Bridgehampton Library
Karen designed the Hamptons Library at Bridgehampton while with her former firm Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects. While Mr. Pomeroy sited the addition and sculpted the backyard to allow for a children’s play area, Karen conceptualized, then developed, the formal architectural strategies for the modern addition and renovation.
The historic character of the original one-story library and open porch, built in 1840, was colonial and residential in scale with a two-story Palladian extension added 20 years later. At that time, the porch was enclosed and a new central entrance was added. Over the years, various unsympathetic additions were made to the building’s rear. In the 1980s, the two-story post-modern addition that you see with the bowed window and hip roof was added as a small children’s room.
Our design responded to a need for an expanded reading room with a proposal for a double-height pavilion overlooking the garden. Enclosing the high space with large expanses of glass provided for areas of contemplation and reading niches, as well as, access to views of the back gardens. In removing the many non-
significant additions to the building’s back, the Palladian proportional integrity was restored. This also allowed for an interstitial transition zone between ”modern” and “historic” building components. Envisioned as a transparent link, the glazed facade and roof of the “slot” allowed light to flow into the building’s central interior.
We referenced the historic Stick Style character of the original building in the structural bay and the glazing modulation of the glassy pavilion. The pavilion glazing is shaded by an exterior wood slat system which also provides protection in the event of hurricane winds. The design replaces the hip roof with the original gabled design, then adds a gable for the new pavilion. The two roofs form a double gable composition reflecting a modern sensibility completely unifying old and new.
The lower level excavation allowed for a fully landscaped rear terrace and yard that accommodates children’s play. A shallow lawn amphitheater accommodates viewing of the famed “Author’s Series” of Bridgehampton weekend lectures and presentations. Integrated LCD technology is embedded in the rear glazing for interactive learning.