When the town of Greece, New York, wanted to expand its public Children’s Library area, the owner and design team reached directly into the minds of young readers and pulled out all the makings of a space to foster learning and growth. A dual level “story garden” replete with a perfectly blue sky, lights like clouds, an interactive fairy tree and a round Hobbit-inspired doorway emerged as a result. The story garden concept ties into the library’s young reader’s programs, which encourage growth through reading and play. Architecture and lighting design by Passero Associates in collaboration with Quality Lighting Systems, EC4B Engineering, P.C. and Roto (the supplier of all the large display and interactive elements), supports the whimsical narrative while providing practical task lighting and uniform diffuse illumination.
Dear reader, let’s start our story by examining the library’s sky. “The interior design of the space incorporates elements of nature to evoke the feeling of the story garden; the primary lighting in the space is designed to resemble a bright summer sky full of white clouds,” says VP of Passero Peter Wehner. Along with a strategically placed skylight by Vode, white hoop fixtures by Intra Lighting are set against sky-blue ceiling tiles. Intentionally multi-sized and suspended from various heights to appear as changeable as the natural sky, the circular luminaires set to 3500K “serve a functional purpose of creating diffuse, non-directional lighting throughout the space. This allows the shelving and furniture in the library to be modified in the future without creating dark spots or shadows,” says project architect Emily Connors.
Now our story floats down from the sky to land atop the fairy tree—one of the library’s key play elements. In addition to carrying the charm of the outdoors inside, connecting the two levels of the space, and inviting children to take a bird’s-eye view of the whole library, “The tree provides active play with a vacuum system that transports balls through tracks, which trigger lights to glow and music to play,” says Connors. Secret theater-style lighting highlights the playtime elements; spotlights and hoops work together to create the effect of sunlight peeking through branches and leaves. Placed below the fairy-tree mezzanine are low-profile linear lights by Vode. Inspired by sunrays, the lines of light draw focus to the tree and help to “create a unique space for play,” says Connors.
The last chapter of our story takes us on an adventure through the Hobbit-hole door, over to the curved bookshelves, and into the Story and Crafts classroom. “Libraries are ever evolving spaces as both technology and community needs change. To provide maximum flexibility for the future, the majority of the Children’s Library is a single open space with uniform lighting, allowing areas to be defined by furniture rather than by permanent walls. In a few select locations, a change in lighting fixture was appropriate for the design,” says Connors. For example, in the craft area, three geometric fixtures, Orbis, Cubix and Delta by G Lighting form circles, squares and triangles to reflect the children’s art projects. These playful luminaires provide uniform and bright illumination for whatever activities the kids can dream up.
THE DESIGNERS
- Emily Connors, AIA, is a project architect with Passero Associates.
- Peter Wehner, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP+BD/C, is vice president and architecture department manager with Passero Associates.
- Peter Brincka, LEED AP, is a lighting representative with Quality Lighting Systems.
- Roberto Stolfa is an electrical engineer with EC4B Engineering, P.C.
- Sean Ramsay is a partner with Roto.