Mecanoo

June 4, 2021

After $200M overhaul, NYPL’s central circulating library opens in Midtown with public rooftop terrace

The New York Public Library this week opened a new central circulating library in Midtown following a major $200 million renovation project. Located at 455 Fifth Avenue, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) was built within the shell and steel frame of the existing building formerly known as the Mid-Manhattan Library. Designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo in collaboration with Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, the new 180,000 square foot library boasts a dramatic light-filled atrium and an incredible rooftop terrace, which is now the only free and publicly accessible rooftop in Midtown.
Details here
November 16, 2017

NYPL unveils $317M master plan and renderings for iconic main branch

At a Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday evening, The New York Public Library revealed the $317 million master plan that will guide the renovation of the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The plan was developed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo and the NYC-based Beyer Blinder Belle. The historic Midtown Beaux-Arts building is home to one of the nation’s leading research libraries as well as historic spaces like the landmarked Rose Main Reading Room, the Maps, Periodicals, and Genealogy reading rooms, and Astor Hall.
This way for more renderings and what's to come
November 17, 2016

NYPL reveals first image for its $200M Mid-Manhattan Library renovation

Hot on the heels of wrapping a major renovation and hosting an epic reopening for the Rose Reading Room at their flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the NYPL is now moving forward with another mammoth revamp on its Mid-Manhattan Library. Last September, the library revealed that Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo had been tasked with the $300 million overhaul of both the flagship and the Mid-Manhattan branch at Fifth Avenue and 40th Street. And now, the NYPL is offering us our first look at the latter, a project they are calling a "state-of-the-art library that will serve as both a model and catalyst for a rejuvenated library system."
all the details here
September 17, 2015

New York Public Library Hires Dutch Architecture Firm Mecanoo to Lead Renovation

On Tuesday, news surfaced that eight architecture firms were being considered for the redesign of the New York Public Library's main branch, the landmarked Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street, one of whom was starchitect Bjarke Ingels. The list also included Ennead Architects, Studio Gang Architects, and Robert A.M. Stern Architects. One name that wasn't mentioned, however, was the Dutch firm Mecanoo, but the New York Times is reporting that the architects from the Netherlands have been selected by the library to lead the $300 million renovation, which also includes a complete overhaul of the Mid-Manhattan branch at Fifth Avenue and 40th Street.
More details ahead