QUEENS LIBRARY

SOUTH JAMAICA

Natural Environment Research

The South Jamaica Branch Library is one the Earth Day Top Ten Award from the AIA. and it is an innovative building. It is the first building constructed under the City of New York DDC’s High Performance Building Guidelines. The Library performed its expected energy benchmarks. The library provides a  healthy environment for its community and it  is an early example of a successful green building in New York City . The following detailed drawings illustrate the construction process.

The primary idea for the library was solar heat gain, evident by the saw-tooth roof and windows over the main space, beneficial also for providing natural lighting in reading areas. Additionally, air circulation is  a main consideration and materials chosen for interior spaces are meant to act as a heat sink to promote passive building comfort. The design of the mechanical air system complements this function to improve air quality. Preview entire project.

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