Student Work
1∕9
Title
Fair Haven Library for Texts, Sounds, and Theater
Project Description
This project expands the existing library into a system of programs that support learning through a variety of different ways. It provides spaces to house texts, music, film, theater, and formal classrooms that host community events and encourage conversations among multilingual neighbors, local organizations, and businesses both inside and outside the building. The project is designed to be not only an adaptive reuse of the existing Fair Haven Library, but also one that, itself, is designed to be adapted and reused in the future through the flexibility, and mutability of its architecture. Almost all spaces on site can serve a variety of purposes throughout the day, throughout the year, and throughout lifetimes.
The project’s stoops, porches, and patios create an exterior street-like experience, fostering a lively and theatrical neighborhood environment similar to that found on the adjacent Grand Avenue. Within the building, a continuous interior path travels through and between the different programs, creating the experience of an indoor “street”, encouraging visitors of different backgrounds to engage with each other verbally and visually.