Library Buildings around the World

The New York Public Library, completed in 1911, is a classical building with a unique plan, inspired by the library’s first director,
Dr. John Shaw Billings. Billings placed the monumental reading room on the top floor to maximize light and air, directly above 8
levels of book stack storage. Over the years the original space for readers diminished as other functions such as copy services,
microforms and card stack storage encroached on it. Layers of dirt, water damage, and heavy usage left the reading room looking
makeshift and tired. In addition to the need to preserve the reading room, the Library faced an increasing demand to provide access
to electronic information. To meet this mission, Davis Brody Bond conducted a meticulous restoration which returned the room, one
of the largest uncolumned rooms in the nation, to its former grandeur and function. The team of restoration architects adapted the
room to maximize efficiency of library service while maintaining its historic and aesthetic integrity. Improvements to The Rose Main
Reading Room include expanded capacity, new electronic resources, faster and more reliable book delivery, a multimedia viewing
area, a self-service copy center, improved access for readers with disabilities and a reorganized open-shelf reference collection.
Thirty of 42 original historic tables were carefully restored and adapted to allow most user stations to access data and power for
library equipment and personal laptops. This project preserved one of New York City’s most beloved spaces, restoring it to its
original glory, while at the same time optimizing access to the collections it serves, and introducing the infrastructure to provide the
latest in electronic, on-line services. (Davis)
William and Anita Newman Library and Technology Center. City University of New York – Baruch
College, New York, NY – USA 1994
Awards:
Excellence in Academic Libraries Award Association of College & Research Libraries 2003
Award of Excellence for Library Architecture AIA / ALA 1995
Annual Award. Municipal Art Society 1995
Award Access New York State Award 1995
Honor Award American Institute of Architects 1996
Excellence in Design Award AIA New York 1995
Moses Award for Historic Preservation Ne York Landmark Conservancy 1995
Literature:
Achitectural Record February 1, 1995 Cable-Car College
Baruch College Journalism Program Juni 1, 1994 The New Campus Library and Technology center
Architectural Record February 1, 1995 Cable-Car College
The Baruch College Newman Library and Technology Center is the first part of a master plan designed by Davis Brody Bond to
introduce much needed facilities onto the College’s urban campus. Baruch College has one of the largest undergraduate business
schools in the country, made up of student body which commutes daily to the school. To create the new library, the architects
completely renovated an 1894 industrial building designed in Italian Renaissance style. The original Pompeiian brick, terra cotta,
and pink New England limestone facade was restored, while only the structural columns of the building are part of the new interior.
The 330,000-square-foot building is divided into nine floors and includes, in addition to the library, a conference center, a state-ofthe-art
computing and technology center, a media center, and the offices of enrollment. A grand staircase in the two-story entrance
lobby leads to the main floor of the library which is organized around a five-story skylit atrium created from an existing lightwell.
The atrium, as well as most of the other library interiors, is paneled in cherry wood and topped by a 70-by-90-foot skylight. The new
library accommodates 525,000 volumes. Since this facility opened, library daily attendance figures have tripled and the circulation of
materials have more than doubled. (Davis)
Biddle Law Library University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA – USA 1994
In 1987, the University of Pennsylvania hired Davis Brody Bond to undertake a master plan for the expansion of its Law School.
The first phase in implementation of this plan was construction of the new Biddle Law Library and Tannenbaum Hall. With the
expansion, the School wished to maintain its small school atmosphere evoked by a quadrangle that contained the existing Law School
facilities. This sense of cohesion was preserved by extending the courtyard with the addition of a U-shaped building that relates in
scale and style to adjacent historic buildings. A major goal of the Library was to complement the existing campus buildings without
diminishing their historic character. Its red brick and buff limestone echoes the materials on existing buildings while the simple
details on its facade stand in contrast to those of original buildings, which are richly decorated. Round windows and double-height
reading rooms, features from the original buildings, further provide a connection to the old Law School. The interior is planned to
offer a variety of spaces for reading and study in a modern and flexible facility while preserving some of the grandeur of a
traditional library. (Davis)
Eskind Biomedical Library, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN – USA 1994
Awards:
Award Excellence for Library Architecture AIA / ALA 1999
Honor Award AIA Gulf State 1994
Excellence in Design AIA New York State 1995
Honor Award AIA Tennessee 1994
Literature:
Architectural Record Design Portfolio October 1, 1995 Learning Curve
Bulletin of the Medical Library Juli 1, 1995 Technical Scale and high-level detail:
Vanderbild´s award winning Eskind Biomedical Library
American Libraries April 1, 1999 Honoring Advances in Architecture: The AIA/
ALA Building Awards
The Eskind Biomedical Library at Vanderbilt University is the “crown jewel” of the Medical Center Campus. It serves multiple
purposes including teaching, clinical work and research and houses services that allow students and researchers to access
information and to seek assistance from trained professionals in the use of information. Designed to mitigate the collegiate-scaled
main campus and the overwhelming density of a modern academic medical center, the library serves as the gateway to the campus.
The top floor is occupied by the Center for Biomedical Informatics, which is responsible for integrating the Medical Center’s
information systems and developing new applications for computers to medical research, education, and practice. The primary
design challenge was to provide a building infrastructure to allow the smooth migration of generations of technology from the
Center for Biomedical Informatics down to the Library floors where users could operate them. A transparent glass curtain wall
introduces a light, delicate, and transparent facade and unifies the building’s composition. The stacks, housed in clearly organized
blocks, provide an efficient and highly functional arrangement for print materials while reading and study areas are located in open
areas along the glass wall, near natural light. Throughout the Library a range of spaces was developed to encourage collaborative
work, from group study rooms with monitors and white boards, to small informal areas. This library acknowledges that it serves as
both a repository for traditional print media and as a center for the communication of electronic information. Throughout the
design, the goal was to express both the traditional and familiar role of the library and the exciting potential of new technologies. The
45