Source (Steven Holl)
Sept. 28, 2016 Staff Report
Queens Library Officials and elected leaders will be celebrating the “topping out” of the Hunters Point Community Library Thursday.
The ceremony will mark the completion of the building’s steel framing and exterior, indicating that the “striking eight-story concrete rectangular shaped structure” is expected to be completed next summer, according to Queens library officials.
The event, which will go from 11:00 am through 12:30 pm, will include remarks by officials, the hoisting of the American flag, the signing of an interior wall and a tour of the building that will showcase the panoramic views. The architect Steven Holl and the design team are also expected to attend.
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The FAKE MRLIC wrote the Oct 1,11:19 am post about the Bowling Alley.
They should have put a bowling alley there.
It looks like a Stalinist turd of a building, a bad flashback to 50 years ago – I much prefer the glass towers around it. I do agree that a library is a bit of an anachronism in the day of iBooks and Kindles. Hopefully the community center aspect of it gets used so the building isn’t a total waste.
Looks like my knob after a jolly good rodgering tally ho
Once it’s completed, I think it will look fantastic, and make the deficiencies of the glass towers even more apparent. Steven Holl is an amazing architect. NYC’s public libraries are overflowing – you can’t even get into toddler story time in Court Square if you don’t make a reservation. My biggest concern is how the Queens Library system is going to pay for the upkeep. From that perspective, agree that putting it in the ground floor of a tower would have been a wiser – if less exciting – choice.
This building will enhance the park because it will become a focal point and it will bring life to the park in the winter months when the rest of the park is under used. Not every building needs to have floor to ceiling glass. The play of a monolithic volume like this with its oddly shaped windows, that frame the skyline views, has the potential to create a great experience for its users. I look forward to this addition in our community and can only hope that it is executed correctly.
Kind of a silly question since it is very unfinished. I do however think that space should be used for the park. Green space on the waterfront with spectacular views should have been preserved. This could have been done on the ground floor of one of the high rises. Why does it have to be so prominent? Corruption and egos. If it had to be put here it should have wrap around balconies and more windows. It appears that the stairs will have windows which seems like a huge waste.
I’m dissapointed it won’t be completed until NEXT summer. I thought anticipated completion was slated for Feb 2017. Could be an outstanding and much needed community social/educational space for the neighborhood children. Would have been great to have to for thie children this winter to deal with the cold…
LOVE IT GO DDC
So in my building if your apartment view is blocked by this new structure it’s a hideous eyesore but if your view is not effected then it’s attractive and interesting. Personally I think they should have tied it into a parcel of land and told perspective developers that if they want to build then they have to incorporate a public library into the structure. The developer would have to absorb all cost and then turn the property (library section) over to the city (no lease/no maintenance). Could have saved a lot of money both now and in the future.
If you’d like to see renderings of what it’ll look like, go to the architect’s website.
http://www.stevenholl.com/projects/hunters-point-community-library
I think it’d be a very interesting piece and a lot more art than a boring glass building. I wouldn’t vote it to be the best looking building in the world but I think it’s good overall. Look across the river into manhattan and tell us that most of the modern glass high rise aren’t boring.
Those renderings are nowhere near what the neighborhood is getting now. Queens Library never had the money for the architect’s vision and certainly doesn’t now.
Who puts a library, something obsolete by today’s technology, on prime waterfront property? This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. It is a super ugly building that belongs on jackson avenue and not on center blvd. I can not imagine anyone using this building for anything but a public restroom.
Really? You rather have another generic glass high rise for only certain people can afford to live in and afford, instead of a public building accessible to the entire public to enjoy. Obviously, gathering in public and studying and learning is not your cup of tea but i would bet hundred of thousands of people in the area will disagree with you about how a public space to share with everyone is better than another rental/condo. I’m sure once it’s done, you will visit and either find it useful or see thousands of people who will and I dare you to say your comment again.
I have been waiting for 9 years for a more local library to be built in this part of LIC. My closest library is in the CitiBank building and the hours are terrible. A library is a place not only for books made out of paper, but it’s a place for community programming, job searches, homework, etc. For those of us in LIC not living in beautiful highrises, a library on the waterfront is a perfect way to include the rest of the neighborhood in the luxury of the water.
The Court Square Library is open on Saturdays now so, hopefully, it will be easier for you to visit.
I agree – a total waste of prime waterfront land and the design is very ugly. At least they could have made it look better.
It’s not done. When it’s finished, with landscaping and its integration into the park, I think it’s going to look great.
I don’t think everyone will love the library but it will inevitably become an iconic building for the neighborhood and city. So far I think it will be a great addition to the neighborhood but I will reserve final judgement until it is completed. This area of th neighborhood has enough glass buildings so I do welcome the use of concrete and other materials.
It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but its interesting. Certainly not a generic glass and steel structure. I think the final product will be a nice addition to the LIC Skyline as seen from the East Side of Manhattan and Roosevelt Island. Close up, I don’t think you get the full effect. I also don’t think, based on the renderings it will look as drab as it does now.
I look at this eyesore from my apartment window. It’s a big block of concrete which obstructs what use to be a beautiful landscape. It doesn’t fit into the rest of the community at all and has an oppressive feel to it. What a disappointment.
The same exact comment could also be said of your building. At least this will serve some purpose to the people and kids of the neighborhood.
I don’t understand why it had to be 8 stories?
The building is on the lot at an angle; it makes the building look distorted in shape and size. So far the design aspect is not pleasing to the eye.
Probably something that should have been asked before it was built. I personally would have preferred an all glass building. Since the floors are mainly open space, it would have enabled an almost unobstructed view to the city.
They tried for all glass but it cost about 15 million more than they had in budget. So you get this concrete slab instead.
That is indeed unfortunate.
It’s location offers numerous unobstructed views of various panoramas. so let’s not get too disappointed. It is weird that a regular building designed with regular windows wouldn’t also have been an option. I’m pretty sure that these architects were more focused on style rather than functionality; ideally, the residents of Queens who will be using this library should have been part of the decision-making progress.