As a starting point to designing our library spaces, we were instructed to research exemplar library designs which could inspire and influence not only our design but also the type of library we wish to create. When I began my research, I had no particular theme or design style in mind because I wanted to keep my options open to the different styles of library. The first exemplar I found was the Max Webber Library in Blacktown, Sydney which was designed by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp Architects (FJMT) (Heneghan, n.d.). The architects designed the library using the theory that a library is a meaningful twenty-first century building where anyone in the community can have access to knowledge. The concept of community and acceptance is tied into the design by having the entry level designed similar to that of a “market hall at the centre of medieval villages, which were open on all sides to invite in the life of the community” (Heneghan, n.d.), which can be seen in the front façade below.
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Max Webber Library Facade (Heneghan, n.d.).
The transparency of the bottom level also allows passersby to view the function of the spaces without entering, creating a link between the interior and exterior to prevent the feeling of confinement. The library is largely planned from diagrams and uses the movements of people to dictate the spaces, an example of which can be seen below, as the stair case is used to lure people further into the library.
Void in Max Webber Library (Heneghan, n.d.).
The architects stated that the key to creating a successful public space is comfort, accessibility and consideration of the users (Heneghan, n.d.).
The second exemplar library that I discovered was slightly different because of the fact that it was renovated to become a mixture of contemporary and historical architecture. The Imperial Library situated in Tokyo, Japan, was built in 1906 and expanded in 1929 (Silloway, 2004). Tadao Ando was commissioned to renovate the historical building into a children’s library, which is known as The International Library of Children’s Literature, and was completed in 2002 (Silloway, 2004). Whilst few major changes were made to the structure of the building, Ando added simple modern features which create a “dynamic juxtaposition” (Silloway, 2004) to both the facade and the interior spaces. One of these was the addition of a glass structure to form an entryway, which is highly contrasted against the existing renaissance style facade, which can be seen below. This addition hints that there may be more to the building than a stuffy historical library which can be seen as foreboding and uptight.
Entry to the International Library of Children’s Literature (Silloway, 2004).
The use of glass as a facade treatment is also used extensively in other areas of the building, but instead of building off from the existing structure, it encircles it to create circulation space in the space between the old and new sections. This space is furnished with chairs and lounges to create a transitional space in the library, which can be seen below.
Transitional space between facades (Silloway, 2004).
The other major alternation Ando made was the installation of two large wooden cylinders in the existing reading room to create a Children’s Book Museum and smaller, intimate spaces within the original larger circulation spaces. The picture below shows one of the new spaces created by Ando.
Children’s Book Museum (Silloway, 2004).
The third exemplar library that I researched was the Seattle Public Library which was opened in 2004 and designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) (Ouroussoff, 2008). The building, which is situated on one of Seattle’s main roads, has entrances on both sides of the block to allow easy access to the public, which opens into the children’s library and foreign language resources (Ouroussoff, 2008). The architects saw the idea of a library to be a place to celebrate books, showcase new technologies and a place where people can do to learn, discuss and reflect (Ouroussoff, 2008). This resulted in a dynamic eight story building, with each floor plate size varying depending on the function, which gives the building its warped shape, which can be seen below.
Exterior façade of the Seattle Public Library (Ouroussoff, 2008).
The façade is constructed from steel and glass, using triangles and angled shapes to create the warped shapes of the building. The junction between the building and the ground is not a simple one. In places, the façade branches out to create sheltered public shapes between the façade and the building which are light and appealing because of the use of glass as the primary material. One of these areas can be seen below.
Public space created by separation of façade and building (Ouroussoff, 2008).
Similar to the Max Webber Library, the human movement around the building is a major feature of the design, both through the illumination of escalators, which can be seen below, and the way the library is laid out. These escalators travel up to the “living room” which is a carpeted area that contains the fiction stacks and create a comfortable, homely environment.
Escalators travelling up to the “Living Room” (Ouroussoff, 2008).
Above the ‘living room’ is an area known as the ‘Dewey Ramp’ which houses the non-fiction books. The layout of this area is similar to that of the Guggenheim in New York, with a ramp circling up four stories of the building around a central void with books lining the walls. This is used instead of traditional book cases to layout the Dewey decimal system, with 0 at the top of the ramp and 999 at the bottom and was designed to allow people to continually browse through the books (Ouroussoff, 2008). The void in the centre of the building is the allows a physical connection between levels. At the top of this ramp is the reading room, which is on the top floor and has views out to the Puget Sound and surrounding mountains.
