Library Buildings around the World

vital component in the fabric of the communities they serve. For two decades, we have been active participants in the ongoing
evolution of the library. Our expertise and portfolio of work exemplify the public library's marked transformation. (Freelon)
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, District of Columbia, Washington DC – USA on design
In 2012, DC Public Libraries commissioned the Freelon Group to envision a future central library within the framework of an
iconic Mies van der Rohe building in our nation's capital. As a conceptual planning study, the team worked closely with engineers,
programming specialists, and the city's Historic Preservation Office to ensure feasibility.
The 21st century library is a place for knowledge creation. It is where we explore, connect to others, participate in communities, and
create. It is both a portal to vast networks of information and an open forum for social interaction. It is quiet and personal, yet lively
and public.
What, then, is the architectural expression of tomorrow’s library in the nation’s capital? DC Public Library is imagining a new
flexible space within the existing walls of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Inspired by the progressive thinking of
Mies van der Rohe (the building’s original architect), this vision also lives up to the ground breaking aspirations of social inclusivity
of the building’s namesake Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tomorrow’s library can be open, visually connected and filled with natural light. An expansive atrium can connect visitors to their
destinations and reveal the multitude of daily activities and events. Equipped with the most up-to-date technology, the atrium – the
new heart of the library – can be filled with a range of spaces for collaboration. The open plan creates visual access that
transparently connects all parts of the building including access to a rooftop garden where customers can experience the library
outdoors against the dramatic backdrop of the city.
District weighs proposals for renovating MLK Library while preserving historic status
By Philip Kennicott,September 19, 2012
By carving a large “donut hole” into the center of the existing Martin Luther King Memorial Library, the building could be an
exemplary 21st-century main library space, full of light, open to multiple uses, easy to navigate and worthy of “a great city.”
Meeting on Wednesday night in special session in the main atrium of the rigorously modernist building — which is a study in right
angles, rational layout and long vistas — the library’s board heard proposals for how to renovate the dilapidated steel-and-glass
icon. Ideas included adding two more floors to the existing four, renting space to other tenants, converting below-ground levels to
commercial parking and adding a cafe space under its stern, classically inspired loggia.
At stake is the future of one of the city’s most important examples of mid-century modern architecture, designed by Mies van der
Rohe in the late 1960s — his only work in Washington, and his only library. The meeting advanced a process that began in
November, when the library asked the Urban Land Institute to study its historically landmarked main building and consider all
possible options. Among the possibilities on the table was to sell the structure and find a new home for a purpose-built main library
branch.
This library was Mies' last building and his only one ever constructed in Washington, D.C. Additionally, it is the only public
library ever designed by Mies. Completed in 1972, the building cost $18 million. The building has been plagued by neglect
and problems with its HVAC system. DCPL has recently restored lighting on the entire first floor. DCPL has also recently
completed elevator and restroom renovations throughout the building.
On June 28, 2007 the District of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Review Board designated this building a historic
landmark. The designation, which applies to the exterior as well as interior spaces, seeks to preserve Mies' original design
while allowing the library necessary flexibility to operate as a contemporary library facility. It was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 2007
But Wednesday night’s meeting suggests that the library is seriously considering the option of staying in its flagship, albeit with a
major retrofit.
Library Board President John Hill said the purpose of the meeting was simply “to foster a discussion about the future of the library”
and that no decisions would be made. But District librarian Ginnie Cooper said she had asked the library’s architect of record, the
Freelon Group, to build on ideas that emerged from the ULI report and to consider the question: “Is a knock-your-socks-off library
possible?”
Freelon came back with two basic architectural plans, both of which require cutting a large light well into the center of the
rectangular structure. One design would criss-cross that space with stairways and bridges to create more open and dynamic floors.
The other would emphasize the verticality of the new light well, with a glass-walled auditorium fronting onto a soaring central
atrium. Both designs would keep much of the ground floor essentially intact — a requirement of the building’s historic preservation
status — but would add stairs to allow patrons to circulate without using elevators.
Both designs include substantial renovation of the library’s systems, in many cases the same ones in place since it opened. That
includes $12 million to replace the exterior glass windows — which, Freelon head Phil Freelon said, “waste energy to an appalling
degree” — and $3 million to give the metal framing a fresh coat of paint, its first in 40 years.
Although, aesthetically, the library was thoroughly modern when it opened, many elements — including the light fixtures under the
ground-floor loggia — are now antiquated: Bulbs burn out every six months, and replacing the entire system with something more
efficient would cost more than $100,000.
The board also heard from real estate analyst Jair Lynch, who put some rough figures on the various options now before the board.
Simply renovating the library as is, without the internal reconfiguration, would cost the District $5 million to $10 million a year in
regular maintenance and upgrades. The plans presented by Freelon would cost between $175 million and $250 million. That could
require an increase in the District debt limit, and could be a hard sell with the D.C. Council and voters. But other options, including
a state-of-the-art automated parking facility below ground, might bring in new revenue, as would renting space on new floors added
above the existing library.
The “dream big” approach of Wednesday’s meeting was probably intended to generate momentum toward solving one of the
District’s most fraught architectural sagas. The Martin Luther King building is widely respected among architecture enthusiasts,
and the city designated it a historic landmark in 2007. But despite new enthusiasm for the mid-century modern look, and concerted
efforts at more consistent maintenance in past years, it isn’t universally loved. As Freelon acknowledged, if the library site at Ninth
and G streets NW were bare ground, he could build a new bells-and-whistles library much more cheaply than remaking the old one.
Since at least 2000, when a team from the Washington chapter of the American Institute of Architects drafted a study for adapting
the library, the city has studied, dithered and delayed finding a solution to the building’s long-standing maintenance and design
issues. In 2006, then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) pushed hard for moving the library to a new home on the site of what was once
the old convention center, but he couldn’t sell the idea to the council.
(http://articles.washintonpost.com/2012-09-19/lifestyle/35495291_1_main.library-ginnic-cooper-mlk-library
District of Columbia Public Library, Tenley Friendship Library, Washington, DC – USA 2011
Project Size: 21.472 sqf., Project Cost: $10.200.000
Awards:
2011 AIA North Carolina Honor Award
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