Library Buildings around the World

Mona Vale Civic Centre, Sydney-Mona Vale, NSW – Australia 2005
Size: 1.700 m², Costs: $ 7.200.000 m²
The common conception of libraries is that of warm, cosy and quiet nooks where readers can sit undisturbed for hours on end,
engaged not in the activities of this world, but in those which unfold in the pages before them. With the new Mona Vale Civic Centre
and Town Library, however, Brewster Hjorth Architects were required to negotiate this concept with a very different one, for the
Centre was to serve as the heart of the community, a place of interaction and involvement, not isolation.
Not just a library, the centre is also the new home for Pittwater Council- a refurbished and refitted space for the Council Customer
Service Centre, Meeting Room, and Offices for Planning and Compliance officers. Accompanying the refurbishment of the existing
buildings came the birth of a number of refreshingly new spaces. The library, an outdoor café, a parkland amphitheatre, an early
childhood centre and an integrated pedestrian path linking the two halves of the village have all provided a refreshed civic focus for
the Mona Vale Village, in keeping with the aim of its inception.
The adjacent parkland played an integral role in determining the form and structure of the library, which was to be constructed
below it- an underground, earth-sheltered structure. It was conceived as two opposing curved pavilions, arranged around and linked
by a central sunken garden between the two halves of the building. The opening to this void is surrounded by a garden of ‘dune’
grasses on the plaza level, which defines the customer access as well as enclosing and containing the café. The curves of the two
pavilions create the amphitheatre on the eastern side addressing the park and the curved line walkway on the western side, thus
providing light and outlook as well as an external reading area for library users. This latter function was a direct response to the
client’s brief.
The relationship between the site and its context that proved so influential on its form and structure also had non-material
implications. It actually worked to define and refine its intended function. Because of its relationship to the park, the council desired
maximum use of the outdoor public space, to make it the metaphorical as well as actual civic “centre”.
To this end, Brewster Hjorth blurred the distinction between inside and outside by large glass windows that accompany the reading
and studying areas. These intimate internal spaces enjoy an external outlook and are brilliantly lit by natural light from the
courtyard and the long curved lantern that encloses the main entry ramp. Casual arrangements of outdoor furniture beneath these
windows imbue the area with a relaxed, interactive, social atmosphere. The new café located on the plaza level further enlivens this
shared pedestrian experience.
Furthermore, in the existing community hall, the eastern wall was replaced with a row of new glass doors to provide the hall with a
spill out area along its long side, and to create a more connected space for community and public meetings. Principles of openness
and interaction consistently defined the project at every level.
The new structure is entered via a wide, 25 metre long curved ramp, which not only provides public access but also gives a wide
dramatic introduction to the open areas of the library. A curved glass lantern runs along the western perimeter of the library and
encloses this ramp, defining the pedestrian walkway and utilising natural light. The ramp serves an integral function, as users are
first introduced to the nature of the library by their procession down it.
Brewster Hjorth prides itself on its incorporation of various innovative and unique ESD initiatives that take advantage of the
building’s location to dramatically cut energy use. Again, the underground form was influential. Preservation of the parkland was
just one such advantage. The building’s immersion in soil created a high level of protection from the external environment,
preventing transmission of excessive solar radiation during summer and heat loss in winter. When coupled with the high levels of
thermal mass inherent in the structural design of the exposed concrete ceiling system, the building enjoys high thermal stability and
avoids the effects of diurnal temperature fluctuations. This reduces reliance on artificial temperature control methods. To
complement this, the largely consistent ground temperatures were utilised to provide ‘free’ cooling and heating. In an outdoor air
tempering system, air is brought inside via an underground masonry duct along the building’s perimeter to naturally maintain
comfort levels of its occupants. Consciousness of ongoing maintenance and running costs was determinative of the material selection.
Finishes, fittings, lighting and building services were chosen accordingly.
In addition to their traditional roles, work by Brewster Hjorth Architects included design of special shelving, furniture, signage and
graphics to create a completely integrated facility. Hence the new building visually and physically connects all the public facilities on
the site and provides new important links which allows the village to operate as a unified whole. BHA believe that the public facilities
now realise their full potential as a community focus for the village, for they have been successfully linked not only to the rest of the
integrated complex, but have also linked that complex to the community at large.+
Top. The external architectural expression was derived from discussions with the original designer, Colin Madigan. The existing
form is typical of its period - a sculpured arrangement of simple forms with high pitched roof sections terminating in dramatic half
gables
Second.Brewster Hjorth designed special shelving, furniture, signage and graphics in addition to their traditional roles. This helped
create a fully integrated and aesthetically consistent facility.
Third. The building form consists of two pavilions linked by this sunken garden which provides light and outlook to its inhabitants.
The open courtyard below imbues the internal reading areas with brilliant natural light, challenging the perception of libraries as
dark, forgotten nooks.
(http://www.specifier.com.au/projects/public/34569/Village-Mona-Vale-Civic-Centre-and-Library.html)
Avalon Centre, Library, Sydney-Avalon, NSW – Australia 2005
Avalon Recreation Centre
This Centre is located in the Avalon Shopping Centre and is next to Dunbar Park. It has a sports hall, meeting room and four
activity rooms available for hire, one including sinks for art classes. The Centre is suitable for functions, classes, meetings,
workshops and exhibitions. The centre also houses the Avalon Community Library, the Avalon Early Childhood Centre and a
Pittwater Council Customer Service Centre. (http://www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au)
Castle Hill Hub, Castle Hill (Sydney), NSW– Australia 2004
Physical Size: 2,250 m², Cost: $ 12.000.000, Client: Baulkham Hills Shire Council.
The new Castle Hill Library and Community Centre were designed to be Australia’s most advanced Library and Community
facility. Council invested in a long-term research program of many international facilities before embarking on the project. The
library has set new standards in the display of its collection and its integration of reader areas and digital access areas. The new
library includes a large ‘bookstore style’ lending library, a café, a fully equipped research oriented reference library and digital
research facility as well as a large children’s and youth library. The internal café, which is leased to an external operator is very
successful. It is located adjacent to an external secure courtyard. The library is designed to allow food and drink to be consumed
inside and for books to be taken outside. The library collection has been arranged by “Genre” rather than by the Dewey System,
lounge areas are located around the library in conjunction with the various “lifestyle” collections. Environmental graphics have been
5