Library Buildings around the World

Bibliothèque Marc Favreau, Montréal, QC – Canada on design
ep_a remporte le concours pour la nouvelle bibliothèque de l'arrondissement Saint-Laurent à Montréal ! Le projet sera réalisé en
collaboration avec Cardinal Hardy, Labonté Marcil et avec les firmes d'ingénieurs SDK et LBHA. Projet ou les limites entre le
paysage et l'architecture se confondent et modifient les perceptions de l'usager, bibliothèque ouverte, accessible et perméable, liant
l'usager au paysage. (Pelletier)
Bibliothèque Charlesbourg, Québec QC – Canada 2006
Though Quebec City can’t boast of a building like Montreal’s Grande Bibliothèque, the Bibliothèque de Charlesbourg, inaugurated
last year, makes a worthy little cousin. Winner of a 2004 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence, it’s a fantastic example of a
functional and sustainable new building that takes into account the history of the site. I rank it as my favourite new building in the
city. The library’s design may be contemporary, but it nevertheless references Charlesbourg’s past. Most towns in Quebec were
initially laid out along a linear strip. Charlesbourg, now a suburb with an old historic core situated a few kilometers north of Quebec
proper, was different from other towns. Its Jesuit founders experimented with a more community-oriented radial plan, drawn up in
1627. Settlers were given pie-shaped slices of land and built their homes around a central square that included a church and common
pasture lands. This urban layout was still visible until the 1950s. Since then, buildings and parking lots sprouted up in this central
area and the original urban plan was muddled in the throes of suburban expansion. The construction of the Bibliotheque, with its
publically-accessible sloping green roof, is an ingenious attempt to evoke the pasture lands that were once at the core of the
community. It is one of the largest public green roofs in North America and will make a lovely public park when completed.
( http://www.urbanphoto.net )
Perkins+Will, Vancouver, BC – Canada
As part of a strategic expansion into the Pacific Northwest and Canada, we merged with Vancouver-based Busby + Associates in
2004 to provide full-service architectural, urban design, interiors and sustainable design consulting. The Vancouver office is a local
and international leader in sustainability and is consistently ranked as one of the Globe and Mail's Top 100 Greenest Companies in
Canada. In April 2011, the Vancouver office joined forces with Toronto-based Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will and Dundas- and Ottawabased
Vermeulen Hind Architects to establish Perkins+Will Canada. This three-office merge creates a pan-Canadian practice with
four strategic locations and brings an exciting synergy of architectural expertise and talent to the Canadian marketplace as well as
the global stage.
With one of the largest portfolios of completed green buildings in Canada and one of North America's leading sustainable practices,
the Vancouver office is known for innovative sustainability integrated within a clean, modern vernacular. The office provides
expertise spanning various market sectors including Civic + Cultural, Corporate + Commercial along with institutional experience
in Higher Education, K-12 education and Healthcare. In addition, the majority of our ground transportation expertise resides in the
Vancouver office. With a staff of more than 90 professionals, the office bases design solutions on functionality, durability and value
with a view to the life of each building and the well-being of its occupants and users.
http://ca.perkinswill.com
Libraries:
Orillia Library and Market Square, Orillia, ON – Canada 2011
Square Footage: 42,000
LEED Gold certification targeted
The design for the new market square and library seeks to create a suite of urban public spaces that engage Orillia’s 19th century
opera house and support the city’s vibrant farmer’s market. The building takes the form of a 2-story, L-shape that creates coherence
within the surrounding urban fabric while framing and setting off the monumental form of the opera house.
The 42,000 square foot structure combines two floors of collection and support space with community meeting rooms, an
information outlet and a market hall that houses a smaller farmer’s market in the winter months. (Perkins)
Stoney Creek Community Recreation and Library, London, ON – Canada 2010
Square Footage: 74,500
LEED Gold Targeted
The Stoney Creek Community Recreation Centre and Library is the new civic and recreational hub for north London. The City of
London and the YMCA of Western Ontario expressed the desire for this building to demonstrate leadership in sustainable design by
directing the project team to aim for LEED Gold Certification.
The brown-field site for this project sits between a major urban thoroughfare and a protected woodlot. The design responds to its
location between the urban and the natural and focuses on the ideas of an aesthetically pleasing front aspect and a visually
stimulating prospect from the back of the building. The project is designed to be a seen as landmark from the street, while the focus
on the interior is a visual engagement with the meadow and woodlot to the north. In addition to this, the "Lantern", "Saw-tooth"
and sloping green roof elements lend the layout a visual hierarchy to the civic face, while the use of natural materials throughout the
building brings the elements of the outside to the experience inside.
The Stoney Creek Community Recreation Centre and Library includes a 12,000 sq. ft. fitness centre, a gymnasium, a six-lane pool
along with a 1,300 sq. ft. teaching/leisure pool, multi-purpose program rooms, and a library.
Cornell Community Centre and Branch Library, Town of Markham, Cornell, ON – Canada 2010
Square Footage: 125,000
Part of a groundbreaking master plan to create a community campus in partnership with the Markham-Stouffville Hospital, the
integrated campus includes the hospital, community center and library, a future wellness center and public park elements on the
grounds. The community center and library are intrinsically healthier in the way it allocates resources and provides essential
services to create a stronger sense of community and a greater awareness of our environment.
The center will include a 25-meter, eight-lane competition pool, leisure and therapeutic pools, a fitness center with indoor track and
a gymnasium.
There are also multi-purpose programming spaces for youth, adults and seniors, therapeutic resources and facilities for the hospital
and the Cornell Branch Library with an integrated medical library. The campus strategy includes significant green. (Perkins)
35