{"id":888,"date":"2018-12-18T14:08:08","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T14:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations\/?p=888"},"modified":"2018-12-14T14:32:09","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T14:32:09","slug":"a-glowing-kids-library-at-a-bronx-shelter-by-michael-k-chen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/inspirations\/a-glowing-kids-library-at-a-bronx-shelter-by-michael-k-chen\/","title":{"rendered":"A Glowing Kids Library at a Bronx Shelter by Michael K. Chen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Glowing Kids Library at a Bronx Shelter by Michael K. Chen<\/em><\/strong> \u2013\u00a0 The\u00a0Bronx-based Concourse House, a\u00a0transitional shelter\u00a0for women with children under nine years old, has received a new children\u2019s\u00a0library\u00a0courtesy of New York\u2019s Michael K. Chen Architecture<\/strong> <\/em>(MKCA<\/strong><\/em>). Instead of a traditional book nook, MKCA has installed an illuminated, elongated library and a\u00a0reading area below the shelter\u2019s dramatic barrel-vaulted ceiling.<\/p>\n

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Concourse House: Home for Women and Their Children\u00a0was founded in 1991 as both a shelter and resource centre for families who are transitioning out of homelessness. Because Concourse House primarily works with families who have children, the library was a welcome addition. \u201cThe love of books and of reading is something that defined my own childhood, and that of everyone on our team,\u201d said MKCA founder Michael Chen. \u201cThe space for imagination and for reflection that books afford is such a gift, especially for kids who don\u2019t currently have a permanent home or might not have a space of their own. It\u2019s a privilege to work with Concourse House to make the library a reality for such a deserving group of children.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MKCA placed the library and slatted bookshelf on the mezzanine of Concourse House\u2019s soaring multipurpose space, allowing light from the space\u2019s ample windows to filter through to the reading area. The rounded edges of the timber bookshelf both slot into and reference the building\u2019s vaulted ceiling.<\/p>\n

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Whereas the multipurpose space below is a stark white, MKCA used colour in the children\u2019s library to differentiate it from the shelter\u2019s more institutional spaces. An assortment of soft pouffes in red, blue, and green pastels was used for the library\u2019s seating and can be stored in their accompanying shelves to act as backrests for children who sit on the ground. A room-spanning plush carpet in a wild variety of colours drew inspiration from the shape of the other elements in the library for its rounded pattern.<\/p>\n

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The project was completed pro bono, and through the help of small donators. The library was filled with 1,200 books through Sisters Uptown Bookstore in Washington Heights, while MKCA solicited donations from designers, fabricators, suppliers, and contractors to complete the project.<\/p>\n

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A Glowing Kids Library at a Bronx Shelter by Michael K. Chen \u2013\u00a0 The\u00a0Bronx-based Concourse House, a\u00a0transitional shelter\u00a0for women with children under nine years old, has received a new children\u2019s\u00a0library\u00a0courtesy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[365,367,366,368,369,370],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspirations","tag-michael-k-chen","tag-michael-k-chen-architecture","tag-michael-k-chen-new-york","tag-mkca","tag-mkca-new-york","tag-new-york-architecture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.circu.net\/inspirations-old-wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}