Library Buildings around the World

* More prominent presence for the Alexander Turnbull Library
* Enhanced research spaces and facilities
* Interactive spaces for digital access to collections
* 3D and multimedia experiences
* Improved environmental footprint, incorporating innovative and leading-edge environmentally sustainable features
* Create a more multicultural presence, using external and internal design features to additionally recognise the place of Māori and
New Zealand's place in the Pacific and the world
* Five-storey high atrium to showcase the building's valuable collections
* Low-energy design elements including natural ventilation, ground source heat exchange, rain water harvesting, use of bio or
alternative fuels. (http://www.sharearchitecture.co.nz)
A project of national and international importance, a portal to the memory of New Zealand. The redevelopment of the National
Library will provide a unique opportunity to transform a major national institution into a centre for research, connection and
creation. Symbolically the redevelopment is charged with the responsibility to represent both the historical reality of New Zealand as
well as its changing place in the world. The energetic, sculptural screen which dominates the entry façade is an abstract sculpture – a
carving echoing the artistic traditions of Maori and the confidence of a country which is increasingly recognised for its ability in high
technology industries. The project incorporates the entire original structure of the existing building which was completed in 1986.
These ‘bones’ are retained as a vital template for the new design and will continue to provide a stable structural and environmental
‘core’ for the new and transparent perimeter. The final built result will also reflect the New Zealand government’s stance on
sustainable building design and incorporates the building’s content itself into active ESD strategies.
(http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com)
Westgate Town Centre and Library, Auckland – New Zealand 2013
The Westgate Town Square and Library is the anchoring civic component of the development of a new town centre at Westgate.
This project will not only establish a benchmark for the future urban form but it will also establish its human qualities, its sense of
place and provide a core community destination - the design is motivated by the desire for a dynamic, exciting and sustainable new
civic environment which will serve the Westgate community for 100 years.
The new library building is compositionally arranged as a 3 level volume fronting the Town Square together with a two storey
volume addressing Waru St. The main entrance is located at the corner of the site, facing the main Town Square space. This
provides maximum legibility for the entrance while also adding the ‘energy of movement’ to the public open space. The most
effective contemporary libraries are easily understood and navigated and are defined by clear lines of sight and excellent natural
light.
The building is distinctively a ‘stacked’ form, breaking down the overall building mass and allowing clear expression of the
individual floor plates and their particular activities. This floor plate configuration generates a dynamic relationship at the
building’s corner, expressing the life of the library to the outside world. The building’s openness also reflects the philosophy that
good public libraries are open and vibrant with community life by both night and day. This visual openness and legibility also
supports engagement with the community, encouraging access and creating a welcoming destination that is both comfortable and
familiar for all users.
The building form, materiality and colour also seek to reflect the informal and colourful culture of West Auckland and Waitakere.
Anodised aluminium panels, zinc cladding, timber soffits and expressed concrete structure combine to provide a substantial and
visually exciting architecture.
However, this informality is countered by the need for ‘civic substance’. The clear rhythm of concrete columns facing the town
square reinforces the order and stability of a civic institution. This is seen as particularly important in a ‘greenfields’ situation where
there are no existing ‘cues’ for civic life. Above all else, the new library building has the responsibility to capture the aspirations of a
future community. To this end, its architecture cannot be transient but must embody the recognised motifs of community, tradition
and civic character. Achieving these values in a contemporary way is the core challenge of the project.
Sustainability
The building is the pilot project for the development of the new ‘Custom’ rating tool for the New Zealand Green Building Council.
Sustainability is a central value of this project, and our team has pioneered the ‘new age library’ in New Zealand over the past ten
years. The ground has shifted, however, from simple energy conservation to the careful consideration of how a new library can act as
a catalyst by having a positive impact on the immediate and wider context. At Westgate, this is achieved by considering the building
and public spaces as an educational opportunity for the community. Libraries are about knowledge and learning and our concept
considers the opportunity for a ‘sustainability journey’ to be incorporated into the building and public open space. The educational
aspects of this concept allow the project to be a living ‘billboard’ for sustainability that can influence all of the development sites that
define the town square and wider town centre.
The ambitious environmental and social aims of the project represent an opportunity to continue the legacy of leadership in the built
environment shown by the Waitakere Council within the new Auckland ‘Supercity’ framework. (Warren)
Upper Riccarton Community and School Library, Christchurch, NZ – New Zealand 2006
Awards:
2006
NZIA Architecture Award Community & Cultural
Upper Riccarton Community and School Library Christchurch, New ZealandWarren and Mahoney LimitedA new facility
integrates a new community library with a local high school's existing collection and IT resources. The Upper Riccarton Community
and School Library draws on Australian precedents for joint-use facilities and proposes a dynamic new structure in which school
and community can interact. The new library incorporates outdoor reading areas, a dedicated café, a children’s library, community
meeting rooms and comprehensive multi-media learning and research tools. Four shared teaching suites provide research and
tuition opportunities for students and allow school computer resources to be available to community groups after hours.
A linear ‘one box’ volume, the steel-framed glazed collection enclosure is book-ended by a ramped entry porch (where school and
public interact before moving into the building) at the south and an outdoor reading room to the north. A transverse service
component, clad in timber paneling, slides east-to-west across the main space and encloses back-of-house workrooms, staff facilities
and the community meeting room. The cruciform plan is extended by four teaching spaces adjoining its eastern edge, which looks
out to a new quadrangle and the existing music school beyond. The design represents a considered response to the Local Authority’s
environmental policies and includes a number of sustainable design strategies, which have been deliberately exposed for educational
purposes. The new library enclosure is passively ventilated, with motorized operable windows at high and low levels to generate
cross ventilation with high-level extraction over the summer months. Passive ventilation is augmented by roof-mounted extract fans
at times of peak temperature. Full-height motorized vertical louvers (automatically tracking with the sun) screen east and westfacing
glazing. A raised floor slab incorporates a highly efficient pump-driven waterborne heating/cooling matrix, which responds to
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