Library Buildings around the World

[In the early 1900s, Andrew Carnegie donated $50,000 to build Anderson Public Library at the corner of Tenth and Jackson streets.
The city's only Neo-classical structure (completed in 1905) includes extraordinary craftsmanship such as oak fireplaces, a stained
glass rotunda, classic columns, marble stairway, and special lighting.]
The Anderson County Main Library is more than a book depository; it is the center of discovery, discourse, research, and gatherings
for the community. Craig Gaulden Davis' design combined traditional library functions with those of a convention center, bookstore,
cafe, copy shop, print center, video store, computer school and living room. During its first year, library usage more than doubled,
attracting over 400 outside organizations. As expected, the boom in activity has brought new life to surrounding commercial
neighborhoods. Located at the highest point in the city, the library is a beacon to its role as the intellectual and community center of
the county. A sloping site features a public green with ancient trees and extensive landscaping. A contemporary arrangement of
Jeffersonian columns, porticos and pediments, crowned by a copper dome, declares the building's civic role, while the interior
reflects the information age it serves. Floor plans bear out the library's role as community center. Circulation, Audio/Visual, and
Children's help desks are placed near an internal "Main Street". Meeting rooms, cafe, store, new materials, current periodicals,
adult fiction, audio/visual, and the children's collection are on the Main Level; Reference, Periodical, and Local History are on the
Upper Level. A single entry, and clear visual control of the public space from service desks, help address security concerns. Efficient
workflow design, durable materials, and creative use of daylighting minimize operating costs. The technology infrastructure and
options for building expansion offer flexibility over the long haul. (Craig)
CRSA, Salt Lake City, Utah – USA
http://www.crsa-us.com
Libraries:
Utah Valley University Library, Orem, Utah – USA 2008
196.000 sqf.
Collaboration with: Alspector Architects
The Digital Learning Center (DLC) features cutting-edge technology and plenty of room for growth. Governor Huntsman said Utah
Valley University's library, as the first building completed under Utah's High Performance Building program, was the "greenest"
state-funded building in Utah. The library also received two merit awards for green construction by Intermountain Construction in
2008.
Included in the building are group study rooms, a commons area with more than 90 computers with access to the latest in computer
software packages and expanded collections. Other facts about the DLC include:
190,000 square feet, Over 200,000 books, Access to over 10,000 journals, More than 100 public computers, Mac and PC computer
labs, Double the size of current collections, 31 group study rooms, Extended hours area, Café, Media viewing rooms, Writing Center
(http://www.utahvalley.com)
Cutler Anderson Architects, Bainbridge Islands, WA – USA
http://www.cutleranderson.com
Libraries:
Capitol Hill Library, Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA – USA 2004
11.200 sqf., $ 5.200.000
This 11.200 sqf. Library is located in the most densely populated and actively urban neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. The
architect´s intention was to create a quiet refuge in the intense neighborhood, while designing a building that could hold its own in
the visually active context of Capitol Hill. To achieve this end, the community and the architects also wanted the building to respond
to the site´s natural and manmade context. In response, the architects looked the winter solstice to determine the shape of the central
reading room. A triangular pitched roof whose rainwater runoff is expressed in a central open downspout reinforces this shape. To
foster life, the exterior and interior of the brick portions of the building were wrapped with a veil of stainless steel mesh, upon which
16 varieties of climbing plants have been trained. When the planting matures, lighting that has been placed between the pantsupporting
wire and the brick will be turned on and the building will glow green with life. (Cutler)
Maple Valley Library, Maple Valley, WA – USA 2001
Awards:
Award of Excellence Building with Trees Awards 2003
AIA National Honor Award 2001
AIA Honor Award, Seattler Chapter 2001
Honor Award The Wood Design Awards 2001
Literature:
Holtzman, Anna, Book leaves in a Library in Maple Valley, Washington. Nature in heard above readers´s whispers,
in: Architecture, Vol. 92,2003,3,pp. 90-93
In awarding Johnston Architects and James Cutler Architects an Honor Award for the design of a new public library for the town of
Maple Valley, Washington, jurors emphasized the building's importance as a demonstration that a modest budget need not limit a
public building's quality. Built in a small, 1-3/4-acre (0.7-hectare) forest in the midst of a rapidly developing suburban area, the new
library is designed to connect library patrons with the living world around them. Transparent walls of wood-framed glazing invite
the forest into library spaces. A U-shaped shed roof minimizes the visual impact of the building on its forest side while presenting a
"crown" of wooden eaves to a busy arterial road on its urban side. But the library's connection to the forest is not simply visual. The
roof's configuration allows it to collect all of the rain it receives to one central open downspout that will release up to 300 gallons
(1100 liters) of water per minute into a central gravel pool. Serrated edges of the pool catch organic debris which will serve as
nutrients for a moss pool. This vivid expression of the water displaced by the building and the life that water can foster invites
patrons to enjoy and ponder their own place in the relationship between built and natural environments.
( http://www.architectureweek.com )
Built in the midst of a rapidly developing suburban area, this 12.000 sqf library is designed to serve the long term needs of the
community while attempting to preserve the small 1-3/4 acre forest in which is it placed. The book collection, lounges, children´s
areas, offices and study areas are designed for maximum flexibility while attemting to visually connect the occupants with the living
world around them. The “U” shape shed roof was designed to minimize the visual impact of the building/forest side of the building
while presenting a “crown” of wooden eaves to the busy arterial road to the south. This roof configuration also serves to gather all of
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