Margaret Sullivan Studio was hired to vision, program, and design a first of its kind collaborative incubator for the City of New Haven. The project began with an intensive community and staff engagement process that applied human-centered design, design thinking, and placemaking principles to position the New Haven Free Public Library (NHFPL) as the vehicle for equity-driven community economic development. Ives Squared amplifies community’s resources, leverages New Haven’s history of ideation and innovation, and promotes the spirit of curiosity and creativity. Featured in American Libraries Showcase, and winner of Library Journal’s Landmark Library Award, this beautiful, historic renovation of the 1907 Cass Gilbert-designed library is the national model for modernizing a 20th century reading room for 21st century skillset activation, while infusing it with inspiring civic dignity.
