Helping to bring architect Snøhetta and artist Jose Parlá’s vision to life for the expanded 18,000 square-foot Far Rockaway Library, prismatic metal composite panels in the shape of trapezoids decorate the library’s interior and exterior in Queens.
Prismatic Series ALPOLIC MCM panels wrap around the building’s corners and compliment a large A-shaped mural crafted by Parlá. The artist’s mural was digitized and encased in colored glass, presenting a “Style Writing” half architecture, half canvas facade. Parlá selected hues of yellow and orange to best represent the colors of sunrise off the Long Island coast.
Snøhetta specified the MCM panels in MRT Prismatic Red and SAW White finishes. The mica flakes in the prismatic panels present shifting colors depending on the time of day and the angle of viewing. The panels gel with the artwork on the mural, adding depth and texture to the exterior and mirror the mural’s dynamic nature. MCM was also installed on the baffle ceiling over the atrium.
The orange metal fins over the concrete staircase energize the space with a strong pop of color and blends with the yellow orange glazing and dichroic glass on the second floor perimeter which shifts the filtering sunlight into a cascade of colors. This second floor location also features an art installation titled “Feynman diagrams” written in a code based on the work of Far Rockaway-born physicist Richard Feynman.
Inverted pyramidal columns create an intriguing interior and help enhance daylighting bounced into the space.
In all, more than 10,000 square feet of 6mm fire-resistant Prismatic MCM were applied on the exterior and interior, and 2,500 square feet of the high gloss 6mm SAW White was designed for the interior walls, a portion of which is found behind the information desk.
The installation of glass and MCM required careful planning and execution to ensure that the panels fit perfectly, particularly at the building’s diagonally oriented corners.
“The diagonal, that was a bit of a challenge itself. To get everything perfect from the form to frame that so those corners worked – everything had to be perfectly plumb,” related Fred Slade, senior project manager, EDA Contractors, Bensalem, Penn.
To meet the unique requirements of the project, the design team had to select lightweight, workable materials to craft the various geometric spaces of the design. These requirements directed the team toward MCM as the optimal material for successfully bringing their design to life.
For example, the fabrication of the metal ceiling baffles was created in three large segments inside EDA’s shop and involved folding the MCM like origami.
“I remember thinking they look like a lunar module, and marveling at how these were going to be hung in the air,” recalls Slade.
Making this portion of the project even more complicated, the team worked hard to marry the drawings for the glass skylight, concrete ceiling and MCM baffles to create smooth transitions and a tight enclosure. This included pulling in actual field dimensions for the exact location of the metal panels.
The noteworthy LEED Gold project picked up a few awards including the Municipal Art Society of New York’s 2024 MASterworks Awards as Best New Building, an American Institute of Architects (AIA) NY Design Award Citation in Architecture, an Urban Land Institute Finalist citation for Excellence in Institutional Development and an Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Award for Libraries.
