Library Buildings around the World

Brooklin Library and Community Centre, Brooklin, ON – Canada 2008
Square Footage: 13,000
A remnant forest in the historic village of Brooklin, Ontario provides the setting and inspiration for this district library and
community centre. Each of the key program areas including the library, community centre and gymnasium are housed in one of
three linked structures whose rooflines and simple forms recall the region’s agrarian roots. A sophisticated approach to structural
articulation, detailing and materiality transforms a regional inspiration into a sharply articulated response to the design issues of the
21st century. Porches, breezeways and glazed links provide the common space and allow the three shed volumes to frame courtyards
and views into the surrounding hardwood forest. The preservation of specimen hardwoods was critical to the placement of the
building footprint and the resulting micro climates, along with sophisticated glazing and energy management systems, are integral
parts of the building’s sustainable strategy.
The library component adds 13,000 square feet of new collections, lounge and study space to the growing community. A strong sense
of community emerges out of the placement of diverse program elements under a single timber roof. The library is suffused with
natural light tempered by the forest and the material qualities of wood and stone. (Perkins)
Clarence-Rockland Library, Clarence-Rockland, ON – Canada 2008
Square Footage: 6,000
The Clarence Rockland Library replaces an outdated branch library and is a 6,000 square foot addition to an existing Catholic high
school. Located in the heart of a rapidly growing community east of Ottawa, this new library is part of a larger community and
cultural center initiated through a partnership between the City of Clarence Rockland, the Library Board and the local YMCA.
This facility greatly expands services and programs available to the high school, while serving the larger public. It includes generous
study, reading spaces and stack areas as well as a large information playground for children. The design is based on a delivery model
that de-emphasizes traditional desk-based systems allowing staff to ‘roam’ the floor space and offer greater point-of-use assistance.
Provision for automated systems including self check-out units enhances this model. Extensive mobile and fixed-display units help
actively market the various collections. At the heart of the space is a large double height reading room with a distinctive wood slat
ceiling and limestone clad fireplace offering a warm and inviting environment for its users. The library’s open concept enhances the
interactive nature of its spaces, establishing a vibrant new focal point for the whole community to enjoy. (Perkins Will)
Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON – Canada 2007
Square Footage: 98,000
LEED Silver certified
Awards:
Innovation in Sustainable Design Award, 2008
American Library Association/International Interior Design Association
Award for Design Excellence, 2008
Ontario Association of Architects
Award of Excellence, 2007
Mississauga Urban Design Awards
This learning centre and library provides a vibrant focus for student activity on the University’s north campus. It is sited and
designed to reinforce the campus plan with indoor and outdoor spaces that animate the campus and link to existing pathways and
green space.
The need for high density mobile compact shelving to house the library’s permanent collection and the university’s desire to create a
structure that would adapt well to the demands of future digital content, led to a building design inspired by the metaphor of the
Japanese puzzle box. An arrangement of interlocking pieces is organized around the building core becoming the “treasure” (library
collection) within the box. This allows generous perimeter space for study and lounge areas in an open and flexible arrangement with
views out to the surrounding campus and natural landscape.
The library provides a wide range of collaborative study and work environments that reflect evolving pedagogical and technological
trends as well as student work habits. A series of interconnected 2-story spaces provide clear circulation and orientation within the
building as well as space for social interaction and collaboration. An information commons, café, conference space, instructional lab
and career counseling center are located along this linear “street”.
The stepped atrium, 2-story cantilevered study wing on the building’s west façade, study bays to the east and north, the south-facing
roof garden and three sunken gardens all pull the outdoor environment into the building and push the building into the fabric of the
campus. Exterior wood panels reflect the naturalized landscape and respond to the campus’ ecological context. (Perkins)
Whitby Public Library and Civic Square, Whitby, ON – Canada 2005
Square Footage: 56,000
The primary design objective for this 50,000 square foot central library is the creation of a dynamic relationship between a grand
interior public space and an outdoor urban public space in the form of a new civic square. The design team has adopted a simple
“L”-shaped configuration in order to maintain the existing library structure during construction and to create a strong spatial
definition for the proposed urban plaza that faces onto a heavy traffic artery.
A three storey, north-facing Library hall opens directly on to the urban square. The new urban square is animated by the
concentration of vertical circulation, information commons and displays, all visible through an uninterrupted expanse of glass at the
edge of the square.
From the urban square, landscape elements including a green promenade and a linear reflecting pool penetrate the building
bringing natural light and colour deep into the building mass. The lower east wing of the building brings the presence of municipal
archives, meeting rooms and a café to the existing streetscape. While the building’s south facade presents an abstract composition of
masonry planes with a reduced scale to the existing residential neighborhood. (Perkins)
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