Mariner's Harbor Public Library

Staten Island, NY

Mariner’s Harbor is a neighborhood in flux. Once home to a prosperous shipbuilding community, the Harbor was overlooked by developers following the construction of the Verrazano Bridge, resulting in its exclusion from the relative economic boom enjoyed by other Staten Island neighborhoods. Now, however, Mariner’s Harbor is showing signs of revival. Along with an expanding public school system and an intended 3.5-acre park, the Public Library project is a sure sign of community growth. The 11,000 square foot plot allotted to the Library was donated by a local lawyer and developer.

The building footprint and required program covers most of the site, making it challenging to produce a meaningful landscape. In response to these constraints, we developed a strategy that centers on surfaces and edges, employing them to extend visual comprehension inside to outside, framing perspectives to focus on the sculptural trees to remain. We preserve as much of the significant existing tree cover as possible, and fold in a new tree, shrub and groundcover layer to create striking interior views and outdoor spaces covered with a mature green canopy. This approach maximizes the site, using materials to abstract the context, scaling and integrating the Library into its neighborhood and making it accessible and welcoming to the community.

Credits:
Atelier Pagnamenta Torriani