Watson Library Feature Wall

SITU Fabrication helped develop the technical aspects and ultimately fabricate the custom wall cladding in the Nolan Study Room of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas J. Watson Library.

Architects Young & Ayata envisioned wrapping the space in material reclaimed from the study room’s retired book shelves and CNC milled with a pattern that alludes to the art of marbled paper.

Determined that their graphics should be in-tune with the details of the milling process, SITU helped Y&A test out how different approaches to the CNC milling affected the final expression of their pattern. Through several iterations back and forth between graphic design and physical prototyping, an optimized process that achieved the intended effect emerged.

The 267 existing shelves had seen 50 years of repairs & renovations and represented a wide range of wood species and finishes. They were meticulously laid out, cataloged, and curated to ensure the various colors and finishes created a visually pleasing composition.

The cataloged shelves were then mounted and flattened into 3’x6’ panels, being careful not to disturb the historic finish along with all the patina and character from their 50 years of service. The CNC team milled over 2.5 miles of tool paths into the composite panels, meticulously avoiding any of the plywood shelves mixed in with the solid wood. The milling process exposed the raw interior of the solid wood panels which was then clear coated with a custom mix developed to complement without occluding the existing reclaimed finish.