Case Study

Custom Furniture for the Montaukett Learning Resource Center: A Triumph of Synergy and Coherence

The new library on the Eastern Campus of Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) in Riverhead, NY, designed by JCJ Architects of Hartford, CT, is a triumph of synergy and coherence. The modern structure is underscored with building materials that sing out the architectural forms and highlight the interior work and study spaces.

The creation of furniture for the library, the Montaukett Learning Resource Center, required the collaboration of the custom furniture builders at Huston & Company, the project architect, the library staff and a professional metalsmith.

When Barbara Joslin of JCJ Architects met with Bill Huston of Huston & Company at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January 2010, she indicated the Montaukett Learning Resource Center was a project where Huston & Company’s unique custom capabilities would be a valuable resource. “The building we were designing was very unique and contemporary and we felt it required highly custom furniture designs,” explains Joslin.

Having worked with Huston & Company on previous projects, Joslin was confident they could meet the needs of the client and create some unique furniture designs for the library. At the first project meeting between Joslin and Huston at the JCJ offices in Harford, Joslin emphasized that the dominant design element in the library’s architecture was the inverted ceiling. She hoped that element could be incorporated into the furniture as a theme throughout the library. The building architecture also includes striking elements of glass and metal. The furniture designers were asked to include these materials in their designs as well, and to carefully consider the directives from the library staff.

“In working through the design process, we wanted the library spaces and furniture to be warm, inviting and offer students a variety of different spaces to study, work and use computers,” explains Mary Ann Miller, Campus Head Librarian at SCCC.

Huston & Company was allowed a great deal of creative freedom in establishing the initial furniture designs. “My son, Saer, and I worked on these designs together. It was one of those projects you don’t want to put down; the designs were immediately exciting to us. The inverted ceiling became the central element for us, reflected in the table, carrel, end panel, and bookcase designs,” says Bill Huston.

Huston contacted AL Kronk of Rusted Puffin Metalworks in Portland, Maine, early on in the furniture design process; “We worked closely with Al to develop metal finishes compatible and sympathetic with our wood and finishes, wanting a textured, weathered, warm metal instead of sleek, polished and cold.” Close collaboration and coordination with Kronk was necessary to marry the wood and metal together, both physically and aesthetically. “We both had to understand what the end result target was and to make sure the materials would continue to work well together for years and years to come,” says Huston.

Huston explains that while each design presented its unique challenges either in design or build, the pinwheel carrels were the most demanding. Because of their size and shape, they had to be designed so they could be taken apart for shipping and reassembled onsite. “As with the many large pieces that we do such as conference tables and reference desks, this adds additional layers of design and engineering.”

In the end, Huston & Company handcrafted 24 tables of various sizes, 2 sets of pinwheel carrels, 4 shelving units for periodicals and over 50 end panels and canopy tops for the library book stacks. Installation was on schedule, when the building construction was ready. Bill and Saer Huston and several Huston & Company craftsmen were onsite to oversee the delivery and to directly assemble and position all of the furniture.

Mary Ann Miller summarizes the end result, “The combination of wood and metal is really a wonderful complement to the building’s architecture. The design for the tables, displays and shelving end panels incorporated the triangular lines of the interior ceiling creating a striking visual unity throughout the library space. Students have used the tables from the very first day we opened in January, and we’re sure these sturdy tables will last.”

Huston & Company designs and builds all types of hardwood furniture: residential furniture for every room in the house, as well as corporate, office, library, academic and institutional furnishings. By focusing on the design process, wood selection, joinery, and finish, our furniture incorporates details simply not found in mass-produced furniture. www.hustonandcompany.com