheepshead Bay — were studied as part of a design showcase organized by the Center for an Urban Future, Architectural League of New York and the Charles H Revson Foundation. The results were architectural renderings of possible “libraries of the future.”

The 40-year-old Clinton Hill Library, located at 380 Washington Avenue, was re-imagined by Andrew Berman Architects as a more space-efficient library, with community rooms that serve as free public spaces even after library hours end, as well as 24-hour vestibules where library visitors can use power outlets, information kiosks, and book deposits.”

Other  proposed designs included even more innovation, such as adding performance spaces and using the space above library buildings for affordable housing — a concept already broached by BPL for the Sunset Park Library — or retail space and emergency disaster relief space.

But remember: these proposals were crafted without input from the BPL, Queens Public Library and New York Public LIbrary systems, which have their own design plans for some branches (see: Brooklyn Heights and Sunset Park), and may not have the budget even if they wanted to renovate more library buildings.

Still, as is noted on the project’s Re-Envisioning Libraries website, the goal was to “not only draw attention to libraries’ needs, but also connect (and spur) the city and private institutions to the next steps for re-envisioning New York City’s branch libraries.”

What do you think of these designs? What would you propose to improve your local library?