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On November 21st, in a special public program related to the exhibition New New York 3: Small Civic Works, the League welcomed David
Burney of the New York City Housing Authority, Eve Michel of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and Henry Myerberg,
design director for the L!brary Initiative, to discuss projects in the exhibition.
Eve Michel spoke about the New York City Commuter Ferry Landings Project. A joint project of the EDC, the Department of Transportation,
and the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Ferry Landings project will create seven ferry landings along the East River for use by
private commuter ferries. The project was catalyzed by DOT's interest in increasing ferry service to LaGuardia airport, and is funded
by the Port Authority and federal transportation programs. From the outset, there were several goals guiding the project: "innovative
design;" "the use of alternate energy technologies wherever possible;" "an identity that would link these projects along the East River;"
and low maintenance for the structures, which are largely deserted when ferries are not in service.
Because the bulk of work for the landings is marine work, EDC elected first to select a marine engineer as the prime, and to interview
architects afterwards. EDC ultimately coupled marine engineer Ken Smith with Kennedy Violich Architects and landscape architect Ken smith
were ultimately hired to do the design work.
The basic design element of the shelters is a single biomorphically curved form that acts as the shore-side wall and the ceiling. The
waterside "wall" of the structures is a wind-screen. The curving form is constructed of laser-cut stainless steel ribs overlaid with
a stainless steel skin. At the lower levels, the skin is perforated to allow people sitting or standing in the shelter to see out. A
mock-up of this curved structure is on view at the Urban Center. Each ferry terminal also contains a ticketing booth, which is a glazed,
corrugated metal block, and playful stoolscylinders of concrete topped with four slabs of Lucite with heat sensitive lighting devices
inside that turn on when sat upon. Lighting at all the sites will be provided by "canted cobrahead" lampposts. Wind turbines will be
installed to provide power for lighting and for the irrigation pumps that serve the planters.
Each of the seven locations presented particular challenges and peculiarities. At the Battery Marine terminal at the southern tip of
Manhattan, the docking slip is inside of a landmark building, and construction and early use of the ferry landing there will have to
take place around a simultaneous renovation of the terminal's faade. At 34th Street, the largest of the seven landings, an entirely
new pier will be built to support a free-standing terminal building that houses indoor and outdoor ticketing areas, bathrooms, concession
areas and offices. Although the 34th Street structure, unlike the small-scale shelters at the other landings, is a large free-standing
structure, KVA maintained the curvilinear, formal vocabulary by having the northern portion of the roof and ceiling billow down into
the space of the terminal, so that it is "a sort of inverted shelter." At 62nd Street, the site for the ferry shelter is currently blocked
off by construction on the FDR highway. The shelter will be constructed and put into service at an alternate location nearby, and will
be moved to the site once the highway work is complete. The 90th Street site is partially owned by the Parks Department, which insisted
that the roof of the shelter be "lighter" than those of the other landings to harmonize with the aesthetic set by nearby Gracie Mansion.
The ferry terminal project has passed through public reviews and is currently in the construction document and technical review phase.
Michel estimated that it will go to bid within the next few months and that construction begin in Spring 2003.
David Burney is director of the Design and Capital Improvements Department of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), which he joined
in 1990, and which recently won a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for its work in building or renovating 106 public housing community
centers throughout the five boroughs.
Burney discussed the historical context for this initiative, and centered his discussion on two themes: the distinctive design of the
centers, which "pop out like flowers" amid the often bleak landscape of urban public housing, and the "transparency" achieved by the
generous use of glass or translucent materials.
"A lot of people," said Burney, outlining the historical context for NYCHA's work, "think that the public housing authority just has
these little brick buildings and rents them to people with little money. That's true, that's probably our core business, but we do more
than that." NYCHA maintains over 500 different types of community centers, including daycare centers, senior centers, child health
stations, and even public libraries. NYCHA, established in 1934 at a time "of reformist zeal and optimism on the social impact and potential
of urban housing," has from the start been "committed to a program of social services beyond just renting apartments."
The problem was that "subsequent facilities were not provided for adequately." Over the years community functions spilled, or were crammed,
into the basements and sub-basements of residential buildings. In the light of a 1990s survey revealing that some 40% of public housing
residents were under the age of 21, it became clear that these spaces were "inadequate and beyond improvement."
Early efforts to ameliorate the condition of community centers were predominantly "modest, economical interventions" in which empty spaces
in the footprints of residential buildings, or abandoned properties near them, were turned into community centers. Examples of this approach
include the conversion of the area around the piloti at the Davidson houses in the Bronx into enclosed community spaces, Richard Dattner's
conversion of the empty space in the Eastchester Gardens project into a gymnasium, and the 1992 renovation of a former Magistrate's court
in Brooklyn.
