Greenpoint Library & Environmental Education Center

Brooklyn, NY

The Greenpoint Library began as a Carnegie-era building completed in 1906, that was replaced with a single-story, bunker-style building in the early 1970’s. The new Greenpoint Library & Environmental Education Center has been reimagined into a dramatically expanded community-based hub for environmental education and programs for all ages. Partially funded by the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund, the Brooklyn Public Library constructed a new facility containing a variety of flexible program/learning spaces including classrooms, reading rooms, meeting rooms and event spaces with a living roof. Envoie partnered with the Library’s capital projects and facilities team in leading the construction of this new building. The building was certified LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2022. Envoie played a key role in managing the budget and various funding sources as well as providing expertise in the reporting and documentation requirements of pass-through City contracts.

    • Ensure that the project is delivered in accordance with the City pass-thru grant requirements.

    • Develop and maintain a detailed budget, cost reporting system, and funding management.

    • Assist BPL with making design decisions with respect to programmatic, operational and cost considerations. 

    • Liaising access and coordination with neighboring properties

    • Coordinating the procurement, delivery and installation of BPL’s furniture, fixtures and equipment including a custom designed rug.

    • Mitigating unexpected field conditions including the uncovering of existing foundations from the 1906 library as well as hazardous subsurface materials.

    • We manage multiple funding sources with strict allocation requirements and firm deadlines.

    • Complex site logistics throughout construction to meet site safety requirements while allowing work to progress at multiple facades.

    • Owner - Brooklyn Public Library

    • Architect - Marble Fairbanks Architects

    • Landscape Architect - SCAPE

    • Builder - Westerman Construction

    • Photography - Michael Moran

"The new Greenpoint Library models the enormous potential of public libraries in the 21st century… in Brooklyn and beyond, we need more libraries like this one: that make vital knowledge and beautiful design accessible to all, that empower people from all walks of life to come together and build a more sustainable, more just world."

- Linda E. Johnson
President and CEO, Brooklyn Public Library

Welcome to Greenpoint Library! (Video)

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