The Thomas Dongan primary school library is in a 1920 school building in the suburban neighborhood of Dongan Hill in Staten Island, NY.  Dongan Hill is on the island’s East Shore and is home to the Gateway National Recreation Area and residents of Italian, Russian, Irish, Polish and Albanian ancestry.

 

APT design solution was to insert an activities ribbon within the space that would integrate lighting, graphics, storage and retractable projection screens for storytelling, book browsing and lessons.

 

Our custom-designed wall graphic displays quotes from various children's books on one side and the names of the authors on the other.  We organized modular classroom tables along the room's big windows. A local craftsman built our custom-designed wood shelving along the perimeter.

 

The library’s materials and technologies, such as shades that reduce glare but allow penetration of natural light as well as energy-efficient light fixtures, respond to the latest environmental standards and follow specific environmental requirements developed with the client.​

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This project is part of Atelier Pagnamenta Torriani’s architectural acupuncture interventions in NYC: a transformative series of public school libraries that are expanding their educational purpose by rebuilding communities through culture.


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