Americans with Disabilities Act compliance renovations of the Police Athletic League (PAL) community center in Red Hook, Brooklyn became the
pretext for a large-scale reconstruction of the center. The existing entrance, a dilapidated brick box entered via a large flight of stairs
and prison-like doorway, was replaced by an elegant, two-story glass and metal structure housing security functions and an exhibition space.
The community center program also includes design and construction of free standing buildings, most of which share a common program that
includes a large gymnasium, classrooms that serve lunch, and provide reading, and afterschool programs, and computer labs. In Agrest and
Gandelsonas Architects' Melrose Community Center in the Bronx, a rectangular gymnasium is inscribed within an ovoid perimeter, and the space
between the two is filled with classrooms. The idea behind this combination of athletic and education programs is "to attempt to draw young
people in with the sports, and then feed them into the educational programs."
At the Polo Grounds Community Center, Beckhard Richlan & Associates enclosed a similar program within a visually striking bright blue and green
concrete block and standing seam metal structure that is strikingly distinct from the drab thirty-story Polo Grounds Towers it serves.
In all of these cases, Burney explained, "you've got a base residential building that isn't a whole lot more than a rectangular brick structure,
but we're able with the expansions of the centers to do something visually different, something that's much more appealing, much more open, and
much more inviting to the population that it serves."
Turning to the subject of "Transparency," Burney quoted Bill Bratton, former police chief of New York City. "Feelings of transparency which glass
storefronts encourage are generally good, whereas feelings of secrecytypified by grates and barsare generally bad, socially and psychologically."
To support this idea, Burney offered the example of New York City bus shelters, which as predominantly metal structures had suffered chronic vandalism
until they were changed to almost fully glass structures. "You are extremely visible in a glass box," Burney said, "and if you break that large piece
of glass it's going to make an awful mess and an awful lot of noise. The same philosophy of transparency applies to any other situation."
As an example of this idea at work in public housing, Burney discussed Morrisania Air Rights Housing in the Bronx, where the security problems with a
recessed, padlocked, metal doorway were solved by projecting a glass-enclosed lobby toward the street. Because residents who spend time in the lobby
are able to monitor activity outside, the area has become "much safer than ever it was with padlocks and sheet-metal." Offering further support of the
"theory that more transparency equals more security," Burney cited the Red Hook Community center, which, despite large expanses of plate glass and a
particularly rough environment, has suffered only one small broken window.
But for Burney, the reasons for transparency go beyond security. Pasanella + Klein Stolzman + Berg's Williamsburg Community Center in Brooklyn,
featuring broad faces of reinforced glass creates a light, bright, and airy interior space, while integrating the interior and exterior spaces
and presenting "an inviting presence rather than a fortress presence." "Inside also," Burney said, "we've found greater transparency to be
beneficial, because it helps to integrate the functions of the center, and the accessibility to these functions for people coming into the
center is much easier than if you have a traditional classroom arrangement with solid walls."
At the Baychester Houses Community Center in the Bronx, a transparent and translucent superstructure sits atop solid walls of about ten feet
in height. "Though you can't see out at eye level, the ability to see the sky" and the use of translucent roofing "increase the feeling of
lightness and openness through the Center."
The "other benefit of transparency is that these things glow at night," Burney said. "If you're a fifth or sixth grader coming home after
school you can either hang out on the street, or you see this," he said, closing his talk with a series of twilight and night shots of the
warmly glowing Centers, "and that's what its all about. That's what we hope this program is achieving."
Henry Myerberg is a principal of Myerberg Guggenheimer Architects, and Design Director of the L!brary Initiative, a collaboration between
the Robin Hood Foundation, the Board of Education , and a volunteer corps of architects that is renovating New York City public elementary
school libraries.
"The L!brary Initiative," Myerberg explained, "is all about reinventing the New York City Elementary School based on the premise that good
library design can actually inspire learning." The Robin Hood Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation, developed the Initiative as a
response to the fact that 60% of New York City's 1.1 million schoolchildren read below grade level. Robin Hood determined three key ingredients
in making the libraries not only "places of books," but of learning. The first is equipment: "great books, current books, and great technology;"
the second is staff: the training of "a whole new cadre of librarians;" the third is design.
In 1998, Myerberg, Tucker Viemeister and Karen Davidov undertook a pilot project with the library of a charter school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The architects expanded the standard issue library into adjacent rooms to open up the space, colorfully brought the presence of the library into
the adjoining hallway to "broadcast" its presence to the rest of the school, covered the window shades with poetry, and introduced flexible
arrangements of soft-seating. Myerberg and his colleagues learned two things from this initial project: that pupils learn better in collaborative
settings than regimented ones, and that they prefer attractive environments for learning.
