The Children’s Library at Concourse House

Michael K. Chen Architecture (MKCA) has designed the new Children’s Library at Concourse House: Home for Women and Their Children, a Bronx-based shelter that serves women with young children under the age of nine who are transitioning out of homelessness. Established in 1991, Concourse House works to eliminate homelessness by providing families with safe, stable, transitional housing, coupled with a range of social services and programming to help those families make successful transitions into permanent housing.

The library is an important new component of the educational resources for the children at Concourse House, and is unique among the other program spaces as a place that is
specifically dedicated to books and reading, and a much needed space for volunteer and
staff-led readings, story times, and other events organized around books. The importance
of reading for the cognitive development and emotional health of children is widely
recognized, and the library is designed to provide space and opportunity for exploration
and imagination for children who, more often than not, do not have access to their own
books.

Situated in an dark and underused mezzanine space under the vaulted ceiling of the
Concourse House multipurpose space, the library is designed to break from the
institutional quality of the other program spaces in the building, to engage the children
visually through a bright, colorful, and playful environment, and to allow for flexible
transitions between individual and organized group readings and storytelling.

A round, illuminated shelving unit is nestled against the barrel vaulted ceiling and serves
as a backdrop to the library activities and as a visually permeable protective barrier
between the library and the double height space below, affording glimpses of the spaces
beyond through a screen of wood dowels. Below the vaulted ceiling, additional shelves are
lined with upholstered poufs that can be brought out as seating elements, or serve as a
continuous upholstered backrest when stored, allowing the children to comfortably sit on
the floor. A large and colorful carpet incorporates the shapes and colors of the room into a playful soft landscape of varied colors and textures. Two rounded Corian tables are
integrated into the shelving and the fully paneled end wall of the library. The paneling
incorporates additional LED lighting, and a back-painted glass erasable writing surface.

The project is made possible by Julie and Kate Yamin and numerous small donations. The
library has been filled with 1200 children's books from Sisters Uptown Bookstore, a
community resource center and bookstore in Washington Heights. MKCA provided all
design and architecture services pro-bono, and led the effort to solicit additional in-kind
donations from other designers, suppliers, fabricators, and contractors in service of the
project.

“The love of books and of reading is something that defined my own childhood, and that of everyone on our team,” said MKCA principal Michael Chen. “The space for imagination
and for reflection that books afford is such a gift, especially for kids who don’t currently
have a permanent home, or might not have a space of their own. It’s a privilege to work
with Concourse House to make the library a reality for such a deserving group of children.”

The firm has also coordinated an auction of art and furniture, lighting, and design objects to benefit Concourse House. The auction will be hosted on Paddle8.com from Dec 4-18,
2018, and features works donated by leading New York design studios, galleries, and
individual artists, and curated by MKCA.

MKCA Project Team: Braden Caldwell, Michael Chen
General Contractor and Millwork: Structure Ventures
Generous support provided by Julie Yamin and Kate Yamin