ABA has transformed a historic space for the Newark Public Library to create a home for the Philip Roth Personal Library, a research and exhibition center capturing the author’s engagement with reading, writing, and Newark. In 2016, Roth announced the bequeathal of his personal collection of 7,000 books to the library. After his death in 2018, the library received not only his books, but furniture and other personal items as well. ABA was retained to design the new center as a destination for researchers consulting Roth’s works and an exhibition space for sharing material related to the author’s work and life. “An early visit to Roth’s Connecticut home, a early American farmhouse, allowed us to experience its restored rooms and contemporary furnishings just as he left them,” notes ABA Principal Thomas Hotaling. “The time we spent there made clear his appreciation for craft and his ability to beautifully balance heritage with modernism. We wanted to bring a corresponding balance to this renovation, respectfully restoring the space as Roth himself might have known it in his youth. It serves as a setting for a contemporary presentation of his work and life, highlighting his deep connection to Newark, the library, and design itself.”
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