During its first full day of operation last month, the Kew Gardens Hills Library teemed with patrons. College students sporting large backpacks mixed with seniors scanning newspapers in the main reading area. One teen, not wishing to be disturbed, planted herself on the floor in a corner, headphones on. At the extreme opposite end of the building, toddlers ran to and fro, jumping on pint-sized furniture beside a string of baby carriages parked along the nearest wall.
Perhaps it’s the playful design that enticed all these visitors. Or maybe it was the sheer anticipation. Residents of this diverse Queens, New York, neighborhood were promised a new library over a decade ago, making do in a temporary space for the past several years as construction on the much-delayed project dragged on. “I’m just happy people still read books and still need a library,” jokes architect Dan Wood, WORK Architecture Company founding partner along with Amale Andraos.
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