Bronx Library Center

Bronx Library Center New York Public Library

310 E. Kingsbridge Road at Briggs Avenue

The Bronx Library Center, which is the main library and administrative center of New York Public Library’s Bronx branches, opened on January 17, 2006 on the site of the former Consolidated Edison building, and Jahn’s Ice Cream Parlor.  The library is a five-story glass building with an adaptable, open design and swooping rooftop. The building maximizes the use of natural light and provides Bronx skyline views including nearby Fordham University, the New York Botanical Garden, Poe Cottage, and the busy Fordham Road shopping area.

Taking advantage of expanded space, NYPL created its first environmentally friendly or “green” building that is notable for promoting energy efficiency.  With its innovative glass-curtain wall façade and passive solar devices, this facility can maximize natural light, reduce glare and control energy loss.  Its special roof coating cuts cooling needs; and special airside economizers allow outside air to replace mechanical air conditioning when the weather is cool.  The building used locally manufactured or ecologically sound recycled materials in its construction and furnishings.  Recognized as the first “green” public project in New York City, the library received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification with a Silver rating by the United States Green Building Council.  This prestigious designation means that the library building exceeds all city and state building codes and contributes to a “sustainable” environment.

The library has a lot to offer the community with its: circulating collections; its 150-seat multi-purpose auditorium for programs and performances; community meeting space; Latino & Puerto Rican Cultural Center; teen center; children’s area; in depth reference materials; Internet-accessible and networked computers; technology training; computer-based instruction; and an outdoor reading terrace for fiction and non-fiction materials.  A striking colored glass installation, built between the concourse level and the first floor, depicts the DNA sequence in artist Inigo Manglano-Ovalle’s “Portrait of a Young Reader.”

Janet Butler Munch

Photographs:
Richard Dattner & Partners