Introduction
Rick Mather Architects was a finalist for the New York Public Library design competition in 2008.
The scheme proposed a new entrance and street frontage onto 42nd Street linking directly to the newly created circulating library reading room at first floor level with views over Bryant Park.
The existing seven storey stack space would be transformed with links to the existing main entrance on 5th Avenue and the newly created 42nd Street entrance via a series of interlocking spaces created from existing back-of-house facilities including the present basement level.
The proposals also combined the main ground and first floors to unify the public circulation, liberating the monumental window wall as a panoramic element to engage the landscape of the Park and a continuous three storey 'bookcase' space of open stacks with a 180 degree view over the city.