Foster + Partners designed the renovation of The New York Public Library

Foster + Partners, an internationally renowned architectural firm, has been selected for the renovation of The New York Public Library building, located on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in New York. It is a magnificent building popular with both local and foreign visitors, the flagship of eighty-nine public libraries across Manhattan.
For over forty years, the existing building has primarily served as a research and scholarly institution; after the expansion, the historic building is expected to offer extensive collections of books and printed materials, including those to be moved from the nearby Mid-Manhattan Branch. The library will serve users of all ages and provide them with extensive new reading rooms with open access.
The creation of a new central library is the centerpiece of the plan to transform the entire public library system in New York, announced by the city hall this March, with implementation costs projected to rise to around one billion dollars.
Foster + Partners were selected by a special committee of the library's board of trustees, which had more than thirty applicants to choose from. "Foster's understanding of the library's importance, his personal enthusiasm for the project, the professionalism of his entire team, along with a portfolio of significant and innovative projects from around the world, convinced us that Foster + Partners is exactly the right firm to help us create the new main library for the city of New York," stated library president Paul LeClerk. He further added: "We were particularly impressed by the implementations related to historic buildings. Foster showed his sensitivity to tradition, as well as the unexpected possibilities of utilizing spaces leading to the ultimate unification of the new and the old."