The fourth exemplar is the University of Poznan Library which was designed by Neostudio Architects and in situated in Poznan, Poland. Completed in 2009, the building is an extension of the Collegium Muis and is situated in the heart of the historical district ( Saieh, 2009). The building itself is hidden on three sides by historic buildings, which the architect has acknowledged through the use of glass and sandstone as external cladding. The sandstone patterning is a replication of the exterior facades of the historic buildings whereas the glass represents the modern side of the design, which can be seen below.
University of Poznan Library (Saieh, 2009).
This mix of historical and modern materials is infused into the indoor spaces, which can be seen below. Similarly to other student used buildings, the designers choices were aimed at accommodating for them to ensure the building suited their tastes and needs. This was achieved by the client been a part of the schematic design stage, allowing the students to feed their ideas into the design through the university faculty.
Indoor learning space (Saieh, 2009).
The fifth exemplar building I am investigating is Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, designed by Gordon Bunshaft and was constructed in 1963. To this day, the library is the largest building in the world devoted to the preservation of rare books, housing 500,000 books and serveral million manuscripts (Perez, 2010). The major issue with this building was “to provide ample lighting in the interior for people to study and read and to make it a pleasantly habitable space while limiting the amount of light that affects the stored volumes” (Perez, 2010). This challenge was overcome by the exterior façade, which was made from marble, granite, bronze and glass, which creates an opaque surface, allowing the filtered light in, which is harmless to the fragile contents of the building. This effect can be seen below.
Light filtering through exterior cladding into the interior plaza (Perez, 2010).
The spatial layout of the building is also quite different from that of a normal library. The entry floor of the building is completely encases in glass which allows passersby to view the grand exhibition hall, which can be seen below. Upon entering the building, visitors are also presented two large marble stairs cases which travel up to the indoor mezzanine level which encircles the glass tower that houses the rare books. This illuminated glass tower becomes the feature of the building, clearly showing the purpose of the space to users.
Entry level of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Perez, 2010).
The final exemplar is have researched is the Birkenhead Library and Civic Centre, Auckland, designed by Archoffice and completed in 2009. The concept behind this building was based upon the large trees that were found on the site and how you could look between the trees through to the view. This created the themes of solid and void, pattern, transparency and form (Saieh, 2010). The architects intention was to have a “pleasant and verdant quality of light available within the building that subtly changes during the day, leading to the building becoming transparent at night” (Saieh, 2010) which can be seen below.
Exterior façade of the Birkenhead Library and Civic Centre (Saieh, 2010).
The themes of lighting, pattern and transparency have also been translated into the indoor spaces of the building. The design is very user friendly, with the use of a variety of spaces for different uses and the addition of a drive thru book return. The indoor spaces are very appealing because of the natural lighting that filters through the patterns in the walls, lampshades and ceiling which can be seen below. This intricate patterning creates spaces that are so different from the run of the mill libraries.
Interior View of a library space (Saieh,2010).
Saieh, Nico. 2010. “Birkenhead Library and Civic Centre”. Accessed April 2nd, 2012. http://www.archdaily.com/63926/birkenhead-library-and-civic-centre-archoffice/
Perez, Adelyn . 2010. “Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library”. Accessed April 2nd, 2012. http://www.archdaily.com/65987/ad-classics-beinecke-rare-book-and-manuscript-library-skidmore-owings-merrill/
Saieh, Nico. 2009. “University of Poznan Library”. Accesses April 2nd, 2012. http://www.archdaily.com/37207/university-of-poznan-library-consultor-apa-bulat-neostudio-architects/
Ouroussoff, Nicolai. (2008). “Seattle Public Library”. Accessed April 2nd, 2012. http://www.arcspace.com/architects/koolhaas/Seattle/
Silloway, Kari. 2004. “International Library of Children’s Literature, Tokyo”. Accessed April 2nd, 2012. http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/childlit/index.htm
Heneghan, Tom. n.d. “Max Webber Library”. Accessed April 2nd, 2012. http://www.architecturemedia.com/aa/aaissue.php?article=13&issueid=200605&typeon=2
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