Library Buildings around the World

The concept is simple. It is also quite true. When libraries are well designed, more people take advantage of them. Therefore, it's
critical that any library project receive the highest level of planning, foresight, and creativity. The natural outcome of the process is
more people seeking knowledge, more people taking part in public discourse, and more children developing a love of learning.
The Tipton County Public Library is now seeing the benefits of just such a project. More people use the library now than ever
before. krM led a complete interior renovation and building expansion that included an adult reading room, a children's program
room, additional work and storage space, updated lighting, new HVAC systems, and various other features - all within a budget that
didn't require raising local taxes. The building's interior celebrates the cyclical nature of libraries. Books are borrowed and
returned. Ideas flow from person to person. As such, circles are integrated throughout the library's interior spaces. To the trained
eye, these circles might also be reminiscent of the perfect flow of communication between architect and client. (KRM)
Noblesville Public Library, Noblesville, IN – USA 2005
102.000 sqf., $ 10.000.000
Client: Hamilton-East Public Library System, Project: Fishers and Noblesville Public Libraries Renovation and Expansion
When the population served by this library system grew by 98% in ten years, the need for expansion was obvious. But before the
project could begin in full, serious questions had to be addressed: How do we honor our heritage while celebrating our future? How
do we leverage today’s growth to create new opportunities? How do we turn the two libraries in this system into true community
destinations? We found the solutions, as we always have, through collaboration. Librarians themselves provided historic records
that aided in the design process. We worked with stakeholders to assess the user needs. And our entire team researched ways the
buildings could form a junction between the past, present, and future. The two resulting structures – one in Fishers, Indiana and one
in Noblesville, Indiana - now serve as well-considered answers to those challenging questions. Each features new construction that
flows naturally into existing architecture. They both feature dedicated spaces for children, teens, and adults, as well as computer labs
and meeting spaces. Of course, we also made sure the buildings included something else – plenty of space for expansion in the future.
(KRM)
Hamilton-East Public Library, Fishers IN – USA 2005
98.000 sqf., $ 10.400.000
Client: Hamilton-East Public Library System, Project: Fishers and Noblesville Public Libraries Renovation and Expansion
When the population served by this library system grew by 98% in ten years, the need for expansion was obvious. But before the
project could begin in full, serious questions had to be addressed: How do we honor our heritage while celebrating our future? How
do we leverage today’s growth to create new opportunities? How do we turn the two libraries in this system into true community
destinations? We found the solutions, as we always have, through collaboration. Librarians themselves provided historic records
that aided in the design process. We worked with stakeholders to assess the user needs. And our entire team researched ways the
buildings could form a junction between the past, present, and future. The two resulting structures – one in Fishers, Indiana and one
in Noblesville, Indiana - now serve as well-considered answers to those challenging questions. Each features new construction that
flows naturally into existing architecture. They both feature dedicated spaces for children, teens, and adults, as well as computer labs
and meeting spaces. Of course, we also made sure the buildings included something else – plenty of space for expansion in the future.
(KRM)
Greenwood Public Library, Greemwood, IN – USA 2002
New Addition, Renovation
Krueck & Sexton Architects, Chicago, IL – USA
http://www.ksarch.com
Libraries:
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, Chicago IL – USA 2007
„Wir brauchten einen dynamischen, empfangenden Ort.“ So begründet der Sprecher des Spertus Instituts in Chicago die
Entscheidung für die facettenartige Glasfassade des Institutsneubaus, das von den lokal ansässigen Architekten Krueck + Sexton
entworfen wurde. Am 30. November 2007 wird das neue „Spertus Institut für Jüdische Studien“ nun eröffnet. Der Neubau an der
Michigan Avenue Nr.610 hebt sich deutlich von der traditionellen Bebauung seiner Umgebung ab: Rund 1,20 Meter wölbt sich die
49 Meter hohe und 25 Meter breite Fassade dem Straßenraum entgegen. Sie besteht aus 726 Teilen in insgesamt 556 Formen, die
meisten davon Parallelogramme. Um die Sonneneinstrahlung zu verringern, sind die Gläser mit einer Spezialbeschichtung versehen.
Aber nicht nur äußerlich ist der zehn Geschosse hohe und rund 14.000 Quadratmeter große Neubau anders als seine Nachbarn: Im
Inneren erwartet die Besucher ein Tageslicht-durchfluteter Raum, bei dem Oberlichter und Glaswände Licht bis in die hintersten
Winkel transportieren. Das Museum des Instituts, eine große Halle, ein 400 Plätze großes Theater, eine Bibliothek, Seminarräume,
ein Geschenkeladen sowie ein Café mit kosherem Essen sind nur einige der Funktionen, die hier angeboten werden. Im Frühjahr
2008 sollen noch ein interaktives Kinderzentrum und ein pädagogisches Forschungszentrum für Erzieher und Eltern dazukommen.
Die Baukosten für das Projekt beliefen sich auf rund 55 Millionen Dollar. (http://www.baunetz.de)
Like a cut diamond, Krueck and Sexton Architects’ Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies fits seamlessly Chicago’s downtown street
wall.
By Blair Kamin –
This is an excerpt of an article from the May 2008 edition of Architectural Record.
Like the imposing towers lining the edges of New York’s Central Park, the street wall of historic skyscrapers fronting on Chicago’s
Grant Park exist as built topography—a man-made cliff of stone and brick that includes such seminal structures as Adler &
Sullivan’s robust Auditorium Building. Now, with the completion of the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies by Chicago architects
Ron Krueck and Mark Sexton, this mighty street wall—a mile and a half long—has made a dazzling leap into the 21st century. The
10-story building resembles a shimmering piece of quartz exquisitely inserted into a great stone wall, its faceted, folded facade of
glass glinting in the morning sun.
While Spertus may appear to be yet another one-off “icon building,” it actually imparts several broader lessons. It is, first, a cultural
building on a budget, with a construction cost of just $39 million—far less than the recent crop of spectacular museums whose price
tags typically exceed $100 million. It is, second, a creative essay in Jewish architecture, eschewing facile iconography or familiar
historicism for its beguiling study in light. Lastly, it is, like Steven Holl’s much-praised Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Museum
in Kansas City, Missouri, an exercise in complementary contrast, with the new subtly juxtaposed to the old instead of trying to
outshout it.
For both architect and client, the building represents a felicitous debut on a broader stage. Krueck and Sexton’s commissions have
tended to be quiet triumphs, like the firm’s skilled 2005 restoration of Mies van der Rohe’s Crown Hall. For its part, Spertus, a
leading Jewish institution in the Midwest, with three interrelated divisions—Spertus College, the Asher Library, and the Spertus
Museum—was stuck in a remodeled turn-of-the-century office building. In a move straight out of The Fountainhead, the building
suffered an International Style makeover in the 1950s that concealed its cultural identity. Inside, the institute’s three divisions were
105