Library Buildings around the World

much reduced scale. You can wander quietly among the books and take one back to a window seat, which are comfortable, secluded
and well lit.
The approach to materials is direct and economical. The building was stripped back to reveal the structure, which is essentially a
gable-roofed shed housed within brick walls. Fine Oregon roof trusses were repaired and, where necessary, replaced. Attempts to
overtly distinguish original and new fabric were underplayed here, and the room is better for it. The ply ceiling panels complement
the Oregon, and give the ceiling a warmth and scale in contrast to the monolithic floor. Victorian ash window joinery with matt
black steel surrounds frames a dramatic series of glazed openings from the street into the library, and from the library into the
ancillary rooms. This emphasizes the sense of the reading room being an extension of the street, telescoping sightlines from outside to
the spaces within. It is a very stark, crisp detail. On the street the steel awning continues the street pattern, as do the ceramic tiles
that form the dado. The curved glass announcing the entry to the street recalls similar patterns found locally and in neighbouring
towns such as Gundagai. The new ramp to the entry doors provides a suitably scaled approach, and brings the seated eye-line within
the building to the level of the standing eye-line on the street. It’s a nice touch, making the connection back to the street from within
the library very immediate.
There has been some debate over the years regarding the aesthetic of “the shed” and its place within Australian architecture. This
building manages to avoid the pastiche often associated with the appropriation of this type, partly because recycles an existing
building, but also because this recycling has been handled so directly, with a keen eye to economy and mechanics, in the way that all
good sheds do. Most importantly, it responds to its place in a highly water- and energy-efficient way, just like a Coolgardie. At a time
when the planet is heating and we are all being asked to do our bit to draw off a bit of steam, this building repays serious study.
Ian Martin is the director of Patonga Design.
(http://www.architecturemedia.com/aa/aaissue.php?issueid=201003&article=12&typeon=2)
figure & ground, Brisbane, QLD – Australia
http://www.figureandground.com.au
Libraries:
Central Queensland University (CQU), Mackay Technology and Information Resource Center,
Rockhampton, QLD – Australia 2011
Today's library has changed. It is at the ever evolving frontier of information resources. Be it in the form of books, journals, internet
or other media, they all have one thing in common. Information. It is for this very reason the library is considered the nuclei of every
good university. The Technology & Information Resource Centre at Central Queensland University's Mackay campus is at the heart
of a master planned vision for the campus. While the activities of the library have evolved rapidly in recent times, the role of the
repository as an anchor to the technical, academic, cultural and social operations of the institution has remained significant. In
many ways university libraries are in a unique position to communicate the core values of the university. They are the most
accessible and interactive facility of the institution, and service all members of the campus community. We recognise this in this
project. The design team anticipated challenges and opportunities uncovered by exploring the role of the library in terms of the
broader campus. The aim was to realize the influence of good design beyond the material scope of the project. This was achieved
through ensuring that each element enhanced and resonated with the context and latent values there in. (figure)
(http://www.architecture.com.au/awards_search?option=showaward&entryno=2011048600)
fjmt (francis-jones-morehen-thorp), Sydney, NSW – Australia
http://www.fjmt.com
Libraries:
Allen Library, Penrith Campus Library, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW – Australia in
design
Library, Law Precinct, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW – Australia in design
Macquarie University Library, Sydney, NSW – Australia 2010
...an elegant and timeless design concept that responded to a ‘new beginning’ at Macquarie.— Judging Panel
Following a design competition, fjmt was commissioned to design this new campus library that will set a new sustainability
benchmark for the University. The concept has been inspired by the beautiful landscape of the Macquarie University campus. It
brings the landscape into the building, reflecting natural daylight and providing shelter in a way that is directly inspired by the
forest of eucalypts on the campus. Currently in construction, the building will be a welcoming, transparent and inspiring landmark
building for the university and represents a new generation of library design — full of dynamic, collaborative, open spaces for
learning and knowledge exchange. It will include Australia’s first automated document storage and retrieval system allowing
maximum floor space for learning rather than for the storage of books. (FJMT)
Faculty of Law Library (Freehills Library), University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW – Australia 2009
The architects have designed an elegant and spacious structure that cannot fail to inspire our academic staff, administrators and
students. A functional and beautiful environment respects those who use the spaces and motivates all who work in the building.
— Professor Gillian Triggs (Dean, Sydney Law School)
Following an international design competition, fjmt was commissioned to design this noteworthy development that represented a
unique opportunity to transform a key site into a powerful new campus identity and gateway. The design is uncompromisingly
modern, providing state-of-the-art workplace, study and learning environments, general teaching spaces, lecture theatres, library,
retail, basement car parking and integrated public domain. It incorporates significant sustainable innovation including a double-skin
ventilated façade with occupant controlled timber louvres, to control solar gain and glare, mixed-mode, chilled-beam and
displacement airconditioning, precinct stormwater collection and an iconic light tower which fills below-grade spaces with an
abundance of filtered, natural light. The project has received numerous awards including AIA awards for Architecture, Urban
Design and Sustainability. (FJMT)
FJMT designs new university library in Sydney: This international competition-winning proposal transforms the public domain of
the heart of the University through the integration of architecture, urban design and landscape architecture. The project redefines
the historic relationship of the campus and city to create a generous new public domain with the study of law balanced at its edge. An
inventive aspect of the competition scheme was the division of the extensive building brief into podium and superstructures to create
an extended new public ground-plane of gardens, squares, and lawns. Below this new civic domain are specialist teaching facilities,
and library lit through the environmental and emblematic ‘light-tower. Suspended above are a series of innovative multi-layered
glass and timber louvered superstructures that accommodate the remaining brief into fragments that define and frame new public
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