The success of this first library catalyzed the L!brary Initiative, a partnership between Robin Hood and the NYC Board of Education which was
begun in Spring 2000 with the ultimate objective of creating or rebuilding libraries in all of the cities 650 elementary schools. For the first
phase of the initiative ten architects (Tod Williams & Billie Tsien Associates, Bennett Lowry, Weiss/Manfredi Architects, Ronnette Riley, Richard
H. Lewis, Tsao & McKown Architectes, Deborah Berke, Alexander Gorlin, della Valle + bernheimer design, and Helfand Myerberg Guggenheimer Architects)
were each given a library to design on a pro bono basis. Pentagram Graphics provided graphics consulting for all projects.
The basic provisions for the projects were 1750 square feet, 800 books, 4 dozen seats, 1 dozen tables, 10 computers, 1 wireless network and "a ton
of invention." The non-administrative program was resolved into a three part schema comprising a "theater or story telling area" for younger children,
an "instructional area" featuring learning technology, and a lounge space. All of this was to be "sandwiched by books and technology," and given a
bold and inviting presence in the school.
Myerberg discussed the ten libraries included in the New New York 3 exhibition.
At C.S. 50, designed by Myerberg's firm, a "chaotic compressed space was turned into something more lively and inviting" by opening up the space and
hanging colored life-saver shaped lights fixtures from the ceiling. "A sense of ownership" was created for the children by printing their poetry on
the library's wallpaper, and by developing furniture systems tailored to the size and needs of their users. The bold orange entrance to the L!brary
explodes into the hallway, and creating an exciting, inviting presence.
At P.S. 184, Richard Lewis combined two classrooms, placing the storytelling area on one side, the instruction area on other, and the lounge in
between. A "halo" of enlarged photographs by Dorothy Kresz of students hovers on the walls above the mini-scaled wooden bookcases, which employ
the carved cornices of traditional library vocabulary. At P.S.19, Tsao McKown Architects was given a small space of about 1200 square feet. They
combined the theater area with the instructional area, and included a "wonderfully dramatic and engaging" area for storytelling. They also devised
an interchangeable modular table and bench furniture system. To expand the sense of excitement words such as "think" "speak" and "help" were
painted in bright colors on the outside of the library. At P.S.101, where Tod Williams and Billie Tsien were given a rather large space to work
with, the ceiling "becomes one giant inverted green canopy to create a sense of calm over the various activities on the floor." Movable furniture
creates flexible activity areas, and a visually striking red and white entrance expands the L!brary's presence into the school.
The space for Weiss/Manfredi's project at P.S. 42 was essentially left over recreational space on the ground floor of the school. To delineate the
library, Weiss/Manfredi put up a freestanding "worm wall" that winds through the space and contains the bookcases. della Valle + Bernheimer's P.S.
18 project takes "a more daring approach to the relationship between books and instructional areas," isolating them, creating a flexible space that
can be used by several different classes at once. Ronette Riley's P.S. 149 library features "a lively snake that runs through the middle of the two
classrooms" making it "almost like a playground."
Three of the projects are still in construction: Deborah Berke's P.S. 46, in which the lounge is near the circulation area rather than between
storytelling and instruction areas, and which features coffered ceilings "to make ordinary classrooms dramatic;" Alexander Gorlin's C.S. 92, where
a scrim ceiling and series of flourescent light fixtures splash a rainbow across the ceiling; and Paul Bennett's P.S. 165, where oversized light
fixtures create drama in a very small space.
"What this has all demonstrated," Myerberg reflected, "is that there are many ways to say the word library." The Initiative has shown that libraries
can be "both child and adult friendly," and that, importantly, "libraries are not about being quiet; they are very active animated spaces." Myerberg
also stressed the economic value of the libraries, the average cost of which was around $400,000-500,000. "The economics make sense," Myerberg
explained, "because while the two classrooms used to make the libraries represent only five percent of the school's real estate, they serve one-hundred
percent of the school, plus its community."
Architects for twenty-one more libraries in 2003 have been selected, and the Initiative hopes to scale up the yearly number of libraries until the
target of 650 is reached. "The next step," Myerberg said, "is recognizing the attention that this is generating in the community, and that small
scale interventions can do big things. There are still six hundred and twenty to go."
After their presentations, the three speakers were asked to identify the greatest impediments to high quality design in the public realm. For David
Burney, the greatest impediment is "the decision-making process." The "chronic meeting cancellations" that are endemic to "the cut and thrust of day
to day business" in an organization of 15,000 people make it very difficult to coordinate decisions on design issues. Moreover, "the decision making
chain in a governmental organization is just completely arcane and endless." Eve Michel agreed, but cited the technical review process as the greatest
obstruction to preserving innovative design. "The technical review people basically have no respect for design," she said. "The have a lot of
considerations that they have to take into account, and you often find yourself trying to convince them of design intent and it's very difficult to
get a receptive audience." For Myerberg, "design feeds on passion, and unless the teamand this includes the clients and ownershas some excitement
about what they're doing beyond a day to day basis, the project is doomed." The challenge, he said, is "to drive excitement through the entire
bureaucratic organization. It's a hard thing in the public sector to get people excited."
go back to exhibitions.
go to lecture summaries.
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