Library Buildings around the World

space can best be organized in the context of a building, and how a building can best be sited in a wider landscape.
Campus Meetings. On Tuesday, Nov. 9 (2010), Stefan Behnisch of Behnisch Architekten, along with colleagues from
Behnisch and the firms Payette and Stephen Stimson Associates, presented conceptual plans for the proposed new science
center, discussed the process that led to those plans, and described the next phase of the collaborative planning and design
process.
Project Concept:
The new science center will be a model of sustainability and interdisciplinary collaboration, a visionary testament to the
power and importance of science education and research in a liberal arts college setting. While the new science center will
provide students and faculty with state-of-the-art teaching and research capabilities in the life and physical sciences, its
design and programming is also intended to stimulate interaction among all students, faculty and staff, not just those
associated with the sciences. A soaring atrium located at the heart of the building will serve as its main orientating element.
Study spaces, computing lounges, conference rooms and meeting areas will occupy the atrium’s various levels and benefit
from its natural light and sweeping views. Directly off the atrium and spanning two levels, the science library and its reading
spaces will be an integral part of the new center, as will the modern classroom and lecture spaces that will be adjacent to
faculty offices and research laboratories. The building’s carefully considered location, with much of its mass built into a
hillside, will ensure that its scale is appropriate relative to other buildings in the center of campus, and will open up stunning
views of the Holyoke range. The planning, design and phased construction process that is now underway will ensure that the
sciences will remain at the heart of the Amherst College campus, and that disruption to teaching and research programs will
be minimized. The building and its surrounding landscape will suggest an architectural vision that is respectful of the historic
beauty of the existing campus while being distinct and forward-looking in its expression. Why a New Science Center?
Merrill Science Center, built in 1968 as a home for the astronomy, chemistry and physics departments, has served decades of
students and faculty well. The five-story, 164,000-square-foot brick-clad building on the southeast corner of the campus is
now approaching the end of its useful life. It is becoming increasingly costly to maintain the complex to meet today’s highest
research and instruction standards. Detailed studies of Merrill's structure and systems show that renovating it would cost
about as much as, if not more, than constructing a new facility. Additionally, the limitations of Merrill's architecture would
constrain the college's ability to reconfigure its layout in ways that will allow us to provide the best science education to our
students and adequate research facilities for Amherst’s science faculty. Merrill's looming presence at the corner of the upper
campus also fails to integrate or resolve important campus use patterns, and it blocks important view corridors within the
campus as well as southward toward the Holyoke Range. As well, Merrill consumes nearly one-third of the energy demand of
the entire campus, at a cost of approximately $1.3 million per year. The new science center will be a sustainable building, and
will adopt a number of progressive design strategies with a view to reducing demands on energy resources; annual energy
costs are estimated to be about $300,000 per year.
Planning Oversight:
The president and the board of trustees will continue to make decisions related to the financing, scope and final design of the
new science center, influenced by input from faculty, staff, students, alumni advisors, participating firms and other members
of the college community. This consultative process has been under way for two years. (http://www.amherst.edu)
University of Baltimore, John and Frances Angelos Law Center (Library), Baltimore, MD – USA
2009 – 2013
Client: University of Baltimore, Architect: Behnisch Architekten, Boston with Ayers/Saint/Gross, Baltimore, Competition
2008, 1st prize, Planning and construction 2009-2012, Gross 17,650 m² / 190,000 sq.ft.
The University of Baltimore called for a new law school building that would offer a contemporary and functional solution as
well as establish the school as an integral partner in enhancing the culture, commerce, and future of Baltimore and the
region. The prominent location of the site, opposite Penn Station, demands a significant building that serves as a gateway
into the city and engages the surrounding neighbourhood. The building should not only provide classrooms, a library,
faculty and administrative offices, but also offer inviting spaces for study and student-faculty interaction. The winning
design is a composition of three volumes, each of which holds one of the three main program points: classrooms, library, and
faculty / administration. The administrative volume also includes the separate accessible clinics, where students, faculty, and
local attorneys provide legal services to the community. An atrium connects the three volumes, providing space for a lobby,
coffee bars, and lounges. The Appelate Moot Court for mock sessions extends down from the main lobby to a lower garden
level; court hearings, lectures and events are held within its assembly space. (Behnisch)
B + H Busmann + Haberer Gesellschaft von Architekten, Köln-Berlin – Germany
http://www.busmann-haberer.de
Libraries:
Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv Bibliothek, Babelsberg (Potsdam) – Germany 2000
Am 6. Dezember 2000 wurde auf dem Gelände des Ostdeutschen Rundfunks Brandenburg (ORB) in Potsdam-Babelsberg das von
den Architekten Busmann + Haberer (Köln / Berlin) gebaute Deutsche Rundfunkarchiv (DRA) eröffnet. 1998 hatten die Architekten
einen Wettbewerb für den Neubau gewonnen, der neben dem DRA auch das Archiv des Deutschen Rundfunkmuseums und einen
Teil des ORB-Archivs aufnimmt. Das Gebäude besetzt die südwestliche Ecke des ORB-Geländes in der Medienstadt, wo es sich als
schlüssige Ergänzung des eher kleinteiligen Altbaubestands bewähren sollte. Der orthogonale Baukörper ruht auf einer verglasten
Sockelzone, die zur Haupteingangsseite im Osten einen starken Rücksprung ausbildet. Die darüber liegenden drei Geschosse bilden
das in zwei Funktionsbereiche geteilte Innere des Hauses nach außen ab: Während der Archivbereich, verkleidet mit einer
vorgehängten Ziegelschale, trotz langer Fensterbänder eher schwer und geschlossen wirkt, öffnet sich der angeschlossene Arbeits-,
Kommunikations- und Erschließungsraum mit großzügigen Glasfassaden zur Umgebung. In diesem Bereich sind Zonen mit
öffentlichem Charakter, also Information, Leseplätze und der Freihandbestand untergebracht. Einläufige Treppen durchqueren den
über ein Glasdach von oben belichteten Luftraum in nahezu skulpturaler Weise und verbinden die Geschossebenen miteinander. Im
Erdgeschoss bestimmt zusätzlich ain geschwungener Raumteiler das Bild, der sowohl als Theke wie auch als Unterbringungsraum
für Karteikästen genutzt werden kann. Insgesamt stehen in dem 21 Millionen Mark teuren Neubau nun fast 9.000 Quadratmeter
Bruttogeschossfläche zur Bewahrung, Dokumentation und Erforschung der deutschen Rundfunkgeschichte zur Verfügung.
(http://www.baunetz.de)
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