Library Buildings around the World

protects the books from harmful, constant exposure to sun rays and helps soften the sunlight entering the two-story reading room
overlooking Resurrection Meadow south of the chapel. At the same time, spaces throughout the facility are bathed in natural light.
Building features
The wireless building accommodates current study preferences by replacing study carrels with soft furniture in "living room"
settings, several complete with fireplaces. Food and beverages are available at a café on the premises. There are some 2,400 data
ports and 88 wireless access points in the building, all connected by 42 miles (68 km) of data cable. Computer clusters are located
amply throughout the building, totaling over 250 individual computers available for student use. Sunshades also automatically lower
when too much sunlight is entering the building, and raise when it is dark outside. Books and other traditional information resources
mix with computers and access to the Internet on every floor. The computer-driven, robotic Automated Storage and Retrieval
System uses space efficiently and allowed the overall shelving capacity in the center to increase to 600,000 volumes without having to
increase the size of the building.
Automated Storage and Retrieval System
Perhaps the best representation of Christopher Center's integration of traditional library services with current technology is the
Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). This combination of robotics and computer system has the capacity to store
300,000 files. Two stories high, the system features bins stacked along two aisles. Materials that are used infrequently by students or
faculty are maintained in this location. When one of the 60,000 items is requested, the robotic system locates and retrieves the
publication in about 15 seconds. Using a bar code logged into it, the management computer system runs the robot and
simultaneously registers the volume's current location in the one of its 1,872 bins. Designed like a combination car-jack and fork lift,
the computer-controlled cranes move along the aisles and up or down the stacks of bins to retrieve the requested material and place
it on a tray desk in the main circulation area. Provided by a gift from alumnus Herbert F. Stride, this automated storage and
retrieval system is one of the first five installed for use in libraries in the nation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/christopher-center)
Dorreine Zief Law Library. University of San Francisco, California – USA 2003
60.000 sqf.
The Dorraine Zief Law Library extends USF´S existing Kendrick Hall Law School, whose old library paces, approximately 20.000
sqf. on two floors, was vacated and renovated. There was no surge space on the campus, requiring the Law School to stay in
operation throughout the comlex construction process. The entire building was reorganized, renovated, and brought up to code, and
the infrastructure was upgraded and modernized. Completed 2003, it comprises classrooms, lecture halls, seminar and conference
rooms, a new moot court, student lounge, clinic, faculty and administrative offices, and student service facilities, as well as
underground parking. (EHDD)
Montain View Public Library, Montain View, California – USA 1997
60.000 sqf.
Two distinctive built contexts informed the design of this library: On one side, the library joins with City Hall and the Performing
Arts building to complete the Civic Center complex; on the other, the library blends into a residential neighborhood with traditional
California. Entrances from each side open onto a grand, central lobby, surrounded by collections and support services that require
easy access. An elliptical staircase rises to the vaulted spaces of the main collection. Both floors maximize natural light for reaching,
take advantage of park views, and offer a rich variety of spaces for patrons to discover, such as the reading rooms, set in octagonal
towers. (EHDD)
Main Library Complex, Doe Library and Moffit Library Renovation, University of California, Berkeley,
Berkeley, CA – USA 1995
Awards:
Design Award / AIA East Bay 1996
EHDD Architecture, a San Francisco-based firm that has designed dozens of academic and public libraries, has been awarded the
Moffitt Revitalization Project. Construction is expected to begin when fundraising for the $50 million project is completed. The firm
designed and completed the David P. Gardner Stacks in Doe Library in the mid-1990s. This award-winning , 180,000 square foot
underground addition provided a new home for the millions of volumes previously housed in the Doe core, making the collections
open for browsing by library users. The addition also linked Doe to Moffitt via an underground passage. EHDD’s history of work
with UC Berkeley stretches back forty years. Other projects include renovations of the Environmental Design Library in Wurster
Hall, a residence hall, and two phases of the Northern Regional Library Facility in Richmond, among others. The firm is known for
creative approaches in designing for sustainability. Lead architects for the Moffitt Revitalization Project include Charles Davis, who
directed the Gardner Stacks project, and Jennifer Devlin. In a July 5, 2009 profile in the San Francisco Chronicle, Devlin described
a recent visit to Amsterdam’s new public library, saying “Wherever I go, I go to libraries.” She comments that the plans for Moffitt
will meet the needs of today’s students, who are “more collaborative, with more technology, in more ways than ever before.” To read
the article on SFGate, “Jennifer Devlin – pillar of design,” go to http://tinyurl.com/nwxpj2 m.
(http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/give/fiatlux13.pdf)
Science Library, University of California, Santa Cruz, California – USA 1992
72.000 sqf.
Awards:
Honor Award AIA California Council 1994
Design Award Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute 1994
Award of Excellence, Portland Cement Association 1993
Library Bulding Award. AIA/American Library Association 1993
Winner Architectural Category, American Concrete Institute, Northern
California, Western Nevada Chapter 1992
Completed in 1992, the layout of the library minimized the number of redwoods to be removed, preserving the character of the
mature grove. Large expanses of glass open into the grove and fill the open into the grove and fill the open space with natural light.
A terraced entry plaza, set into the hillside at the middle of the building´s three levels, connects the library to the neighboring science
buildings. The building´s exterior palette compliments its forest setting. Cooper, left to patina naturally to a maintenance – free
green, clads the nonstructural walls at the stain and elevator and its replated on simple windows and trim (EHDD)
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