Library Buildings around the World

The dissonance between the floor plates is opened at the center with panes of clear glass, allowing a view to the east court and
marking an entry to the west. A two-throated skylight marks the top, striking dissonance and joining two types of light. South and
north light are combined analogous to harmonious sounds in a dissonant chord. Brick from the burned section is recycled into a
slumped brick and concrete base forming an entrance and viewing terrace. Rising from the burnt brick is a concrete frame
supported on 6 columns spanned with concrete and sheathed with structural glass planks. An economical industrial material with
translucent insulation, the planks span between floors, creating a translucent glow at night. (Holl)
College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN – USA
1990 – 1992
Awards:
Progressive Architecture Awards – USA 1990
PROGRAM: library, auditorium, offices, classrooms, CLIENT: University of Minnesota, ADDITION & RENOVATION: 47,710 &
107,220 sf, STATUS: completed
Articulating interior and exterior spaces, the CALA expansion promotes campus activity and pedestrian circulation while unifying
both schools on campus. The addition is two overlaid L-shaped masses which include a library, auditorium, office, seminar and
studio space. The addition is a complement and counterpoint to an existing building by Thorshov and Cerny. While this building is
centralized and homogeneous, the addition offers peripheral views and morphological multiplicity. The existing is centripetal, with
right angles framing four views onto the same court; the addition is centrifugal, with obtuse angles opening to exterior landscapes. In
compliment to the horizontal existing building, the arms of the addition end in vertical elevations, bracketing "shafts of space" and
activating the campus. (Holl)
Herning Center of the Arts, Herning – Denmark 2005 – 2009
5.600 sqf.
The Herning Center of the Arts unites, for the first time, three distinct cultural institutions: the Herning Art Museum, the
MidWest Ensemble and the Socle du Monde. The new Center is intended to be an innovative forum combining visual art
and music. The design fuses landscape and architecture in a one-level building that will include permanent and temporary
exhibition galleries, a 150-seat auditorium, music rehearsal rooms, a restaurant, a media library, administrative offices and
an active landscape. The design for the center aims at "building the site". In transforming the flat field, a new 40,000 sf.
landscape of grass mounds and pools conceals all the parking and service areas while shaping inspiring bermed landscape
spaces focused on reflecting pools positioned in the south sun. Herning's prominent relationship with textiles and art formed
the inspiration for the design concept. Steven Holl states: 'Part of the current art collection is housed in an old shirt factory
in Herning. This 1960s building was designed in the form of a shirt collar and is across the street from the site. It was the
interaction between the factory owner and Arte Povera artists such as Piero Manzoni that enabled such a special collection
of art to exist in Herning." A fabric theme is carried throughout the project from the shape of the building which resembles
a collection of shirtsleeves viewed from above, through the wall finishes. Fabric tarps were inserted into the formwork to
yield a fabric texture to the buildings exterior walls of white concrete. (Holl)
Knut Hamsun Center Hamarøy – Norway 1994 – 2009
This center dedicated to Hamsun is located above the Arctic Circle near village of Presteid of Hamarøy and the farm where
the writer grew up. The museum includes exhibition areas, a library and reading room, a cafe and an auditorium. The
concept for the museum is "building as a body," creating a battleground of invisible forces. The stained black wood exterior
skin is characteristic of the great wooden stave Norse churches. The spine of the building body is the central elevator,
providing handicapped and freight access to all parts of the building. At the roof garden the long grass reflects the
traditional Norwegian sod roofs in a different way. Strange, surprising and phenomenal experiences in space perspective
and light will provide an inspiring frame for the exhibitions. (Holl)
Franz Kafka Society Center, Prague – Czech Republic 2007 – 2008
The basement of the small one-story building, formerly used for laundry and storage, now houses a space for exhibitions,
lectures, and concerts, as well as it accommodates Franz Kafka’s private library. On the first level of the building the Franz
Kafka Society has located its offices. The previously dark and dismal spaces of the building are now washed in daylight
coming through newly inserted windows and skylights that provide unexpected views to the towers of the Maisel Synagogue.
Marcela Steinbachová (Skupina) and Steven Holl Architects have deliberately situated these windows off axis to the
interiors. Inside the building new visual connections through openings and inspection holes give its small spaces depth and
create visual connections. All new partitioning in the building, even when carving out spaces for restrooms and a kitchenette,
is created exclusively by book shelves. In one half of the building these bookshelves appear in white (offices) and the other
half is filled with black bookshelves (entry hall). Coming from the central corridor one only sees black bookshelves and when
coming from the offices one encounters white bookshelves. A 360-degree rotating door between the corridor and the
director’s offices, black on one side and white on the other, reverses white to black. (http://www.archdaily.com)
Holzman Moss Architecture, LLP, New York – USA
http://www.holzmanmoss.com
(see also: H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture LLC, Pfeiffer Partners Architects Inc.)
Libraries (Selection):
Bryant Library, Boston MA - plan
Dover Public Library, Dover DE – USA 2010 Ground Breaking, 2012
(http://imageservq.team-logic.com/mediaLibrary/198/6043-Dover_Library_Report_Executive_v2.pdf)
The Dover Public Library has been serving the community of central Delaware since 1885. Taking steps to address space and
technology issues, as well as to anticipate future growth, the City of Dover, the State of Delaware, and the Library elected to
construct a new state-of-the art facility. The proposed Dover Public Library, to be located in Dover’s downtown historic district,
adjacent to the Dover City Hall and the US Post Office, has been designed to be an “anchor” library for the Kent County Region
and Central Delaware. The new facility will consist of nearly 48,000 sq. ft. ($ 12.200.000) providing increased collection space,
meeting spaces, training rooms for staff and the public, a large children’s dept., a teen zone, a services center, a cybercafé, a gallery,
an auditorium, an outdoor performing arts area and ample parking. The new library will undoubtedly prove to be a popular
downtown destination.
(http://www.kohlerronan.com/pdfs/proj_libr_dove.pdf)
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