The 20-minute library

A public library for Dumbo, Brooklyn, designed research-first: map who could walk to the site, then shape the building around them.

Role: Architecture and spatial analysis
Product: Public library
Timeline: Spring 2018
Critics: Gordon Kipping. Representation: Dan Taeyoung

Fig. 1A solid steel frame around a softer, translucent inner volume.

Fig. 2The same frame, lit from within.

01Context

Who would actually use a library here? Dumbo is residential, packed with tech companies and schools, about a 10-minute walk from the subway, and busy with tourists.

Map of Brooklyn libraries and walking zones around the site — **Fig. 3**Zones of access: five-minute walking intervals, out to a 20-minute walk.

Map of walking rings around the site — **Fig. 4**How far you can walk from the site in 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes.

Maps of innovation, education and land use around the site — **Fig. 5**The area’s character: tech, schools and land use.

02Approach

Inside that zone, a close look at how people get around, the neighborhood’s character, wealth and commute times showed a mix of residents, tech workers and visitors. Two parks border the site, so the concept pulls Dumbo’s waterfront open space into the building.

Map of bike, bus, subway and ferry access to the site — **Fig. 6**Every way to get there.

Map of the population with the most access to the library — **Fig. 7**Who has the most access.

Map of the mobile population — **Fig. 8**The mobile population.

Map of the wealthy population — **Fig. 9**The wealthy population.

Map extending open space from the waterfront into the site — **Fig. 10**Pulling the waterfront’s open space inland.

Diagram of the steel frame and the inner volume combining — **Fig. 11**The frame and the inner volume, combined.

Plan and section drawing of the library — **Fig. 12**Plan and section.

03Outcome

A building meant to be open to regulars and passersby alike. A transparent exterior grid lets every floor have a different floor plate, while the interior, almost free of structure, is full of mixing spaces between related programs.

The design leans on tactility to make the library feel approachable, carries a strong identity into its branding, and includes rooms patrons can program themselves, so they control their own experience.

Postcard of interior views in different light colors: control your experience — **Fig. 13**Control your experience: one interior, many moods.

Close-up photograph of the physical model — **Fig. 14**The final model, up close.

Animated floor plans, one floor at a time — **Fig. 15**Floor by floor.

Model photograph close up — **Fig. 16**The frame, close up.

Model photograph — **Fig. 17**Two studies side by side.

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The 20-minute library

01Context

02Approach

03Outcome

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