Green Libraries

Another LEED project by BKSK Architects (Queens Botanical Gardens, Harsen House, and 124 West 23rd Street) just broke ground last week in Mamaroneck, New York. Designed to achieve a Silver level of certification from USGBC, the Mamaroneck Public Library renovation and expansion project will contemplate a 13,000-square-foot addition to an existing 21,000-square-foot facility, which dates from 1927. BKSK's design charge was to maintain the historic appeal of the existing structure; the Library's original reading room wiill be restored and its columns and box pattern facade details replicated. Green features are LEED-standard; energy efficient building systems, extensive daylighting, and recycled-content materials, in addition to a green roof. The project should wrap up sometime in early 2010.