Saving the Lions' Cage: NYPL'S Multi-Story Stacks
December 6, 2013 |
The plan to remove millions of books from the New York Public Library’s century old building at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue has caused an outcry from writers and scholars, but less has been said about the book stacks that will be destroyed once the books are gone. This construction of steel and iron is the innovation at the core of the library’s ingenious organizational scheme. Its efficient beauty is as much a part of the building as the marble walls that enclose it. The design of the library involved Carrère & Hastings in a spirited, open competition. Its construction enmeshed the architects in a complex collaboration with a varied cast including a celebrated surgeon, an unsung engineer, and a New Jersey foundryman. This process stands in stark contrast to the secrecy with which NYPL has developed the radical alteration it now proposes. Architect and author Charles Warren will discuss the history and construction of the stacks and the reasons they should remain at the center of one of New York’s most celebrated civic buildings.
Charles D. Warren is a member of the Committee to Save the New York Public Library and principal of the Manhattan firm, Charles Warren Architect. He is the co-author of the two-volume monograph, Carrère & Hastings Architects and author of other books and essays on architecture and town planning.
|
| |
| Location Information |
|
Neighborhood Preservation Center |
232 E. 11th St.
New York, NY 10003 |
| |
| Contact Information |
| Email:
bharmon@hdc.org |
|