The Children’s Library at Concourse House

From the June 2019 Issue of ARCHITECT:

A choir loft turned library gives children creative space in a larger transitional housing environment.

Concourse House has provided transitional housing and services for women and their children from a stout four-story masonry structure on Grand Concourse in the Bronx, N.Y., since 1991. The facility includes a barrel-vaulted, double-height former chapel, with a choir loft above, that dates to the building’s construction in the 1930s. Recently, New York–based Michael K Chen Architecture (MKCA) transformed the 250-square-foot loft into a library for Concourse House’s young residents.

Principal Michael K. Chen, AIA, was introduced to the nonprofit by donors Kate and Julie Yamin. He explains that a lifelong love of reading—influenced by his librarian-trained mother—determined the design approach: “All of my greatest escapes were in books,” he says. The children who live at Concourse House are transitioning out of homelessness and “don’t have their own books,” he says. “A library is a special part of childhood—to have access to the exploration and learning and imagination that books afford.”

MKCA placed a capsule-shaped shelving unit—a form also delightfully known as a discorectangle—in front of the choir’s existing railing to provide a more substantial safeguard against the drop-off. The rift-sawn white oak shelving is about 5 feet tall, and is designed to maximize book storage while ensuring the space isn’t intimidating for the children. A series of spaced wood dowels form the back of the unit and allow both light and air to circulate into the library. “We calibrated the scale so the elements are big, but kind of cuddly,” Chen says. “Even though it’s a single space, we were trying to create little pockets of intimacy.” For example, a small table acts as the librarian’s “office” for meetings, counseling, and poetry writing workshops.

The design provides a number of different settings for reading—a solid-surfaced reading table, playfully upholstered poufs stored in low shelving, and a comfortable, colorful carpet which provides unlimited seating options. Designed by Alex Proba of New York–based Studio Proba, the custom carpet features bold abstract forms that “map” how the space can be used. “It signals that you could sit in a circle around a person who’s telling a story,” Chen says. The height of pile varies, and it’s more plush in the center where children are more likely to sit. For illumination, Chen suspended four globe-shaped pendant fixtures from the vaulted ceiling, supplementing them with a pair of sconces on the wall.

When the library opened, “we cut the ribbon, and the children ran in and grabbed books,” Chen says. “They used it exactly the way it was meant to be used; they didn’t need to be prompted.” Which seems like an object lesson in good design.

Project Credits
Project: The Children’s Library at Concourse House, Bronx, N.Y.
Client: Concourse House
Architect: Michael K Chen Architecture, New York . Braden Caldwell, Michael K. Chen, AIA (project team)
General Contractor/Millwork: Structure NYC
Major Donors: Julie Yamin and Kate Yamin
Donations: Studio Proba; Asher Israelow; Bec Brittain; Birnam Wood Studio; Christopher Kurtz; Chronicle Books; David Weeks Studio; Egg Collective; Ezra Tessler, Courtesy of 315 Gallery; Fernando Mastrangelo Studio; Haley Josephs, Courtesy of 315 Gallery; Kin & Co.; Kinder Modern; Ladies and Gentlemen Studio; Maharam; Manzanares Furniture; Mary Wallis for Lindsey Adelman Studio; Pelle; Phaedo, Courtesy of Colony; Ramos Trucking; Schoolhouse; Structure NYC; Visibility; Vonnegut/Kraft and Mary Ping
Size: 250 square feet
Cost: Withheld

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the designer of the custom carpet. It was designed by Alex Proba of Studio Proba. ARCHITECT regrets the error.