Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, New York City

by Rosa Soto | September 15, 2022 12:00 am

As part of a renovation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, architecture firms Mecanoo and Beyer Blinder Belle designed a metal roof and rooftop terrace. A seventh floor was added to the library’s formerly unused roof. An L-shaped, wrap-around outdoor terrace has meeting venues, a rooftop garden, adjacent indoor café and views of the city. The renovation expanded the library to 180,000 square feet.

The sculptural, perforated metal rooftop is a geometrical aluminum crown that slopes up to cover mechanical equipment, reaching 184 feet above street level. It features angled pitches and a patinated, copper-colored, aluminum surface inspired by Midtown Manhattan’s Beaux Art, copper-clad mansard roofs. Two examples of the roofs from 1904 are visible from the terrace.

Bisela Garrett, marketing manager at Beyer Blinder Belle, describes the form of the roof as a wizard’s hat. “Several of the team’s design choices solve the functional needs of the bustling central circulating library with iconic architectural gestures,” Garrett says. “Relocating some of the building’s mechanical equipment to the penthouse level above the new seventh floor frees up the valuable rooftop space for public uses. These volumes are wrapped with the painted and perforated metal wizard’s hat. [It’s] unique structure creates an expressive ceiling for the rooms below while also contributing a dynamic and unmistakable form to the Fifth Avenue roofline.”

Perforated panels allow airflow while hiding unsightly rooftop equipment. IMETCO supplied, and The Jobin Organization Inc. installed, perforated ZIP-RIB screen wall panels and solid ZIP-RIB roof and wall panels in Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings’ Fluropon Patina Green. A 16-inch-wide module matched the spacing of the prefabricated framing system. The project also used tapered stainless steel internal gutters, fall protection, S-5!’s snow guards and custom light brackets painted to match the roof.

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/stavros-niarchos-foundation-library-new-york-city/

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