Announcement

Library design and programming were at the center of Reimagining Libraries: Innovation, Space, and Community Impact. The conversation brought together library leaders, community partners, and peers to explore the evolving role of libraries.

Karen Fairbanks joined the Programming and Design panel, moderated by Tanya, and shared insights from our work on Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center. The panel was part of a broader discussion on libraries as spaces for learning, connection, and civic life. It also looked at how space and programming can work together to serve the communities libraries support.

Conversations like this one shape how we approach library design. A library works best when the building and the programs inside it are planned together, and hearing from library leaders helps us do that well.

We are grateful to Chris Templeman, Kyle Nolan, and Keishara Colby for bringing everyone together, and to Morgan Stanley for hosting. Thank you also to our fellow panelists, Maxine Bleiweis, Acacia Thompson, Towanda Mathurin, and Lisa Gayhart, and to everyone who joined us for the morning.

New York Magazine recently featured the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center in Curbed’s “The Best of the New New York Architecture,” by architecture critic Justin Davidson. The article recognizes the project for its strong connection to place, highlighting its public plaza and role as a welcoming civic anchor at the edge of Bushwick Inlet and Newtown Creek, and positions it among a select group of projects shaping a more contextual, community-driven approach to contemporary architecture in New York City.

Read the full article here.

We’re thrilled to share that the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center has been featured as a case study in the NYC Department of City Planning’s Principles of Good Urban Design. Highlighted as an exemplary civic building, the project is recognized for demonstrating how thoughtful architecture and landscape design can strengthen community life, reflect neighborhood identity, and advance the City’s sustainability goals.

The case study showcases the library’s welcoming public spaces, its integration of indoor and outdoor environments across three levels, and its close collaboration with local environmental organizations. It also highlights the project’s innovative strategies—including energy-efficient systems, stormwater capture, and biodiverse outdoor programming areas—that contributed to its LEED Gold certification.

Completed in 2020, the library continues its long legacy as a community anchor in Greenpoint and a leading example of high-quality civic design in New York City.

View the case study here.

Images courtesy of @nycplanning on Instagram.

We’re pleased to share that our renovation and addition to Churchill House at Brown University received an Honorable Mention in the 2025 American Architecture Awards, presented by The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Now in its 31st year, the program recognizes design excellence across the United States and international work by U.S. architects. This year’s honorees were selected from a competitive shortlist of 500 projects.

Read the announcement here.

Learn more about the project here.

At this year’s APTI Conference, Marble Fairbanks joined Shawmut Design and Construction and Brown University for a full-day exploration of adaptive reuse in Providence, as part of the Association for Preservation Technology’s 2025 Annual Conference “Revolution & Innovation: The Power of Water, Craft & Architecture.” The session brought preservation professionals to several sites across Brown’s campus, giving attendees an inside look at how design teams are innovatively revitalizing historic structures.

On campus at Brown, Tanya and Jason led a tour of Churchill House, exploring how its recent renovation and addition improve accessibility, strengthen the connection between the Department of Africana Studies and the Rites and Reason Theatre, and reimagine the 1907 building for contemporary academic and cultural life.

We are thrilled to contribute to these conversations and to present Churchill House as an example of transformation rooted in historic character, while expanding its capacity and equipping the Department of Africana Studies to continue to serve as a hub for sharing powerful narratives that bridge past and present.