Work in progress on the storage area for the semi-rare book stack expansion of the New York Society Library, July 2024

Newsletter October 2024

Dear Friends and Colleagues,


Greetings from New York City and Ancramdale. As we look back over the past year, we are happy to share glimpses of recently completed and still-in-progress projects, ranging from a historic library and a regional arts center to a Hudson Valley creamerie as well as fun residential projects. We are grateful for an interesting mix of residential, commercial and institutional work and to have partnered with people who care about producing thoughtful, quality results. Our goal at Larson Architecture Works PLLC is to create solutions in architecture that improve the personal and professional lives of our clients. We aim to design projects that are contemporary and traditional, timeless and timely so that they are appreciated today and relevant tomorrow. Our projects acknowledge that good design can be executed in any style, always factors in human behavior and strives to improve our daily lives.


Doug Larson and the Larson Architecture Works Team

Rendering of a new members reading room at the New York Society Library, c. Larson Architecture Works PLLC

The New York Society Library is an historic institution now located near the corner of 79th and Madison in New York City. Since 1754, the Library has played a central role in the evolution of the availability of books in New York City and the country. It is an independent library and not-for-profit organization that serves a diverse community of readers, writers, and families. The first-floor reading room, exhibitions, and many events are open to the public. Larson Architecture Works PLLC is pleased to be working on a renovation that includes a new storage area for an existing collection of semi-rare books in the rear yard, new consolidated staff offices, and the creation of new member spaces on an upper level. 

The Stissing Center for Arts and Culture partners with artists, individuals, and organizations to create meaningful programs, events, and opportunities for its community; and, by doing so, supports local economic revitalization and job creation in Pine Plains and the surrounding Hudson Valley region. In an adaptive re-use process, Larson Architecture Works PLLC is renovating the 1915 brick building and bringing it to a new life. The main hall, upstairs, has been revived into a beautiful, rustic-contemporary performance space with an accessible glass entryway, flexible floor plans, and a rebuilt proscenium stage. With continued donor support, extensive work to the building’s structure is being undertaken to provide professional and community spaces for years to come. 



Rendering by Larson Architecture Works PLLC of the ground floor lobby of The Stissing Center

Founded in Philadelphia in 1949 by a Coast Guard veteran named Joe Kadison, Quaker Marine Supply has a long history of serving the sea-loving crowd. The company began as an outfitter specializing in marine hardware and clothing. Starting in the sixties, QMS became known for its long-brimmed caps, notably the Swordfish and the Oysterman, with its patent-leather bill. The latter was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway, who wore it duck hunting in Idaho and sport fishing in Cuba and Key West. The new QMS in Brooklyn, New York takes a similar tack, with clothing that will both "turn heads at a pool party and stand up to years of saltwater adventuring." Larson Architecture Works PLLC is proud to be working with this historic brand and to have designed the latest store in Brooklyn, New York. 


Photo: New store of Quaker Marine in Brooklyn, NY. c. Lucas Cereijido and Mitchell Davis at Quaker Marine

JMcLaughlin was founded in 1977 by brothers Jay and Kevin with a mission to create a new American sportswear brand that offers two key components: classic clothes with current relevance and a retail environment with a neighborhood feel. Doug Larson has been designing the JMcLaughlin stores for 30 years. The first JMcLaughlin was more than just a clothing shop. It was the kind of place where people lingered with its "welcoming, elegant and cozy chair" feel. Today, the company has over 180 retail stores in the United States. True to the brothers' vision, each store is entirely unique, attentively designed to reflect the town's color, character, and architecture. This attention to detail extends to exemplary customer service and local philanthropic engagement.


Photo: the new JMcLaughlin Store in Garden City. Photo by Daphnee Youree

Larson Architecture Works transformed this 19th century Hudson Valley Farmhouse into a 21st-century family compound taking a former camp and turning the buildings into a well-planned and thoughtful property anchored by the main house with its contemporary addition, swimming pool, terraces and outside fireplace and eating area. Taking down a dilapidated A-frame house, Larson opened up the rear view up the hill that complemented the front view of the pond. The land around the house was sculpted to allow a new driveway to graciously and gently rise to a new entry. The stair hall was opened up to be visible from the new entry with a vista clear thru the house to the study fireplace (originally the camp kitchen) also with views out to the pond. Everyday kitchen living, dining functions were moved to the front of the house to take advantage of the views to the pond and the meadows, and to reach the original front porch. Finally, Larson created a U-shaped addition encompassing a garage, a great room, and a ground floor primary suite in the rear to create larger spaces for contemporary living.


Photo: Hudson Valley Farmhouse. c. Phillip Reed Photography

The renovation of an early Hudson Valley Dutch Farmhouse entailed filling in an old terrace with an addition and continuing the roof line on the northside of the house. It was decided with the owners not to alter the historic structure but to enhance the historic south end of the house. Larson connected the original living room to the new dining room and kitchen with an enfilade along the terrace, added a reclaimed wood floor from Hudson Company, some additional bookcases in the den, and a dry bar. The primary suite is entered privately through the old dining room which is now a library. The house feels cosy but also elegant and well-appointed. Everything has its place. The layout, function and flow are enhanced by beautiful wall paper and the owners' collections. 


Photo: Dutch Farmhouse c. Phillip Reed Photography

A substantial rebuild of this residence in Southhampton was created by a new layout of the principal rooms on the original footprint.Spacious yet cosy, the cottage is based in the English Arts and Crafts tradition and the style is expressed with a vocabulary of gables, dormers, bays, windows, eaves, dentils, columns, shingles and gates to achieve a charming silhouette and roofline for a cottage feel. Complemented by extensive grounds and an assortment of mature trees in the English park style, bountiful gardens and minimal terracing, the setting is relaxing and graceful for the family. A pool, garden, lawn and tennis court add to the well-landscaped property.


Photo: English manor house style staircase. c. Joshua McHugh

Larson Architecture Works PLLC in

Ancramdale, New York

c. Larson Architecture Works PLLC

Larson Architecture Works PLLC in

Midtown, New York City by Stefanie Diani