Stapleton Library

Lead Designers Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design (Stephen D. Bernstein, Marty Salzberg, Mitul Parekh, Greg Brenchley)

Entry Description

The upgrade of the New York Public Library’s Stapleton Branch included renovation of the original, landmarked Carnegie Library (1907) – now a Children’s Room – and the addition of a 7,000 SF extension for the library’s adult and young-adult collections. The new structure with its glazed façade – attached to the original library building – is modern, open, and inviting.
Despite strict municipal guidelines that dictated minimal lamp choices, energy usage, and illumination levels, the lighting for this library addition transcends these constraints. Using a standard T5 lamp in a variety of fixtures and in different ways, the designers created lighting that blends with and reinforces the architecture. Most important, this diffuse source is tamed to create a hierarchy of lighting that shapes the space, highlighting some areas and softening others.
The result is a design that provides comfort and visual appeal to the library's users – at 25% below the energy allowance.