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.
Earlier today, our team participated in the Center For Architecture’s Discover Architecture Program for the fourth year in a row. This year, Director Tanya Gershon and Junior Architectural Designer Kristy Cho delved into their personal stories and recalled the distinct paths that led them to a career in architecture. This set the foundation for a discussion with students on how they can transform their interests and passions into a rewarding career. Tanya and Kristy shared advice on how to explore personal interests at the high school level, tips for architecture school, and ways to build experience that can help set the stage for a fulfilling career. We continue to be inspired by the energy and excitement of high school students who are curious about architecture and passionate about their futures. Thank you, CFA, and all the students who participated!
We are wrapping up Schematic Design on a fast-moving project with Brown University on a gut renovation and addition to the historic Churchill House, home to the Department of Africana Studies and the Rites and Reasons Theatre. Marble Fairbanks teamed up with Huff + Gooden Architects to work on this exciting project located at the crossroads of a new arts district for Brown University.
Our team recently completed multiple site visits in the Boston area for several projects with the General Services Administration and the National Parks Service. We are continuing work on projects at the Charlestown Navy Yard as well as leading a feasibility study for a regional storage hub for NPS museum collections in the region.
In their last newsletter of 2021, Urban Omnibus named Jason and Acacia Thompson’s virtual tour of Greenpoint Library & Environmental Education Center one of their top articles of the year. Throughout the tour, Jason and Acacia, the Brooklyn Public Library System’s first Environmental Justice Coordinator, discuss the site’s unique history, highlight details of the library’s programming, and discuss the significance of the library within the community as an institution that promotes environmental awareness, education, and activism. Jason noted: “Why we chose certain materials, why we oriented the building a certain way, why we chose the plants that we chose: we wanted to tell a story. In a lot of these cases, there are actually plaques on the walls and on the glass that describe what’s going on, so that people can understand why things were done the way they were done.”