Brooklyn, NY | 1,000 SF | Sustainable Design Features | Educational
ALEJANDRINA B. DE
GAUTIER LIBRARY
ORIGINAL CONDITIONS
Photographs by APT
This elementary school is located in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, close to Liberty Park. It is home to the largest hispanic community in Brooklyn. The school itself is even named after a famous Puerto Rican poet, Alejandrina Benítez de Gautier.
Our goal was to increase the amount of light in the room and create a vibrant area for the school's students. We achieved this by inserting a sculptural ceiling with specifically integrated light fixtures to create the effect of a luminous sky.
We created different activity zones through custom-designed shelving which formed a story telling area, flexible classroom and computer area.
Local craftsmen built the sculptural ceiling and wood shelving along the perimeter.
The library’s materials and technologies, the ergonomic furniture, and the ceiling with LED lighting respond to the latest environmental and health requirements developed with the client.
This project is part of Atelier Pagnamenta Torriani’s architectural acupuncture interventions in NYC: a transformative series of public school libraries that are expanding their educational purpose by rebuilding communities through culture.