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Center for Fiction
Occupancy
2019Location
Brooklyn, NYCClient
The Center for FictionThe Center for Fiction, founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, is the only organization in the United States devoted solely to the art of fiction. Its new headquarters, relocated from Manhattan to the heart of the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District, offers 17,000 sf of resource-rich space to literary professionals and enthusiasts. Programming for the space accounts for housing a circulating collection of more than 100,000 fiction titles, a bookstore, auditorium space for educational programming, a writer’s studio, rooms for discussion groups, and administrative support space.
BKSK’s design vision is creating a locally-rooted framework for timeless stories: those already written, those currently being put to paper, and others yet spontaneously occurring between New Yorkers and the world around them. The design celebrates the history of the Center in a way that is modern, open and welcoming to a diverse audience that the new Brooklyn home will attract. The architecture is made of stories, through the use of books, text, and art woven throughout the space. It celebrates transparency and scale, that is traditional yet of its time, simultaneously grand and intimate. The space showcases the emerging community of Brooklyn-based makers through the use of custom fabricated furniture, neon signage, and metalwork, including café tables CNC routed with literary quotes, a bench made of books and a graphics program inspired by book plates from the Center’s collection. Selective re-use of pieces from the Center’s Manhattan home, such as light fixtures, card catalogs, art, busts, and bookcases contribute to a feeling of home for long-time members.
Design elements such as 19th century-inspired metalwork, warm natural materials, and lively environmental graphics infuse the space, securing it as a ‘‘third place’’ for work, research and inspiration outside the home or office. Sustainable best practices guide the design, which is certified LEED Gold.
Awards
AIA New York, Interiors Speed Presentation, 2020
Chicago Athenaeum, Green Good Design Award, 2020
American Library Association / International Interior Design Association (ALA/IIDA), Library Interior Design Award, 2020
The Architect’s Newspaper, Best of Design Award Honorable Mention - Institutional Interiors, 2019
Society of American Registered Architects, Award of Honor, 2019
Press
“Inside the Best New Cultural Centers,” Green Building & Design (GB&D), November 2019
“The Center for Fiction by BKSK Architects Brings Books and Sustainability to Brooklyn,” Interior Design, March 2019
“New Brooklyn Home of Center for Fiction to Open in 2019,” New York Times, May 2018
“Construction Nearly Complete At 15 Lafayette Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn,” New York Yimby, October 2017
“Center for Fiction by BKSK Architects,” Interiors + Sources, November 2015
COLLABORATORS
Jonathan Rose Companies – developer; Dattner Architects (with Bernheimer Architecture) – base-building architect; Archstone Builders – consulting contractor; Dagher Engineering – MEP engineer; Weidlinger Associates – structural engineer; Doyle Partners – graphics; Horton Lees Brogden – lighting design; Cerami & Associates – AV; J. Callahan Consulting – expeditor/code consultant; Séamus Henchy and Associates, Inc.- Owner’s Rep.
Photos by Michelle Rose Studio
Related Projects
2 Lafayette Street280 Park AvenueIllumination FundJewish Board of Family & Children’s ServicesPlainsboro Public Library"Our programs for readers and writers of all levels are thriving, and we believe those programs will be more relevant than ever in our new BKSK-designed Brooklyn home. "
The Center’s Executive Director, Noreen Tomassi