October 23, 2008
Norman Foster, English architect and Baron, has been tapped to redesign the main branch of the New York Public Library, located on 42nd Street next to Bryant Park. You may remember Foster from the New Architecture of Manhattan walking tour (he designed the long-incomplete Hearst Tower) or perhaps from his part in the redesigning of the World Trade Center 2 building, which will stand across Greenwich Street from Freedom Tower, once both are complete.
Foster's redesign of the Public Library--one of New York's most stately landmarks--will not touch the exterior of the building, which will have been a fixture in Midtown for a century by the time the redesign is completed. Foster's design firm was one of thirty candidates in contention for the contract, winning out, according to library officials, with stunning conceptualizations of the proposed redesign. Nothing concrete is available about the resign (which is still a year away from a final design), but given Foster's acumen remodeling historic buildings--he was responsible for the work done on the centuries-old British Museum, after all, as well as the aforementioned Hearst Tower--the end result is bound to be stunning.
Foster's efforts will be part of a $1.2 billion overhaul of the public library system in New York. The project, along with the renovation of the Beaux-Arts main branch is expected to be completed in 2013.
Tags:
architecture, historic, landmarks, manhattan, new york public library, norman foster, redesign
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Posted on 10/23/2008
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