We were recently upstate with our Landscape Architect (MNLA) and Contractor (UCE) to see progress on the site work for a residential project in Dutchess County. This new single-family residence is situated on a south-facing forested hill and will include an artist studio and pool. The house is wedged into the hillside with exposed, board formed concrete retaining walls that extend from the landscape to the interior of the house.
Over the weekend, we hosted before-hours tours of Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center as part of OHNY Weekend. The tour was led by Jason Roberts, project architect, and offered a unique look into the 15,000 square foot community library and hub for environmental awareness, activism, and education.
Construction is well underway at Churchill House, home to Brown University’s department of Africana Studies, and Rites and Reason Theatre. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been returning to campus to view the progress of this fast-moving project. The steel is complete for the addition and all walls and floors are framed out in the interior of the existing building. We are working closely with the client and Shawmut Design & Construction as a design/build team to complete the project for the Fall, 2023 semester. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more updates!
We are thrilled to announce that we will be working in collaboration with MASS Design Group on the renovation of New Lots Library in Brooklyn. The library was built on an African burial ground for enslaved people and the new design will seek to respond to this history by having the library become a celebration of African American heritage. One of the largest libraries in the Brooklyn Public Library System, New Lots is also one of the few libraries in the network that contains an Adult Learning Center.
Over the course of the past few months, MFA has been working in collaboration with Hester Street and MASS Design Group to hold engagement sessions with the East New York Community. Input gathered from these meetings will inform the design and programming of the new space while seeking to transform the library into a nexus for social activism, education, and liberation, through the amplification of the stories of the surrounding community and ancestors buried on site.
Interior Design recently published this year’s version of Best in Design, highlighting iconic architecture throughout the past 90 years in honor of its 90th anniversary. Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center is featured on page 172 as a demonstration of sustainable and resilient design that is intended to change with environmental conditions, and time.